Geographic Distribution, Habitat, Reproduction, and Conservation Status of Crocodilians in the Americas

Villamarı́n, Francisco; Escobedo‐Galván, Armando H.; Siroski, Pablo Ariel; Magnusson, William E.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-56383-7_1

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 92 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…rhombifer and Cr. moreletii are suffering from these declines and hybridization processes in the Caribbean islands 11 . The species Cr.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These iconic animals have varied roles in the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems as top-order predators, influence the nutrient cycle, and cross-ecosystem engineering processes 2 , 10 , 12 . Crocodilian species differ from other vertebrates by their demographic characteristics and can generally be categorized as K-selected, characterized by presenting a long life, often large size, and few offspring; or R-selected, characterized by presenting a short life span, many offspring, and usually small size 11 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Global conservation prioritization areas in three dimensions of crocodilian diversity

Lourenço-de-Moraes

Campos

Cabral

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Crocodilians are a taxonomic group of large predators with important ecological and evolutionary benefits for ecosystem functioning in the face of global change. Anthropogenic actions affect negatively crocodilians’ survival and more than half of the species are threatened with extinction worldwide. Here, we map and explore three dimensions of crocodilian diversity on a global scale. To highlight the ecological importance of crocodilians, we correlate the spatial distribution of species with the ecosystem services of nutrient retention in the world. We calculate the effectiveness of global protected networks in safeguarding crocodilian species and provide three prioritization models for conservation planning. Our results show the main hotspots of ecological and evolutionary values are in southern North, Central and South America, west-central Africa, northeastern India, and southeastern Asia. African species have the highest correlation to nutrient retention patterns. Twenty-five percent of the world’s crocodilian species are not significantly represented in the existing protected area networks. The most alarming cases are reported in northeastern India, eastern China, and west-central Africa, which include threatened species with low or non-significant representation in the protected area networks. Our highest conservation prioritization model targets southern North America, east-central Central America, northern South America, west-central Africa, northeastern India, eastern China, southern Laos, Cambodia, and some points in southeastern Asia. Our research provides a global prioritization scheme to protect multiple dimensions of crocodilian diversity for achieving effective conservation outcomes.

show abstract

“…rhombifer and Cr. moreletii are suffering from these declines and hybridization processes in the Caribbean islands 11 . The species Cr.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global conservation prioritization areas in three dimensions of crocodilian diversity

Lourenço-de-Moraes

Campos

Cabral

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Also around 60 mya South American side-necked turtles (Podocnemidoidae) diversified into new lineages (Ferreira et al, 2018). At this time too, 60 mya, Alligatorids split into two lineages (Roberto et al, 2020), a larger one, Caiman that prefers rivers and lagoons, and Paleosuchus spp that is a smaller forest specialist living in small creeks inside the forest (Villamarín et al, 2021). Approximately 58 mya Titanoboa an aquatic lineages of snakes, split from terrestrial lineages (Head, 2009) and between 50-40 mya Eunectes, a group of aquatic snakes, diversifies from its terrestrial ancestors (Rivas et al in prep).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The missing river

Rivas

2023

Front. Earth Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Around 60 Mya, South American side-necked turtles (Podocnemididae) diversified into new lineages [117]. At approximately the same time, alligatorids split into two lineages [118]: a larger one, Caiman, that prefers rivers and lagoons, and Paleosuchus, a smaller forest specialist living in small creeks inside the forest [119]. Around 40 Mya, a lineage of very large caimans, Melanosuchus, also split from the same lineages [118].…”

Section: Paleogeographic Events Triggered the Origin Of Large-bodied ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling the Anacondas: Revealing a New Green Species and Rethinking Yellows

Rivas,

De La Quintana,

Mancuso

et al. 2024

Diversity

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Anacondas, genus Eunectes, are a group of aquatic snakes with a wide distribution in South America. The taxonomic status of several species has been uncertain and/or controversial. Using genetic data from four recognized anaconda species across nine countries, this study investigates the phylogenetic relationships within the genus Eunectes. A key finding was the identification of two distinct clades within Eunectes murinus, revealing two species as cryptic yet genetically deeply divergent. This has led to the recognition of the Northern Green Anaconda as a separate species (Eunectes akayima sp. nov), distinct from its southern counterpart (E. murinus), the Southern Green Anaconda. Additionally, our data challenge the current understanding of Yellow Anaconda species by proposing the unification of Eunectes deschauenseei and Eunectes beniensis into a single species with Eunectes notaeus. This reclassification is based on comprehensive genetic and phylogeographic analyses, suggesting closer relationships than previously recognized and the realization that our understanding of their geographic ranges is insufficient to justify its use as a separation criterion. We also present a phylogeographic hypothesis that traces the Miocene diversification of anacondas in western South America. Beyond its academic significance, this study has vital implications for the conservation of these iconic reptile species, highlighting our lack of knowledge about the diversity of the South American fauna and the need for revised strategies to conserve the newly identified and reclassified species.

show abstract

Geographic Distribution, Habitat, Reproduction, and Conservation Status of Crocodilians in the Americas

Cited by 5 publications

References 92 publications

Global conservation prioritization areas in three dimensions of crocodilian diversity

Global conservation prioritization areas in three dimensions of crocodilian diversity

The missing river

Disentangling the Anacondas: Revealing a New Green Species and Rethinking Yellows

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About