Revision of the fossil land tortoises (Testudines: Testudinidae) from Hispaniola with the description of a new species

The genus of land tortoises Chelonoidis had a wide distribution across the Caribbean and Bahamian Archipelago during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Two extinct species of this genus, C. marcanoi Turvey et al., 2017 and C. dominicensis Albury et al., 2018 were recently described from fossils collected in deposits in the southwest and east of the Dominican Republic respectively. Here we review the taxonomic status of Chelonoidis species from Hispaniola based on previously described remains along with new specimens recently collected. More diagnostic elements collected from cave deposits in the southwest Dominican Republic indicate that C. marcanoi is a senior synonym of C. dominicensis. This species was distributed across the south of eastern Hispaniola, including the Northern and Southeast Paleo-island. The new collection of fossils from the Pedernales rigion also includes associated elements of an undescribed species, Chelonoidis gersoni sp. nov., closely related to C. cubensis and C. marcanoi. The triangular-shaped gular projection of the epiplastron of this new species of Chelonoidis is unique among tortoises of this genus

New Quaternary fossils from high elevation cave deposits in Cuba

High elevation fossil deposits in Cuba have been poorly studied, and there is a limited understanding of how altitudinal changes could have affected the composition of faunal communities in the past. Here, we report fossils of 13 vertebrate species and an invertebrate from 11 late Quaternary cave deposits at elevations ranging from 532 to 1123 meters above sea level, located in the Guamuhaya Masiff in central Cuba. The composition of the vertebrate fauna assemblages recovered from these localities resembles that known from other lowland deposits and includes eight extinct, one extirpated, and four extant species. Furthermore, the specimens reported here record the highest elevation known for nine species recovered

New fossils shed light on the Late Cretaceous terrestrial community in the Caribbean and the First American Biotic Interchange

The Caribbean islands are one of the most important hotspots of endemism and biodiversity globally, and the scenario of unique examples of biological radiations. Although our knowledge of the current and recently extinct diversity in the area is strong, the origin and evolution of most groups in the region remain obscure because of the absence of fossils from deep time periods. The existence of temporal islands on the Caribbean plate can be traced back to the late Mesozoic, but little evidence of the paleo-communities that once inhabited the archipelago and their relationship with the older lineages in the region has been discovered. Simultaneously, the relationship of the early Caribbean archipelago with the Late Cretaceous–early Paleogene biotic interchange between the Americas has remained unsolved. Here we describe the first evidence of a Late Cretaceous terrestrial community in the region based on several remains recovered at three upper Campanian–lower Maastrichtian localities in Central Cuba. The fossil assemblage includes four specimens referable to a midsize pterosaur on the base of morphological and paleohistological characters, as well as seeds and casts of leafy shoots of plants of the families Cupressaceae and Lauraceae. Fossils fruits of a new taxon closely related to Chlorocardium are of particular interest because they correspond to the first direct evidence of the role played by the Caribbean seaway and islands in the First American Biotic Interchange.Fil: Viñola López, Lázaro W.. University Of Florida. Florida Museum Of History; Estados UnidosFil: Cerda, Ignacio Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte. Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro; ArgentinaFil: Correa Narvaez, Julian. University Of Florida. Florida Museum Of History; Estados UnidosFil: Codorniú Dominguez, Laura Susana. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas y Naturales. Departamento de Geología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Borges Sellén, Carlos R.. Sociedad Cubana de Geología; CubaFil: Arano Ruiz, Alberto F.. Sociedad Cubana de Geología; CubaFil: Ceballos Izquierdo, Yasmani. Instituto de Geofísica y Astronomía; Cub

The inner ear of caviomorph rodents: Phylogenetic implications and application to extinct West Indian taxa

International audienceWith their past and current diversities, West Indian caviomorph rodents dominate the terrestrial mammalian fauna of the Caribbean archipelago. Many of these species have recently become extinct, including the emblematic giant forms known as Heptaxodontidae. The higher-level systematics and content of this family have been widely disputed over the last decades (i.e., membership in Cavioidea vs. Chinchilloidea vs. Octodontoidea). Here we analyzed the phylogenetic signal provided by several characters of the caviomorph inner ear to adress the phylogenetic affinities of the West Indian heptaxodontids. For this, we assembled an exhaustive taxonomic sampling (N = 100) of extant North and South American caviomorphs (including representatives of all families) and a wide array of West Indian forms among octodontoid echimyids (extant and extinct capromyines, as well as extinct heteropsomyines), and some heptaxodontid subfossil taxa such as Amblyrhiza, Clidomys, and Elasmodontomys. Geometric morphometrics and comparative phylogenetic methods were employed to explore shape differences of the inner ear and their potential systematic implications. Our results show that: (1) allometry is a major contributor to shape variation in the bony labyrinth; (2) shape variation bears a strong phylogenetic signal, providing diagnostic characters for Caviidae and Erethizontoidea; and (3) Amblyrhiza and Clidomys are morphologically closer to Chinchilloidea with which they have potential phylogenetic affinities. Elasmodontomys remains a problematic taxon as it exhibits inner ear features that are consistent with either Chinchilloidea or Octodontoidea, depending on how the allometric component is evaluated