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Item A composite section of fossiliferous Late Cretaceous--Early Paleogene localities in Senegal and preliminary description of a new late Maastrichtian vertebrate fossil assemblage (American Museum novitates, no. 4013)(American Museum of Natural History., 2024-05-08) Sarr, Raphaël.; Hill, Robert V.; Jenkins, Xavier A.; Tapanila, Leif.; O'Leary, Maureen A.We describe new macro- and microfossils recovered on a field expedition to the North Quarry of Poponguine, a locality in western Senegal that spans the Late Cretaceous through the Early Paleogene, albeit with a likely unconformity at the base of the Danian. Newly discovered macrovertebrates from the Maastrichtian Cap de Naze Formation include pycnodonts, dyrosaurids, and chelonians, the latter two the oldest and first Cretaceous representatives of these clades from Senegal. Screenwashing of this deposit revealed that the matrix also consists of abundant microscopic biological clasts comprising osteichthyan vertebrae, spines, and cranial fragments, shark dermal denticles, invertebrates, and numerous ovoid coprolites among other fragments. These microfossils document a much less conspicuous portion of the paleobiodiversity. We describe the stratigraphy of this new locality and incorporate it into a new correlated section that ties together three other Late Cretaceous--Early Paleogene fossiliferous localities of the Senegalese-Mauritanian Basin. The presence of fossiliferous Danian rocks, which are notably rare in West Africa, is elucidated in our section, which synthesizes prior geological and paleontological work around Poponguine and in the nearby coastal region of Ndayane. Primarily dated using the biostratigraphy of ostracods and foraminiferans, the correlated rock units include the Paki and the Cap de Naze Formations of the Late Cretaceous Diass Group and the Ndayane and the Poponguine Formations of the Paleocene Cap-Vert Group, deposits that capture ancient near shore marine environments. The localities described, although separated by only a few kilometers, exhibit dramatic differences in thickness across faulted blocks of the Diass Horst. Dyrosaurids, which are common fossils in nearshore marine outcrops of West Africa, have been hypothesized to be of African origin and to have dispersed to South America in the Late Cretaceous. This dyrosaurid specimen, although fragmentary, documents a western extreme in the geographic range of African dyrosaurids where the clade would have been well situated for broader trans-Atlantic dispersal.Item A new extinct species of Malagodon (Cyprinodontiformes: Pantanodontidae) from southeastern coastal Madagascar : with a discussion of its phylogenetic relationships and a redescription of the genus (American Museum novitates, no. 4012)(American Museum of Natural History., 2024-04-24) Carr, Emily M.; Martin, Rene P.; Sparks, John S.A new species belonging to the recently described genus Malagodon Meinema and Huber, 2023, is herein described from specimens collected in a single, small, isolated Pandanas swamp in southeastern coastal Madagascar, located within the Réserve Spéciale de Manombo, south of the town of Farafangana, its only known locality. The new species was last collected in the late 1990s, and despite repeated attempts over the past three decades, no additional specimens have been collected at the type locality or from any other suitable habitats within the region, and the species is presumed to be extinct. The new species is distinguished from its only congener, Malagodon madagascariensis, formerly known from forested swamps in northeastern coastal Madagascar, and also now considered to be extinct, by the following apomorphic features: a lower anal-fin ray count (15–17 vs. 18–19), a longer caudal peduncle (26.8%–39.8% vs. 21.9%–26.7% SL), and the presence of a platelike (vs. thin and spinelike) neural spine on the fifth vertebral centrum in both sexes. Additionally, the new species exhibits neural spines on both the sixth and seventh vertebral centra that are also somewhat expanded and platelike dorsally compared with those in M. madagascariensis, which are narrow and spinelike. We also provide a rediagnosis of Malagodon based on the examination of additional material unavailable in the original description, which was based on only three specimens (two males of M. madagascariensis and one female of the new species).Item A new species of Cyphocharax Fowler (Teleostei: Curimatidae) from the Rio Xingu, Brazil (American Museum novitates, no. 4007)(American Museum of Natural History., 2024-01-23) Netto-Ferreira, Andre L.; Nogueira, Acácio F.; Melo, Bruno F.; Dutra, Guilherme M.A new species of the curimatid genus Cyphocharax is described from the Rio Xingu, Amazon basin. This species is readily distinguished from congeners by the presence of a dark, round blotch on the caudal peduncle and by the high density of iridophores on the ventrolateral portion of the body, resulting in a strongly countershaded pattern. Molecular phylogenetic analyses support the recognition of the new species and suggest that it is nested within the Curimatella alburna clade. Ancestral state reconstruction suggests independent evolutionary origins of the blotched caudal peduncle and the countershaded ventrolateral flanks among curimatid fishes.Item A new species of Ululodes owlfly (Ascalaphidae: Ululodinae) from Cave Creek Canyon in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona (American Museum novitates, no. 4010)(American Museum of Natural History., 2024-03-12) Jones, Joshua R.; Johnson, Samantha Valerie.; Jensen, Jeremy B.A new species of Ululodes owlfly from the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona is described. Support for the evolutionary independence of the species from congeners is established along two lines of evidence: statistical measures of distances among COI sequences and comparative anatomy. The new species, U. chiricahuensis, is characterized via formal description and diagnosis, images, and a distribution map. A key to the owlfly species of Cave Creek Canyon is presented. Competing hypotheses for the biogeographic origins of U. chiricahuensis are discussed, as well as possible tests for their resolution.Item A phylogenetic approach to the neotropical social wasp genus Leipomeles Möbius, 1856 (Vespidae: Epiponini), with a new identification key (American Museum novitates, no. 4006)(American Museum of Natural History., 2023-12-19) Somavilla, Alexandre; Santos Vieira, Gabriel; Andena, Sergio Ricardo; Noll, Fernando B. (Fernando Barbosa); Carpenter, James M. (James Michael), 1956-Leipomeles Möbius, 1856, is a neotropical genus of swarm-founding wasps extending from Costa Rica to the middle of Brazil, with four species described. A combined phylogenetic analysis using female and male morphology, and nest architecture was performed with the program TNT. Leipomeles is supported as monophyletic with the following relationships among species: (L. pusilla + L. albogrisea) + (L. spilogaster + L. dorsata). A new identification key for the genus is also presented.Item A remarkable species of drosophilid fly (Diptera) with “mandibles” (American Museum novitates, no. 4005)(American Museum of Natural History., 2023-12-19) Grimaldi, David A.A distinctive species in the family Drosophilidae, Drosophila ancora Okada, 1968, is redescribed from specimens from Vietnam, and transferred to the genus Dichaetophora Duda sensu lato. It is exceptional among Diptera for its labellar sclerites that in males have grown into a pair of heavily sclerotized, pointed lobes at the tip of the labellum, producing what appear to be chewing mandibles. This is analogous to the condition in the dolichopodid Melanderia Aldrich, but there it is not sexually dimorphic. The structures are doubtfully used in male-male aggression or in postcopulatory mate guarding. Based on their shapes and fit, it is proposed that the “mandibles” are used by males to grasp the tip of the female oviscapt during courtship or for the male to grasp the female wing edge while mounted.Item A.J. Stone's measurements of natives of the Northwest Territories. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 14, article 6.(New York : Published by order of the Trustees, American Museum of Natural History, 1901) Boas, Franz, 1858-1942.; Stone, A. J. (Andrew Jackson), b. 1859.; Constable Expeditions to the Northwest (1897-1899)Item The aardvark of the Haut-Uele. American Museum novitates ; no.535(New York City : The American Museum of Natural History, 1932) Hatt, Robert T. (Robert Torrens), 1902-; Lang, Herbert, 1879-1957.; American Museum Congo Expedition (1909-1915)Item Abnormal dentition in sharks, Selachii. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 73, article 2.(New York : The American Museum of Natural History, 1937) Gudger, E. W. (Eugene Willis), 1866-1956.Item An aboriginal rock alignment in the Toiyabe Range, central Nevada. American Museum novitates ; no. 2534(New York, N.Y. : American Museum of Natural History, 1974) Thomas, David Hurst.; McKee, Edwin H."Two unusual rock walls in end-to-end alignment situated southeast of Austin, Lander County, Nevada, are described and their possible origin and use discussed. The eastern wall, about 300 feet long, extends from a canyon bottom, up a moderately steep hillside, and terminates just short of cliffy outcrops about two-thirds of the way to the ridge crest. The western wall, approximately 200 feet long, runs about halfway up the opposite side of the ridge. Judging from the type of projectile points found nearby, the walls are tentatively dated to the Reveille or the Underdown phases of the local archeological sequence (i.e., ca. 1000 BC to AD 1300). Several alternative hypotheses are considered to explain this feature, probably the best of which is that the rock barriers are prehistoric hunting fences, constructed to ambush deer or antelope"--P. [1].Item An aboriginal salt mine at Camp Verde, Arizona. Anthropological papers of the AMNH ; v. 30, pt. 3(New York, American Museum of Natural History, 1928) Morris, Earl Halstead, 1889-1956.Item Absence of the pollex in Perissodactyla. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 37, article 21.(New York : Published by order of the Trustees, American Museum of Natural History, 1917) Matthew, William Diller, 1871-1930.Item Abyssal Bryozoa collected by expeditions of the Lamont Geological Observatory. 1, Bicellariellidae (Bugulidae of authors), Kinetoskias. American Museum novitates ; no. 2130(New York, N.Y. : American Museum of Natural History, 1963) Menzies, Robert J. (Robert James), 1923-1976.; Vema (Research vessel); American Museum of Natural History-Lamont Geological Observatory Expeditions (1955-1962)Item Acanthoceratid Ammonoidea from near Greybull, Wyoming. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 93, article 1(New York : [American Museum of Natural History], 1949) Haas, Otto, 1887-Item Aceratherium tridactylum from the Lower Miocene of Dakota. Bulletin of the AMNH ; v. 5, article 7.(New York : Published by order of the Trustees, American Museum of Natural History, 1893) Osborn, Henry Fairfield, 1857-1935.; Peterson, Olof August, 1865-1933.Item Acleistochelys, a new side-necked turtle (Pelomedusoides, Bothremydidae) from the Paleocene of Mali ; American Museum novitates, no. 3549(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2007) Gaffney, Eugene S.; Roberts, Eric (Eric M.); Sissoko, Famory.; Bouaré, Mohamed L.; Tapanila, Leif Michael.; O'Leary, Maureen A.The Paleocene Teberemt Formation south of the Adrar des Iforas Mountains, between Saguirilidad and In Fargas, Mali, yielded a nearly complete skull of a new genus and species of side-necked turtle, Acleistochelys maliensis. Acleistochelys is a member of the family Bothremydidae Baur, 1891, because: (1) the fossa precolumellaris is absent, (2) the foramen stapedio-temporale faces anteriorly, (3) the eustachian tube is separated from the stapes by bone, and (4) an exoccipital-quadrate contact is present. Within the Bothremydidae, Acleistochelys belongs to the tribe Taphrosphyini because: (1) the maxilla-quadratojugal contact is absent, (2) the palate is dorsally arched, (3) there is only a small contribution of the palatine to the triturating surfaces, and (4) the septum orbitotemporale is at least partially open. Acleistochelys is most closely related to Azabbaremys because both share a narrow vomer lacking a posterior attachment to the palatines. The specimen was found in a marine limestone associated with crocodiles, echinoids, and mollusks.Item Acoetes magnifica, a new species of polychaetous annelid from Montego Bay, Jamaica, British West Indies. American Museum novitates ; no. 355(New York City : American Museum of Natural History, 1929) Treadwell, Aaron L. (Aaron Louis), 1866-1947.Item Acroplous vorax Hotton (Amphibia, Saurerpetontidae) restudied in light of new material. American Museum novitates ; no. 2662(New York, N.Y. : American Museum of Natural History, 1978) Coldiron, Ronn W."A new individual of Acroplous vorax is described and its systematic position within the Saurerpetonidae is reexamined. The new specimen is clearly conspecific with the type as shown by the narrow midline elements, broad supratemporal and intertemporal, wide but short lacrimal, and nearly identical pterygoids. The new specimen offers more data on the braincase, pterygoid occiput, lower jaw, and humerus. The internal process of the pterygoid is small and a well-developed epipterygoid caps the dorsal process of the pterygoid, indicating a more primitive basal articulation than that interpreted for Isodectes. Unfortunately, the condition in Saurerpeton is unknown for comparison. Like all other saurerpetonid genera (Dvinosuarus, Saurerpeton, Isodectes) the lower jaw has a large symphysial tusk and a long retroarticular process. The new material, however, is primitive in having a small posterior meckelian fossa. Advanced lower jaw characters are an overall dorsoventral compression and a unique wide exposure of the articular both laterally and medially. The vertebrae are unique among saurerpetontids in having a cartilaginous portion of pleurocentrum conspicuously larger than the intercentrum. A hypothesis of relationships suggests Acroplous to be the sister group of Isodectes and brachyopids. As a result the saurerpetontids are paraphyletic since they exclude the brachyopids. Further, if brachyopids are the sister group to 'saurerpetontids' and other stereospondyls are more closely related to eryopids, then stereospondyls would be diphyletic. There are many characters, however, that contradict the hypothesis of stereospondyls being diphyletic. Dvinosaurus, long thought to be an aberrant member of the trimerorhachoids, is thought to be the sister group to 'saurerpetontids' and brachyopids"--P. [1].Item Acropyga and Azteca ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with scale insects (Sternorrhyncha, Coccoidea) : 20 million years of symbiosis. American Museum novitates ; no. 3335(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2001) Johnson, Christine (Entomologist); Agosti, Donat.; Delabie, Jacques H. C.; Dumpert, Klaus.; Williams, D. J. (Douglas John); Tschirnhaus, Michael von.; Maschwitz, Ulrich.Species of the genus Acropyga are rarely encountered subterranean ants that rely on mealybugs or aphids to provide their nutritional needs. Female Acropyga (Formicinae) alates of pantropical and Mediterranean species carry mealybugs with their mandibles while swarming and probably inoculate their new nests with these mealybugs. The natural history of Acropyga and other mealybug-tending ant species, a summary of the various reports of Acropyga females toting mealybugs, and a new record from French Guiana are presented here. Also provided are a first report and description of Acropyga alates with mealybugs in Dominican amber dated to the Miocene, a discovery indicating that this intimate association and relatively uncommon behavior has existed for at least 15-20 million years. The mealybugs found with the Acropyga females in amber are related to the hypogaeic genera Eumyrmococcus Silvestri and Neochavesia Williams & Granara de Willink (Pseudococcidae, Rhizoecinae) and represent three new species of a new genus. The genus Electromyrmococcus and the species Electromyrmococcus abductus Williams, Electromyrmococcus inclusus Williams and Agosti, and Electromyrmococcus reginae Williams are described. A piece of Dominican amber containing workers of Azteca alpha Wilson (Dolichoderinae) and 23 scale insects is also presented and the significance of these specimens in Dominican amber is discussed.Item Adaptations for egg eating in the snake Elaphe climacophora (Boie). American Museum novitates ; no. 1571(New York : American Museum of Natural History, 1952) Gans, Carl, 1923-; Oshima, Masamitsu, 1884-1965."This paper describes the habits and vertebral modifications for egg crushing of a species of Elaphe specialized for the eating of eggs. It is pointed out that considerable variation exists among the three specimens examined, and thus a final decision as to the cause and significance of this variation is precluded at the present time by lack of material, but a number of hypotheses are offered to explain the evolutionary significance of the vertebral modification. There are possible taxonomic implications in view of the development of similar specialization among related forms and their bearing on the status of the snakes (Dasypeltinae), now placed in a separate subfamily largely because of similar but more extreme adaptive specialization. It may be of interest to note here that preliminary investigations of the senior author show that similar specialization exists in Elaphe carinata, E. dione, and E. schrencki anomala, among Chinese species of Elaphe examined thus far. In E. carinata modification of the hypapophyses has progressed to the point of penetration of the esophagus"--P. 14-15.