DOCSLIB.ORG

Crocodile Specialist Group Newsletter 30(3): Together These Anecdotes Suggest That Crocodiles Remained 25-27

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Crocodile Specialist Group Newsletter 30(3): Together These Anecdotes Suggest That Crocodiles Remained 25-27 CROCODILE SPECIALIST GROUP NEWSLETTER VOLUME 33 No. 1 • JANUARY 2014 - MARCH 2014 IUCN • Species Survival Commission CSG Newsletter Subscription The CSG Newsletter is produced and distributed by the Crocodile CROCODILE Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). The CSG Newsletter provides information on the conservation, status, news and current events concerning crocodilians, and on the SPECIALIST activities of the CSG. The Newsletter is distributed to CSG members and to other interested individuals and organizations. All Newsletter recipients are asked to contribute news and other materials. The CSG Newsletter is available as: • Hard copy (by subscription - see below); and/or, • Free electronic, downloadable copy from “http://www.iucncsg. GROUP org/pages/Publications.html”. Annual subscriptions for hard copies of the CSG Newsletter may be made by cash ($US55), credit card ($AUD55) or bank transfer ($AUD55). Cheques ($USD) will be accepted, however due to increased bank charges associated with this method of payment, cheques are no longer recommended. A Subscription Form can be NEWSLETTER downloaded from “http://www.iucncsg.org/pages/Publications. html”. All CSG communications should be addressed to: CSG Executive Office, P.O. Box 530, Karama, NT 0813, Australia. VOLUME 33 Number 1 Fax: (61) 8 89470678. E-mail: [email protected]. JANUARY 2014 - MARCH 2014 PATRONS IUCN - Species Survival Commission We thank all patrons who have donated to the CSG and its conservation program over many years, and especially to CHAIRMAN: donors in 2013-2014 (listed below). Professor Grahame Webb PO Box 530, Karama, NT 0813, Australia Big Bull Crocs! ($15,000 or more annually or in aggregate donations) EDITORIAL AND EXECUTIVE OFFICE: PO Box 530, Karama, NT 0813, Australia Japan, JLIA - Japan Leather & Leather Goods Industries Association, CITES Promotion Committee & Japan Reptile Printed by: Uniprint NT Leather Industries Association, Tokyo, Japan. Charles Darwin University, NT 0909, Australia Heng Long Leather Co. Pte. Ltd., Singapore. Hermes Cuirs Precieux, Paris, France. Singapore Reptile Skin Trade Association, Singapore. COVER PHOTOGRAPH: Karin Ebey (10 y), long-time Species Management Specialists, Canberra, ACT, Australia. donor to the Crocodile Specialist Group, designed a calendar United Leather Product Co. Ltd. and Nakorn Sawan Crocodile for 2014, depicting 12 species of crocodilian. This issueʼs Farm, Thailand. cover shows some of Karinʼs drawings. Friends ($3000 - $15,000) [You can download Karinʼs calendar at www.iucncsg.org]. CAICSA, Colombia. Captain Morgan Rum, South Carolina, USA. EDITORIAL POLICY: All news on crocodilian conservation, Conservation Force, Louisiana , USA. research, management, captive propagation, trade, laws and Crocodile Conservation Institute, SC, USA. regulations is welcome. Photographs and other graphic materials Ethiopian Rift Valley Safaris, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. are particularly welcome. Information is usually published, as Mainland Holdings, Lae, Papua New Guinea. submitted, over the authorʼs name and mailing address. The editors Phillip Cunliffe-Steel, New Zealand/Australia. also extract material from correspondence or other sources and these Enrico Chiesa, Italhide, Italy. items are attributed to the source. If inaccuracies do appear, please Yee Tai Leather Enterprise Ltd., Hong Kong. call them to the attention of the editors so that corrections can be published in later issues. The opinions expressed herein are those of the individuals identified and are not the opinions of CSG, the SSC Supporters ($1000 - $3000) or the IUCN unless so indicated. William Belo, Coral Agri-Venture Farm, Philippines. 2 Shaun Foggett, Crocodiles of the World, Witngy, Oxon, it is a CITES compliance problem, because taking animals UK. from the wild is in direct contravention of Colombian law. J. Perran Ross, Gainesville, Florida, USA. The good news is that the Colombian CITES Management Florida Power & Light Inc., Florida, USA. Authority, working with the regions and farms, are doing George Saputra, IRATA, Jakarta, Indonesia. farm audits with a view to identifying and shutting down St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Florida, USA. illegal producers and traders. In the opinion of the CSG, now Porosus Pty. Ltd., NT, Australia. is the time for the CITES Secretariat to assist the Colombian Yosapong Temsiripong, “Sriracha Moda” and “Crocodile & CITES Management Authority to clean up what has become Ostrich Cooperative of Thailand”, Thailand. a messy compliance issue. Virginia Aquarium and and Marine Science Center Foundation, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA. The Christmas CrocFest 2013, a fundraiser for crocodilian Zambia Crocodile Farmers Association, Lusaka, Zambia. conservation, took place in December 2013 at Shawn and Jen Heflickʼs facility in Palm Bay, Florida, USA, and raised Contributors ($250 - $1000) $US15,000. Together with the Summer CrocFest (June 2013), these events have raised a total of $US26,000, which on the East Coast Zoological Society (Brevard Zoo), FL, USA. basis of a lot of discussion and action by CSG members, will Simone Comparini, Pantera S.R.L., S. Croce s/Arno, Italy. go to Crocodylus acutus conservation and management in Crocodile Park, Malaga, Spain. Jamaica (see pages 7-8). Vic Mercado, Microlab, Philippines. The Ebey family, New Mexico, USA. On 24-25 April 2014 the Executive Officer and I will attend Nao Thouk, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. a “Siamese Crocodile Conservation and Husbandry Meeting” Marco Schultz, Germany. and a “Siamese Crocodile Task Force Meeting”, to be held again at Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. We are hoping for further constructive discussion of the CITES- related issues on Crocodylus siamensis utilisation within the Editorial East and Southeast Asian region that were identified at the regional C. siamensis meeting in April 2011. Once again it is very saddening to learn of the passing of two The “2nd Symposium on Colombian Crocodilians”, with of our well-respected CSG members. Dr. Fritz Huchzermeyer the theme of “Crocodilian Conservation - An Opportunity was known to most CSG members, and was one of the for Communities” will be held on 2 December 2014, under worldʼs leading crocodilian veterinarians (see pages 4-5). the auspices of the “5th Colombian Congress of Zoology” His book “Crocodiles: Biology, Husbandry and Diseases” (1-5 December 2014), in Cartagena, Colombia. An invitation remains a pivotal and classic reference source. He was just containing information can be downloaded from the homepage a great guy, always willing to help anyone who asked for his of the CSG website (www.iucncsg.org). People can contact advice. Dr. Peter McInnes was another great guy. He was the symposium organisors ([email protected]) particularly well known in Australia, where for 20 years he for any additional details. was a research manager with the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), one of the only The 27th meeting of the CITES Animals Committee will organisations funding research on crocodile farming. The be held in Veracruz, Mexico, from 28 April to 3 May 2014. CSG is one of the larger Specialist Groups within the SSC, As usual, a few CSG members will be present in different but I suspect one with some of the oldest members! We really capacities. Mexico is hosting a side meeting to discuss some need to encourage new and younger members, which is what aspects of its Crocodylus moreletii management program, our Student Research Assistance Scheme (SRAS; http://www. and a Swiss NGO called RESP will be presenting its ideas iucncsg.org/pages/General-Information.html) is all about. about trade in crocodilian skins. It is important that all CSG members, from industry to science, are fully aware that there In early March I wrote to Mr. John Scanlon, Secretary is no formal link between the CSG and RESP. The ideas General of CITES, regarding compliance issues with Caiman expressed by RESP, to date, do not reflect in any way the c. fuscus farming in Colombia. These issues were raised by opinions of the CSG. the CITES Standing Committee. For the last 20 years, the CSG has been well aware that compliance with Colombiaʼs In terms of global issues concerning conservation, national legislation had been an ongoing problem. Skins management and trade in world crocodilians, let me again from wild caimans, especially adults in which the flanks are stress the importance of the 23rd Working Meeting of the valuable, are simply trimmed to meet the prescribed size CSG (McNeese University, Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA; limits. There is no basis for those prescribed limits, which are 26-30 May 2014), to be held 3 weeks after the CITES in direct contradiction to the hard scientific data available. Animals Committee meeting. It promises to be one of the Large wild-caught caimans have been exported continually biggest working meetings of the CSG yet held. I urge all CSG and in large numbers. This does not constitute a conservation members and others interested in crocodilian conservation problem as such, because the high biological productivity and trade to register and book accommodation as soon as of C. c. fuscus may compensate for the harvest. However, possible (www.CSG2014louisiana.com). 3 Lastly, I am happy to announce that my new book Wildlife in love with Hildegard, whom he had asked to type up an Conservation: In the Belly of the Beast (see page 6) has been assignment. A change in academic direction was followed
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 8. Archosaur Phylogeny and the Relationships of the Crocodylia
    8. Archosaur phylogeny and the relationships of the Crocodylia MICHAEL J. BENTON Department of Geology, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, UK JAMES M. CLARK* Department of Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA Abstract The Archosauria include the living crocodilians and birds, as well as the fossil dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and basal 'thecodontians'. Cladograms of the basal archosaurs and of the crocodylomorphs are given in this paper. There are three primitive archosaur groups, the Proterosuchidae, the Erythrosuchidae, and the Proterochampsidae, which fall outside the crown-group (crocodilian line plus bird line), and these have been defined as plesions to a restricted Archosauria by Gauthier. The Early Triassic Euparkeria may also fall outside this crown-group, or it may lie on the bird line. The crown-group of archosaurs divides into the Ornithosuchia (the 'bird line': Orn- ithosuchidae, Lagosuchidae, Pterosauria, Dinosauria) and the Croco- dylotarsi nov. (the 'crocodilian line': Phytosauridae, Crocodylo- morpha, Stagonolepididae, Rauisuchidae, and Poposauridae). The latter three families may form a clade (Pseudosuchia s.str.), or the Poposauridae may pair off with Crocodylomorpha. The Crocodylomorpha includes all crocodilians, as well as crocodi- lian-like Triassic and Jurassic terrestrial forms. The Crocodyliformes include the traditional 'Protosuchia', 'Mesosuchia', and Eusuchia, and they are defined by a large number of synapomorphies, particularly of the braincase and occipital regions. The 'protosuchians' (mainly Early *Present address: Department of Zoology, Storer Hall, University of California, Davis, Cali- fornia, USA. The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods, Volume 1: Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds (ed. M.J. Benton), Systematics Association Special Volume 35A . pp. 295-338. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1988.
    [Show full text]
  • Postcranial Anatomy of Sebecus Icaeorhinus (Crocodyliformes, Sebecidae) from the Eocene of Patagonia Diego Pol a , Juan M
    This article was downloaded by: [Diego Pol] On: 05 March 2012, At: 07:36 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujvp20 Postcranial anatomy of Sebecus icaeorhinus (Crocodyliformes, Sebecidae) from the Eocene of Patagonia Diego Pol a , Juan M. Leardi b , Agustina Lecuona a & Marcelo Krause a a CONICET, Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, Avenida Fontana 140, Trelew, 9100, Chubut, Argentina b CONICET, IDEAN, Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Intendente Güiraldes 2160, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires, 1428, Argentina Available online: 28 Feb 2012 To cite this article: Diego Pol, Juan M. Leardi, Agustina Lecuona & Marcelo Krause (2012): Postcranial anatomy of Sebecus icaeorhinus (Crocodyliformes, Sebecidae) from the Eocene of Patagonia, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 32:2, 328-354 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2012.646833 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources.
    [Show full text]
  • Crocodyliform Biogeography During the Cretaceous: Evidence of Gondwanan Vicariance from Biogeographical Analysis Alan H
    Received 11 April 2004 Accepted 14 June 2004 Published online 7 September 2004 Crocodyliform biogeography during the Cretaceous: evidence of Gondwanan vicariance from biogeographical analysis Alan H. Turner Department of Geoscience, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA ([email protected]) Explanations of the distributions of terrestrial vertebrates during the Mesozoic are currently vigorously con- tested and debated in palaeobiogeography. Recent studies focusing on dinosaurs yield conflicting hypoth- eses. Dispersal, coupled with regional extinction or vicariance driven by continental break-up, have been cited as the main causal factors behind dinosaur distributions in the Mesozoic. To expand the scope of the debate and test for vicariance within another terrestrial group, I herein apply a cladistic biogeographical method to a large sample of Cretaceous crocodyliform taxa. A time-slicing methodology is employed and a refinement made to account for the divergence times of the analysed clades. The results provide statistically significant evidence that Gondwana fragmentation affected crocodyliform diversification during the Mid– Late Cretaceous. Detection of a vicariant pattern within crocodyliforms is important as it helps corroborate vicariance hypotheses in other fossil and extant groups as well as furthers the move towards more tax- onomically diverse approaches to palaeobiogeographical research. Keywords: crocodyliforms; Cretaceous; palaeobiogeography; vicariance; tree reconciliation analysis; Gondwana 1. INTRODUCTION dinosaurian clades (Cox 1974; Galton 1977; Colbert 1984; The relative roles that vicariance and dispersal have played Le Loeuff et al. 1992; Russel 1993; Le Loeuff & Buffetaut in shaping the biogeographical patterns seen during the 1995; Upchurch 1995; Fastovsky & Weishampel 1996; Mesozoic remain controversial, owing in large part to the Sampson et al.
    [Show full text]
  • From the Late Cretaceous of Brazil and the Phylogeny of Baurusuchidae
    A New Baurusuchid (Crocodyliformes, Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil and the Phylogeny of Baurusuchidae Felipe C. Montefeltro1*, Hans C. E. Larsson2, Max C. Langer1 1 Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Cieˆncias e Letras de Ribeira˜o Preto – Universidade de Sa˜o Paulo, Ribeira˜o Preto, Brazil, 2 Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montre´al, Canada Abstract Background: Baurusuchidae is a group of extinct Crocodyliformes with peculiar, dog-faced skulls, hypertrophied canines, and terrestrial, cursorial limb morphologies. Their importance for crocodyliform evolution and biogeography is widely recognized, and many new taxa have been recently described. In most phylogenetic analyses of Mesoeucrocodylia, the entire clade is represented only by Baurusuchus pachecoi, and no work has attempted to study the internal relationships of the group or diagnose the clade and its members. Methodology/Principal Findings: Based on a nearly complete skull and a referred partial skull and lower jaw, we describe a new baurusuchid from the Vale do Rio do Peixe Formation (Bauru Group), Late Cretaceous of Brazil. The taxon is diagnosed by a suite of characters that include: four maxillary teeth, supratemporal fenestra with equally developed medial and anterior rims, four laterally visible quadrate fenestrae, lateral Eustachian foramina larger than medial Eustachian foramen, deep depression on the dorsal surface of pterygoid wing. The new taxon was compared to all other baurusuchids and their internal relationships were examined based on the maximum parsimony analysis of a discrete morphological data matrix. Conclusion: The monophyly of Baurusuchidae is supported by a large number of unique characters implying an equally large morphological gap between the clade and its immediate outgroups.
    [Show full text]
  • The Serrated Teeth Ofsebecus and the Iberoccitanian Crocodile. A
    STVDIA GEOLÓGICA SALMANTICENSIA, XXIX, 127-144 (1994) THE SERRATED TEETH OF SEBECUS AND THE IBEROCCITANIAN CROCODILE, A MORPHOLOGICAL AND ULTRASTRUCTURAL COMPARISON O. LEGASA (*) A. D. BUSCALIONI (*) Z. GASPARINI (**) RESUMEN:- Se compara la morfología y ultraestructura del esmalte de dientes aserrados de cocodrilos. La muestra está compuesta por coronas aisladas atribuidas a la forma iberoccitana (Eoceno de la cuenca del Duero) y Sebecus (S. ?huilensis y S. icaeorhinus del Mioceno medio de Colombia y Eoceno inferior de Argentina). Se examinaron caracteres cuantitativos y cualitativos de la corona y sus márgenes aserrados. En este sentido, se han explorado todas las variables que caracterizan la simetría de la corona dentaria, diferenciando los dientes más grandes de Sebecus ?huilensis de los de la forma iberoccitana. El análisis de la ultraestructura evidencia una organización pseudoprismática del esmalte de Sebecus ?huilensis, contrastando con el modelo aprismático del cocodrilo iberoccitano. En este artículo se definen los dientes aserrados como aquellos que poseen carenas con dentículos aislados. Un dentículo aislado es una unidad morfológica discreta. Esta definición excluye los dientes con carenas crenulados formadas por crestas anastomosadas convergentes, que proceden de la ornamentación del esmalte. También, se evalúan aspectos funcionales de los dientes considerando los microdesgastes observados en los dentículos aislados. ABSTRACT:- The morphology and enamel ultrastructure of serrated teeth of crocodiles is compared. The sample is composed by isolated teeth attributed to the iberoccitanian form (Eocene of the Duero basin, Spain) and Sebecus (S. ?huilensis and (*): Unidad de Paleontología. Dpto. Biología. Universidad Autónoma, Cantoblanco 28049 Madrid, Spain. (**): Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n. 1900 La Plata.
    [Show full text]
  • Pleistocene Ziphodont Crocodilians of Queensland
    AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS Molnar, R. E. 1982. Pleistocene ziphodont crocodilians of Queensland. Records of the Australian Museum 33(19): 803–834, October 1981. [Published January 1982]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3853/j.0067-1975.33.1981.198 ISSN 0067-1975 Published by the Australian Museum, Sydney. nature culture discover Australian Museum science is freely accessible online at www.australianmuseum.net.au/Scientific-Publications 6 College Street, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia PLEISTOCENE ZIPHODONT CROCODllIANS OF QUEENSLAND R. E. MOLNAR Queensland Museum Fortitude Valley, Qld. 4006 SUMMARY The rostral portion of a crocodilian skull, from the Pleistocene cave deposits of Tea Tree Cave, near Chillagoe, north Queensland, is described as the type of the new genus and species, Quinkana fortirostrum. The form of the alveoli suggests that a ziphodont dentition was present. A second specimen, referred to Quinkana sp. from the Pleistocene cave deposits of Texas Caves, south Queensland, confirms the presence of ziphodont teeth. Isolated ziphodont teeth have also been found in eastern Queensland from central Cape York Peninsula in the north to Toowoomba in the south. Quinkana fortirostrum is a eusuchian, probably related to Pristichampsus. The environments of deposition of the beds yielding ziphodont crocodilians do not provide any evidence for (or against) a fully terrestrial habitat for these creatures. The somewhat problematic Chinese Hsisosuchus chungkingensis shows three apomorphic sebe.cosuchian character states, and is thus considered a sebecosuchian. INTRODUCTION The term ziphodont crocodilian refers to those crocodilians possessing a particular adaptation in which a relatively deep, steep sided snout is combined with laterally flattened, serrate teeth (Langston, 1975).
    [Show full text]
  • Early Cretaceous) of Bahia, Brazil
    Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências (2018) (Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences) Printed version ISSN 0001-3765 / Online version ISSN 1678-2690 http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201720170382 www.scielo.br/aabc | www.fb.com/aabcjournal New Crocodyliform specimens from Recôncavo-Tucano Basin (Early Cretaceous) of Bahia, Brazil RAFAEL G. DE SOUZA1 and DIOGENES A. CAMPOS2 1Laboratório de Sistemática e Tafonomia de Vertebrados Fósseis, Setor de Paleovertebrados, Departamento de Geologia e Paleontologia, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Quinta da Boa Vista, s/n, São Cristóvão, 20940-040 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil ²Museu de Ciências da Terra - CPRM, Av. Pasteur, 404, 22290-255 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Manuscript received on May 19, 2017; accepted for publication on October 23, 2017 ABSTRACT In 1940, L.I. Price and A. Oliveira recovered four crocodyliform specimens from the Early Cretaceous Bahia Supergroup (Recôncavo-Tucano Basin). In the present work, we describe four different fossil specimens: an osteoderm, a fibula, a tibia, and some autopodial bones. No further identification besides Mesoeucrocodylia was made due to their fragmentary nature and the reduced number of recognized synapomorphies for more inclusive clades. With exception of the fibula, all other specimens have at least one particular feature, which with new specimens could represent new species. The new specimens described here increase the known diversity of Early Cretaceous crocodyliforms from Brazil. This work highlights the great fossiliferous
    [Show full text]
  • Postcranial Skeleton of Campinasuchus Dinizi
    Cretaceous Research 70 (2017) 163e188 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Cretaceous Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/CretRes Postcranial skeleton of Campinasuchus dinizi (Crocodyliformes, Baurusuchidae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Brazil, with comments on the ontogeny and ecomorphology of the species * Leonardo Cotts a, , Andre Eduardo Piacentini Pinheiro b, Thiago da Silva Marinho c, Ismar de Souza Carvalho a, Fabio Di Dario d, e a Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Centro de Ci^encias Matematicas e da Natureza, Instituto de Geoci^encias, Departamento de Geologia, Av. Athos da Silveira Ramos, 274, Bloco F, Ilha do Fundao~ e Cidade Universitaria, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21949-900, Brazil b Faculdade de Formaçao~ de Professores da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FFP/UERJ) campus Sao~ Gonçalo, R. Francisco Portela, 1470 Patronato, Sao~ Gonçalo, RJ, 24435-005, Brazil c Universidade Federal do Triangulo^ Mineiro (UFTM), Instituto de Ci^encias Exatas, Naturais e Educaçao~ (ICENE), Av. Randolfo Borges Jr., 1400, Univerdecidade, Uberaba, MG, 38064-200, Brazil d Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Núcleo em Ecologia e Desenvolvimento Socioambiental de Macae (NUPEM), RJ, 27910-970, Brazil e South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB), Private Bag 1015, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa article info abstract Article history: The Baurusuchidae is one of the most representative families of Crocodyliformes from the Upper Received 9 February 2016 Cretaceous of Brazil. Amongst the ten recognized species of the family in the world, eight are recovered Received in revised form from Bauru Basin outcrops. Despite its relative diversity and abundance, information on postcranial el- 13 October 2016 ements of species of the family is scarce in the literature.
    [Show full text]
  • A New Sebecid from the Paleogene of Brazil and the Crocodyliform Radiation After the K–Pg Boundary
    A New Sebecid from the Paleogene of Brazil and the Crocodyliform Radiation after the K–Pg Boundary Alexander W. A. Kellner1*, Andre´ E. P. Pinheiro2, Diogenes A. Campos3 1 Laborato´rio de Sistema´tica e Tafonomia de Vertebrados Fo´sseis - Departamento de Geologia e Paleontologia, Museu Nacional - Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2 Laborato´rio de Macrofo´sseis - Departamento de Geologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3 Museu de Cieˆncias da Terra, Servic¸o Geolo´gico do Brasil - Companhia de Pesquisa de Recursos Minerais, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Abstract A new crocodyliform, Sahitisuchus fluminensis gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a complete skull, lower jaw and anterior cervical vertebrae collected in the Sa˜o Jose´ de Itaboraı´ Basin of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The specimen is one of the best preserved crocodyliforms from Paleocene deposits recovered so far and represents a sebecosuchian, one of the few clades that survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene biotic crisis. The new taxon is found in the same deposit as an alligatoroid, a group that experienced large diversification in the Paleogene. The sebecosuchian record suggests that after the Cretaceous- Paleogene biotic crisis, the less specialized members of this clade characterized by a higher number of teeth compared to the baurusuchid sebecosuchians survived, some having terrestrial habits while others developed a semi-aquatic life style (e.g., Lorosuchus). Starting in the Eocene, sebecid sebecosuchians became specialized with a more accentuated oreinirostry as observed in Sebecus and in Langstonia, but not showing the typical reduced dentition developed by the Cretaceous baurusuchid sebecosuchians.
    [Show full text]
  • MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS and PHYLOGENY of OLD and NEW WORLD RATSNAKES, Elaphe AUCT., and RELATED GENERA (REPTILIA, SQUAMATA, COLUBRIDAE)
    Russian Journal of Herpetology Vol. 9, No. 2, 2002, pp. 105 – 124 MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS AND PHYLOGENY OF OLD AND NEW WORLD RATSNAKES, Elaphe AUCT., AND RELATED GENERA (REPTILIA, SQUAMATA, COLUBRIDAE) Urs Utiger,1,5 Notker Helfenberger,2 Beat Schätti,3 Catherine Schmidt,1 Markus Ruf,4 and Vincent Ziswiler1 Submitted January 30, 2002. The phylogenetic relationships of the Holarctic ratsnakes (Elaphe auct.) are inferred from portions of two mitochondrial genes, 12S rRNA and COI. Elaphe Fitzinger is made up of ten Palaearctic species. Natrix longissima Laurenti (type species) and four western Palaearctic species (hohenackeri, lineatus, persicus, and situla) are assigned to Zamenis Wagler. Its phylogenetic affinities with closely related genera, Coro- nella and Oocatochus, remain unclear. The East Asian Coluber porphyraceus Cantor is referred to a new genus. This taxon and the western European Rhinechis scalaris have an isolated position among Old World ratsnakes. Another new genus is described for four Oriental species (cantoris, hodgsonii, moellen- dorffi, and taeniurus). New World ratsnakes and allied genera are monophyletic. Coluber flavirufus Cope is referred to Pseudelaphe Mertens and Rosenberg. Pantherophis Fitzinger is revalidated for Coluber gut- tatus L. (type species) and further Nearctic species (bairdi, obsoletus, and vulpinus). Senticolis triaspis is the sister taxon of New World ratsnakes including the genera Arizona, Bogertophis, Lampropeltis, Pitu- ophis, and Rhinocheilus. The East Asian Coluber conspicillatus Boie and Coluber mandarinus Cantor form a monophyletic outgroup with respect to other Holarctic ratsnake genera and are referred to Euprepiophis Fitzinger. Three Old World species, viz. Elaphe (sensu lato) bella, E. (s.l.) frenata, and E. (s.l.) prasina remain unassigned.
    [Show full text]
  • Ecography ECOG-04374 Chen, C., Qu, Y., Zhou, X
    Ecography ECOG-04374 Chen, C., Qu, Y., Zhou, X. and Wang, Y. 2019. Human overexploitation and extinction risk correlates of Chinese snakes. – Ecography doi: 10.1111/ecog.04374 Supplementary material 1 Human overexploitation and extinction risk correlates of Chinese snakes 2 3 Supporting information 4 Appendix 1. Properties of the datasets used, hypotheses and justification 5 Table A1. Extinction risk and predictor variables of Chinese snakes 6 Table A2. Hypotheses on the relationship between extinction risk and intrinsic and extrinsic factors 7 Table A3. Main sources for assessing elevational range and human exploitation index 8 Table A4. The correlation matrices of predictor variables for each snake group 9 Table a5. The full AICc models for Chinese snakes 10 Table a6. The interactions between geographic range size and other important variables 11 Appendix 2. Patterns of extinction risk using the IUCN Red List criteria 12 Appendix 3. Distribution of extinction risk among snake genera 13 Appendix 4. Correlates of extinction risk when species classified under range-based criteria were excluded 14 15 16 17 Appendix 1. Properties of the datasets used, hypotheses and justification 18 Table A1. Extinction risk (based on China Biodiversity Red List), intrinsic traits and extrinsic factors of Chinese snakes. Abbreviations: China, 19 China Biodiversity Red List; RangeC, species assessed under range-based criteria; IUCN, IUCN Red List; BL, Body length; BR, Body ratio; 20 AP, Activity period; MH, Microhabitat; RM, Reproductive mode; HS, Habitat
    [Show full text]
  • Correspondence a New Record of Elaphe Dione from High Altitude In
    SALAMANDRA 52(3) 273–277 30 October 2016 CorrespondenceISSN 0036–3375 Correspondence A new record of Elaphe dione from high altitude in Western Sichuan reveals high intraspecific differentiation Sylvia Hofmann1, Peter Fritzsche2 & Georg Miehe3 1) Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, 04318 Leipzig, Germany 2) Martin-Luther University, Institute of Zoology, 06118 Halle/Saale, Germany 3) Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Geography, 35032 Marburg, Germany Corresponding author: Sylvia Hofmann, e-mail: [email protected] Manuscript received: 18 November 2014 Accepted: 18 February 2015 by Andreas Schmitz The genus Elaphe is represented by the following eleven reported from Sichuan, e.g., from the Tangjiahe National taxa in Eurasia (Schulz 2013): E. anomala (Boulenger, Nature Reserve (Chen et al. 1999), located at the north- 1916), E. bimaculata Schmidt, 1925, E. carinata (Günther, eastern edge of Sichuan, from the Yalong and Dadu River 1864), E. climacophora (Boie, 1826), E. davidi (Sauvage, (Schulz 1996), both flowing through the western part of 1884), E. dione (Pallas, 1773), E. quadrivirgata (Boie, Sichuan and from the Yele Nature Reserve at the south- 1826), E. quatuorlineata (Lacépède, 1789), E. sauromates western edge of the Sichuan Basin (Hu 2005) (Fig. 1). (Pallas, 1811), E. schrenckii (Strauch, 1873), and E. zoige­ Here we report a new record of Dione’s ratsnake from a ensis Huang, Ding, Burbrink, Yang, Huang, Ling, Chen high-altitude area of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefec- & Zhang, 2012. ture, Sichuan, and provide genetic data on species identi- While most Elaphe species in China can be easily distin- ty. We found two adult snakes and a complete exuvia at guished from each other, the Dione’s ratsnake, E.
    [Show full text]