Tooth Eruption Sequence And Replacement Pattern In Woolly Opossums, Genus Caluromys (didelphimorphia: Didelphidae)

The sequence of molar eruption, along with the timing of replacement of the 3rd deciduous premolar by a permanent premolar, has been documented in several species in the family Didelphidae, and routinely used to establish age classes. We documented the dental eruption and replacement patterns in the 3 species of the neotropical marsupial genus Caluromys, which constitute one of the most basal groups within the Didelphidae. We examined 258 specimens of Caluromys derbianus, 54 specimens of C. lanatus, and 386 specimens of C. philander. These species have a dental eruption pattern that is similar to that of Marmosops, with replacement of the 3rd deciduous premolar after eruption of the 4th molar. However, we sometimes found incompletely erupted P3 and M4 occurring simultaneously as part of a M4-P3 eruption sequence. We suggest that the occurrence of this intermediate pattern in other taxa should be verified by examination of large series of specimens. Because teeth erupting in sequence can be erroneously considered as fitting an intermediate pattern, eruption sequence and time of completion of development should be used separately when using dental eruption in phylogenetic analyses. Because of the high degree of intraspecific variation observed in several taxa in Didelphidae, a system of age classes based solely on eruption of upper molars may be more useful than those that combine information on molar eruption sequence and timing of premolar replacement. © 2008 American Society of Mammalogists.891244251ASTÚA DE MORAES, D., LEMOS, B., CERQUEIRA, R., Supemumerary molars in neotropical opossums (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae) (2001) Mammalian Biology, 66, pp. 193-203ASTÚA DE MORAES, D., SANTORI, R.T., FINOTTI, R., CERQUEIRA, R., Nutritional and fibre contents of laboratory-established diets of neotropical opossums (Didelphidae) (2003) Predators with pouches: The biology of carnivorous marsupials, pp. 221-237. , Pp, M. E. Jones, C. R. Dickman, and M. Archer, eds, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, AustraliaATRAMENTOWICZ, M., Dynamique de populations chez trois marsupiaux didelphidés de Guyane. (1986) Biotropica, 18, pp. 136-149BUCHER, J.E., HOFFMANN, R.S., Caluromys derbianus (1980) Mammalian Species, 140, pp. 1-4CACERES, N.C., CARMIGNOTTO, A.P., Caluromys lanatus (2006) Mammalian Species, 803, pp. 1-6CHARLES-DOMINIQUE, P., ATRAMENTOWICZ, M., CHARLES-DOMINIQUE, M., GERARD, H., HLADIK, C.M., PREVOST, M.F., Les mammifères frugivores arboricoles nocturnes d'une forêt Guyannaise: Inter-relations plantes-animaux. (1981) Revue d'Ecologie (La Terre et La Vie), 35, pp. 341-435CIFELLI, R.L., MUIZON, C.D., Tooth eruption and replacement pattern in early marsupials (1998) Compte Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences de Paris, 326, pp. 215-220. , Sciences de la Terre et des PlanètesCREIGHTON, G. K. 1984. Systematic studies on opossums (Didelphidae) and rodents (Cricetidae). Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann ArborFLORES, D.A., (2003) Estudio taxonómico y zoogeográfico de los marsupiales de Argentina, , Ph.D. dissertation, Universidad National de Tucumán, Tucumán, ArgentinaFLORES, D.A., GIANNINI, N.P., ABDALA, F., Cranial ontogeny of Lutreolina crassicaudata (Didelphidae): A comparison with Didelphis albiventris (2003) Acta Theriologica, 48, pp. 1-9FLORES, D.A., GIANNINI, N.P., ABDALA, F., Comparative postnatal ontogeny of the skull in the Australidelphian metatherian Dasyurus albopunctatus (Marsupialia: Dasyuromorpha: Dasyuridae) (2006) Journal of Morphology, 267, pp. 426-440GARDNER, A.L., The systematics of the genus Didelphis (Marsupialia: Didelphidae) in North and Middle America (1973) Special Publications, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 4, pp. 4-81GARDNER, A.L., Order Didelphimorphia (2005) Mammal species of the world: A taxonomic and geographic reference, pp. 3-18. , Pp, D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder, eds, 3rd ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MarylandGIANNINI, N.P., ABDALA, F., FLORES, D.A., Comparative postnatal ontogeny of the skull in Dromiciops gliroides (Marsupialia: Microbiotheriidae) (2004) American Museum Novitates, 3460, pp. 1-17JANSA, S.A., VOSS, R.S., Phylogenetic studies on didelphid marsupials I. Introduction and preliminary results from nuclear IRBP gene sequences (2000) Journal of Mammalian Evolution, 7, pp. 43-77JULIEN-LAFERRIÈRE, D., ATRAMENTOWICZ, M., Feeding and reproduction of three didelphid marsupials in two neotropical forests (French Guiana) (1990) Biotropica, 22, pp. 404-415KIRSCH, J.A.W., LAPOINTE, F.-J., SPRINGER, M.S., DNA-hybridization studies of marsupials and their implications for metatherian classification (1997) Australian Journal of Zoology, 45, pp. 211-280LEITE, Y.L.R., COSTA, L.P., STALLINGS, J.R., Diet and vertical space use of three sympatric opossums in a Brazilian Atlantic forest reserve (1996) Journal of Tropical Ecology, 12, pp. 435-440LUCKETT, W.P., An ontogenetic assessment of dental homologies in therian mammals (1993) Mammal phytogeny: Mesozoic differentiation, multituberculates, monotremes, early therians and marsupials, pp. 182-204. , Pp, F. S. Szalay, M. J. Novacek, and M. C. McKenna, eds, Springer-Verlag, New YorkMACEDO, J.S., LORETTO, D., VIEIRA, M.V., CERQUEIRA, R., Classes dentárias e de desenvolvimento em marsupiais: Um método de análise para animais vivos em campo. (2006) Mastozoologia Neotropical, 13, pp. 133-136MARTIN, G.M., Intraspecific variation in Lestodelphys halli (Marsupialia: Didelphimorphia) (2005) Journal of Mammalogy, 96, pp. 793-802PALMA, R.E., SPOTORNO, A.E., Molecular systematics of marsupials based on the rRNA 12S mitochondrial gene: The phylogeny of the Didelphimorphia and of the living fossil microbiotheriid Dromiciops gliroides Thomas (1999) Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 13, pp. 525-535PETRIDES, G.A., Sex and age determination in the opossum (1949) Journal of Mammalogy, 30, pp. 364-378QUENTAL, T.B., FERNANDEZ, F.A.S., DIAS, A.T.C., ROCHA, F.S., Population dynamics of the marsupial Micoureus demerarae in small fragments of Atlantic coastal forest in Brazil (2001) Journal of Tropical Ecology, 17, pp. 339-352REIG, O.A., KIRSCH, J.A.W., MARSHALL, L.G., Systematic relationships of the living and Cenozoic American "opossum-like" marsupials (suborder Didelphimorphia), with comments on the classification of these and of the Cretaceous and Paleogene New World and European metatherians (1987) Possums and opossums: Studies in evolution, pp. 1-89. , Pp, M. 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On The Sticky Cobwebs Of Two Theridiid Spiders (araneae: Theridiidae)

In this study we describe and illustrate a new species, Chrysso intervales n. sp., based on males and females collected in Parque Estadual Intervales, an area of Atlantic Forest in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. We present data on habitat selection, web architecture, thread adhesiveness, diet, and mortality due to fungi for both Chrysso intervales and the sympatric species, Helvibis longicauda . Both species build webs on vegetation close to river margins, but they were not found in forest sites away from these shaded and extremely humid corridors. The webs of both species are entirely composed of viscid silk lines, occupying the space between two or more large leaves. The construction of this web type by Helvibis and Chrysso , and the large amount of viscid droplets in their threads, indicate that the investment in adhesive components in theridiids may be dependent on the ambient conditions. We suggest that the costs of maintaining viscid silk lines in humid areas may be relatively low, explaining the habitat restriction observed in the species studied. By selecting humid habitats, however, these spiders are susceptible to attacks by fungi. 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Berlin: Springer VerlagTzean, S.S., Hsieh, L.S., Wu, W.J., The genus Gibellula on spiders from Taiwan (1997) Mycologia, 89, pp. 309-318Vollrath, F., Edmonds, D.T., Modulation of the mechanical properties of the spider silk by coating with water (1989) Nature, 340, pp. 305-307Vollrath, F., Fairbrother, W.J., Williams, R.J.P., Tillinghast, E.K., Bernstein, D.T., Gallagher, K.S., Townley, M.A., Compounds in the droplets of the orb spider's viscid spiral (1990) Nature, 345, pp. 526-528Whitehouse, M.E.A., The foraging behaviours of Argyrodes antipodiana (Theridiidae), a kleptoparasitic spider from New Zealand (1986) New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 13, pp. 151-168Whitehouse, M.E.A., The benefits of stealing from a predator: Foraging rates, predation risk, and intraspecific aggression in the kleptoparasitic spider Argyrodes antipodiana (1997) Behavioral Ecology, 6, pp. 663-667Whitehouse, M.E.A., Jackson, R.R., Predatory behaviour and parental care in Argyrodes flavipes, a social spider from Queensland (1998) Journal of Zoology, 244, pp. 95-10