Taxonomic revision of the olingos (Bassaricyon), with description of a new species, the Olinguito

Taxonomic revision of the olingos (Bassaricyon), with description of a new species, the Olinguito

Author: Kristofer M. Helgen

Publisher: PenSoft Publishers LTD

Published: 2013-08-15

Total Pages: 89

ISBN-13: 9546426954

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This paper presents the first comprehensive taxonomic revision of the olingos, Bassaricyon, based on most available museum specimens, with data derived from anatomy, mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, fieldwork, and geographic range modeling. Olingos are forest-living, arboreal, nocturnal, frugivorous, and solitary, and have one young at a time. Four olingo species can be recognized, including a Central American species (B. gabbii) and lowland species with eastern, cis-Andean (B. alleni) and western, trans-Andean (B. medius) distributions. Surprisingly, the sister lineage to all previously described species of Bassaricyon is an Andean cloud forest species, which we call the Olinguito, that has never been previously described. Bassaricyon neblina sp. n., en-demic to Colombia and Ecuador, is the smallest living member of the family Procyonidae and the first new species of Carnivora named in the American continents in 35 years. We describe four subspecies of Olinguito across the Northern Andes.


Biodiversity of Angola

Biodiversity of Angola

Author: Brian J. Huntley

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-02-20

Total Pages: 552

ISBN-13: 3030030830

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This open access multi-authored book presents a 'state of the science' synthesis of knowledge on the biodiversity of Angola, based on sources in peer-reviewed journals, in books and where appropriate, unpublished official reports. The book identifies Angola as one of the most biologically diverse countries in Africa, but notes that its fauna, flora, habitats and the processes that drive the dynamics of its ecosystems are still very poorly researched and documented. This 'state of the science' synthesis is for the use of all students of Angola's biodiversity, and for those responsible for the planning, development and sustainable management of the country's living resources. The volume brings together the results of expeditions and research undertaken in Angola since the late eighteenth century, with emphasis on work conducted in the four decades since Angola's independence in 1975. The individual chapters have been written by leaders in their fields, and reviewed by peers familiar with the region.


Hominin Environments in the East African Pliocene

Hominin Environments in the East African Pliocene

Author: René Bobe

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-09-08

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 1402030983

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This volume presents the work of researchers at many sites spanning the East African Pliocene. The authors take a broad approach that seeks to compare paleoenvironmental and paleoecological patterns across localities and among various taxonomic groups. This volume aims to synthesize large amounts of faunal data, and to present the evolution of East African vertebrates in the context of environmental and climatic changes during the Pliocene.


American Megafaunal Extinctions at the End of the Pleistocene

American Megafaunal Extinctions at the End of the Pleistocene

Author: Gary Haynes

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2010-11-30

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789048179893

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The volume contains summaries of facts, theories, and unsolved problems pertaining to the unexplained extinction of dozens of genera of mostly large terrestrial mammals, which occurred ca. 13,000 calendar years ago in North America and about 1,000 years later in South America. Another equally mysterious wave of extinctions affected large Caribbean islands around 5,000 years ago. The coupling of these extinctions with the earliest appearance of human beings has led to the suggestion that foraging humans are to blame, although major climatic shifts were also taking place in the Americas during some of the extinctions. The last published volume with similar (but not identical) themes -- Extinctions in Near Time -- appeared in 1999; since then a great deal of innovative, exciting new research has been done but has not yet been compiled and summarized. Different chapters in this volume provide in-depth resumés of the chronology of the extinctions in North and South America, the possible insights into animal ecology provided by studies of stable isotopes and anatomical/physiological characteristics such as growth increments in mammoth and mastodont tusks, the clues from taphonomic research about large-mammal biology, the applications of dating methods to the extinctions debate, and archeological controversies concerning human hunting of large mammals.


The Evolution of Hominin Diets

The Evolution of Hominin Diets

Author: Jean-Jacques Hublin

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2009-05-15

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 1402096992

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Michael P. Richards and Jean-Jacques Hublin The study of hominin diets, and especially how they have (primates, modern humans), (2) faunal and plant studies, (3) evolved throughout time, has long been a core research archaeology and paleoanthropology, and (4) isotopic studies. area in archaeology and paleoanthropology, but it is also This volume therefore presents research articles by most of becoming an important research area in other fields such as these participants that are mainly based on their presentations primatology, nutrition science, and evolutionary medicine. at the symposium. As can hopefully be seen in the volume, Although this is a fundamental research topic, much of the these papers provide important reviews of the current research research continues to be undertaken by specialists and there in these areas, as well as often present new research on dietary is, with some notable exceptions (e. g. , Stanford and Bunn, evolution. 2001; Ungar and Teaford, 2002; Ungar, 2007) relatively lit- In the section on modern studies Hohmann provides a tle interaction with other researchers in other fields. This is review of the diets of non-human primates, including an unfortunate, as recently it has appeared that different lines interesting discussion of the role of food-sharing amongst of evidence are causing similar conclusions about the major these primates. Snodgrass, Leonard, and Roberston provide issues of hominid dietary evolution (i. e.


Evolution of the Insects

Evolution of the Insects

Author: David Grimaldi

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-05-16

Total Pages: 790

ISBN-13: 9780521821490

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Insects are the most diverse group of organisms in the 3 billion-year history of life on Earth, and the most ecologically dominant animals on land. This book chronicles for the first time the complete evolutionary history of insects: their living diversity, relationships and 400 million years of fossils. Whereas other volumes have focused on either living species or fossils, this is the first comprehensive synthesis of all aspects of insect evolution. The book is illustrated with 955 photo- and electronmicrographs, drawings, diagrams, and field photos, many in full colour and virtually all of them original. The book will appeal to anyone engaged with insect diversity: professional entomologists and students, insect and fossil collectors, and naturalists.


Modern Origins

Modern Origins

Author: Jean-Jacques Hublin

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-03-30

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 9400729294

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Over the last decade, Africa has taken a central position in the search for the timing and mechanisms leading to modern human origins, and the rich archaeological and human paleontological record of North Africa is critical to this search. In this volume, we bring together new research into the archaeology, human paleontology, chronology, and environmental context of modern human origins in North Africa. The result is a volume that better integrates the North African record into the modern human origins debate and at the same time highlights the research questions that are currently the focus of continued work in the area.​


Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology

Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology

Author: Eric J. Sargis

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2008-05-21

Total Pages: 453

ISBN-13: 1402069979

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This book celebrates the contributions of Dr. Frederick S. Szalay to the field of Mammalian Evolutionary Morphology. Professor Szalay is a strong advocate for biologically and evolutionarily meaningful character analysis. He has published about 200 articles, six monographs, and six books on this subject. This book features subjects such as the evolution and adaptation of mammals and provides up-to-date articles on the evolutionary morphology of a wide range of mammalian groups.