Systematic Revision of the Early Miocene Fossil Pseudoepicrates
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The Skull of the Upper Cretaceous Snake Dinilysia Patagonica Smith-Woodward, 1901, and Its Phylogenetic Position Revisited
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 164, 194–238. With 24 figures The skull of the Upper Cretaceous snake Dinilysia patagonica Smith-Woodward, 1901, and its phylogenetic position revisited HUSSAM ZAHER1* and CARLOS AGUSTÍN SCANFERLA2 1Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, Avenida Nazaré 481, Ipiranga, 04263-000, São Paulo, SP, Brasil 2Laboratorio de Anatomía Comparada y Evolución de los Vertebrados. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’, Av. Angel Gallardo 470 (1405), Buenos Aires, Argentina Received 23 April 2010; revised 5 April 2011; accepted for publication 18 April 2011 The cranial anatomy of Dinilysia patagonica, a terrestrial snake from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina, is redescribed and illustrated, based on high-resolution X-ray computed tomography and better preparations made on previously known specimens, including the holotype. Previously unreported characters reinforce the intriguing mosaic nature of the skull of Dinilysia, with a suite of plesiomorphic and apomorphic characters with respect to extant snakes. Newly recognized plesiomorphies are the absence of the medial vertical flange of the nasal, lateral position of the prefrontal, lizard-like contact between vomer and palatine, floor of the recessus scalae tympani formed by the basioccipital, posterolateral corners of the basisphenoid strongly ventrolaterally projected, and absence of a medial parietal pillar separating the telencephalon and mesencephalon, amongst others. We also reinterpreted the structures forming the otic region of Dinilysia, confirming the presence of a crista circumfenes- tralis, which represents an important derived ophidian synapomorphy. Both plesiomorphic and apomorphic traits of Dinilysia are treated in detail and illustrated accordingly. Results of a phylogenetic analysis support a basal position of Dinilysia, as the sister-taxon to all extant snakes. -
Carnivora from the Late Miocene Love Bone Bed of Florida
Bull. Fla. Mus. Nat. Hist. (2005) 45(4): 413-434 413 CARNIVORA FROM THE LATE MIOCENE LOVE BONE BED OF FLORIDA Jon A. Baskin1 Eleven genera and twelve species of Carnivora are known from the late Miocene Love Bone Bed Local Fauna, Alachua County, Florida. Taxa from there described in detail for the first time include the canid cf. Urocyon sp., the hemicyonine ursid cf. Plithocyon sp., and the mustelids Leptarctus webbi n. sp., Hoplictis sp., and ?Sthenictis near ?S. lacota. Postcrania of the nimravid Barbourofelis indicate that it had a subdigitigrade posture and most likely stalked and ambushed its prey in dense cover. The postcranial morphology of Nimravides (Felidae) is most similar to the jaguar, Panthera onca. The carnivorans strongly support a latest Clarendonian age assignment for the Love Bone Bed. Although the Love Bone Bed local fauna does show some evidence of endemism at the species level, it demonstrates that by the late Clarendonian, Florida had become part of the Clarendonian chronofauna of the midcontinent, in contrast to the higher endemism present in the early Miocene and in the later Miocene and Pliocene of Florida. Key Words: Carnivora; Miocene; Clarendonian; Florida; Love Bone Bed; Leptarctus webbi n. sp. INTRODUCTION can Museum of Natural History, New York; F:AM, Frick The Love Bone Bed Local Fauna, Alachua County, fossil mammal collection, part of the AMNH; UF, Florida Florida, has produced the largest and most diverse late Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. Miocene vertebrate fauna known from eastern North All measurements are in millimeters. The follow- America, including 43 species of mammals (Webb et al. -
Snakes of the Siwalik Group (Miocene of Pakistan): Systematics and Relationship to Environmental Change
Palaeontologia Electronica http://palaeo-electronica.org SNAKES OF THE SIWALIK GROUP (MIOCENE OF PAKISTAN): SYSTEMATICS AND RELATIONSHIP TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE Jason J. Head ABSTRACT The lower and middle Siwalik Group of the Potwar Plateau, Pakistan (Miocene, approximately 18 to 3.5 Ma) is a continuous fluvial sequence that preserves a dense fossil record of snakes. The record consists of approximately 1,500 vertebrae derived from surface-collection and screen-washing of bulk matrix. This record represents 12 identifiable taxa and morphotypes, including Python sp., Acrochordus dehmi, Ganso- phis potwarensis gen. et sp. nov., Bungarus sp., Chotaophis padhriensis, gen. et sp. nov., and Sivaophis downsi gen. et sp. nov. The record is dominated by Acrochordus dehmi, a fully-aquatic taxon, but diversity increases among terrestrial and semi-aquatic taxa beginning at approximately 10 Ma, roughly coeval with proxy data indicating the inception of the Asian monsoons and increasing seasonality on the Potwar Plateau. Taxonomic differences between the Siwalik Group and coeval European faunas indi- cate that South Asia was a distinct biogeographic theater from Europe by the middle Miocene. Differences between the Siwalik Group and extant snake faunas indicate sig- nificant environmental changes on the Plateau after the last fossil snake occurrences in the Siwalik section. Jason J. Head. Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA. [email protected] School of Biological Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, London, E1 4NS, United Kingdom. KEY WORDS: Snakes, faunal change, Siwalik Group, Miocene, Acrochordus. PE Article Number: 8.1.18A Copyright: Society of Vertebrate Paleontology May 2005 Submission: 3 August 2004. -
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Caribbean Ecological Services Field Office March 2019
U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE CARIBBEAN ECOLOGICAL SERVICES FIELD OFFICE MARCH 2019 Conservation Measures for the Virgin Islands tree boa (Chilabothrus granti) The endangered Virgin Islands (VI) tree boa (Chilabothrus granti, formerly Epicrates monensis granti) is a small, slender, nocturnal, arboreal non-venomous snake. The VI boa does not pose any life threating danger to human beings. Although considered docile, some individuals might try to bite if disturbed or during capture and handling. Newborn and juveniles are a light grey with brown to black blotches along their bodies, and darken as they mature into adults. Adults may reach between 3 to 4 feet in length. Within U.S. jurisdiction, VI boas are found on the northeast side of Puerto Rico, Culebra Island, east end of St. Thomas, and on a few offshore cays. They are also found in some islands in the British Virgin Islands. They generally live in xeric (dry) habitat, which is characterized by poor rocky soils, in scrub woodland or subtropical dry forest with high density of interdigitating branches and vines connecting adjacent tree canopies. The VI boa is difficult to detect in the wild and can be found moving among branches, vines, and crawling on the ground at night. During the day they are mostly sheltered and out of sight. Some individuals have been found in or close to houses, especially if near their habitat. All projects should avoid affecting the VI boa and its habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has developed the following conservation measures with the purpose of assisting others to avoid and minimize adverse impacts to the species and its habitat. -
A Morphological Model and Ct Assessment of the Skull of Pachyrhachis Problematicus (Squamata, Serpentes), a 98 Million Year Old Snake with Legs from the Middle East
Palaeontologia Electronica http://palaeo-electronica.org A MORPHOLOGICAL MODEL AND CT ASSESSMENT OF THE SKULL OF PACHYRHACHIS PROBLEMATICUS (SQUAMATA, SERPENTES), A 98 MILLION YEAR OLD SNAKE WITH LEGS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST Michael J. Polcyn, Louis L. Jacobs, and Annat Haber ABSTRACT Pachyrhachis problematicus is a snake with well-developed hind limbs known from two specimens from the Cenomanian of the Middle East. One specimen has a complete and articulated, albeit crushed skull. The second specimen has a disarticu- lated skull crushed beneath the body. Pachyrhachis has recently been at the center of a debate on the origins and relationships of snakes, specifically whether Pachyrhachis is the sister taxon to all other snakes, or alternatively, a relatively advanced snake allied with boids and pythonids. Workers using the same specimens arrived at different interpretations of the morphology underlying the alternative hypotheses. The most complete skull was resin-embedded and acid-prepared for its original study nearly three decades ago, rendering the dorsal surface difficult to view using optical tech- niques, and thus significantly hampering later studies. This study utilizes CT scanning and computer reconstruction to test conflicting interpretations of morphology and thus provides a method to falsify alternative phylogenetic hypotheses. Pachyrhachis is found to possess an inclined quadrate with a well-developed stylohyal process and lacking a suprastapedial process, no squamosal, and a single mental foramen. The separation of exoccipitals above the foramen magnum cannot be demonstrated. There is no jugal. Confirmed morphology best supports the phylogenetic hypothesis that Pachyrhachis is a basal macrostomatan snake. Limb retention in a basal macrostoma- tan snake implies that loss of hind limbs occurred multiple times within Serpentes. -
THE ORIGIN and EVOLUTION of SNAKE EYES Dissertation
CONQUERING THE COLD SHUDDER: THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF SNAKE EYES Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Christopher L. Caprette, B.S., M.S. **** The Ohio State University 2005 Dissertation Committee: Thomas E. Hetherington, Advisor Approved by Jerry F. Downhower David L. Stetson Advisor The graduate program in Evolution, John W. Wenzel Ecology, and Organismal Biology ABSTRACT I investigated the ecological origin and diversity of snakes by examining one complex structure, the eye. First, using light and transmission electron microscopy, I contrasted the anatomy of the eyes of diurnal northern pine snakes and nocturnal brown treesnakes. While brown treesnakes have eyes of similar size for their snout-vent length as northern pine snakes, their lenses are an average of 27% larger (Mann-Whitney U test, p = 0.042). Based upon the differences in the size and position of the lens relative to the retina in these two species, I estimate that the image projected will be smaller and brighter for brown treesnakes. Northern pine snakes have a simplex, all-cone retina, in keeping with a primarily diurnal animal, while brown treesnake retinas have mostly rods with a few, scattered cones. I found microdroplets in the cone ellipsoids of northern pine snakes. In pine snakes, these droplets act as light guides. I also found microdroplets in brown treesnake rods, although these were less densely distributed and their function is unknown. Based upon the density of photoreceptors and neural layers in their retinas, and the predicted image size, brown treesnakes probably have the same visual acuity under nocturnal conditions that northern pine snakes experience under diurnal conditions. -
Boidae, Boinae): a Rare Snake from the Vale Do Ribeira, State of São Paulo, Brazil
SALAMANDRA 47(2) 112–115 20 May 2011 ISSNCorrespondence 0036–3375 Correspondence New record of Corallus cropanii (Boidae, Boinae): a rare snake from the Vale do Ribeira, State of São Paulo, Brazil Paulo R. Machado-Filho 1, Marcelo R. Duarte 1, Leandro F. do Carmo 2 & Francisco L. Franco 1 1) Laboratório de Herpetologia, Instituto Butantan, Av. Vital Brazil, 1500, São Paulo, SP, CEP: 05503-900, Brazil 2) Departamento de Agroindústria, Alimentos e Nutrição. Escola Superior de Agronomia “Luiz de Queiroz” – ESALQ/USP, Av. Pádua Dias, 11 C.P.: 9, Piracicaba, SP, CEP: 13418-900, Brazil Correspondig author: Francisco L. Franco, e-mail: [email protected] Manuscript received: 9 December 2010 The boid genusCorallus Daudin, 1803 is comprised of nine Until recently, only four specimens (including the above Neotropical species (Henderson et al. 2009): Corallus an mentioned holotype) of C. cropanii were deposited in her- nulatus (Cope, 1876), Corallus batesii (Gray, 1860), Co petological collections: three in the Coleção Herpetológica rallus blombergi (Rendahl & Vestergren, 1941), Coral “Alphonse Richard Hoge”, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, lus caninus (Linnaeus, 1758), Corallus cookii Gray, 1842, Corallus cropanii (Hoge, 1954), Corallus grenadensis (Bar- bour, 1914), Corallus hortulanus (Linnaeus, 1758), and Corallus ruschenbergerii (Cope, 1876). The most conspic- uous morphological attributes of representatives of these species are the laterally compressed body, robust head, slim neck, and the presence of deep pits in some of the la- bial scales (Henderson 1993a, 1997). Species of Corallus are distributed from northern Central American to south- ern Brazil, including Trinidad and Tobago and islands of the south Caribbean. Four species occur in Brazil: Corallus batesii, C. -
University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation Formatting
UNDERSTANDING CARNIVORAN ECOMORPHOLOGY THROUGH DEEP TIME, WITH A CASE STUDY DURING THE CAT-GAP OF FLORIDA By SHARON ELIZABETH HOLTE A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2018 © 2018 Sharon Elizabeth Holte To Dr. Larry, thank you ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my family for encouraging me to pursue my interests. They have always believed in me and never doubted that I would reach my goals. I am eternally grateful to my mentors, Dr. Jim Mead and the late Dr. Larry Agenbroad, who have shaped me as a paleontologist and have provided me to the strength and knowledge to continue to grow as a scientist. I would like to thank my colleagues from the Florida Museum of Natural History who provided insight and open discussion on my research. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Aldo Rincon for his help in researching procyonids. I am so grateful to Dr. Anne-Claire Fabre; without her understanding of R and knowledge of 3D morphometrics this project would have been an immense struggle. I would also to thank Rachel Short for the late-night work sessions and discussions. I am extremely grateful to my advisor Dr. David Steadman for his comments, feedback, and guidance through my time here at the University of Florida. I also thank my committee, Dr. Bruce MacFadden, Dr. Jon Bloch, Dr. Elizabeth Screaton, for their feedback and encouragement. I am grateful to the geosciences department at East Tennessee State University, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard for the loans of specimens. -
Natural History Notes 857
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES 857 and sometimes small mammals (Whitaker and Captain 2004. SUBRAT DEBATA, Department of Biodiversity and Conservation of Snakes of India. Macmillan India Ltd., New Delhi. 354 pp.). Natural Resources, Central University of Orissa, Koraput, Odisha, India; e- Cannibalism and scavenging are also known in this species mail: [email protected]. (Smith 1913. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 23:373; Mohapatra 2011 Herpetol. Rev. 42:436–437; Deshmukh et al. 2016. ICRF Reptiles CHILABOTHRUS CHRYSOGASTER CHRYSOGASTER (Turks and Amphibians 23:169–170). On 30 November 2015, at ca. 0052 Island Boa). DIET. Chilabothrus chrysogaster chrysogaster con- h, we observed a B. caeruleus (total length ca. 128 cm) preying sumes a variety of small to medium-sized endothermic and ecto- on an Eryx whitakeri (Whitaker’s Boa; total length ca. 45 cm) at thermic prey (Reynolds and Gerber 2012. J. Herpetol. 46:578–586). Goa University Campus, Goa, India (15.2736°N, 73.5008°E, WGS On small islands, adults and juveniles are largely saurophagous 84; 57 m elev.). Eryx whitakeri is a medium-sized nocturnal (Reynolds and Niemiller 2011. Herpetol. Rev. 42:290), or sea- constrictor in the family Boidae, endemic to Western Ghats of sonally prey on native or migratory songbirds (Schwartz and India (Whitaker and Captain, op. cit.). The B. caeruleus bit and Henderson 1991. Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: held the prey mid body and the snakes struggled for ca. 43 min, Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. University of until venom began to subdue the E. whitakeri (Fig. 1). The prey Florida Press, Gainesville, Florida. -
Ancient Crocodile Relative Likely Food Source for Titanoboa 2 February 2010, by Bill Kanapaux
Ancient crocodile relative likely food source for Titanoboa 2 February 2010, by Bill Kanapaux "We're starting to flesh out the fauna that we have from there," said lead author Alex Hastings, a graduate student at the Florida Museum and UF's department of geological sciences. Specimens used in the study show the new species, named Cerrejonisuchus improcerus, grew only 6 to 7 feet long, making it easy prey for Titanoboa. Its scientific name means small crocodile from Cerrejon. The findings follow another study by researchers at UF and the Smithsonian providing the first reliable evidence of what Neotropical rainforests looked like 60 million years ago. While Cerrejonisuchus is not directly related to On Feb. 1, 2010, Alex Hastings, a graduate student at modern crocodiles, it played an important role in UF’s Florida Museum of Natural History, measures a the early evolution of South American rainforest jaw fragment from an ancient crocodile that lived 60 ecosystems, said Jonathan Bloch, a Florida million years ago. The fossil came from the same site in Museum vertebrate paleontologist and associate Colombia as fossils of Titanoboa, indicating the crocodile curator. was a likely food source for the giant snake. "Clearly this new fossil would have been part of the food-chain, both as predator and prey," said Bloch, who co-led the fossil-hunting expeditions to (PhysOrg.com) -- A 60-million-year-old relative of Cerrejon with Smithsonian paleobotanist Carlos crocodiles described this week by University of Jaramillo. "Giant snakes today are known to eat Florida researchers in the Journal of Vertebrate crocodylians, and it is not much of a reach to say Paleontology was likely a food source for Cerrejonisuchus would have been a frequent meal Titanoboa, the largest snake the world has ever for Titanoboa. -
Final Copy 2019 10 01 Herrera
This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Herrera Flores, Jorge Alfredo A Title: The macroevolution and macroecology of Mesozoic lepidosaurs General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. However, if you have discovered material within the thesis that you consider to be unlawful e.g. breaches of copyright (either yours or that of a third party) or any other law, including but not limited to those relating to patent, trademark, confidentiality, data protection, obscenity, defamation, libel, then please contact [email protected] and include the following information in your message: •Your contact details •Bibliographic details for the item, including a URL •An outline nature of the complaint Your claim will be investigated and, where appropriate, the item in question will be removed from public view as soon as possible. This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Herrera Flores, Jorge Alfredo A Title: The macroevolution and macroecology of Mesozoic lepidosaurs General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. -
Calabaria and the Phytogeny of Erycine Snakes
<nological Journal of the Linnean Socieb (1993), 107: 293-351. With 19 figures Calabaria and the phylogeny of erycine snakes ARNOLD G. KLUGE Museum of <oolog~ and Department of Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mr 48109 U.S.A. Receiued October 1991, revised manuscript accepted Mar I992 Two major subgroups of erycine snakes, designated Charina and Eyx, are delimited with a cladistic analysis of 75 morphological characters. The hypotheses of species relationships within the two clades are (reinhardtii (bottae, triuirgata) ) and (colubrinus, conicus, elegans, jayakari, muellen’, somalicus (miliaris (tataricus (iaculus, johnii)))),respectively. This pattern of grouping obtains without assuming multistate character additivity. At least 16 synapomorphies indicate that reinhardtii is an erycine and that it is the sister lineage of the (bottae, friuirgata) cladr. Calabaria and Lichanura are synonymized with Charina for reasons of taxonomic efficiency, and to emphasize the New-Old World geographic distribution of the three species in that assemblage. Further resolution of E’yx species relationships is required before Congylophis (type species conicus) can be recognized. ADDITIONAL KEY WORDS:--Biogeography - Cladistics - erycines - fossils - taxonomy CONI‘EN’I’S Introduction ................... 293 Erycine terminal taxa and nomenclature ............ 296 Fossils .................... 301 Methods and materials ................ 302 Eryrine phylogeny ................. 306 Character descriptions ............... 306 Other variation ................