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CROCODILE<br />
SPECIALIST<br />
GROUP<br />
NEWSLETTER<br />
VOLUME 30 No. 3 • JULY 2011 - SEPTEMBER 2011<br />
IUCN • Species Survival Commission
CROCODILE<br />
SPECIALIST<br />
GROUP<br />
NEWSLETTER<br />
VOLUME 30 Number 3<br />
JULY 2011 - SEPTEMBER 2011<br />
IUCN - Species Survival Commission<br />
CHAIRMAN:<br />
Professor Grahame Webb<br />
PO Box 530, Karama, NT 0813, Australia<br />
EDITORIAL AND EXECUTIVE OFFICE:<br />
PO Box 530, Karama, NT 0813, Australia<br />
Printed by: Uniprint NT<br />
Charles Darwin University, NT 0909, Australia<br />
COVER PHOTOGRAPH: Brown Caiman (Caiman<br />
crocodilus fuscus). Photograph: Jemeema Brien.<br />
EDITORIAL POLICY: All news on crocodilian conservation,<br />
research, management, captive propagation, trade, laws and<br />
regulations is welcome. Photographs and other graphic materials<br />
are particularly welcome. Information is usually published, as<br />
submitted, over the author’s name and mailing address. The editors<br />
also extract material from correspondence or other sources and these<br />
items are attributed to the source. If inaccuracies do appear, please<br />
call them to the attention of the editors so that corrections can be<br />
published in later issues. The opinions expressed herein are those of<br />
the individuals identified and are not the opinions of CSG, the SSC<br />
or the IUCN unless so indicated.<br />
CSG Newsletter Subscription<br />
The CSG Newsletter is produced and distributed by the <strong>Crocodile</strong><br />
<strong>Specialist</strong> <strong>Group</strong> of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the<br />
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).<br />
The CSG Newsletter provides information on the conservation,<br />
status, news and current events concerning crocodilians, and on the<br />
activities of the CSG. The Newsletter is distributed to CSG members<br />
and to other interested individuals and organizations. All Newsletter<br />
recipients are asked to contribute news and other materials.<br />
The CSG Newsletter is available as:<br />
• Hard copy (by subscription - see below); and/or,<br />
• Free electronic, downloadable copy from “http://iucncsg.org/<br />
ph1/modules/Publications/newsletter.html”.<br />
Annual subscriptions for hard copies of the CSG Newsletter may<br />
be made by cash ($US55), credit card ($AUD55) or bank transfer<br />
($AUD55). Cheques ($USD) will be accepted, however due to<br />
increased bank charges associated with this method of payment,<br />
cheques are no longer recommended. A Subscription Form can be<br />
downloaded from “http://iucncsg.org/ph1/modules/Publications/<br />
newsletter.html”.<br />
All CSG communications should be addressed to:<br />
CSG Executive Office, P.O. Box 530, Karama, NT 0813, Australia.<br />
Fax: (61) 8 89470678. E-mail: csg@wmi.com.au.<br />
PATRONS<br />
We thank all patrons who have donated to the CSG and its<br />
conservation program over many years, and especially to<br />
donors in 2009-2010 (listed below).<br />
Big Bull Crocs! ($15,000 or more annually or in aggregate<br />
donations)<br />
Japan, JLIA - Japan Leather & Leather Goods Industries<br />
Association, CITES Promotion Committee & All Japan<br />
Reptile Skin and Leather Association, Tokyo, Japan.<br />
Heng Long Leather Co. Pte. Ltd., Singapore.<br />
Hermes Cuirs Precieux, Paris, France.<br />
Singapore Reptile Skin Trade Association, Singapore.<br />
Bergen Aquarium (Norway) and Rene Hedegaard (Krokodille<br />
Zoo, Denmark).<br />
Friends ($3000 - $15,000)<br />
Mainland Holdings, Lae, Papua New Guinea.<br />
Phillip Cunliffe-Steel, New Zealand/Australia.<br />
La Ferme aux <strong>Crocodile</strong>s, France.<br />
REA Kaltim Plantations PT, Indonesia.<br />
Reptilartenschutz e. V., Offenbach, Germany.<br />
Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay, NV, USA.<br />
Thai Animal Skin & Hide Industrial Co. Ltd. and United<br />
Leather Product Co. Ltd., Thailand.<br />
Zambia <strong>Crocodile</strong> Farmer’s Association, Zambia.<br />
Supporters ($1000 - $3000)<br />
St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, St., USA.<br />
William Belo, Coral Agri-Venture Farm, Philippines.<br />
2
Detroit Zoo, USA.<br />
Curt Harbsmeier, USA.<br />
Pan American Leathers Inc., USA.<br />
PT. Ekanindya Karsa, Indonesia.<br />
George Saputra, IRATA, Jakarta, Java, Indonesia.<br />
Yosapong Temsiripong, Sriracha Moda and <strong>Crocodile</strong><br />
Management Association of Thailand.<br />
The Marine Products Association, Hong Kong.<br />
Yee Tai Leather Enterprise Ltd., Hong Kong.<br />
Contributors ($250 - $1000)<br />
Brevard Zoo Animal Keepers, Brevard Zoo, Melbourne, FL,<br />
USA.<br />
Carl Camden, Kelly Services Inc., USA<br />
Simone Comparini, Pantera S.R.L., S. Croce s/Arno, Italy.<br />
Luis Gonzaga, Sitio do Carração Ltda., Brazil.<br />
Indonesian <strong>Crocodile</strong> Farmers Association, Indonesia.<br />
Rob Gandola, Ireland.<br />
Vic Mercado, Microlab, Philippines.<br />
Ari Palomo Del‘Alamo Criatório Caiman Ltda., Brazil<br />
J. Perran Ross, Gainesville, FL, USA.<br />
The Ebey family, New Mexico, USA.<br />
San Antonio Zoological Society, USA.<br />
Virginia Aquarium, Virginia Beach, VA, USA.<br />
Editorial<br />
It was extremely sad for the CSG to hear the news that<br />
another long-time CSG member, Charles Andrew “Andy”<br />
Ross, passed away in St. Lukes Hospital, Manila, Philippines,<br />
on 7 September 2011. Andy had been quite ill for years, but<br />
he just seemed to get over it and keep going. This time there<br />
were both heart problems and associated organ failure. On<br />
behalf of the CSG, I sent a letter of condolence to Andy’s<br />
wife, Glory, and their two sons, Bob and James. Andy will be<br />
missed by many of us who had the opportunity to know and<br />
work with him, particularly in the Philippines.<br />
Following the CSG’s Regional Species Meeting in Bangkok,<br />
Thailand, letters of request were sent to the CITES<br />
Management Authorities of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam,<br />
Indonesia and Lao PDR, seeking their assistance to implement<br />
the various recommendations that resulted from the meeting.<br />
Range States have been requested to report back prior to the<br />
21st CSG Working Meeting to be held in Manila, Philippines,<br />
in May 2012. In addition, I established a Task Force on Live<br />
Trade in C. siamensis to review options for identifying live<br />
C. siamensis in trade, within SE Asia and between SE Asia<br />
and China, to improve compliance with CITES. Dr. Paolo<br />
Martelli has been appointed as Chair of the Task Force, which<br />
is also scheduled to report prior to the next CSG meeting. A<br />
copy of the meeting summary can be obtained from the CSG<br />
Executive Officer (csg@wmi.com.au), and an electronic<br />
version of the Proceedings will be available on the CSG<br />
website in due course.<br />
The 25th meeting of the CITES Animals Committee was held<br />
in Geneva, Switzerland, on 18-22 July 2011. A number of<br />
issues of interest to the CSG were discussed. The AC once<br />
again established an intercessional Working <strong>Group</strong> on the<br />
“Criteria for the inclusion of species in Appendices I and II”<br />
(Resolution Conf. 9.24 Rev. CoP15) which is arguably the<br />
main business of CITES. The issue which is open for debate<br />
is to find a solution among Parties about how to interpret the<br />
quantitative criteria for the inclusion of species in Appendix<br />
II. The current process resulted from a dispute between FAO<br />
and the CITES Secretariat on different interpretations of<br />
wording in Annex 2 (a) of the respective resolution.<br />
The Secretariat introduced a document on “Ranching”, noting<br />
that the safeguards applied when transferring a species from<br />
Appendix I to Appendix II under the ranching resolution have<br />
become much more onerous than seeking a downlisting for<br />
ranching under the normal downlisting criteria [Resolution<br />
Conf. 9.24 (Rev. CoP15)], which defeats the purpose of<br />
having a ranching resolution.<br />
Part of the problem is that outside the world of crocodiles,<br />
ranching is not particularly well understood. For this reason,<br />
the CSG prepared an information paper on ranching (AC<br />
25 Inf. 9 - http://www.cites.org/eng/com/ac/25/index.php)<br />
that was tabled at the AC meeting. Following consideration<br />
by a Working <strong>Group</strong>, the AC recommended adoption of<br />
the suggested amendments to Paragraph A. 2 in Annex<br />
4 of Resolution Conf. 9.24 (Rev. CoP15) on criteria for<br />
amendment of Appendices I and II. Finding a straightforward<br />
mechanism through which transfers from Appendix I to<br />
Appendix II can be undertaken when uses are restricted to<br />
ranching (a demonstrably safe harvest method) has always<br />
been problematic.<br />
The 61st meeting of the CITES Standing Committee (SC61)<br />
was held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 15-19 August 2011.<br />
The operation of the Working <strong>Group</strong> on “Personal and<br />
Household Effects” was extended to CoP16. The SC invited<br />
the CITES Secretariat to issue a Notification to all Parties<br />
requesting information in regard to the “Implementation<br />
of the Convention relating to Captive-Bred and Ranched<br />
Specimens” (SC61 Com.2). As Madagascar was not present<br />
at SC61, the issue of the current suspension of trade in C.<br />
niloticus from that country was postponed until SC62.<br />
The Joint CSG Regional Chairs for North America, Dr. Ruth<br />
Elsey and Allan Woodward, recently undertook a review<br />
of CSG membership in their region. Some new members<br />
were added and some non-active members were deleted.<br />
Harry Dutton has retired from the position of Regional Vice<br />
Chair, and Dr. Frank Mazzotti and Dr. Thomas Rainwater<br />
have been appointed as Vice Chairs. We thank Harry for his<br />
contribution, and welcome Frank and Thomas to the CSG<br />
Steering Committee.<br />
A reminder to all CSG members and interested people that<br />
the CSG’s 21st Working Meeting will be held in Manila,<br />
Philippines, on 22-25 May 2012. Information on draft<br />
agenda, registration, etc., is available at the meeting website<br />
(www.csgmanila.com). We urge people wishing to make<br />
presentations to contact the organizers as soon as possible.<br />
3
Additional meetings of interest to the CSG include; the<br />
International <strong>Crocodile</strong> Conference (Kuching, Sarawak,<br />
Malaysia, 19-21 October 2011), CITES Animals Committee<br />
meeting (Geneva, Switzerland, 15-20 March 2012), followed<br />
by a Joint meeting of the Animals and Plants Committees<br />
(Dublin, Ireland, 22-25 March 2012), CITES Standing<br />
Committee meeting (Geneva, Switzerland, 23-27 July 2012)<br />
and 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES<br />
(Bangkok, Thailand, 3-15 March 2013).<br />
Prof. Grahame Webb, CSG Chairman.<br />
Obituary<br />
projects. They conducted herpetological fieldwork on<br />
Palawan, Batanes, Negros and Mindanao Islands.<br />
Andy helped Dr. Alcala establish in 1980 the <strong>Crocodile</strong><br />
Breeding Facility at the Silliman Marine Laboratory, the first<br />
facility in the country to breed the Philippine <strong>Crocodile</strong>. Andy<br />
secured the male crocodile from Zamboanga City to pair with<br />
the female acquired earlier by the Facility from Pagatban<br />
River, Negros Oriental. Two papers on this project were<br />
published [Alcala, A.C., C.A. Ross and E.L. Alcala (1983).<br />
Observations on reproduction and behaviour of captive<br />
Philippine <strong>Crocodile</strong>s. Silliman Journal 34(1-4): 18-28; Ross,<br />
C.A. (2008). A question of habitat - Crocodylus mindorensis.<br />
National Museum Papers 14: 116-122].<br />
On 7 September 2011, Charles Andrew “Andy” Ross (58)<br />
passed away at St. Lukes Hospital, Manila, Philippines, after<br />
a long battle with heart disease and related kidney failure. He<br />
passed away in the company of his wife, Glory, and eldest<br />
son, James.<br />
Andy was born on 7 February 1953, in Bellefonte,<br />
Pennsylvania, USA, and was educated at Riverdale Country<br />
School in the Bronx, New York. It is remarkable that Andy<br />
accomplished so much in his life without university or<br />
advanced degrees.<br />
After graduation (1971) he began volunteering at the Division<br />
of Amphibians and Reptiles at the Smithsonian Institution<br />
in Washington D.C., where he worked as a special assistant<br />
to Max Downes (visitor from Australia) on the Downes<br />
Bibliography of the Crocodila.<br />
He and his brother, Franklin, who was responsible for getting<br />
Andy interested in crocodiles, embarked on several crocodile<br />
expeditions: a trip to Central America, including Mexico,<br />
Belize, Guatamela, Nicaragua, and El Salvador (1972-73),<br />
and an alligator project in the US Gulf states (1974). Andy<br />
also worked on Gharials and Muggers in Corbett National<br />
Park, India (1974), and manatees in Gainesville, Florida, for<br />
the US Fish and Wildlife Service (1977). Around this time<br />
Andy was appointed by Dr. George Zug to be the Smithsonian<br />
technician in Birds<br />
In 1978-79 Andy was in Papua New Guinea working on<br />
the United Nations Development Program project titled<br />
“Assistance to the <strong>Crocodile</strong> Industry”. On his way home<br />
to Washington D.C. he stopped off in the Philippines for a<br />
month’s recreation, searching for C. mindorensis. It was here<br />
that he established new contacts and began thinking about<br />
what he could do for this “Critically Endangered” species.<br />
Back in Washington, he took on a contract with the Smithsonian<br />
Institution and secured a two-year World Wildlife Fund/<br />
Smithsonian Institution project on the Philippine <strong>Crocodile</strong>,<br />
returning to Manila in 1980. It was while working with the<br />
Philippine National Museum in Manila that he met Dr. Angel<br />
Alcala, who was then Dean of Biology at Silliman University<br />
in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental. Andy became good<br />
friends with Dr. Alcala and they worked together on several<br />
Photograph: Geoff McClure.<br />
After finishing the WWF/SI project he undertook various<br />
contracts for the Smithsonian Institution and eventually<br />
became a permanent employee in the Division of Birds. He<br />
regularly commuted to the Philippines, where he met Glory,<br />
whom he married in May 1983. Subsequently, Andy became an<br />
Assistant Curator of the National Museum of the Philippines<br />
for a number of years. While at the National Museum, Andy<br />
made frequent trips to Silliman University, where he served<br />
as Research Associate of the Silliman University-Angelo<br />
King Centre for Research and Environmental Management.<br />
After suffering several major and many minor heart attacks<br />
and some bypass surgery, Andy stayed in the USA and<br />
stopped travelling for some 10 years. Then in 2005 Andy<br />
and Glory returned to the Philippines on a 3-month vacation<br />
and before long he was back into crocodiles. He met with<br />
4
the Board of Crocodylus Porosus Philippines Inc. (CPPI),<br />
and Vic Mercado said that “When Andy met us in March<br />
2005, crocodile conservation was not even a consideration of<br />
CPPI. We were naive crocodile farmers eager for profits. He<br />
realigned our perspective towards the symbiotic relationship<br />
of conservation and profitability. Since this was a brand<br />
new concept, he urged us to attend the 2006 CSG Working<br />
Meeting in Montelimar, France. The immersion gave birth to<br />
an awe and admiration over the level of commitment of the<br />
crocodile farmers and scientists globally”.<br />
Despite ill health, Andy never wavered in his commitment to<br />
crocodile conservation. He worked tirelessly with government<br />
officials at the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau,<br />
Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and<br />
the private sector, on policies on crocodile conservation and<br />
crocodile farming. He organized the well-attended “Forum on<br />
<strong>Crocodile</strong>s in the Philippines” held at the Philippine National<br />
Museum from 31 January to 2 February 2007, and edited the<br />
Proceedings that came off the press in 2008.<br />
Andy’s last field trip in the Philippines was to Siargao<br />
Island on the Pacific coast in December 2010 to investigate<br />
the possibility of studying the ecology of C. porosus in<br />
the extensive mangroves of the island and of transferring<br />
some C. mindorensis individuals to a marshy area on the<br />
island. He was accompanied by friends William Belo, Vic<br />
Mercado, H.O. Limketkai, Angel Alcala and Arvin Diesmos.<br />
Unfortunately, not much was accomplished in this trip except<br />
for the discovery of new species of frogs.<br />
Andy is survived by his father, Donald (89), brothers,<br />
Franklin and William, wife, Glory, and two sons, James (27)<br />
and Robert (25).<br />
“We will remember you well Andy.”<br />
Fundraisers for Philippine <strong>Crocodile</strong><br />
Conservation<br />
On 18 June 2011 the 2nd Annual Summer BBQ for Crocodilian<br />
Conservation was held at Shawn Heflick‘s home/facility in<br />
Palm Bay, Florida. The event, organized and sponsored by<br />
Shawn and Jen Heflick, Curt Harbsmeier, Flavio Morrissiey<br />
and Bruce Shwedick, raised $4184 for conservation of the<br />
Philippine <strong>Crocodile</strong> (Crocodylus mindorensis).<br />
The BBQ event attracted over 65 guests, who were entertained<br />
with educational reptile shows provided by Gator Adventure<br />
Productions (GAP) and Reptile Discovery Programs, and tours<br />
of Shawn’s reptile facility which included his albino alligator<br />
breeding enclosure. They enjoyed great food, camaraderie<br />
and took advantage of great bargains at the event’s auction.<br />
Funds raised are being sent to the Mabuwaya Foundation via<br />
the AZA’s Crocodilian Advisory <strong>Group</strong>, which supported this<br />
event by providing T-shirts and other items for the auction.<br />
Auction items were also donated by Colette Adams (Philippine<br />
Croc Team Coordinator of Gladys Porter Zoo, Brownsville,<br />
Texas), Palm Beach Zoo, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo and by<br />
businesses and individuals throughout Florida and other parts<br />
of the country. The largest single cash donation was provided<br />
by Gator Adventure Productions, based in Orlando, Florida.<br />
We thank everyone who supported this event, especially<br />
everyone at GAP (www.gatoradventuresite.com) for<br />
their efforts and their continued support of crocodilian<br />
conservation!<br />
Since the BBQ we have had many inquiries as to when<br />
we would organize another. As a result, we are excited to<br />
announce that we are holding a follow-up event at Shawn<br />
and Jen Heflick’s home/facility on 10 December 2011. This<br />
event will be called “Croc Fest 2011”. We hope that it will<br />
be even bigger and better than our June event and we are<br />
planning to have special guests and supporters coming in<br />
from around the country. Funds raised will also be sent to the<br />
Mabuwaya Foundation for community-based conservation of<br />
the Philippine crocodile.<br />
For additional information about attending, supporting<br />
or sponsoring Croc Fest 2011, please contact any of the<br />
event organizers: Curt Harbsmeier , Shawn Heflick , Flavio<br />
Morrissiey , Bruce Shwedick<br />
.<br />
Book Reviews<br />
Photograph: Tom Dacey.<br />
Tom Dacey, CSG Executive Officer (compiled from<br />
information supplied by Franklin D. Ross, James Perran<br />
Ross, Angel Alcala and Vicente P. Mercado).<br />
The Chinese Alligator: Ecology, Behaviour,<br />
Conservation, and Culture<br />
This is by far the most complete and up to date source of<br />
information on the biology, ecology, conservation and cultural<br />
significance of the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis),<br />
5
in the English language. This diminutive, unique and until<br />
recently, poorly understood species of crocodilian is thought<br />
to have inspired the legend of the Chinese dragon ‘tu long’,<br />
an important part of Chinese culture. The wild population of<br />
Chinese alligators is one of the most critically endangered<br />
vertebrate species in the world. The natural wetlands within<br />
which it thrived historically are now mostly used to support<br />
people. The book details the history of the species’ demise and<br />
discusses the encouraging current efforts by the Government<br />
of China to conserve and recover wild populations.<br />
The authors, the late John Thorbjarnarson and Wang Xiaoming,<br />
are both expertly qualified to write this book. Until his tragic<br />
death in 2010, “John T” as he was known to colleagues,<br />
was one of the leading experts on world crocodilians. Wang<br />
Xiaoming is a well respected Chinese conservation biologist<br />
with an intimate knowledge of the Chinese alligator. The<br />
resulting book is not only comprehensive, but has a highly<br />
personalised style owing to the integral role both authors<br />
have played in efforts to conserve the Chinese alligator over<br />
the last decade. It contains first-hand experiences and insights<br />
in what is without doubt a frontline conservation challenge.<br />
This personalised style draws in the reader and sets this book<br />
apart from many other books on crocodilians.<br />
The book is well written, well illustrated and divided into<br />
eight chapters. Chapter 1 provides a brief history of the<br />
Chinese alligator leading to an account of the author’s active<br />
roles and involvement in their research and conservation.<br />
Chapter 2 introduces the reader to the world of crocodilians,<br />
the processes that threaten most species world wide and the<br />
importance of sustainable use in the effective conservation<br />
of some crocodilian species. It is here that the magnitude of<br />
the problem facing the Chinese alligator becomes apparent.<br />
In a nutshell, conservation strategies based on protection and<br />
sustainable use, that have been successfully implemented for<br />
other species of crocodilian, have limited application to the<br />
Chinese alligator. They are small, grow slowly, have a low<br />
value skin, and almost no natural habitat remains in eastern<br />
China. It is difficult at this point to see any future for this<br />
species in the wild despite the optimism of the authors.<br />
Chapters 3 and 4 are dedicated to the ‘story’ of the Chinese<br />
alligator in an historical and cultural context. Viewed as a<br />
water deity, many in China believe the alligator is responsible<br />
for the onset of rain, which they ‘call’ with their loud bellowing<br />
that can be heard from long distances just prior to the rainy<br />
season. Ironically, recent catastrophic flooding as a result of<br />
habitat destruction has been blamed by some on the alligator.<br />
As the sole remaining mega-fauna in highly developed<br />
eastern China, this is an extraordinary tale of a species whose<br />
tenacious survival in the face of extreme adversity makes it<br />
almost as legendary as the mythical dragon it is believed to<br />
have inspired.<br />
Chapter 5 provides an extensive summary of the biology,<br />
ecology and behaviour of the species, presenting a great<br />
deal of historical information gathered by eminent Chinese<br />
biologists, combined with recent and original data. Relatively<br />
few studies have been conducted in the wild, because so<br />
few alligators exist, so most of the information comes from<br />
alligators in captivity. The section on behaviour, although<br />
based on limited observations, is particularly interesting as<br />
is the information on the construction and use of complex<br />
burrow systems by individuals and family groups. The<br />
need for a reconstruction of a year in the life of the Chinese<br />
alligator, at the end of Chapter 5 reflects the limited ecological<br />
data available. It is a strategy usually reserved for species that<br />
have become extinct, reinforcing the dire situation facing the<br />
wild population of this species.<br />
Chapters 6, 7 and 8 detail the reasons for the demise of the<br />
Chinese alligator. The most important is clearly the widespread<br />
destruction of natural habitat for agriculture, combined with<br />
killing for food and as pests. Capture for zoos and breeding<br />
centres, greatly reduced depleted wild populations, but have<br />
ensured a substantial captive population now exists. Past and<br />
present conservation paradigms and efforts are discussed<br />
along with the critical role of government and various<br />
breeding centres.<br />
Despite only a few hundred alligators remaining in the wild,<br />
thousands now exist in centres engaged in captive breeding.<br />
That there have been limited efforts to reintroduce captivebred<br />
Chinese alligators to the wild in part reflects the lack of<br />
habitat and a perception that the wild alligators are vulnerable<br />
and not being protected by people. Thus some centres<br />
continue to collect wild eggs and individuals, seemingly to<br />
apply protection, but further reducing the remaining wild<br />
population.<br />
While acknowledging the important efforts of the breeding<br />
centres to increase numbers of alligators in captivity and<br />
the financial support provided by the government, the book<br />
is critical of the inability of both to distinguish between the<br />
problems of conserving captive versus the wild populations of<br />
alligator. This is perhaps best highlighted by a recent attempt<br />
by the government to down-list the status of the species<br />
through CITES, citing an annual increase in numbers based<br />
on breeding within natural enclosures at centres. The oldest<br />
and largest centre, the Anhui Research Centre of Chinese<br />
Alligator Reproduction, which carried out much of the<br />
pioneering research on captive breeding and which considers<br />
itself the primary institution which saved the Chinese alligator<br />
from extinction, now sustains itself commercially through a<br />
successful tourism facility. It is apparently concerned that a<br />
sanctuary being established nearby, where a natural wetland<br />
will be recovered and alligators reintroduced to the wild, may<br />
constitute a commercial threat to the sustainability of their<br />
conservation operation.<br />
The frustration of the authors in their ongoing attempts to<br />
distinguish clearly between the significance of captive and wild<br />
populations, and to shift the conservation focus from captive<br />
breeding, once considered the holy grail of conservation, to<br />
conserving wild populations, is clearly apparent. Indeed, the<br />
overall message of the book is the need to build upon the<br />
conservation success of the breeding centres by focussing<br />
on efforts to restore the wild populations. This means<br />
acquiring and restoring wetland habitats, reinforcements and<br />
6
eintroductions, and a possible meta-population management<br />
approach.<br />
By the end of the book the reader can not help but feel<br />
optimistic about a possible future for the Chinese alligator in<br />
the wild, despite what may seem to be a series of intractable<br />
problems. This has as much to do with the passion and<br />
commitment of the authors’, the adaptability of Chinese<br />
people, and the amazing resilience of the Chinese alligator<br />
which has persisted in one of the most developed areas of the<br />
world. This book is highly recommended as a comprehensive<br />
overview of a fascinating species written by the people who<br />
know it best.<br />
It would be difficult as colleagues of John T. not to make<br />
one final comment about a man who was deeply involved in<br />
crocodile conservation efforts not just in China, but around<br />
the world. He was the consummate professional, always<br />
produced work of the highest quality. This book, published<br />
shortly after his death, is yet another important addition to his<br />
impressive legacy.<br />
The book is well organized, clearly written, richly illustrated,<br />
and infused with substance, and informs the reader with<br />
knowledge about: the basic biology, ecology, and natural<br />
history of amphibians and reptiles; their declining populations<br />
throughout the world; the causes of these declines; and, ways<br />
in which humans can help to save these important elements<br />
of Earth’s biodiversity.<br />
Dr. Crump wrote “Amphibians and Reptiles - An Introduction<br />
to their Natural History and Conservation” because she<br />
believes that children need to appreciate nature before they<br />
can understand the value of protecting it. A chapter deals with<br />
what children can do, and should not do, to help protect and<br />
preserve amphibians and reptiles, and includes a glossary, a<br />
list of additional resources and conservation organizations,<br />
place names based on amphibians and reptiles, and an index.<br />
The book is available in softcover with 264 pages of text,<br />
16 pages of color photographs, and more than 130 black and<br />
white photographs and illustrations. For more information<br />
about the book, including pricing and a special “New Title<br />
Discount”, visit McDonald and Woodward’s website (www.<br />
mwpubco.com/titles/amphibiansandreptiles.htm) or contact<br />
them directly at 1-800-233-8787.<br />
[John Thorbjarnarson and Xiaoming Wang (2010). The<br />
Chinese Alligator: Ecology, Behaviour, Conservation,<br />
and Culture. 265 pp. The John Hopkins University Press:<br />
Baltimore. ISBN 13: 978-0-8018-9348-3]<br />
Matt Brien and Grahame Webb, Wildlife Management<br />
International Pty. Limited and Charles Darwin University,<br />
1. Alexis Bishobiri Bashonga, Makerere University,<br />
Uganda: “Conservation of the Biodiversity of the Ruzizi<br />
Congolese Plain, South-Kivu, Democratic Republic of<br />
Congo; a Potential Ramsar Site”.<br />
2. Brandon Gross, Texas Tech University, USA: “Home<br />
range and dispersion of American crocodile prejuveniles<br />
in Playa Blanca, Coiba National Park, Panama:<br />
telemetry.”<br />
Tom Dacey, CSG Executive Officer, csg@wmi.com.au.<br />
Regional Reports<br />
Latin America and the Caribbean<br />
Cuba<br />
CUBA’S LARGEST CROCODILE RESERVE BENEFITS<br />
FROM INTERNATIONAL PROJECT. Monte Cabaniguan,<br />
the largest reservoir of American crocodiles (Crocodylus<br />
acutus) in Cuba, benefits from the Archipielago Sur<br />
International Project which has allowed an increase in actions<br />
for the preservation of native species in the area.<br />
reproduction of species important to the fishing industry and<br />
promotion of sustainable tourism strategies.<br />
Source: http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2011/08/13/33077/<br />
c u b a % E 2 % 8 0 % 9 9 s _ l a rg e s t _ c r o c o d i l e _ r e s e r v e _<br />
benefits_from_int%E2%80%99l_project_society.<br />
html#ixzz1VCojYrzZ.<br />
WORKSHOP ON CROCODILE MONITORING<br />
TECHNIQUES. On 14-20 July 2011 the well preserved<br />
coastal mangrove swamps, tidal streams and crocodile nesting<br />
beaches of the Monte Cabaniguan Wildlife Refuge, and its<br />
“D. Miguel Alvarez del Toro” Field Station, provided a very<br />
suitable venue for the first National Workshop on <strong>Crocodile</strong><br />
Population Monitoring Techniques.<br />
During five days and nights of intensive activity, Roberto<br />
(Toby) Ramos, Roberto R. Soberón, Manuel Alonso Tabet<br />
and Havana University geneticist Yoamel Milian, shared with<br />
12 trainees from 11 protected areas in 7 Cuban Provinces,<br />
a comprehensive program of lectures and field practices.<br />
The curriculum included theoretical aspects of crocodile<br />
population survey and monitoring, design, preparation, and<br />
statistical tools; habitat recognition and description, capturemarking-recapture,<br />
and night spotlight survey methods,<br />
monitoring of nest, dens, footprints, and other indirect<br />
evidences, sampling techniques for population genetics<br />
research, crocodile capturing and handling, cartography, and<br />
use of most common tools and instruments (GPS, spotlights,<br />
refractometers, bathometers, etc.).<br />
The project, sponsored by the Ministry of Science, Technology<br />
and Environment and the United Nation’s Development<br />
Program, emphasises preservation actions in coastal<br />
ecosystems by means of training workshops and studies on<br />
threatened species.<br />
Project specialists have carried out field observations of<br />
iguanas, mangroves, fishes and corals, and the results of<br />
such studies have been published. A training course on the<br />
American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) was recently held in<br />
the area (page 6, this issue). Monte Cabaniguan is home to one<br />
of the largest populations of C. acutus in the world. Studies on<br />
C. acutus in Monte Cabaniguan began in 1986, and research<br />
has led to the development of very effective techniques for<br />
monitoring nests, quantification of their biology and ecology<br />
in the wild<br />
Currently, the Don Miguel Alvarez del Toro Biological Station<br />
is involved in the study of C. acutus in this area, located in the<br />
south of Las Tunas Province. Another two will be established<br />
shortly with funds from the project.<br />
More than 25 protected areas currently benefit from the<br />
Archipiélago Sur Project, which also includes the creation of<br />
methodologies for the self-financing of the areas through the<br />
Figure 1. Dr. Roberto Soberón addresses workshop<br />
participants in the field.<br />
The workshop was mainly directed at young specialists and<br />
technicians engaged in crocodile research and conservation<br />
projects in coastal protected areas of the Cuban Archipelago,<br />
with the aim of getting them ready to put into practice the<br />
standardized methods of crocodile population survey and<br />
monitoring scheduled for their respective areas in the present<br />
triennium.<br />
This event was sponsored by the UNDP-GEF Project<br />
“Application of a Regional Approach to the Management of<br />
Marine and Coastal Protected Areas of the Archipelagos on<br />
8
the South of Cuba”, and organized by the Centro Nacional de<br />
Areas Protegidas (CNAP, Ministry of Science, Technology<br />
and Environment-CITMA) and the Empresa Nacional para<br />
la Protección de la Flora y la Fauna (ENPFF; Ministry of<br />
Agriculture), as a component of the Project’s Research and<br />
Monitoring System, comprising research and monitoring<br />
programs for key ecosystems and species. The Project’s<br />
research and monitoring program for Cuban (Crocodylus<br />
rhombifer) and American (C. acutus) crocodiles comprises<br />
an extensive schedule of field expeditions for the period<br />
2011-2013, in 5 of the 6 Cuban areas identified as “<strong>Crocodile</strong><br />
Conservation Units” (CCU) by the International Workshop<br />
“Conservation Priorities for the American <strong>Crocodile</strong>”<br />
(Gainesville, 2002).<br />
Roberto Rodriguez Soberón, Head of the National <strong>Crocodile</strong><br />
Program, Empresa Nacional Flora y Fauna, Cuba,<br />
.<br />
Mexico<br />
MONITORING PROGRAM FOR MORELET’S<br />
CROCODILE (CROCODYLUS MORELETII) - MEXICO-<br />
BELIZE-GUATEMALA. Mexico’s efforts on conservation<br />
and sustainable use of Morelet ́s crocodile (Crocodylus<br />
moreletii) goes back to the 1970s, when the species was<br />
critically endangered due to overexploitation for its skins,<br />
and when a ban was established to protect it. In line with this<br />
measure, captive breeding operations were promoted both<br />
for commercial and conservation purposes. At that time, the<br />
species was considered Endangered by the IUCN Red List<br />
(1982) and the US Endangered Species Act (1970), and it was<br />
also listed on Appendix I of CITES (1975).<br />
In 1996, a workshop on Application of the New IUCN Criteria<br />
to Crocodilian Status Evaluation held in Argentina, at the<br />
13th CSG working meeting, took into account a study where<br />
the species was found in more than 40 localities (including<br />
all historical ones), was in moderate densities, and with<br />
more than an estimated 10,000 reproductive individuals. The<br />
workshop concluded that C. moreletii should be reclassified as<br />
low risk/conservation dependent (Ross 2000). Also, Mexico’s<br />
Endangered Species Act (NOM-059) was updated, placing C.<br />
moreletii under the “Subject to Special Protection” category<br />
(2001).<br />
Taking into account that the species was no longer at risk,<br />
a Reclassification Proposal for Morelet’s crocodile on the<br />
US Endangered Species Act was presented by Mexico at<br />
the X Meeting of the Trilateral Committee Canada-Mexico-<br />
United States for Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation<br />
and Management (Zacatecas, May 2005). Also, a proposal<br />
to transfer C. moreletii from Appendix I to Appendix II of<br />
CITES was also developed by Mexico and presented to the<br />
15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP15, Doha,<br />
March 2010), where populations of Mexico and Belize were<br />
transferred with a zero quota for wild specimens.<br />
Based on recommendations from the CITES Animals<br />
Committee and CoP15, as well as from the CSG, CONABIO<br />
is now coordinating the development and implementation<br />
of a monitoring program for the species in Mexico with a<br />
trinational scope (Mexico, Guatemala and Belize). This effort<br />
is aligned with activities under the Trinational Strategy for<br />
Conservation and Sustainable Use of Morelet’s crocodile,<br />
adopted in 2006. The Morelet’s <strong>Crocodile</strong> (Crocodylus<br />
moreletii) Monitoring Program will provide information on<br />
a long-term basis on conditions and trends of the main wild<br />
populations and habitat of the species.<br />
The design of the Monitoring Program was done with the<br />
participation and cooperation of experts who attended a<br />
Trinational Workshop (Mexico City, January 2010), where<br />
agreement was reached on periodicity, populations to be<br />
surveyed, methods, coordination and equipment needs, and<br />
mechanisms to systematize and analyze information. The<br />
Monitoring Program for Morelet’s <strong>Crocodile</strong> (Crocodylus<br />
moreletti) Mexico-Belize-Guatemala and its Procedures<br />
Manual were recently published in Spanish with the<br />
collaboration of 12 authors (Sánchez et al. 2011) and CSG<br />
advice. The PDF version can be downloaded at: http://www.<br />
conabio.gob.mx/institucion/cooperacion_internacional/<br />
doctos/manualf_monitoreo_cocodrilo.pdf.<br />
During 2002-2004, CONABIO (CITES Scientific Authority<br />
of Mexico) financed the CoPan Project in order to determine<br />
the conservation status of wild C. moreletii populations in<br />
Mexico. A national population of more than 80,000 individuals<br />
was estimated, including 15,000 adults and 40% juveniles.<br />
Conservative population models were also developed with<br />
data from CoPan, Belize and Guatemala, obtaining global<br />
estimations of 100,000 individuals and 20,000 adults, as<br />
well as near 400,000 km 2 of potential distribution area for<br />
the species. A PVA conservative model with several stressed<br />
factors showed a probability of extinction of 0.1380 ± 0.015<br />
after 500 years with an initial population of only 30,000<br />
individuals (Sánchez and Álvarez-Romero 2006).<br />
9
The implementation scheme for the Monitoring Program<br />
considers a geographic hierarchic structure with Coordination<br />
Regions (CR), Monitoring Units (MU), Routes (R) and Sites<br />
(S) for management and operation along its distribution area.<br />
Mexico has identified 4CR, 31MU, 43R and 7S to start, while<br />
Guatemala has 3CR, 9MU and 24R, and Belize has 1CR and<br />
6MU.<br />
CONABIO has signed agreements with four institutions/<br />
organizations which are responsible for implementing the<br />
program at the four Coordination Regions in Mexico. Each<br />
region has trained field teams that are already gathering<br />
information with standard methodologies described in the<br />
Procedures Manual. They will report field data on standardized<br />
formats that will be compiled in a centralized Database at<br />
CONABIO. Surveys are planned annually on the first 5 years<br />
of the program and biannually from the 6th year on.<br />
Methods to be applied in the field include:<br />
1. Habitat Evaluation to follow-up on environmental changes<br />
that might affect the species;<br />
2. Nocturnal Visual Detection to obtain general and age/<strong>size</strong><br />
encounter rates (ind/ha);<br />
3. Capture Marking and Recapture to compile additional<br />
individual information on sex, weight, health,<br />
measurements, among others;<br />
4. Nest data; and,<br />
5. Identification guide for C. moreletii, C. acutus and possible<br />
hybrids. Annexes also include guidance on equipment<br />
and materials needed for field work, permits and marks<br />
obtaining, description of the program ́s marking system<br />
and field security measures.<br />
The results of the 2011 surveys are expected by December<br />
2011-January 2012, and they will be presented and reviewed<br />
in a workshop before next year’s field season, in order to<br />
assess them, share lessons learnt and suggest necessary<br />
adjustments as appropriate.<br />
Literature Cited<br />
Ross, J. P. (2000). Crocodylus moreletii. In IUCN Red List of<br />
Threatened Species (IUCN, 2010). Version 2010.1. www.<br />
iucnredlis.org. Downloaded on 16 August 2011.<br />
Sanchez, O. and Alvarez-Romero, J. (2006). Conservation<br />
Status of Morelet’s <strong>Crocodile</strong> (Crocodylus moreletii)<br />
in Mexico: a proposal for its reclassification in the U.S.<br />
Endangered Species Act (ESA). Pp. 255-264 in <strong>Crocodile</strong>s.<br />
Proceedings of the 18th Working Meeting of the IUCN-<br />
SSC <strong>Crocodile</strong> <strong>Specialist</strong> <strong>Group</strong>. IUCN: Gland.<br />
Sánchez Herrera, O., G. López Segurajáuregui, A. García<br />
Naranjo Ortiz de la Huerta y H. Benítez Díaz. 2011.<br />
Programa de Monitoreo del Cocodrilo de Pantano<br />
(Crocodylus moreletii) México-Belice-Guatemala.<br />
México. Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso<br />
de la Biodiversidad. México. 270 pp.<br />
Acknowledgements<br />
CONABIO would like to thank to all participants at the<br />
Trinational Workshop (January 2010) and the Workshop on<br />
Use of the Procedures Manual (Tabasco, July 2011); authors<br />
and contributors to the publication on the Monitoring Program;<br />
regional coordinators and field teams of the program; and<br />
especially to CSG members for supporting efforts on C.<br />
moreletii through all these years.<br />
Hesiquio Benítez, CONABIO (CITES Scientific Authority of<br />
Mexico), Mexico City .<br />
Colombia<br />
SPECTACLED CAIMAN (CAIMAN CROCODILUS<br />
FUSCUS) ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION IN CESAR<br />
DEPARTMENT, COLOMBIA. Caiman crocodilus fuscus is<br />
one of the most important crocodilian species in Colombia<br />
in terms of its importance for commercial and subsistence<br />
exploitation (Balaguera-Reina and González-Maya 2009).<br />
However, this over-exploitation reduced most populations of<br />
the species to critical numbers, and it was considered rare or<br />
as an “unexpected case” according to the national census, due<br />
to its reduced and fragmented populations (Rodríguez 2000).<br />
The Caribbean populations of C. crocodilus are some of the<br />
most impacted in the country since this region has a long<br />
historical use of the species, and general deterioration of its<br />
natural resources and ecosystems. However, the area also<br />
includes most of the caiman breeding farms in the country.<br />
As a result, government has tried to implement a strong<br />
control system, regulating farming activities and obtaining<br />
conservation outcomes from the exploitation. This control<br />
system includes the establishment of quotas for repopulating<br />
of wild habitats (approximately 5% of annual farm hatchling<br />
production), and thereby obtain benefits from the activity<br />
while maintaining the wild sources for this profitable<br />
economic activity.<br />
Cesar Department (= Province) is located in northeastern<br />
Colombia, on the border with Venezuela (Fig. 1) and includes<br />
five ecoregions (González-Maya et al. 2010), the main one<br />
being the Zapatosa Wetland Complex (Fig. 1). The department<br />
has some of the most important reptile breeding farms in the<br />
country, with one farm dedicated to Caiman production in the<br />
Aguachica Municipality. Zoocriadero El Paraíso produced<br />
7240 and 2260 hatchlings in 2009 and 2010 respectively, with<br />
corresponding repopulation quotas of 362 and 113. As part<br />
of the ongoing work of the regional environmental authority<br />
CORPOCESAR, and under the strategic alliance with ProCAT<br />
Colombia, a more comprehensive repopulation process is<br />
being undertaken in order to generate a better conservation<br />
impact and to obtain basic information on the status of wild<br />
population in the department.<br />
Usually, the repopulation processes in the region only included<br />
the release of quota individuals into the nearest wetlands,<br />
and usually with no follow-up processes and therefore with<br />
10
no information regarding the success of the program. Also,<br />
other than the basic surveys made by the National Census<br />
(Rodríguez 2000), the main wetland in Cesar has not been<br />
evaluated, and so there is no information on population <strong>size</strong>,<br />
status, threats and conservation actions needed.<br />
Figure 1. Location of Zoocriadero El Paraíso (small square)<br />
and study area (large square) in Cesar Department.<br />
The current project includes:<br />
1. Release of caimans into Zapatosa Wetland Complex;<br />
2. Assessment of repopulation success and survival rates,<br />
and selected individuals monitoring;<br />
3. Survey of wild populations;<br />
4. Population ecology through radio-telemetry; and,<br />
5. Environmental education, stakeholder empowerment and<br />
involvement.<br />
These basic steps are essential to establish a comprehensive<br />
conservation project and to maximise the contribution of<br />
repopulation quotas to the conservation of wild populations.<br />
This is the first approach of this nature in Cesar Department<br />
and we expect the results will greatly add to the understanding<br />
of the species’ status in the department and provide the<br />
necessary tools and data for adequate conservation planning<br />
on a regional scale.<br />
The project is already in the survey and release stage, with<br />
475 individuals [usually Class I (
Departamento del Cesar, Colombia. Informe Técnico<br />
Final. ProCAT Colombia - CORPOCESAR. Valledupar,<br />
Cesar, Colombia. 111 pp.<br />
Rodríguez, M. (2000). Estado y distribución de los Crocodylia<br />
en Colombia. Instituto Alexander Humboldt: Bogotá.<br />
Jose F. Gonzalez-Maya*, Mauricio Vela-Vargas, Jaime<br />
Murillo-Sánchez, Diego Zárrate-Charry* and Alexandra<br />
Pineda-Guerrero, Proyecto de Conservación de Aguas y<br />
Tierras, ProCAT Colombia, Calle 15 #5-62, El Rodadero,<br />
Santa Marta, Colombia, <br />
(*Consultants, Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad<br />
Nacional de Colombia).<br />
NEW LOCALITY RECORDS FOR ORINOCO CROCODILE<br />
(CROCODYLUS INTERMEDIUS) IN COLOMBIA. The<br />
Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius) is the only<br />
crocodilian whose geographical distribution is limited to a<br />
single hydrologic basin - the Orinoco River basin in Colombia<br />
and Venezuela. The species is categorized as “Critically<br />
Endangered” by the IUCN and “Endangered” by the<br />
Environmental Ministry of Colombia (Resolution No 676 on<br />
21 July 1997). The Colombian populations of the species are<br />
restricted at present to four specific areas within the Arauca,<br />
Casanare, Meta and Vichada Departments (Ministerio de<br />
Medio Ambiente 2002).<br />
On the basis of fieldwork carried out between 1994 and 1998,<br />
Lugo (1998) estimated 153 individuals throughout 70% of the<br />
species’ distributional area in Colombia, within 4 populations<br />
(Fig. 1).<br />
(2005) estimated the presence of 46 crocodiles, 9 observed<br />
directly and 3 from footprints (8 adults, 4 subadults), and<br />
34 from interviews with local inhabitants. At the third site,<br />
located in the middle of the Meta River between the towns<br />
of La Primavera and La Culebra, there were an estimated 15<br />
adults. Finally, a further 15 adults were estimated along the<br />
Vichada River in the Vichada Department (Lugo 1998). Since<br />
2002, no new localities for the species have been reported, and<br />
these populations’ threatened status seems to have intensified<br />
in the past few years. Here, we report on the results of surveys<br />
carried out in 2010 and 2011, indicating new locality records<br />
for C. intermedius.<br />
On 9 December 2010 (1330 h), during a survey in the<br />
Vichada River, between Puerto Guipane (6 km from the<br />
town of Cumaribo) and Santa Rita (Vichada Department), we<br />
sighted a 3-3.5 m long Orinoco crocodile, assumed to be a<br />
male on the basis of <strong>size</strong>. Initially, the individual exhibited<br />
its cranial platform, snout and eyes at the water’ surface, and<br />
was observed from a distance of 70 m for about one minute,<br />
after which it dived under water. The crocodile appeared to<br />
respond to sounds being made against the hull of the boat<br />
(hitting with a fist and moving an empty barrel) by surfacing<br />
and diving twice. The last time it surfaced, it exposed its head<br />
and entire dorsal area out of the water, and then returned to its<br />
initial position where only the head was visible. Afterwards,<br />
with its snout pointing towards the middle of the river and its<br />
body perpendicular to the bank, it displayed its entire dorsal<br />
surface again, while also lifting its head and tail out of the<br />
water in an arched position, and then moving it from side to<br />
side violently. At that point the individual lifted its head even<br />
further out of the water with its mouth open, which it violently<br />
snapped shut twice, producing two clearly audible jawclaps.<br />
Immediately after, it produced a short roar, just before hitting<br />
its head against the surface of the water (headslap).<br />
It continued, with its head at the water surface, expelling air<br />
through its mouth to create bubbles and finally returned to<br />
its original position with the dorsal part of its head out of<br />
the water before diving once again. This behavior is similar,<br />
with some differences, to that described by Medem (1981),<br />
Thorbjarnarson and Hernández (1993), Colvée (1999)<br />
and Antelo (2008) for captive C. intermedius in Colombia<br />
and Venezuela. This is the first territorial behavior pattern<br />
described for the species in the wild in Colombia.<br />
Figure 1. Location of the four relict C. intermedius populations<br />
in Colombia.<br />
The largest population is found in the Cravo Norte, Cuiloto,<br />
Lipa and Ele River basins (central-southern region of Arauca<br />
Department), with an estimated population of 54 adults (Ardila<br />
et al. 2002) and successful reproduction occurring. The<br />
second site, La Macarena, in the Duda and Guayabero Rivers<br />
(southwestern region of Meta Department), has an estimated<br />
population of 25 adults with some successful reproduction<br />
(Ministerio de Medio Ambiente 2002). In 2002, Ardila et al.<br />
Figure 1. Orinoco crocodile (2.4 m TL) sighted on 21 February<br />
2011.<br />
12
On 10 December 2010 (1640 h), during our return trip<br />
upstream, this crocodile was observed again at the same spot.<br />
It again responded to the sounds we made against the hull of<br />
the boat, displaying only its head above the water surface.<br />
We slammed a flat piece of wood against the water, trying<br />
to imitate the sound of another individual hitting its heads<br />
against the water surface. The individual responded by lifting<br />
its head slightly and gently opening its mouth three times.<br />
On 9 December 2010 (1520 h), we found fresh tracks from<br />
a different crocodile 10 km downstream from where we had<br />
observed the first individual. The tracks were discovered on a<br />
sandbank at a bend in the river that connected to a small pool.<br />
The crocodile was estimated to be over 2.5 m long based<br />
on the <strong>size</strong> of the tracks. On 10 December 2010 we found<br />
tracks of a crocodile on another section of the same sandbank,<br />
indicating the animal had crossed from a lagoon to the river.<br />
The 2010 expedition, which covered 660 km of the Vichada<br />
River, revealed the presence of two C. intermedius (one<br />
individual on two separate occasions and the tracks of<br />
another), both within a 20 km section of the river.<br />
On 21 February 2011 (1740 h), an Orinoco crocodile of<br />
approximately 2.4 m length was observed at the same location<br />
where the 3.0-3.5 m specimen was sighted in December 2010.<br />
The crocodile was possibly a female, as she was near the<br />
location of a poached nest (see later). The crocodile traveled<br />
gently upstream along the left bank of the river, displaying<br />
the top of its head and at times the entire dorsal surface of<br />
its body and tail. We also found a crocodile track on the dry<br />
sandbank on the right bank of the river, which was revealed<br />
due to the low water levels. It is possible that this track was<br />
from the larger crocodile observed previously.<br />
According to a local inhabitant’s account, a nest was found on<br />
this beach on 28 December 2010. The 41 eggs in the nest were<br />
removed by locals. The nest was located at the front of the<br />
beach slope, about 200 m from the closest line of vegetation<br />
(right margin) and about 2.5 m above water level, very close<br />
to where we had found the tracks.<br />
On 22 February 2011 (0005 h), we again observed the<br />
crocodile at the same location. It responded to our calls, which<br />
imitated a neonate’s distress call. The individual surfaced and<br />
exposed its cranial platform, eyes and nostrils above the water<br />
surface. It was dazzled by the 500 lumen flashlight, which<br />
permitted us to get the boat to within 1.5 m. We were thus<br />
able to better estimate the <strong>size</strong> of its head before it sunk back<br />
into the water. At 0806 h that same morning, the crocodile<br />
was observed moving upstream along the left bank of the<br />
river, and at 0820 h swimming back down the same path.<br />
The movements of this individual could have been associated<br />
with nest care and surveillance behaviours (see above), even<br />
though it did not approach or demonstrate any aggressive or<br />
intimidating behaviours towards the researchers. Although<br />
the nest no longer contained any eggs, there are examples of<br />
females continuing to watch over nests after the eggs have<br />
been removed (Colvée 1999; Antelo 2008).<br />
The individual observed in December 2010 was not sighted in<br />
the February 2011 survey, nor were any other C. intermedius<br />
observed along the 250-km stretch of the Vichada River<br />
surveyed at that time; more specifically from the area known<br />
as El Retorno, approximately 20 km upstream from Puerto<br />
Güipane (Cumaribo) to Cejal, about 230 km downstream<br />
from the same port. Over 525 km were traveled during 6 days<br />
of expedition.<br />
We are not aware of any records of C. intermedius in this<br />
part of the Vichada River, although local inhabitants<br />
provided information that permitted us to estimate that there<br />
were perhaps 7 adults in the stretch between Cumaribo and<br />
the mouth of the river (Lugo 1998). Previously reported<br />
individuals (Rodríguez 2002) were located over 130 km<br />
upstream from the point where we observed our specimens,<br />
between the Muco River and the La Raya community.<br />
These results, combined with the information obtained from<br />
local inhabitants, who seem not to have seen any hatchlings<br />
or juveniles in the last few years, indicate that the number of<br />
C. intermedius in this remaining population is not recovering<br />
and that crocodiles are very dispersed along the course of the<br />
river and possibly in associated lagoons and adjacent pools.<br />
Further research is needed to confirm the current conservation<br />
status of this crocodile population.<br />
Acknowledgements<br />
We thank the Corporación Autónoma Regional de la Orinoquia<br />
(Corporinoquia, Colombia) for giving us permission to<br />
carry out our fieldwork in the area and for its assistance in<br />
Casanare, Arauca and Vichada Departments (Colombia), and<br />
the Fundación Biodiversidad (Environment Ministry, Spain),<br />
Fonds de Dotation pour la Biodiversité - Save Your Logo<br />
(http://www.fdbiodiversite.org/fr, France) and the Lacoste<br />
Company (France) for supporting the Orinoco <strong>Crocodile</strong><br />
Conservation Project. We also thank Dra. Myriam Lugo for<br />
the information provided and Rebecca L. Greenberg and<br />
Elena Bulmer for revision of the manuscript.<br />
Literature Cited<br />
Antelo, R. (2008). Biología del caimán llanero o cocodrilo<br />
del Orinoco (Crocodylus intermedius) en la Estación<br />
Biológica El Frío, Estado Apure, Venezuela. PhD Thesis,<br />
Departamento de Ecología, Universidad Autónoma de<br />
Madrid, Spain. 286 pp.<br />
Ardila-Robayo, M.C., Barahona, S.L., Bonilla, P. and Clavijo,<br />
J. (2002). Actualización del status poblacional del Caimán<br />
Llanero (Crocodylus intermedius) en el Departamento<br />
de Arauca (Colombia). Pp. 57-67 in Memorias del Taller<br />
para la Conservación del Caimán del Orinoco (Crocodylus<br />
intermedius) en Colombia y Venezuela, ed. by A. Velasco,<br />
G. Colomine, G. Villarroel and M. Quero. MARNR and<br />
UCV: Caracas.<br />
Ardila-Robayo, M.C., Segura-Gutiérrez, L.A. and Martínez-<br />
Barreto, W. (2005). Desarrollo y estado actual del Programa<br />
13
Nacional para la conservación del Caimán Llanero,<br />
Crocodylus intermedius, en Colombia. Pp. 138-150 in I<br />
Congreso Internacional de Medicina y Aprovechamiento<br />
de Fauna Silvestre Neotropical, ed. by ed. by N. Varela,<br />
C. Brieva, J. Umaña and J. Torres. Universidad Nacional<br />
de Colombia, Facultad de Medicina, Veterinaria y de<br />
Zootecnia: Bogotá. (Libro de resúmenes).<br />
Colvée, S. (1999). Comportamiento reproductivo del caimán<br />
del Orinoco (Crocodylus intermedius) en cautiverio. PhD<br />
Thesis, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Sartenejas, Edo.<br />
Miranda, Venezuela. 321 pp.<br />
Lugo, L.M. (1998). Programa para la conservación del caimán<br />
del Orinoco (Crocodylus intermedius) en Colombia.<br />
Proyecto 290. Programa Research Fellowship NYZS.<br />
Wildlife Conservation Society. Proyecto 1101-13-205-92<br />
Colciencias. Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad<br />
de Ciencias, Estación de Biología Tropical Roberto<br />
Franco, Villavicencio. Unpublished report (cited with<br />
author permission).<br />
In 2007, 77 nests were found within the Chambal Sanctuary<br />
while 24 were found in Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary<br />
(Rao 2007). In 2006, 2007 and 2008 two nests were located<br />
in the Son River Sanctuary (Andrews 2006; R.K. Sharma,<br />
pers. comm.). Recent reports confirm that stray animals may<br />
persist in the upper Brahmaputra River.<br />
On 2 June 2011, a Society for Conservation of Nature volunteer<br />
(Munendra) observed a female Gharial carrying hatchlings in<br />
her mouth and releasing them into the water. She repeated<br />
this several times, by which time around 46 hatchlings had<br />
been transported to the water. The female remained at the<br />
site, guarding the hatchlings (Fig. 1), as has been observed in<br />
other crocodilians.<br />
Ministerio del Medio Ambiente (2002). Programa Nacional<br />
para la Conservación del Caimán Llanero Crocodylus<br />
intermedius. Ministerio del Medio Ambiente: Bogotá<br />
D.C., Colombia. 32 pp.<br />
Rodríguez, M.A. (2002). Estado y distribución de Crocodylus<br />
intermedius en Colombia. Resumen de censos 1994-1997.<br />
Pp. 21-29 in Memorias del taller para la Conservación<br />
del Caimán del Orinoco (Crocodylus intermedius) en<br />
Colombia y Venezuela, ed. by A. Velasco, G. Colomine,<br />
G. Villarroel and M. Quero. MARNR and UCV: Caracas.<br />
Antonio Castro (Asociación Chelonia-Colombia, calle 19A<br />
No 88-24, Apto. 401 Torre 2, Edif. Santa María de Hayuelos,<br />
Bogotá D.C., Colombia); Manuel Merchan (Asociación<br />
Chelonia-International, Aristóteles, 3, 28027 Madrid, Spain,<br />
chelonia@chelonia.es); Fernando Gomez (Asociación<br />
Chelonia-International); Mario Garces; and, Miguel Cardenas<br />
(Asociación Chelonia-Colombia).<br />
South Asia and Iran<br />
India<br />
FIRST RECORD OF GHARIAL NEST HATCHING IN<br />
YAMUNA RIVER, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA. The<br />
National Chambal Sanctuary is known to be the only major<br />
breeding population for Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) in<br />
India. Surveys undertaken in the 1970s revealed breeding<br />
populations in the Chambal, Katerniaghat and Chitwan, and<br />
the Ramganga and Son Rivers confirmed breeding populations<br />
post-restocking (Stevenson and Whitaker 2010). Restocking<br />
has generally failed to establish viable Gharial populations in<br />
any new locations. The Chambal River has by far the largest<br />
subpopulation of wild breeding Gharial, with around 48% of<br />
the total population (IUCN 2011).<br />
Figure 1. Hatchling Gharials resting on adult female.<br />
The area where these events were recorded was part of the<br />
National Chambal Sanctuary, and specifically 12 km away<br />
from the Yamuna and Chambal confluence in the upstream<br />
Yamuna River (26 o 30.799 N, 79 o 14.897 E). The open sand<br />
bar on which the nest was located is around 100 m long and 3<br />
m in height, and the sand is finer than Chambal sand. The nest<br />
was situated as high as 1.5 m and 2 m away from the water<br />
surface/edge. Our literature search indicated that this is the<br />
first record of Gharial nesting in the Yamuna River.<br />
Acknowledgements<br />
My sincere thanks to Mr. Neeraj Kumar, DCF, National<br />
Chambal Sanctuary, Agra, for his kind support. I am grateful<br />
for the company of Dinesh Shakya, Sanjeev Chauhan,<br />
Munendra and Chandra Pal Singh during the observations.<br />
Literature Cited<br />
Andrews, H.V. (2006). Status of the Indian Gharial,<br />
Conservation Action and Assessment of Key Locations<br />
in North India. Unpublished report to Cleveland Metro<br />
Park.<br />
IUCN (2011). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version<br />
2011.1.<br />
Rao, R.J. (2007). Status and Distribution of Gharial Nests in<br />
14
National Chambal Sanctuary. Unpublished Report to the<br />
Gharial Conservation Alliance.<br />
Singh, L.A.K. and Bustard, H.R. (1977). Studies on the Indian<br />
gharial, Gavialis gangeticus (Gmelin): V. Preliminary<br />
observations on maternal behavior. Indian Forester 103:<br />
671-678.<br />
Stevenson, C. and Whitaker, R. (2010), Gharial Gavialis<br />
gangeticus. Pp. 139-143 in <strong>Crocodile</strong>s. Status Survey<br />
and Conservation Action Plan. Third Edition, ed. by S.C.<br />
Manolis and C. Stevenson. <strong>Crocodile</strong> <strong>Specialist</strong> <strong>Group</strong>:<br />
Darwin.<br />
2. The second incident occurred on Sama-Harni Road, which<br />
links Vadodara to Ahemedabad via National Highway No.<br />
8. On 7 July 2011, in the early morning, an adult Mugger<br />
was found dead by one of the Volunteers of the <strong>Crocodile</strong><br />
<strong>Group</strong>. The 1.55 m long male was lying at the edge of the<br />
road near Sama, Vadodara. No injuries were noted on the<br />
animal’s body, except that the intestines (about 2 m ) were<br />
stretching out of the cloaca (Fig. 2) and there were some<br />
superficial scratches on the back. The position of the body<br />
and the injuries suggested that a small vehicle had driven<br />
over the animal, and postmortem examination supported<br />
this.<br />
Dr. Rajeev Chauhan, Society for Conservation of Nature, 576<br />
Karamganj Punjabi Colony, Etawah 206001, Uttar Pradesh,<br />
India, .<br />
NEW THREAT ON MUGGER (CROCODYLUS PALUSTRIS)<br />
POPULATION OF VADODARA CITY, GUJARAT, INDIA.<br />
The Mugger <strong>Crocodile</strong> (Crocodylus palustris) is one of the<br />
most adaptable and widely distributed crocodilian species in<br />
West Asia, including Iran, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh,<br />
Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka (Whitaker and Andrews 2003).<br />
This threatened species is legally protected under the Indian<br />
Wildlife (Protection) Act as Schedule-I species and evaluated<br />
as Vulnerable by the IUCN. It is found in various types of<br />
habitats including large rivers, large lakes, small puddles,<br />
village tanks and roadside ditches. The Mugger population<br />
of Vishwamitri River, Vadodara, is a somewhat unique<br />
population in that is found within a densely populated urban<br />
area of Vadodara City (Vyas 2010a).<br />
Figure 1. Adult Mugger (Crocodylus palustris) killed by a<br />
train at Makarpura Railway Station, Vadodara, Gujarat.<br />
Photograph: Manoj Thakar.<br />
Vyas (2010b) noted various minor to major threats on the<br />
population, including water pollution, habitat encroachment,<br />
development on the river banks (pseudoscientific and unethical<br />
developments by urban planners) and the pet trade. Recently<br />
two incidences were observed that resulted in mortality of<br />
large-<strong>size</strong>d adult Muggers. These animals were sliced apart<br />
by speedy vehicles and trains. Thus, train and haphazard<br />
vehicular traffic emerge as the most recent threats to the<br />
urban Mugger population. The details of both the incidences<br />
are as follows:<br />
1. The first incident was observed on a broad-gauge railway<br />
line connecting Vadodara and Mumbai. On 2 October<br />
2010, in early morning, a phone call from an anonymous<br />
informant reported the presence of a 1.6 m Mugger near<br />
Makarpura Railway Station. The call was received by a<br />
staff member of Urban Wildlife Rescue Station (UWRS)<br />
of Vadodara City, run by State Forest Department. UWRS<br />
staff immediately rushed to the scene to rescue the injured<br />
animal. Unfortunately the female Mugger died before the<br />
rescue team reached it. The animal was severely injured on<br />
various parts of the body, including damage to the anterior<br />
10-15 cm portion of the snout, about 20-30 cm of the tail<br />
cut by the train, and numerous injuries on the head and<br />
belly (Fig. 1).<br />
Figure 2. Mugger killed by a vehicle at Sama-Harni Road,<br />
Vadodara City. Photograph: Raju Vyas.<br />
Both “accidents” occurred within 500-800 m of the<br />
Vishwamitri River. As Muggers can move overland between<br />
waterholes, particularly due to unfavourable conditions (eg<br />
drought) (Vyas 2001, 2003), there is always the possibility<br />
that some individuals may be accidently killed by trains or<br />
road vehicles. Vyas and Bhavsar (2009) reported on a Mugger<br />
fatally injured by a train in April 2009, and a sub-adult Mugger<br />
was found near Lal Baug area in November 2005, having<br />
been struck by road traffic (Anil Gohel, pers, comm.). The<br />
oldest report was from Bhuj, Kutch, the drought prone region<br />
of the State, where a 2 m long Mugger was found dead on the<br />
15
Bhuj-Nakhatrana Highway, about 5 km from Pragsar Lake,<br />
after being trampled under a vehicle (Viaykumar 1997).<br />
Direct mortality of crocodiles through “train” or “road<br />
kill” has been recorded in C. palustris in Sri Lanka (Flash<br />
News 2011), and in other crocodilian species, including C.<br />
acutus (Todd et al. 1989), C. johnstoni (Dillon 2011; Wilson<br />
2011), C. porosus (C. Manolis, pers. comm.) and Alligator<br />
mississippiensis (Flynt 2008). The negative impacts of<br />
vehicular traffic on herpetofauna are well reviewed, with<br />
various aspects of threats, by Andrews and Jochimsen (2007).<br />
It is proven and noted, that the road and railway tracks, as<br />
key modes of transport, are one of the direct threats to many<br />
species, especially vertebrates such as amphibians or at times<br />
large mammals.<br />
Acknowledgments<br />
I am thankful to Mr. Anil Gohel and Mr. Rakesh Vadhwana,<br />
Volunteer, <strong>Crocodile</strong> <strong>Group</strong>, Vadodara, for sharing some<br />
information. Special thanks to the Conservator of Forest,<br />
Social Forestry, Vadodara, for the support and information.<br />
I am especially thankful to Mr. Manoj Thakar, Vadodara, for<br />
providing photographs of the train-killed Mugger for this<br />
article.<br />
Literature Cited<br />
Andrews, K.M. and Jochimsen, D.M. (2007). Ecological<br />
Effects of Roads Infrastructure on Herpetofauna:<br />
Understanding Biology and Increasing Communication.<br />
Poster ICOET Proceedings: 567-582.<br />
Dillon, M. (2011). Beware of crocs crossing Darwin roads.<br />
NT News, 9 March 2011. http://www.ntnews.com.au/artic<br />
le/2011/03/09/217101_ntnews.html.<br />
Dodd C.K., Jr., Enge, K.M. and Stuart, J.N. (1989). Reptiles<br />
on highways in north-central Alabama, USA. Journal of<br />
Herpetology 23: 197-200.<br />
Flash News (2011). <strong>Crocodile</strong> hit by Rajarata Rajini. Flash<br />
News, 31 March 2011; http://www.flashlk.com/2011/03/<br />
crocodile-hit-by-rajarata-rajini.html.<br />
Flynt. R. (2008). Movement of alligators in Mississippi.<br />
<strong>Crocodile</strong> <strong>Specialist</strong> Newsletter 27(1): 19.<br />
Vijaykumar, V. (1997). Evaluation of restocked mugger<br />
crocodiles and its implication in long-term conservation<br />
and management of the species in Gujarat, India.<br />
Unpunlished report, Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology,<br />
Bhuj-Kachh, Gujarat, 65 pp.<br />
Vyas, R. (2001). Mass migration of muggers in Gir forest.<br />
<strong>Crocodile</strong> <strong>Specialist</strong> <strong>Group</strong> Newsletter 20(1): 8-9.<br />
Vyas, R. (2003). <strong>Crocodile</strong> survey in and around the Barada<br />
Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat, India. <strong>Crocodile</strong> <strong>Specialist</strong><br />
<strong>Group</strong> Newsletter 22(2): 14-17.<br />
Vyas, R. (2010a). Mugger (Crocodylus palustris) population<br />
in and around Vadodara city, Gujarat State, India. Russian<br />
Journal of Herpetology 17(1): 43-50.<br />
Vyas, R. (2010b). The Muggers (Crocodylus palustris) of<br />
Vishwamitri River: Past and Present. Herpetology &<br />
Environmental Research Project (HERP): Vadodara,<br />
Gujarat State. 32pp.<br />
Vyas, R. and Bhavsar, S.R. (2009). Movement of an individual<br />
mugger into urban areas of Vadodara City, Gujarat State,<br />
India. <strong>Crocodile</strong> <strong>Specialist</strong> <strong>Group</strong> Newsletter 28(3): 5-7.<br />
Whitaker, R. and Andrews, H.V. (2003). <strong>Crocodile</strong><br />
conservation, Western Asia region: An update. J. Bombay<br />
Natural History Society 100(2&3): 432-445.<br />
Wilson, K. (2011). Croc run over by road train. ABC<br />
Radio, North West Queensland, http://blogs.abc.net.au/<br />
queensland/2011/04/croc-run-over-by-road-train.html?sit<br />
e=northwest&program=north_west_qld_breakfast<br />
Raju Vyas, 505, Krishnadeep Tower, Mission Road, Fatehgunj,<br />
Vadodara 2, Gujarat, India, .<br />
Science<br />
Recent Publications<br />
Fukuda, Y., Webb, G., Manolis, C., Delaney, R., Letnic, M.,<br />
Lindner, G. and Whitehead, P. (2011). Recovery of Saltwater<br />
crocodiles following unregulated hunting in tidal rivers of<br />
the Northern Territory, Australia. The Journal of Wildlife<br />
Management 75(6): 1253-1266.<br />
Abstract: Saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) in the<br />
Northern Territory of Australia were protected in 1971, after<br />
a severe population decline resulting from 26 yr of intense<br />
commercial hunting. By that time wild saltwater crocodiles<br />
were rarely sighted anywhere and they were commercially<br />
extinct in areas where they had once been abundant.<br />
Standardized monitoring by spotlight surveys started in 1975<br />
and provided relative density indices over time (1975–2009)<br />
as a unique record of the post-protection recovery of a wild<br />
crocodilian population. We examined the survey data for<br />
populations at 12 major tidal rivers, individually and as a single<br />
subpopulation. The pattern of recovery in the subpopulation<br />
in both abundance and biomass was approximated by logistic<br />
curves, predicting 5.26 non-hatchling crocodiles weighing<br />
387.64 kg sighted per kilometer of river in 2010. We predicted<br />
potential carrying capacity as 5.58 non-hatchling crocodiles<br />
(5.73% higher than 2010) weighing 519.0 kg (25.31%<br />
higher than 2010). Individual rivers showed largely different<br />
abundance and biomass among rivers. The statistical model<br />
that best described the recovery in individual rivers was not<br />
16
always logistic. However, where it was logistic, expected<br />
carrying capacity of different rivers showed considerable<br />
variation in abundance and biomass. The variation indicates<br />
different habitat quality among the rivers. Recovery occurred<br />
despite various consumptive uses, particularly a widespread<br />
egg-harvest program, which has been an integral part of<br />
the incentive-driven conservation program for saltwater<br />
crocodiles in the Northern Territory since 1983. We suggest<br />
that the saltwater crocodile population of the Northern<br />
Territory is achieving full recovery from uncontrolled hunting<br />
in 1945–1971. Although saltwater crocodiles are considered<br />
an important natural resource, their increase in number, <strong>size</strong>,<br />
and distribution is posing management issues for public<br />
safety. Continuation of human–crocodile conflict management<br />
through public education and strategic removal of problem<br />
crocodiles will be essential.<br />
Ayalasomayajula, S., Subramaniam, R., Gallo, A.A.,<br />
Dufreche, S., Zappi, M. and Bajpai, R. (2011). Potential of<br />
alligator fat as source of lipids for biodiesel production. Ind.<br />
Eng. Chem. Res. (doi: 10.1021/ie201000s).<br />
Abstract: A large amount of alligator fat (AF) is produced by<br />
alligator meat processing industry and disposed in landfills<br />
or discarded as waste. The AF can be used as a potential<br />
feedstock for biodiesel production due to its high lipid<br />
content. In this work, recovery of lipids from the AF tissue<br />
was studied by solvent extraction as well as by microwave<br />
rendering. Microwave rendering resulted in AF oil recovery<br />
of 61% by weight of the frozen AF tissue obtained from<br />
producers. The fatty acid profile of the lipid showed that<br />
palmitic acid (C16:0), palmitoleic acid (C16:1), and oleic acid<br />
(C18:1) were the dominant fatty acids accounting for 89-92%<br />
of all lipids by mass. 30% of the fatty acids were saturated<br />
and 70% were unsaturated. The biodiesel produced from AF<br />
oil was found to meet the ASTM specifications of biodiesel<br />
concerning kinematic viscosity, sulfur, free and total glycerin,<br />
flash point, cloud point and acid number.<br />
Rivera-Sylva, H.E., Frey, E., Guzmán-Gutiérrez, J.R.,<br />
Palomino-Sánchez, F. and Stinnesbeck, W. (2011). A<br />
Deinosuchus riograndensis (Eusuchia: Alligatoroidea) from<br />
Coahuila, North Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias<br />
Geológicas 28(2): 267-274.<br />
Abstract: Diagnostic remains of Deinosuchus have been<br />
discovered in the Aguja Formation (Late Cretaceous, Late<br />
Campanian) near the town of La Salada (northwestern<br />
Coahuila, Mexico) and are described here for the first time.<br />
The material comprises 6 teeth and tooth fragments that<br />
were found associated with postcranial material such as two<br />
osteoderms and a cervical and caudal vertebra and is referred<br />
here to D. riograndensis. The association with a variety<br />
of herbivorous dinosaurs and trionychid turtles suggest<br />
a predator-prey interaction, which is confirmed by the<br />
occurrence of a vertebra with a Deinosuchus bite mark. The<br />
Deinosuchus remains from La Salada represent the southernmost<br />
occurrence of the genus known to date.<br />
Schachner, E.R., Manning, P.L. and Dodson, P. (2011). Pelvic<br />
and hindlimb myology of the basal archosaur Poposaurus<br />
gracilis (archosauria: Poposauroidea). Journal of Morphology<br />
(doi: 10.1002/jmor.10997).<br />
Abstract: The discovery of a largely complete and well<br />
preserved specimen of Poposaurus gracilis has provided<br />
the opportunity to generate the first phylogenetically<br />
based reconstruction of pelvic and hindlimb musculature<br />
of an extinct nondinosaurian archosaur. As in dinosaurs,<br />
multiple lineages of basal archosaurs convergently evolved<br />
parasagittally erect limbs. However, in contrast to the laterally<br />
projecting acetabulum, or “buttress erect” hip morphology<br />
of ornithodirans, basal archosaurs evolved a very different,<br />
ventrally projecting acetabulum, or “pillar erect” hip.<br />
Reconstruction of the pelvic and hindlimb musculotendinous<br />
system in a bipedal suchian archosaur clarifies how the<br />
anatomical transformations associated with the evolution<br />
of bipedalism in basal archosaurs differed from that of<br />
bipedal dinosaurs and birds. This reconstruction is based<br />
on the direct examination of the osteology and myology of<br />
phylogenetically relevant extant taxa in conjunction with<br />
osteological correlates from the skeleton of P. gracilis. This<br />
data set includes a series of inferences (presence/absence<br />
of a structure, number of components, and origin/insertion<br />
sites) regarding 26 individual muscles or muscle groups,<br />
three pelvic ligaments, and two connective tissue structures<br />
in the pelvis, hindlimb, and pes of P. gracilis. These data<br />
provide a foundation for subsequent examination of variation<br />
in myological orientation and function based on pelvic and<br />
hindlimb morphology, across the basal archosaur lineage<br />
leading to extant crocodilians.<br />
Reed, D.A., Porro, L.B., Iriarte-Diaz, J., Lemberg, J.B.,<br />
Holliday, C.M., Anapol, F. and Ross, C.F. (2011). The impact<br />
of bone and suture material properties on mandibular function<br />
in Alligator mississippiensis: testing theoretical phenotypes<br />
with finite element analysis. Journal of Anatomy 218(1): 59-<br />
74.<br />
Abstract: The functional effects of bone and suture<br />
stiffness were considered here using finite element models<br />
representing three different theoretical phenotypes of an<br />
Alligator mississippiensis mandible. The models were loaded<br />
using force estimates derived from muscle architecture in<br />
dissected specimens, constrained at the 18th and 19th teeth in<br />
the upper jaw and 19th tooth of the lower jaw, as well as at the<br />
quadrate-articular joint. Stiffness was varied systematically in<br />
each theoretical phenotype. The three theoretical phenotypes<br />
included: (i) linear elastic isotropic bone of varying stiffness<br />
and no sutures; (ii) linear elastic orthotropic bone of varying<br />
stiffness with no sutures; and (iii) linear elastic isotropic<br />
bone of a constant stiffness with varying suture stiffness.<br />
Variation in the isotropic material properties of bone<br />
primarily resulted in changes in the magnitude of principal<br />
strain. By comparison, variation in the orthotropic material<br />
properties of bone and isotropic material properties of sutures<br />
resulted in: a greater number of bricks becoming either more<br />
compressive or more tensile, changing between being either<br />
dominantly compressive or tensile, and having larger changes<br />
17
in the orientation of maximum principal strain. These data<br />
indicate that variation in these model properties resulted in<br />
changes to the strain regime of the model, highlighting the<br />
importance of using biologically verified material properties<br />
when modeling vertebrate bones. When bones were compared<br />
within each set, the response of each to changing material<br />
properties varied. In two of the 12 bones in the mandible,<br />
varied material properties within sutures resulted in a decrease<br />
in the magnitude of principal strain in bricks adjacent to the<br />
bone/suture interface and decreases in stored elastic energy.<br />
The varied response of the mandibular bones to changes in<br />
suture stiffness highlights the importance of defining the<br />
appropriate functional unit when addressing relationships of<br />
performance and morphology.<br />
Zhu, H., Zheng, T. and Wu, X. (2011). A review on the<br />
conservation genetics of Alligator sinensis. Sichuan Journal<br />
of Zoology 2011-02.<br />
Abstract: Conservation genetics,a combination of<br />
conservation biology and molecular genetics, is a discipline<br />
mainly focusing on the genetic factors related with the risk<br />
of extinction and how to lower such risk by employing<br />
genetic management methods. In the past few decades,<br />
genetic studies have played great roles in the theory and<br />
practice of biodiversity conservation. This paper reviewed<br />
several molecular marker techniques, including AFLP,<br />
mtDNA D-loop, RAPD, microsatellite DNA, and MHC<br />
analysis of the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis), which<br />
made several advances in conservation genetics, eg sample<br />
collection, genetic diversity, individual identification,<br />
breeding management, and wild release. Meanwhile, several<br />
suggestions about the conservation of A. sinensis were put<br />
forward: 1. Reconstruct the pedigree of the Chinese alligator,<br />
2. Increase the effort put into wild releases, 3. Enforce gene<br />
exchange among breeding populations, 4. Learn management<br />
experience from A. mississippiensis.<br />
Hekkala, E., Shirley, M., Amato, G., Austin, J., Charter, S.,<br />
Thorbjarnarson, J., Vliet, K., Houck, M., DeSalle, R. and<br />
Blum, M. (2011). Splitting an ancient icon: mummy DNA<br />
resurrects a cryptic Nile crocodile. Molecular Ecology<br />
(doi:10.5061/dryad.s1m9h).<br />
Abstract: The Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) is an<br />
ancient icon of both cultural and scientific interest. The species<br />
is emblematic of the great civilizations of the Nile River valley<br />
and serves as a model for international wildlife conservation.<br />
Despite its familiarity, a centuries-long dispute over the<br />
taxonomic status of the Nile crocodile remains unresolved.<br />
This dispute not only confounds our understanding of the<br />
origins and biogeography of the “true crocodiles” of the<br />
crown genus Crocodylus, but also complicates conservation<br />
and management of this commercially valuable species. We<br />
have taken a total evidence approach involving phylogenetic<br />
analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear markers as well as<br />
karyotype analysis of chromosome number and structure<br />
to assess the monophyletic status of the Nile crocodile.<br />
Samples were collected from throughout Africa, covering all<br />
major bioregions. We also utilized specimens from museum<br />
collections, including mummified crocodiles from the ancient<br />
Egyptian temples at Thebes and the Grottes de Samoun, to<br />
reconstruct the genetic profiles of extirpated populations.<br />
Our analyses reveal a cryptic evolutionary lineage within the<br />
Nile crocodile that elucidates the biogeographic history of the<br />
genus and clarifies long-standing arguments over the species’<br />
taxonomic identity and conservation status. An examination<br />
of crocodile mummy haplotypes indicates that the cryptic<br />
lineage corresponds to an earlier description of C. suchus and<br />
suggests that both African Crocodylus lineages historically<br />
inhabited the Nile River. Recent survey efforts indicate that<br />
C. suchus is declining or extirpated throughout much of<br />
its distribution. Without proper recognition of this cryptic<br />
species, current sustainable use-based management policies<br />
for the Nile crocodile may do more harm than good.<br />
Takehito Ikejiri (2010). Morphology of the Neurocentral<br />
Junction during Postnatal Growth of Alligator (Reptilia,<br />
Crocodylia). PhD Thesis, University of Michigan. 193 pp.<br />
Abstract: The two main parts of a vertebra, the centrum and<br />
neural arch, form independently during early developmental<br />
stages in nearly all vertebrates, and they typically fuse<br />
together in later growth stages. Fusion between centrum and<br />
neural arch is the result of ossification of a thin cartilage layer<br />
(neurocentral synchondrosis) between them. The timing of<br />
neurocentral fusion varies considerably within the vertebral<br />
column and among species, especially in archosaurian<br />
reptiles, and may be related to changes in body <strong>size</strong> and/or<br />
locomotion. Despite the importance of neurocentral fusion to<br />
our understanding of archosaur evolution, basic information<br />
about this process and how it changed through time remains<br />
poorly understood. In this dissertation, morphology of<br />
neurocentral sutures and vertebrae in crocodilians (Reptilia,<br />
Archosauria) is explored. In Chapter 2, the detailed celland<br />
tissue-level morphology of neurocentral sutures in the<br />
vertebrae of Alligator mississippiensis is documented. In<br />
chapter 3, complexity of neurocentral sutures are quantified,<br />
and changes related to differences in vertebral position,<br />
ontogenetic age, and phylogeny are examined. In Chapter 4,<br />
allometric changes in vertebrae of Alligator are quantified and<br />
investigated in relation to key ontogenetic events. As seen in<br />
some craniofacial bones in various vertebrates, neurocentral<br />
fusion may affect changes in relative <strong>size</strong> and shape of certain<br />
vertebral structures (e.g., centrum, neural spine, transverse<br />
processes, neural canal) during growth. In chapter 5, data<br />
examined in crocodilians (chapters 2-4) are applied to various<br />
fossil archosaurs from the Early Mesozoic to investigate the<br />
origin and evolutionary significance of two unique features<br />
of neurocentral sutures, delayed neurocentral fusion and<br />
complex neurocentral sutures<br />
Eme, J., Altimiras, J., Hicks, J.W. and Crossley, II, D.A.<br />
(2011). Hypoxic alligator embryos: chronic hypoxia,<br />
catecholamine levels and autonomic responses of in ovo<br />
alligators. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part<br />
A: Molecular and Integrative Physiology (doi:10.1016/<br />
j.cbpa.2011.07.010).<br />
18
Abstract: Hypoxia is a naturally occurring environmental<br />
challenge for embryonic reptiles, and this is the first study<br />
to investigate the impact of chronic hypoxia on the in ovo<br />
development of autonomic cardiovascular regulation and<br />
circulating catecholamine levels in a reptile. We measured heart<br />
rate (fH) and chorioallantoic arterial blood pressure (MAP)<br />
in normoxic (‘N21’) and hypoxic-incubated (‘H10’; 10% O 2<br />
)<br />
American alligator embryos (Alligator mississippiensis) at 70,<br />
80 and 90% of development. Embryonic alligator responses<br />
to adrenergic blockade with propranolol and phentolamine<br />
were very similar to previously reported responses of<br />
embryonic chicken, and demonstrated that embryonic<br />
alligator has α and β-adrenergic tone over the final third of<br />
development. However, adrenergic tone originates entirely<br />
from circulating catecholamines and is not altered by chronic<br />
hypoxic incubation, as neither cholinergic blockade with<br />
atropine nor ganglionic blockade with hexamethonium altered<br />
baseline cardiovascular variables in N21 or H10 embryos.<br />
In addition, both atropine and hexamethonium injection did<br />
not alter the generally depressive effects of acute hypoxia -<br />
bradycardia and hypotension. However, H10 embryos showed<br />
significantly higher levels of noradrenaline and adrenaline at<br />
70% of development, as well as higher noradrenaline at 80%<br />
of development, suggesting that circulating catecholamines<br />
reach maximal levels earlier in incubation for H10 embryos,<br />
compared to N21 embryos. Chronically elevated levels of<br />
catecholamines may alter the normal balance between α and<br />
β-adrenoreceptors in H10 alligator embryos, causing chronic<br />
bradycardia and hypotension of H10 embryos measured in<br />
normoxia.<br />
studies, but also by body <strong>size</strong> variation.<br />
Zeng, C.J., Ye, Q. and Fang, S.G. (2011). Establishment and<br />
cryopreservation of liver, heart and muscle cell lines derived<br />
from the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis). Chinese<br />
Science Bulletin 56(24): 2576-2579. (doi: 10.1007/s11434-<br />
011-4622-9).<br />
Abstract: The Chinese alligator, Alligator sinensis, is a<br />
critically endangered species. A conservation project of<br />
gene resources for an endangered species first involves the<br />
preservation of organs, tissues, gametes, genomic DNA<br />
libraries and cell lines. The present study is the first to establish<br />
and cryopreserve cell lines of liver, heart and muscle tissues<br />
from the Chinese alligator. The study revealed that there was<br />
a large discrepancy in cell migration time in primary cultures<br />
among liver (11-12 d), heart (13-14 d) and muscle (17-18 d)<br />
tissue pieces. The differences in time in primary cell culture<br />
suggested that it was relatively easy to build visceral-derived<br />
cell lines for reptiles. Biological analysis showed that the<br />
population doubling time for thawed cells was approximately<br />
36 h. Karyotyping revealed that the frequency of Chinese<br />
alligator cells showing chromosome number as 2n=32 was<br />
88.6-93.4%. Chinese alligator cell lines established here<br />
provide a vital resource for research and are likely to be useful<br />
for protection of this rare and critically endangered species.<br />
Furthermore, the establishment of these methods may supply<br />
technical and theoretical support for preserving genetic<br />
resources at the cellular level for other reptile species.<br />
Young, M.T., Bell, M.A., De Andrade, M.B. and Brusatte, S.L.<br />
(2011). Body <strong>size</strong> estimation and evolution in metriorhynchid<br />
crocodylomorphs: implications for species diversification and<br />
niche partitioning. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society<br />
(doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00734.x).<br />
Abstract: Metriorhynchids were a peculiar group of fully marine<br />
Mesozoic crocodylomorphs, some of which reached large<br />
body <strong>size</strong> and were probably apex predators. The estimation<br />
of their total body length in the past has proven problematic.<br />
Rigorous <strong>size</strong> estimation was provided using five complete<br />
metriorhynchid specimens, by means of regression equations<br />
derived from basicranial and femoral length against total body<br />
length. The use of the Alligator femoral regression equation<br />
as a proxy to estimate metriorhynchid total body length led to<br />
a slight underestimation, whereas cranial regression equations<br />
of extant genera resulted in an overestimation of body length.<br />
Therefore, the scaling of crania and femora to total body<br />
length of metriorhynchids is noticeably different from that<br />
of extant crocodylians, indicating that extant crocodylians<br />
are not ideal proxies for <strong>size</strong> reconstruction of extinct taxa<br />
that deviate from their semi-aquatic morphotype. The lack<br />
of a correlation between maximum, minimum, or the range<br />
of generic body lengths with species richness demonstrates<br />
that species diversification is driven by factors other than just<br />
variation in body <strong>size</strong>. Maximum likelihood modelling also<br />
found no evidence for directionality in body <strong>size</strong> evolution.<br />
However, niche partitioning in Metriorhynchidae is mediated<br />
not only by craniodental differentiation, as shown by previous<br />
Wang, Z.H., Yao, H., Ding, Y.Z., Thorbjarnarson, J. and<br />
Wang, X.M. (2011). Testing reintroduction as a conservation<br />
strategy for the critically endangered Chinese alligator:<br />
movements and home range of released captive individuals.<br />
Chinese Science Bulletin 56(24): 2586-2593 (doi: 10.1007/<br />
s11434-011-4615-8).<br />
Abstract: The Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) is<br />
considered the most critically endangered crocodilian as a<br />
result of the near total loss of its habitat and its extremely<br />
small and fragmented wild populations. Plans for population<br />
recovery lie mostly with wetland restoration and the<br />
reintroduction of captive-reared animals. We carried out a<br />
first-trial release of 3 adult Chinese alligators (1M, 2F) into a<br />
pond at the Hongxing conservation site, Xuancheng, southern<br />
Anhui Province; the animals were radio-tracked from May<br />
to October in 2003. We hypothe<strong>size</strong>d that after a period of<br />
adaptation, the alligators would establish definable home<br />
ranges. Two (1M, 1F) of the 3 alligators were monitored for<br />
the whole of the tracking period. The male had an annual<br />
home-range <strong>size</strong> of 7.61 hm 2 , and the female 4.00 hm 2 . Water<br />
temperature and pond water level were two important factors<br />
influencing the alligators’ distributions, and daily movements.<br />
The radio-tracked alligators had overlapping home ranges,<br />
which notably included the one substantial island in the<br />
pond; that island is the only known nesting site of the local<br />
native wild alligators. Aggressive interactions between the<br />
released alligators and native wild alligators were observed<br />
during the breeding season around this island. All the three<br />
19
eintroduced alligators survived the winter of 2003 and<br />
were alive in the same pond in 2008. We concluded that the<br />
Hongxing conservation site provided a suitable habitat for<br />
the reintroduced alligators. However, the low water level<br />
in the pond resulting from farmland irrigation in August<br />
and September can be a substantial threat to the alligators’<br />
survival. Therefore, regulations on irrigation in summer and<br />
autumn are needed to balance the water needs of the alligators<br />
and agriculture.<br />
Hamlin, H.J., Lowers, R.H. and Guillette Jr., L.J. (2011).<br />
Seasonal androgen cycles in adult male American alligators<br />
(Alligator mississippiensis) from a barrier island population.<br />
Biol. Reprod.<br />
Abstract: The seasonal patterns of two primary plasma<br />
androgens, testosterone (T) and dehydroepiandrosterone<br />
(DHEA) were assessed in adult male alligators from the<br />
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, a unique barrier<br />
island environment, and home to the Kennedy Space Center<br />
in Florida, USA. Samples were collected monthly during<br />
2008 to 2009, with additional samples collected at more<br />
random intervals in 2007 and 2010. Plasma T concentrations<br />
peaked in April, coincident with breeding and courtship,<br />
and declined rapidly throughout the summer. Although<br />
reproductively active, smaller adult males differed in seasonal<br />
plasma T patterns versus their larger counterparts during<br />
the breeding season. Both <strong>size</strong> classes showed significant<br />
increases in plasma T concentration from February to March<br />
at the beginning of the breeding season. However, smaller<br />
adults did not experience the peak in plasma T concentrations<br />
in April as observed in larger adults, and concentrations were<br />
significantly lower than those of larger males for the remainder<br />
of the breeding season. Plasma DHEA concentrations peaked<br />
in May, and were significantly reduced by June. This is the first<br />
study to demonstrate the presence of DHEA in a crocodilian,<br />
and the high plasma DHEA concentrations that paralleled<br />
their reproductive activity, suggests a reproductive and/or<br />
behavioral role in adult male alligators. Similar to some birds,<br />
plasma DHEA concentrations were considerably higher than<br />
T during the non-breeding season, suggesting a potential role<br />
in maintaining non-breeding seasonal aggression.<br />
Nevarez, J.G., Cockburn, J., Kearney, M.T. and Mayer, J.<br />
(2011). Evaluation of an 18-micron filter for use in reptile<br />
blood transfusions using blood from American alligators<br />
(Alligator mississippiensis). Journal of Zoo and Wildlife<br />
Medicine 42(2): 236-240.<br />
Abstract: Blood transfusions are a common therapeutic<br />
procedure in small animal medicine and have been<br />
investigated in some exotic species but little information is<br />
available about their safety and efficacy in reptiles. In human<br />
pediatrics and small animal practice, the Hemo-Nate®18-μ<br />
filter is used to prevent embolic clots and particulate waste<br />
from entering the recipient during a transfusion. The goal of<br />
this study was to determine the hemolytic effect of an 18-μ<br />
Hemo-Nate filter for whole blood cell transfusions in reptiles<br />
using the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) as<br />
a reptilian model. Results revealed no significant difference<br />
in free plasma hemoglobin between the unfiltered and<br />
filtered samples (P= 0.21). There was no difference in the<br />
prefiltration and postfiltration packed cell volume (PCV) (P=<br />
0.41). Results suggest that an 18-μ Hemo-Nate filter does not<br />
cause hemolysis or decrease the PCV of small quantities of<br />
alligator blood.<br />
Espinal, M. and Escobedo-Galván, A.H. (2011). Population<br />
status of the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) in El<br />
Cajon Reservoir, Honduras. The Southwestern Naturalist<br />
56(2): 212-215.<br />
Abstract: During 2005 and 2007, we examined status of<br />
populations of the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) in<br />
three rivers at El Cajon Reservoir in central Honduras. Number<br />
of crocodiles per kilometer of survey varied by river and time<br />
of study. Most observations were of hatchlings and yearlings,<br />
but juveniles, subadults, and adults also were observed. Sex<br />
ratio in the reservoir was 11.4 male.female. Assuming that<br />
sex ratio and <strong>size</strong>-class structure were representative of the<br />
overall population, our study suggests that the population in<br />
El Cajon Reservoir is stable.<br />
Lauridsen, H., Hansen, K., Wang, T., Agger, P., Andersen, J.L.,<br />
Knudsen, P.S., Rasmussen, A.S., Uhrenholt, S. and Pedersen,<br />
M. (2011) Inside Out: Modern Imaging Techniques to Reveal<br />
Animal Anatomy. PLoS ONE 6(3): e17879 (doi:10.1371/<br />
journal.pone.0017879).<br />
Abstract: Animal anatomy has traditionally relied on detailed<br />
dissections to produce anatomical illustrations, but modern<br />
imaging modalities, such as MRI and CT, now represent<br />
an enormous resource that allows for fast non-invasive<br />
visualizations of animal anatomy in living animals. These<br />
modalities also allow for creation of three-dimensional<br />
representations that can be of considerable value in the<br />
dissemination of anatomical studies. In this methodological<br />
review, we present our experiences using MRI, CT and<br />
μCT to create advanced representation of animal anatomy,<br />
including bones, inner organs and blood vessels in a variety<br />
of animals, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals,<br />
and spiders. The images have a similar quality to most<br />
traditional anatomical drawings and are presented together<br />
with interactive movies of the anatomical structures, where<br />
the object can be viewed from different angles. Given that<br />
clinical scanners found in the majority of larger hospitals are<br />
fully suitable for these purposes, we encourage biologists<br />
to take advantage of these imaging techniques in creation<br />
of three-dimensional graphical representations of internal<br />
structures.<br />
Van Vuuren, L. (2011). KwaZulu-Natal: it’s man versus croc:<br />
conservation. Water Wheel 10(4): 13-18.<br />
Abstract: Historically, crocodiles were abundant throughout<br />
the lower lying and coastal areas of KwaZulu-Natal, but<br />
today the last remaining wild crocodiles are restricted to the<br />
20
northeastern corner of the province, from the Tukhela River<br />
northwards in an area known as Zululand. Within Zululand,<br />
viable crocodile populations are found north of the Mfolozi<br />
River with Lake St Lucia and Ndumo Game Reserve hosting<br />
two of the three largest populations in South Africa. The<br />
diversity of crocodile habitat found here, which include rivers,<br />
streams, large natural lakes and estuaries, swamp forests, pans<br />
and wetlands, is unrivalled in southern Africa.<br />
Wheatley, P.V. (2010). Understanding Saltwater Tolerance<br />
and Marine Resource Use in the Crocodylia: A Stable Isotope<br />
Approach. PhD Thesis, University of California, Santa Cruz.<br />
175 pp.<br />
Abstract: Today, crocodylians are primarily freshwateradapted<br />
today, though estuarine populations of Crocodylus<br />
acutus and C. porosus are notable exceptions. But beginning in<br />
the 1980s scientific work involving phylogeny, biogeography<br />
and osmoregulatory physiology suggested that Crocodylia<br />
had been more adept in coastal and marine environments in<br />
the past. Here I use stable isotopes as natural tracers of inputs<br />
to modern and fossil crocodylians to explore their current and<br />
past reliance on marine resources. Using carbon and oxygen<br />
isotope ratios from the carbonate portion of tooth bioapatite,<br />
I estimate the marine resource use of modern coastal<br />
populations of C. acutus and Alligator mississippiensis by<br />
comparing them to marine reptiles and inland populations of<br />
A. mississippiensis. Coastal A. mississippiensis and C. acutus<br />
feed from marine foodwebs in roughly equal percentages<br />
(~60% and ~70% respectively). I estimate the amount of<br />
seawater ingestion for C. acutus to be 80% on average (A.<br />
mississippiensis is an obligate freshwater drinker). Thus,<br />
many of the osmoregulatory behaviors assumed to be<br />
necessary for C. acutus (such as actively seeking out fresh<br />
drinking water) may not be necessary. I examine the longterm<br />
diet of A. mississippiensis from Rockefeller Wildlife<br />
Refuge, Louisiana, by measuring carbon and nitrogen stable<br />
isotope ratios in alligator prey items and the bone and tooth<br />
collagen of the alligators themselves. I use a Bayesian mixing<br />
model to estimate the percent contribution of various prey<br />
to alligator tooth collagen and, separately, alligator bone<br />
collagen. Because reptiles constantly replace their teeth,<br />
tooth collagen is a much more recent record of dietary input<br />
than is bone collagen. I take advantage of these different time<br />
frames to examine differences between adult and juvenile<br />
diet. My work documents a movement to a more diverse and<br />
generalized diet (incorporating more brackish water taxa and<br />
terrestrial mammals) when alligators reach a total length of<br />
about 1.3 m. Results point the importance of nutria, potentially<br />
when alligators are growing quickly, and the possibility of<br />
seasonal prey items being of importance. To estimate marine<br />
resource use and to pinpoint the origin of saltwater tolerant<br />
physiology in fossil crocodylians, I analyzed the carbonate<br />
and phosphate portions of tooth enamel from crocodylians<br />
and their close relatives for carbon and oxygen isotope ratios.<br />
I find an origin for saltwater tolerance at least as old as the<br />
common ancestor of Crocodylia + Dyrosauridae (Cretaceous)<br />
and perhaps as old as the common ancestor of Crocodylia +<br />
Metriorhynchidae (Jurassic), depending upon the phylogenetic<br />
hypothesis employed. I also found strong evidence of marine<br />
food dependence for several crocodilians, including seagrass<br />
ecosystem dependence for tomistomines and pelagic resource<br />
consumption in the dyrosaurids. Though modern crocodylians<br />
are largely freshwater focused, the group as whole had strong<br />
ties to the marine realm in the past. This physiology easily<br />
allows for the possibility of long-range oceanic dispersals to<br />
explain the biogeography of many lineages of crocodylians.<br />
Wormser, C., Pore, S.A., Elperin, A.B., Silverman, L.N. and<br />
Light, D.B. (2011). Potentiation of regulatory volume decrease<br />
by a P2-like receptor and arachidonic acid in American<br />
alligator erythrocytes. Journal of Membrane Biology (doi:<br />
10.1007/s00232-011-9377-3).<br />
Abstract: This study examined the role of a P2 receptor and<br />
arachidonic acid (AA) in regulatory volume decrease (RVD)<br />
by American alligator red blood cells (RBCs). Osmotic<br />
fragility was determined optically, mean cell volume was<br />
measured by electronic sizing, and changes in intracellular<br />
Ca 2+ concentration were visualized using fluorescence<br />
microscopy. Gadolinium (50 μM), hexokinase (2.5 U/ml),<br />
and suramin (100 μM) increased osmotic fragility, blocked<br />
volume recovery after hypotonic shock, and prevented a rise<br />
in intracellular Ca 2+ that normally occurs during cell swelling.<br />
The P2X antagonists PPADS (50 μM) and TNP-ATP (10<br />
μM) also increased fragility and inhibited volume recovery.<br />
In contrast, ATPγS (10 μM), α,β-methylene-ATP (50 μM)<br />
and Bz-ATP (50 μM) had the opposite effect, whereas 2-<br />
methylthio-ATP (50 μM) and UTP (10 μM) had no effect. In<br />
addition, the phospholipase A2 (PLA2) inhibitors ONO-RS-<br />
082 (10 μM), chlorpromazine (10 μM), and isotetrandrine<br />
(10 μM) increased osmotic fragility and blocked volume<br />
recovery, whereas AA (10 μM) and its nonhydrolyzable analog<br />
eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA, 10 μM) had the reverse effect.<br />
Further, AA (10 μM), but not ATPγS (10 μM), prevented<br />
the inhibitory effect of a low Ca2+-EGTA Ringer on RVD,<br />
whereas both AA (10 μM) and ATPγS (10 μM) caused cell<br />
shrinkage under isosmotic conditions. In conclusion, our<br />
results are consistent with the presence of a P2-like receptor<br />
whose activation stimulated RVD. In addition, AA also was<br />
important for volume recovery.<br />
Katdare, S., Srivathsa, A., Joshi, A., Panke, P., Pande, R.,<br />
Khandal, D. and Everard, M. (2011). Gharial (Gavialis<br />
gangeticus) populations and human influences on habitat on<br />
the River Chambal, India. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and<br />
Freshwater Ecosystems 21(4): 364-371.<br />
Abstract: The gharial, Gavialis gangeticus (Gmelin 1789),<br />
a piscivorous reptile of Asian river systems, is increasingly<br />
threatened by diverse human pressures. Three survey<br />
expeditions were launched to monitor gharial populations,<br />
notable wildlife, and the activities and attitudes of local<br />
people in a 110 km stretch of the Chambal River in the<br />
National Chambal Reserve (NCS), India. Only 15% of gharial<br />
observed in December 2009 were in the upstream 54% of<br />
the surveyed river length. This coincides with the highest<br />
density of disturbance including water pumps, fishermen,<br />
and the highest growth in fishing activity since December<br />
21
2008. Although fishing is recognized as a significant threat to<br />
gharial, no strong relationship was found between numbers<br />
of gharial and fishermen. However, numbers of water<br />
pumps, indicative of the intensity of agricultural activity,<br />
had a negative relationship with gharial numbers. This<br />
relationship was strengthened by omitting the upstream (Pali<br />
to Rameshwaram) survey reach, the tourist area of the NCS,<br />
which is also potentially affected by upstream reaches. The<br />
downstream 46% of surveyed river length in December 2009<br />
supported 85% of gharial (consistent with trends in other<br />
surveys), including 91.6% of males and 81.8% of juveniles.<br />
This reach is classified as a High Population Recorded Area<br />
of high potential conservation importance, also containing<br />
better habitat quality and lower human disturbance. A<br />
positive relationship was found between gharial numbers<br />
and sand habitat features. However, the Davar to Ghoonsai<br />
survey reach had low gharial numbers despite abundant sand<br />
features, perhaps due to a substantial length of the Ghoonsai<br />
sand bank having been converted or agriculture. This may<br />
have significant implications for gharial conservation.<br />
success of caiman reproduction is not only affected by the<br />
amount of rainfall, but also by the time elapsed during which<br />
it takes place. In this study, we present evidence of a positive<br />
relationship between the number of nests produced and<br />
the amount of precipitation on the water heads (“Bajos<br />
Submeridionales”) during March. Surprisingly, there was<br />
not a significant relationship when considering local rainfall<br />
and temperature. During one event of El Niño phenomena<br />
the number of caiman nests was the highest in eight years<br />
of monitoring, besides a remarkable low number of nests<br />
were produced during La Niña. There was not a significant<br />
relationship between clutch <strong>size</strong> and rainfall or temperature.<br />
This information is useful for the ranching programs, because<br />
managers will be able to estimate, nine months in advance,<br />
the number of nests for harvesting. Another positive aspect is<br />
that this information can be used to establish nests’ searching<br />
strategies, and number of eggs to incubate and hatchlings to<br />
raise. Thus, this will help planning management strategies in<br />
support of conservation efforts for the species during extreme<br />
climatic events.<br />
Joshi, R., Singh, R. and Negi, M.S. (2011). First record of<br />
mugger crocodile Crocodylus palustris (Lesson, 1831) from<br />
the Rajaji National Park, North India. International Journal of<br />
Biodiversity and Conservation 3(9): 444-450.<br />
Abstract: First record of Mugger crocodile Crocodylus<br />
palustris (Lesson, 1831) from Rajaji National Park, north India,<br />
is described and illustrated. This is the first record of the order<br />
Crocodilia and genus Crocodylus for Rajaji National Park. On<br />
8th and 9th of December 2010, two Mugger crocodiles were<br />
observed basking in sandy bed of Ganges near to Bhimgora<br />
barrage (Haridwar City) on the very edge of Rajaji’s boundary<br />
adjoining to Haridwar Forest Division. We used ground survey<br />
method to identify new potential habitats and to examine<br />
the distribution and presence of the species from December<br />
2010 to February 2011. Field observations indicated that<br />
the distributional range and upward movements of Mugger<br />
crocodile is increasing in the Ganges River. Besides, their<br />
movement range was found increasing in adjoining areas of<br />
Haridwar and in the Rajaji National Park. Still no any record<br />
is available, which confirms the presence of this crocodilian<br />
species near Haridwar City and in Rajaji National Park and<br />
based on this evidenced study, one more reptilian species<br />
- Crocodylus palustris can be added to the list of reptilian<br />
fauna of the Rajaji National Park. This new record of mugger<br />
crocodile’s presence in some pockets of Rajaji National Park,<br />
Haridwar Forest Division and in higher elevation of Ganges<br />
towards Rishikesh requires further investigations.<br />
Simoncini, M.S., Piña, C.I., Cruz, F.B. and Larriera, A.<br />
(2011). Climatic effects on the reproductive biology of<br />
Caiman latirostris (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae). Amphibia-<br />
Reptilia 32(3): 305-314.<br />
Abstract: Reproductive aspects, like number of nests<br />
produced per season or clutch <strong>size</strong> (number of eggs per nest),<br />
of broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris) may be affected<br />
by a climatic variables such as rainfall and temperature. The<br />
Pauvolid-Corrêa, A., Morales, M.A., Levis, S., Figueiredo,L.<br />
T.M., Couto-Lima, D., Campos, Z., Nogueira, M.F., da<br />
Silva, E.E., Nogueira, R.M.R. and Schatzmayr, H.G. (2011).<br />
Neutralising antibodies for West Nile virus in horses from<br />
Brazilian Pantanal. Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro<br />
106(4): 467-474.<br />
Abstract: Despite evidence of West Nile virus (WNV) activity<br />
in Colombia, Venezuela and Argentina, this virus has not been<br />
reported in most South American countries. In February 2009,<br />
we commenced an investigation for WNV in mosquitoes,<br />
horses and caimans from the Pantanal, Central-West Brazil.<br />
The sera of 168 horses and 30 caimans were initially tested<br />
using a flaviviruses-specific epitope-blocking enzyme-linked<br />
immunosorbent assay (blocking ELISA) for the detection of<br />
flavivirus-reactive antibodies. The seropositive samples were<br />
further tested using a plaque-reduction neutralisation test<br />
(PRNT90) for WNV and its most closely-related flaviviruses<br />
that circulate in Brazil to confirm the detection of specific<br />
virus-neutralising antibodies. Of the 93 (55.4%) blocking<br />
ELISA-seropositive horse serum samples, 5 (3%) were<br />
seropositive for WNV, 9 (5.4%) were seropositive for St.<br />
Louis encephalitis virus, 18 (10.7%) were seropositive for<br />
Ilheus virus, 3 (1.8%) were seropositive for Cacipacore virus<br />
and none were seropositive for Rocio virus using PRNT90,<br />
with a criteria of ≥ four-fold antibody titre difference. All<br />
caimans were negative for flaviviruses-specific antibodies<br />
using the blocking ELISA. No virus genome was detected<br />
from caiman blood or mosquito samples. The present study<br />
is the first report of confirmed serological evidence of WNV<br />
activity in Brazil.<br />
Muniz, F.L., Da Silveira, R., Campos, Z., Magnusson, W.E.,<br />
Hrbek, T. and Farias, I.P. (2011). Multiple paternity in the<br />
Black Caiman (Melanosuchus niger) population in the<br />
Anavilhanas National Park, Brazilian Amazonia. Amphibia-<br />
Reptilia 32(3): 428-434.<br />
22
Abstract: The formation of dominance hierarchies in which the<br />
female mates with a large dominant male is common among<br />
crocodilians. However, there is the possibility of polyandry,<br />
in which females mate with multiple partners during a<br />
single breeding season and generate offspring with multiple<br />
paternity. In the present study, eight pairs of heterologous<br />
primers developed for Alligator mississippiensis and Caiman<br />
latirostris were used to determine whether multiple paternity<br />
exists in the Black Caiman, Melanosuchus niger. For such,<br />
we analyzed 34 Black Caiman offspring from the Anavilhanas<br />
Archipelago in the Negro River (state of Amazonas, Brazil).<br />
The specimens came from 6 groups, each containing 5 or 6<br />
hatchlings. Paternity exclusion and genetic identity indices<br />
were calculated to test the robustness of the microsatellite<br />
loci. Simple allele counts and maximum likelihood estimation<br />
of family clusters were used to determine the likelihood of<br />
occurrence of multiple paternity. Among the eight loci tested,<br />
five were effective at determining paternity, with paternity<br />
exclusion values close to 1.0 (QC= 0.92) and genetic identity<br />
values close to zero (IC < 0.01). Using the simple allele count,<br />
six cases of multiple paternity were detected and confirmed<br />
in three hatchling groups by four different microsatellite loci.<br />
However, maximum likelihood analysis indicated multiple<br />
paternity in all the groups analyzed, with five family clusters<br />
identified in one hatchling group alone. Considering that<br />
this species is listed according to IUCN as Lower Risk/<br />
Conservation Dependent, our results have direct conservation<br />
implications. Multiple paternity increases effective population<br />
<strong>size</strong> by maintaining genetic variation, and thus could be an<br />
important mechanism to maintain genetic diversity in isolated<br />
local populations.<br />
Platt, S.G., Monyrath, V., Sovannara, H., Kheng, L. and<br />
Rainwater, T.R. (2011). Nesting phenology and clutch<br />
characteristics of captive Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus<br />
siamensis) in Cambodia. Zoo Biology 30 (doi: 10.1002/<br />
zoo.20418).<br />
Abstract: The Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis)<br />
is considered one of the least studied and most critically<br />
endangered crocodilians in the world. Although few wild<br />
populations remain, more than 700,000 C. siamensis are held<br />
on commercial crocodile farms in Southeast Asia. Despite<br />
conservation concerns, many aspects of C. siamensis life<br />
history remain poorly known, particularly with regards to<br />
its reproductive biology. We studied nesting phenology,<br />
clutch characteristics, and other aspects of C. siamensis<br />
reproductive biology on crocodile farms in Cambodia during<br />
2000 and 2001. Oviposition among captive crocodiles began<br />
in February and continued into early June. The mean (±1<br />
SD) oviposition date based on pooled data from 2000 and<br />
2001 was 5 April ± 24 days. Mean oviposition date differed<br />
significantly between 2000 and 2001, possibly as a result of<br />
annual variability among nesting cues. The mean incubation<br />
period was 72 ± 3 days and eggs hatched from 5 May to 18<br />
August. Mean clutch <strong>size</strong> (25.0 ± 8.8 eggs; n= 183) differed<br />
significantly between years, possibly resulting from the<br />
>2.5-fold increase in sample <strong>size</strong> during 2001. There was no<br />
correlation between clutch <strong>size</strong> and oviposition date during<br />
either 2000 or 2001. A single female produced two clutches<br />
during 2001, complimenting previous reports of doubleclutching<br />
among C. siamensis. The mean length and width<br />
of 515 eggs were 78.2 ± 4.9 and 48.1 ± 2.5 mm, respectively;<br />
mean egg mass was 90.8 ± 16.5 g (n= 471). One unpipped<br />
egg contained a set of twins.<br />
Parachú Marcó, M.V., Piña, C.I. and Larriera, A. (2011).<br />
Presence of Red Fire Ants (Solenopsis invicta Buren) in Broad-<br />
Snouted Caiman (Caiman latirostris) nests. J. Herpetol.<br />
Abstract: Solenopsis invicta in Caiman latirostris nests is<br />
suspected to be a possible cause of death in caiman hatchlings,<br />
but this has not been documented within the native distribution<br />
of this ant. In crocodilian ranching programs, wild eggs are<br />
collected from the field, and delays between collection and<br />
transportation to incubators are usually minimized in the hope<br />
of maximizing embryo survival. We analyzed nests harvested<br />
during five consecutive nesting seasons of C. latirostris to<br />
determine the phenology of S. invicta colonization of caiman<br />
nests. The final percentages of colonized caiman nests for each<br />
season were calculated. Densities of S. invicta mounds built<br />
on bare ground were analyzed to establish if there was any<br />
relationship with the proportion of caiman nests colonized by<br />
the end of nesting season. We also evaluated whether S. invicta<br />
had preferences among habitats to establish their mounds. We<br />
found no relationship between S. invicta mounds densities<br />
and final percentage of C. latirostris nests with red fire ants.<br />
The presence of S. invicta mounds among years was similar<br />
between different nesting habitats at the beginning of each<br />
season. We found that S. invicta can colonize C. latirostris<br />
nests during the breeding period, and that colonization of<br />
nests is higher than 50% in seasons where rainfall was 200<br />
mm at the beginning of the season (December and January).<br />
In contrast, during years in which rainfall was below 200 mm,<br />
caiman nest colonization was reduced.<br />
Siroski, P.A., Poletta, G.L., Fernandez, L., Ortega, H.H.<br />
and Merchant, M.E. (2011). Ultraviolet radiation on innate<br />
immunity and growth of broad-snouted caiman (Caiman<br />
latirostris): implications for facilities design. Zoo Biology<br />
30.<br />
Abstract: Sunlight is a key environmental factor in almost<br />
all ecosystems, and it is necessary for many physiological<br />
functions. Many vertebrates require ultraviolet (UV) radiation<br />
to perform different physiological processes. Artificial light is<br />
used to supplement UV in captive animals, through appropriate<br />
photoperiods and UV wavelengths. Previous studies reported<br />
that repeated exposure to artificial UV radiation may cause<br />
damage to the immune system. Taking into account the<br />
importance of UV effects and the serum complement system,<br />
the relationship between them was investigated. The study<br />
lasted 90 days and was carried out in plastic chambers. Ninety<br />
six broad-snouted caiman (C. latirostris) were assigned to<br />
four treatment groups with two replicates each: total darkness<br />
(TD), 8 hr per day (8 hr) and 16 hr per day (16 hr) of artificial<br />
UV/visible light exposure, and normal photoperiod of natural<br />
light (NP). Snout-vent length was measured to determine<br />
animal growth. Hemolytic assays were performed to evaluate<br />
the effects of artificial UV/visible light, TD, and NP on the<br />
23
serum complement system. Results showed that animals grew<br />
more in the NP group. The capacity of C. latirostris serum to<br />
hemolyze sheep red blood cells was higher in the NP group<br />
than when they are maintained in constant light-dark cycles<br />
(8 and 16 hr) or in TD. These data demonstrate that artificial<br />
UV should be considered as a potential hazard for captive<br />
crocodilians if it is not properly managed, and this should<br />
be taken into account in the general design of facilities for<br />
reptilian husbandry.<br />
Ploeg, J., Cauillan-Cureg, M., Weerd, M. and Persoon,<br />
G. (2011). ‘Why must we protect crocodiles?’ Explaining<br />
the value of the Philippine crocodile to rural communities.<br />
Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences (doi:10.1080/<br />
1943815X.2011.610804).<br />
Abstract: What are valid arguments to protect the Philippine<br />
crocodile in the wild? And how are we to explain the normative<br />
foundations of biodiversity conservation to rural communities<br />
in the developing world? Conservationists mainly rely on<br />
economic values to justify in situ wildlife conservation. In<br />
this article, we argue that these utilitarian reasons are often<br />
based on inaccuracies and flawed assumptions. By focusing<br />
narrowly on economic incentives, conservationists risk<br />
undermining their credibility and obscuring other valid<br />
reasons to protect nature. Cultural and intrinsic values can<br />
also form a strong motivation for poor people in non-western<br />
societies to conserve biodiversity. In the northern Sierra<br />
Madre on Luzon, respect for nature, interest in wildlife<br />
ecology and pride in the occurrence and conservation of a<br />
rare and iconic species proved to be effective incentives to<br />
protect the Philippine crocodile.<br />
Rossini, M., García, G., Rojas, J. and Zerpa, H. (2011).<br />
Hematologic and serum biochemical reference values for<br />
the wild Spectacled Caiman, Caiman crocodilus crocodilus,<br />
from the Venezuelan plains. Veterinary Clinical Pathology<br />
40(3): 374-379.<br />
Abstract: Background: Commercial farming of Caiman<br />
crocodilus crocodilus has had an impact on the use of this<br />
species for meat consumption and the leather industry.<br />
Spectacled Caimans comprise part of the South American<br />
plains biodiversity. Misinterpretation of laboratory data is a<br />
risk owing to the limited hematologic and serum biochemical<br />
values available for this species. Objective: The aim of this<br />
study was to determine hematologic and serum biochemical<br />
values for wild Spectacled Caimans from the Venezuelan<br />
plains. Methods: Blood samples were collected form the<br />
caudal tail vein of 100 Spectacled Caimans (40 males and<br />
60 females) from the plains located in the State of Apure.<br />
Values for RBC count, PCV, hemoglobin concentration,<br />
WBC absolute and differential counts, and thrombocyte<br />
counts were obtained using manual methods, and RBC<br />
indices were calculated. Serum biochemical analysis<br />
included measurement of alkaline phosphatase, alanine<br />
aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and creatine<br />
kinase activities and concentrations of total protein and<br />
albumin. Comparisons between sexes were analyzed using<br />
the Mann-Whitney test. Results: Reference values for wild<br />
Spectacled Caimans were determined. Minor differences in<br />
hematologic values, particularly for RBC counts, were found<br />
compared with previously published values for this species.<br />
Serum biochemical values were similar to those available<br />
for other crocodilians. There were no significant differences<br />
between males and females. Conclusions: Minor differences<br />
between the values obtained for wild Spectacled Caimans and<br />
those previously published for this species may be related to<br />
differences in methodology and environmental conditions.<br />
Availability of hematologic and serum biochemical reference<br />
values will be useful for accurate diagnosis and management<br />
of disease in this species.<br />
Manzanilla Fuentes, A.G., Seijas, A.E. and Rossini, M.<br />
(2011). Hematological values of juvenile Orinoco crocodiles<br />
(Crocodylus intermedius) in Venezuela. Revista Científica,<br />
FCV-LUZ 21(4), 360-364.<br />
Abstract: The hematological values of blood samples taken<br />
from 81 Crocodylus intermedius of both sexes and from 6<br />
months to 2.5 years of age were analyzed. Seventy-two of<br />
these crocodiles came from a rearing facility, where they have<br />
been maintained since hatching, and the remaining 9 were<br />
recaptured from the wild, where they have been released 5 to<br />
18 months before. The average total length (TL), snouth-vent<br />
length (SVL) and weight was 791 mm, 399 mm and 1567<br />
g, respectively. Mean hemoglobin value was 8.57 g/dL. The<br />
heamatocrit average was 24.76% and leukocytes counted to<br />
6605/mm 3 . There were no differences between sexes for the<br />
above mentioned values. Leukocyte counts showed a slight<br />
trend to decrease with crocodile’s <strong>size</strong>. The differential count<br />
of leukocytes resulted in a higher proportion of heterophils<br />
(55.8%) followed in importance by lymphocytes (31.8%).<br />
These data are considered relevant, since the species is<br />
considered as critically endangered and due to the lack<br />
of physiological values that could be used as standard for<br />
comparisons for C. intermedius. They could be used by<br />
veterinarians and biologists working with conservation<br />
programs for the species in rearing facilities or zoos, to<br />
diagnose deceases in the species they work with.<br />
Woodward, A.R., Percival, H.F., Rauschenberger, R.H., Gross,<br />
T.S., Rice, K.G. and Conrow, R. (2011). Abnormal alligators<br />
and organochlorine pesticides in Lake Apopka, Florida.<br />
Wildlife Ecotoxicology 3: 153-187 (doi: 10.1007/978-0-387-<br />
89432-4_5).<br />
Abstract: Lake Apopka is a 12,400-ha hypereutrophic lake in<br />
central Florida that was the recipient of nutrient and pesticide<br />
pollution from adjacent agricultural operations for 50 years.<br />
The abnormal American alligator (Alligator mississsippiensis)<br />
population in Lake Apopka has been the object of a number<br />
of studies including investigations of a population crash,<br />
the epidemiology of egg failure, and anomalous endocrine<br />
function. Several hypotheses of the causes of these<br />
abnormalities have been proposed and examined by multiple<br />
research organizations over the past three decades. Initially,<br />
organochlorine pesticide (OCP) contamination was considered<br />
24
the most likely factor causing poor reproductive success. DDE<br />
concentrations in alligator eggs sampled in 1984-1985 were<br />
approximately 4 mg/kg and toxaphene concentrations were<br />
approximately 2.5 mg/kg. These levels were known to cause<br />
reproductive failure in certain birds. However, transmissible<br />
diseases, population age and density, cyanotoxins, nutritional<br />
deficiencies, and combinations thereof, were also investigated<br />
for their contribution to poor alligator reproductive success.<br />
Investigations of an alligator mortality and reproductive<br />
failure event on Lake Griffin, a lake similar to Lake Apopka<br />
but with lower OCP levels, revealed analogous reproductive<br />
abnormalities that were associated with a dietary thiamine<br />
deficiency. Thiamine deficiency appeared to be associated<br />
with a diet of almost exclusively gizzard shad, which contain<br />
thiaminase, an enzyme that breaks down thiamine. OCP<br />
contaminants may contribute to these maladies, perhaps<br />
through endocrine disruption and increased stress. The<br />
findings of the past 30 years of work at Lake Apopka have<br />
affected local management decisions as well as policy at the<br />
national level.<br />
Sommerlad, R., Schmidt, F. and Ziegler, T. (2011). Threatened<br />
crocodiles in European zoos? Reptilia 74: 12-17.<br />
Sommerlad, R. (2011). <strong>Crocodile</strong>s - giant reptiles in danger.<br />
Reptilia 74: 4-10.<br />
Submitted Articles<br />
HISTORICAL PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD OF A<br />
CROCODILE, MEKONG RIVER, CAMBODIA. Some of<br />
the travel narratives of early explorers in Indochina provide<br />
important sources of historical information on the status<br />
of crocodiles in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and<br />
Vietnam, but such records, usually brief anecdotes, are rarely<br />
accompanied by photographic evidence. This image (Fig. 1),<br />
taken by French photographer G. Barbat, in the early 1900s,<br />
is the only historical photographic record of a crocodile from<br />
northern Cambodia of which we are aware.<br />
Hastings, A.K., Bloch, J.I., and Jaramillo, C.A. (2011).<br />
A new longirostrine Dyrosaurid (Crocodylomorpha,<br />
Mesoeucrocodylia) from the Paleocene of north-eastern<br />
Colombia: Biogeographic and behavioural implications for<br />
New-World Dyrosauridae. Palaeontology 54(5): 1095-1116.<br />
Abstract: Fossils of dyrosaurid crocodyliforms are limited<br />
in South America, with only three previously diagnosed taxa<br />
including the short-snouted Cerrejonisuchus improcerus from<br />
the Paleocene Cerrejon Formation of north-eastern Colombia.<br />
Here we describe a second dyrosaurid from the Cerrejon<br />
Formation, Acherontisuchus guajiraensis gen. et sp. nov.,<br />
based on three partial mandibles, maxillary fragments, teeth,<br />
and referred postcrania. The mandible has a reduced seventh<br />
alveolus and laterally depressed retroarticular process, both<br />
diagnostic characteristics of Dyrosauridae. Acherontisuchus<br />
guajiraensis is distinct among known dyrosaurids in having<br />
arosaurids. Results from a cladistic analysis of Dyrosauridae,<br />
using 82 primarily cranial and mandibular characters, support<br />
an unresolved relationship between A. guajiraensis and a<br />
combination of New- and Old-World dyrosaurids including<br />
Hyposaurus rogersii, Congosaurus bequaerti, Atlantosuchus<br />
coupatezi, Guarinisuchus munizi, Rhabdognathus keiniensis<br />
and Rhabdognathus aslerensis. Our results are consistent<br />
with an African origin for Dyrosauridae with multiple<br />
dispersals into the New World during the Late Cretaceous and<br />
a transition from marine habitats in ancestral taxa to more<br />
fluvial habitats in more derived taxa.<br />
Escobedo-Galván, A.H., Cupul-Magaña, F.G. and Velasco, J.A.<br />
(2011). Misconceptions about the taxonomy and distribution<br />
of Caiman crocodilus chiapasius and C. crocodilus fuscus<br />
(Reptilia: Crocodylia: Alligatoridae). Zootaxa 3015: 66-68.<br />
Gramentz, D. (2011). Crocodylus palustris and Crocodylus<br />
porosus in Sri Lanka - threat and “protection”. Reptilia 74:<br />
18-27.<br />
Figure 1. <strong>Crocodile</strong> shot in the early 1900s along the Mekong<br />
River, Kratie Province, Cambodia. Photographer: G.<br />
Barbat. Reproduced from Engelmann (2001).<br />
Barbat worked in Indochina between 1908 and 1914 and<br />
focused on hunting themes in Cambodia (Degroise 2011).<br />
The image was originally issued as a postcard, and a caption<br />
under the image of the original states ‘Bas-Laos, Caïman<br />
des rapides de Sambor’ [crocodile at the Sambor rapids].<br />
The hunter in the image is unknown and no other captions,<br />
watermark, stamp or other details are present (F. Engelmann,<br />
pers. obs.). Neither author of this note has encountered the<br />
image within published historical literature from Indochina<br />
in the course of relatively intensive searches for crocodile<br />
records (MRB) or other photographs (FE), and the context of<br />
the photograph (eg an exploratory expedition) is unknown.<br />
The ‘Sambor rapids’ are small, seasonally exposed rocky<br />
rapids within the mainstream of the Mekong River near<br />
Sambor Town (located at 12°46’26”N, 105°57’50”E), Kratie<br />
Province, northeastern Cambodia. The original image is held<br />
in the personal collection of FE and appears in a book of<br />
historical photographic portraits of Indochina (Engelmann<br />
2001). The species in the photograph is presumed to be<br />
Siamese <strong>Crocodile</strong> (Crocodylus siamensis), the only<br />
25
crocodilian known to occur in northern Cambodia, but this<br />
cannot be confirmed. The large, raised squamosal ridges of<br />
the cranial platform visible on this specimen are apparently<br />
distinctive of some adult C. siamensis (Smith 1919) but are<br />
not determinate in themselves (Brazaitis 1973 and references<br />
therein).<br />
The <strong>size</strong> of this crocodile, clearly over 3 m total length (TL),<br />
is approaching the maximum known <strong>size</strong> of C. siamensis<br />
(3.5-4 m TL; Smith 1919). For C. siamensis, confirmation<br />
of species identity based on morphological features also<br />
requires examination of dorsolateral and ventral scalation<br />
(Smith 1919; Brazaitis 1973; Ross and Mayer 1983; Ross<br />
1990, 1992), but sufficient detail cannot be derived from the<br />
image for identification purposes.<br />
Most survey sightings or local reports of crocodiles from<br />
inland freshwater sections of the Cambodian Mekong are<br />
assumed to be C. siamensis (Platt et al. 2004; Simpson and<br />
Han 2004; Simpson et al. 2006; Bezuijen et al. 2009), yet very<br />
few wild crocodiles have actually been examined to confirm<br />
this. Saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) historically<br />
occurred in at least one inland Mekong waterbody, the Tonle<br />
Sap Lake (Platt et al. 2006), around 200 km downstream from<br />
Kratie Province, and its historical presence in northeastern<br />
Cambodia cannot be discounted.<br />
Few other crocodile records are available from the Mekong<br />
River in northeastern Cambodia. Recent herpetological<br />
surveys along the Mekong near Sambor Town did not detect<br />
any crocodiles, but 16 local reports of sightings between<br />
the 1950s and 2006 were collected, including seven reports<br />
since 2003 of crocodiles or nests (Bezuijen et al. 2009). The<br />
Mekong north of Sambor Town supports many islands and<br />
channels, some of which retain extensive forested habitats and<br />
are relatively undisturbed, and some crocodiles may persist<br />
(Bezuijen et al. 2009). Further north along the Mekong River,<br />
in Stung Treng Province, Carne (1872: in translation) observed<br />
‘an enormous [dead] alligator’ on the riverbank, and Wharton<br />
(1966) observed hunting of crocodiles by local communities<br />
along a Mekong tributary bordering Cambodia and Laos.<br />
Small numbers of crocodiles currently persist in Stung Treng<br />
along some sections of the Mekong and tributaries (Simpson<br />
and Han 2004; Simpson et al. 2006; Timmins 2006), but<br />
remnant populations in northeastern Cambodia are probably<br />
all near extirpation.<br />
Acknowledgments<br />
MRB thanks R.H. Bezuijen for originally locating the image.<br />
The authors thank France Morin for putting MRB in contact<br />
with FE.<br />
Literature Cited<br />
Bezuijen, M.R., Vinn, B. and Seng, L. (2009). A collection<br />
of amphibians and reptiles from the Mekong river, northeastern<br />
Cambodia. Hamadryad 34(1): 135-164.<br />
Brazaitis, P. (1973). The identification of Crocodylus<br />
siamensis Schneider. Zoologica 58(1): 43-45.<br />
Carné, L. d. (1872). Voyage en Indo-Chine et dans l’Empire<br />
Chinois, Dentu Ed., Paris. Translated by Tips, W.E.J.<br />
(1995) as ‘Travels on the Mekong. Cambodia, Laos and<br />
Yunnan. The Political and Trade Report of the Mekong<br />
Exploration Commission (June 1866-June 1868).’ White<br />
Lotus: Bangkok, Thailand.<br />
Degroise, M-H. (2011). Photographes d’Asie (1840-1944).<br />
Internet source: http://photographesenoutremerasie.<br />
blogspot.com/search/label/Barbat%20%28G.%29<br />
Engelmann, F. (2001). L’Indochine à La Belle Époque. Un<br />
rêve d’adventure 1870-1914. ASA Editions: Paris.<br />
Platt, S.G., Holloway, R.P., Evans, P.T., Paudyal, K., Piron,<br />
H. and Rainwater, T.R. (2006). Evidence for the historic<br />
occurrence of Crocodylus porosus Schneider, 1801 in<br />
Tonle Sap, Cambodia. Hamadryad 30(1&2): 206-209.<br />
Platt, S.G., Sovannara, H., Kheng, L., Thorbjarnarson, J.B. and<br />
Rainwater, T.R. (2004). Population status and conservation<br />
of wild Siamese <strong>Crocodile</strong>s (Crocodylus siamensis) in the<br />
Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve, Cambodia. Natural History<br />
Bulletin of the Siam Society 52(2): 133-149.<br />
Ross, C.A. (1990). Crocodylus raninus S. Müller and Schlegel,<br />
A valid species of crocodile (Reptilia: Crocodylidae)<br />
from Borneo. Proceedings of the Biological Society of<br />
Washington 103(4): 955-961.<br />
Ross, C.A. (1992). Designation of a lectotype for Crocodylus<br />
raninus S. Müller and Schlegel (Reptilia: Crocodylidae).<br />
Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington<br />
105(2): 400-402.<br />
Ross, F.D. and Mayer, G.C. (1983). On the dorsal armour of<br />
the Crocodilia. Pp. 305-331 in Advances in Herpetology<br />
and Evolutionary Biology, ed. by K. Miyata and A.G.J.<br />
Rhodin. Museum of Comparative Zoology: Cambridge,<br />
USA.<br />
Simpson, B.K., Chheang, D. and Han, S. (2006). The status<br />
of the Siamese crocodile in Cambodia. Pp. 293-305 in<br />
<strong>Crocodile</strong>s. Proceedings of the 18th Working Meeting of<br />
the IUCN-SSC <strong>Crocodile</strong> <strong>Specialist</strong> <strong>Group</strong>. IUCN: Gland,<br />
Switzerland.<br />
Simpson, B.K. and Sam, H. (2004). Siamese <strong>Crocodile</strong><br />
(Crocodylus siamensis) surveys in Cambodia. Pp. 110-120<br />
in <strong>Crocodile</strong>s. Proceedings of the 17th Working Meeting<br />
of the IUCN-SSC <strong>Crocodile</strong> <strong>Specialist</strong> <strong>Group</strong>. IUCN:<br />
Gland, Switzerland.<br />
Smith, M.A. (1919). Crocodilus siamensis. Natural History<br />
Bulletin of the Siam Society 3(3): 217-221.<br />
Timmins, R.J. (2006). An assessment of the biodiversity<br />
conservation significance of the Mekong Ramsar site,<br />
Stung Treng, Cambodia. Unpublished report, Mekong<br />
Wetlands Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use<br />
Programme, Vientiane, Laos.<br />
26
Wharton, C.H. (1966). Man, fire and wild cattle in North<br />
Cambodia. In Proceedings of the 5th Annual Tall Timbers<br />
Fire Ecology Conference. Tall Timbers Research Station:<br />
Florida, USA.<br />
Mark R. Bezuijen (P.O. Box 183, Ferny Creek, Victoria 3786,<br />
Australia ) and Francis Engelmann<br />
(P.O. Box 993, Luang Prabang, Lao PDR ).<br />
ROSS BROTHERS FOOLED BY ART-FAKES. Filling the<br />
top half of page 233 in Ross (1989), there is an uncaptioned<br />
picture that appears at first glance to be an obverse printing<br />
of a famous and prominent figure from Seba (1734; plate<br />
6). This same “obverse” version has been incorporated into<br />
the logo for the CSG’s 21st Working Meeting to be held in<br />
Manila, Philippines, in 2012 (www.csgmanila.com), and is<br />
currently identified at the meeting website as being the Seba<br />
(1734) picture in obverse (Fig. 1). However, the head and<br />
snout proportions differ between the two pictures, and there<br />
are numerous other ways to tell the two illustrations apart.<br />
Figure 1. Manila meeting logo, courtesy of Charles Andrew<br />
Ross.<br />
In Figure 1, along the profiled upper edge of the animal’s<br />
body (and the base of its tail) there is a downward sloping and<br />
gently curved and clearly discernible series of dorsal scale<br />
keels, each of which sticks up in strong contrast to the white<br />
background. Each keel is somewhat pointed, and resembles<br />
a worn and dulled tooth of a saw. Each of these saw-tooth<br />
crests theoretically corresponds with a transverse row of<br />
dorsal armor. In both pictures the elbow joint of an arm sticks<br />
up behind the body, and the dark coloration of the arm makes<br />
it difficult to see the body scutes directly in front of it. The<br />
starting point for my count is the first completely visible keel<br />
immediately posterior to the elbow obstruction. Similarly, on<br />
both of these two versions of this picture, the middle of the tail<br />
curls extravagantly forward and returns toward the body, and<br />
the darkness of this loop-the-loop curl of the tail intersects or<br />
almost intersects the body (actually the base of the tail), and<br />
thus my stopping point is the last clearly discernible whole<br />
keel located anterior to the obstruction caused by the forward<br />
directed curl of the tail.<br />
In the Ross (1989) and Manila logo version, there are 17<br />
whole keels visible, while in contrast the Seba (1734) version<br />
has only 12. Separately, there are also two additional versions<br />
of the same basic picture. The “plate 3, figure 1” animal in<br />
Bonnaterre (1789) has 20 crests (saw teeth in this defined<br />
series), while the 1989 Florida Museum of Natural History<br />
graphic in CSG Newsletter 8(1): 9 (small and lightly inked)<br />
and 8(4): 45 (larger and darker), and discussed in Ross (1990)<br />
and the 1990 Newsletter editor’s additions, has at most 7<br />
keels in the series located between the anterior and posterior<br />
obstructions<br />
With 17 keels in my defined zone, the picture of unknown<br />
origin (Fig. 1) is definitely not from Seba (1734), and it is not<br />
from Bonnaterre (1789). Although it is theoretically possible<br />
that Seba’s (1734) picture is an imperfect obverse copy of this<br />
Ross (1989) and Manila meeting graphic, it is more probable<br />
that the Seba picture was published first, and the other three<br />
pictures were actually copies of it. Thus, given parsimony,<br />
the Manila logo is not Seba’s (1734) “plate 106, figure 1”,<br />
but is rather a separate art work “after Seba” (meaning based<br />
entirely on Seba’s figure, without reference to Seba’s or any<br />
other physical specimen).<br />
None of these four versions depict a real crocodile. It has too<br />
many toes on its hind feet, too many claws on its front feet,<br />
the teeth are stylized and simplified, the ear is wrong, and.<br />
the dorsal scales are stylized and technically wrong in some<br />
details. Andy Ross says that he remembers photographing<br />
the accompanying picture from the U.S. National Museum’s<br />
copy of Seba, and currently thinks that his version is merely<br />
an obverse of the Seba (1734) original. In contrast, I ask if<br />
anyone knows where Andy Ross could have gotten this<br />
picture. It differs from my copy of Seba (1734), which is<br />
the 2001 reprinting of Seba’s plates by Taschen in Germany,<br />
titled: “Cabinet of natural curiosities” (587 pp). It is certain<br />
that the 1989-1990 Newsletter version is not the Bonnaterre<br />
(1789) picture, and not from Seba (1734) either. Clearly I was<br />
wrong in 1990 when I said that it was the Seba illustration.<br />
Today I assert that the citation for the “Gainesville” graphic<br />
is also unknown.<br />
Literature Cited<br />
Bonnaterre, P.J. (1789). Tableau encyclopédique et<br />
méthodique des trois règnes de la nature. Erpétologie.<br />
Panckoucke: Paris.<br />
Ross, C.A. (1989). <strong>Crocodile</strong>s and Alligators. Weldon Owen:<br />
Sydney.<br />
Ross, F.D. (1990). It is not an alligator, caiman, crocodile,<br />
or gharial (illustrated and annotated by F. Wayne King).<br />
<strong>Crocodile</strong> <strong>Specialist</strong> <strong>Group</strong> Newsletter 9(1): 22-23.<br />
Seba, A. (1734). Locupletissimi rerum naturalium thesauri.<br />
Volume 1. Amsterdam, the Netherlands.<br />
Franklin D. Ross, NCB Naturalis, Box 9517, Leiden 2300 RA,<br />
the Netherlands.<br />
27
Steering Committee of the <strong>Crocodile</strong> <strong>Specialist</strong> <strong>Group</strong><br />
Chairman: Professor Grahame Webb, P.O. Box 530, Karama, NT 0813, Australia<br />
For further information on the CSG and its programs, on crocodile conservation, biology, management, farming, ranching, or<br />
trade, contact the Executive Office (csg@wmi.com.au) or Regional Chairmen<br />
Deputy Chairmen: Dr. Dietrich Jelden, Bundesamt für Naturschutz,<br />
Konstantin Str. 110, Bonn D-53179, Germany, Tel: (49) 228<br />
849 11310, Fax: (49) 228 84911319, . Alejandro Larriera, Pje. Pvdo. 4455, Centeno 950, Santa<br />
Fe, Argentina, Tel: (543) 42 4531539, Fax: (543) 42 558955,<br />
.<br />
Executive Officer: Tom Dacey, P.O. Box 98, Clifton Beach, Qld<br />
4871, Australia, Tel/Fax: (61) 7 40553060, Cell: (61) 419704073,<br />
.<br />
Regional Chairman, South and East Africa: Dr. Richard Fergusson,<br />
8 Maiden Dr., Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe, Tel/Fax: (263) 47<br />
76203, Cell: (263) 91 285103, .<br />
Regional Vice Chairmen: Christine Lippai , Dr. Alison Leslie .<br />
Regional Chairman, West and Central Africa (including<br />
Madagascar): Dr. Samuel Martin, La Ferme aux <strong>Crocodile</strong>s,<br />
Pierrelatte, France .<br />
Regional Vice Chairmen: Prof. Guy Apollinaire Mensah<br />
; Christine Lippai .<br />
Regional Chairmen, East and Southeast Asia: Dr. Toshinori<br />
Tsubouchi , Dr. Jiang Hongxing, State<br />
Forestry Administration of China .<br />
Regional Vice Chairmen: Dr. Choo Hoo Giam ; Dr. Nao Thuok ; Uthen<br />
Youngprapakorn ; Yosapong Temsiripong<br />
.<br />
Regional Chairman, Australia and Oceania: Charlie Manolis,<br />
P.O. Box 530, Karama, NT 0813, Australia, Tel: (61) 8 89224500,<br />
Fax: (61) 8 89470678, . Regional Vice<br />
Chairmen: Eric Langelet , Steve<br />
Peucker .<br />
Regional Chairman, South Asia and Iran: Janaki Lenin<br />
. Regional Vice Chairmen: B.C.<br />
Choudhury ; Anslem de Silva ; Abdul Aleem Choudhury ; Asghar<br />
Mobaraki ; Dr. S.M.A. Rashid<br />
.<br />
Regional Chairmen, Latin America and the Caribbean: Alfonso<br />
Llobet (Management Programs) ; Dr.<br />
Carlos Piña (Human Resources Development) ; Alvaro Velasco (Incentives for Conservation)<br />
; Regional Vice Chairmen: Hesiquio<br />
Benítez Diaz ; Dr. Miryam Anaya<br />
; Luis Bassetti ; Sergio Medrano-Bitar ; Dr.<br />
Roberto Soberón ; Bernardo Ortiz (Regional<br />
Trade) .<br />
Regional Chairmen, Europe: Dr. Jon Hutton, UNEP World<br />
Conservation Monitoring Centre, United Nations Environment<br />
Program, 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK, Tel: (44)<br />
1223 277314, Fax: (44) 1223 277136, ; Dr. Samuel Martin, La Ferme aux <strong>Crocodile</strong>s, Pierrelatte,<br />
France, . Regional Vice<br />
Chairman: Ralf Sommerlad .<br />
28<br />
Regional Chairmen, North America: Dr. Ruth Elsey, Louisiana<br />
Wildlife and Fisheries Department, 5476 Grand Chenier Highway,<br />
Grand Chenier, LA 70643, USA, Tel: (1) 337 5382165, Fax: (1)<br />
337 4912595, ; Allan Woodward,<br />
Florida Fish and Wild;ife Conservation Commission, 1105<br />
SW Williston Road, Gainesville, FL 32601, USA, Tel: (1) 352<br />
9552081, Fax: (1) 352 9552183, .<br />
Regional Vice Chairmen: Noel Kinler ; Dr. Frank Mazzotti ; Dr. Thomas Rainwater<br />
.<br />
Vice Chairman for IUCN: Dr. Perran Ross, Department of Wildlife<br />
Ecology and Conservation, P.O. Box 110430, University of Florida,<br />
Gainesville, FL 32611, USA, Tel: (1) 352 3927137, .<br />
Vice Chairman for CITES: Hank Jenkins, P.O. Box 390, Belconnen,<br />
ACT 2616, Australia, Tel: (61) 2 62583428, Fax: (61) 2 62598757,<br />
; Deputy Vice Chairman: Dr.<br />
Yoshio Kaneko .<br />
Vice Chairman, Industry: Don Ashley, Belfast Dr., Tallahassee,<br />
FL 32317, USA, Tel: (1) 850 893 6869, .<br />
Deputy Vice Chairmen: Yoichi Takehara ; C.H. Koh ; Kevin Van Jaarsveldt<br />
; Enrico Chiesa ; Jorge Saieh ; Thomas Kralle<br />
; Chris Plott ; Eric<br />
Silberstein ; Jerome Caraguel .<br />
Vice Chairman, Trade Monitoring: John Caldwell . Deputy Vice Chairman: James<br />
MacGregor ; Steve<br />
Broad, TRAFFIC International .<br />
Vice Chairman, Veterinary Science: Dr. Paolo Martelli .<br />
Vice Chairman, Zoos and Community Education: Dr. Kent Vliet,<br />
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA, Tel: (1) 352<br />
3928130, Fax: (1) 352 3924738, .<br />
Vice Chairman, General Research: Dr. Valentine Lance, Graduate<br />
School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego,<br />
CA, USA, .<br />
Vice Chairman, Legal Affairs: Tomme Young .<br />
CSG Red List Authority: Dr. Perran Ross, Department of Wildlife<br />
Ecology and Conservation, P.O. Box 110430, University of Florida,<br />
Gainesville, FL 32611, USA, Tel: (1) 352 392 7137, .<br />
Honorary Steering Committee Members: Prof. Harry Messel<br />
(Australia), Ted Joanen (USA), Romulus Whitaker (India),<br />
Phil Wilkinson (USA), Prof. F. Wayne King (USA), Dr. Fritz<br />
Huchzermeyer (South Africa).<br />
Task Force/Working <strong>Group</strong> Chairmen: Chinese Alligator, Dr. Jiang<br />
Hongxing ; Tomistoma, Bruce Shwedick<br />
; Human-<strong>Crocodile</strong> Conflict, Dr. Richard<br />
Fergusson .