Abstracts from J. Zoology

Looking over the contents of the latest Journal of Zoology, per that Kouprey article, I see there are a few other interesting articles about the stranger side of biology. A few additional abstracts from December 2006, Vol. 270, Issue 4:


Dissociation between mane development and sexual maturity in lions (Panthera leo): solution to the Tsavo riddle?
T. P. Gnoske, G. G. Celesia & J. C. Kerbis Peterhans

The mane characteristics of lions Panthera leo in the greater Tsavo ecosystem (GTE) were compared with those of lions from the equatorial middle-elevation plains (EMEP). Contrary to popular belief, most full-grown GTE lions are not maneless; 87% had manes, with 49% possessing good manes. The manes of GTE lions, however, were poorer on average, relative to age, than the manes of EMEP lions. For both groups, there was a significant relationship between age and mane type. In EMEP lions, mane development started early and grew to a full mane by age 4–5. In GTE lions, mane development began later and developed more slowly. Delayed onset and a slower rate of development are correlated with the consistently hot Tsavo climate. Poorly maned but fully mature lions mated actively, showing dissociation between mane development and sexual maturity. The correlation between climate and mane development suggests that climatic adaptation results in the inhibition and/or delay in the development of a secondary sexual character without compromising reproductive viability.


A new genus and species of 'giant hutia' (Tainotherium valei) from the Quaternary of Puerto Rico: an extinct arboreal quadruped?
S. T. Turvey, F. V. Grady & P. Rye

A large incomplete rodent femur from a Quaternary cave deposit near Barahona, Puerto Rico, is established as the holotype of Tainotherium valei, a new extinct genus and species. Although biogeographic and body size similarities suggest that it may be related to the Puerto Rican giant hutia Elasmodontomys, the Antillean large-bodied rodent family Heptaxodontidae is now interpreted as invalid, and it is impossible to assign Tainotherium to a particular caviomorph family in the absence of associated craniodental material. Tainotherium differs from other West Indian species in possessing a large femoral head, a proximally angled femoral neck, a short greater trochanter and a medially positioned lesser trochanter unconnected by an intertrochanteric crest, and a transversely flattened, anteroposteriorly bowed shaft lacking well-defined ridges. These characters are all associated with arboreal life habits in other mammal groups. The Puerto Rican land mammal fauna was dominated by a rodent radiation occupying a wide variety of niches before human arrival in the West Indies, but although arboreality is correlated with increased likelihood of survival in Quaternary mammalian extinction events, all of this fauna is now extinct. It is unlikely that decreasing aridity and the reduction of Puerto Rican savanna-type environments at the end of the Pleistocene contributed to the extinction of the arboreal Tainotherium, and habitat destruction by pre-Columbian Amerindians may instead have been responsible.



How much fruit do fruit-eating frogs eat? An investigation on the diet of Xenohyla truncata (Lissamphibia: Anura: Hylidae)
H. R. da Silva & M. C. de Britto-Pereira

This paper presents the results of a 22-month survey and the examination of the intestinal content of 356 specimens of Xenohyla truncata (Anura: Hylidae) from Restinga de Maricá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Our results confirm prior observations that fruits are intrinsic to the diet of these frogs. In addition, these new data increase our understanding of the relationship between frogs and the plants they feed upon. Plant consumption follows availability of fruits in the area, indicating that the diversity of fruits consumed by the frogs does not represent choice, but rather plant phenology and fruit availability.