tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24691970620111537562024-03-13T09:46:59.734-04:00Fossil MatterRamblings about paleontology, geology, archaeology, and historyJoha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-32736006247473456442022-07-09T14:14:00.002-04:002022-07-09T16:19:06.996-04:00Clay tobacco pipes from a late 17th century wreck off CubaA new and interesting wreck has been detected off the coast of eastern Cuba by team of archaeologists. The shipwreck contained a small cargo of clay tobacco pipes and ordinance that can be traced to the last decades of the 17th century. These findings are superbly fascinating. Not just for the new information it will bring to the development of marine archaeology on the Cuban archipelago, but because of its cargo of smoking tobacco pipes -some of the oldest yet reported by local archaeology. <br /><br /> The initial findings have been recently presented at the "29 Congreso Asociación Internacional de Arqueología del Caribe", an archaeology meeting that took place in Cuba this past June 30. Thanks to the courtesy of the Cuban researchers Yadira Rojas Espinosa and colleagues, I was integrated into the team to help study those clay tobacco pipes. Here, I extend my gratitude for such an invitation and recognition. <div><br /></div><div>Here are brief bilingual abstracts of the talk Yadira Rojas gave at the recent "Simposio 9: Arqueología de la esclavitud, Arqueología Histórica y Arqueología Subacuática (Varadero, Matanzas, Cuba)" (= Simposium 9, historical archaeology, subaquatic archaeology and archaeology of slavery). </div><br />Our talk deals with the recognition and preliminary prospecting of the underwater archaeological site, located in Puerto Rico beach, within the municipality of Banes, eastern Cuba. We report the discovery of a cache of smoking tobacco pipes rescued from the site, and provide an approximation of the pipe’s typology, manufacturer marks, seriation (age), and origin. The clay pipes are identified as likely Dutch. Several specimens are visibly marked on their heel, make it possible to establish the chronology of the shipwreck around the last third of the 17th-century. These pipes are particularity relevant for their abundance, whish suggest a small cargo of them, and because pipes of this age have been poorly studied or reported from Cuban archaeological contexts. The finding of this new wreck and our current study of its material remains present a testimony to a period in the 17th century where commercial activity and maritime exchange were protagonists within the colonial dynamics in the Caribbean.<br /><br />Resumen: La ponencia aborda el reconocimiento y prospección preliminar del sitio arqueológico subacuático, localizado en playa Puerto Rico, municipio de Banes, Cuba. Se expone además los resultados del estudio de un lote de pipas de fumar tabaco rescatado del yacimiento a partir de una aproximación a sus valores tipológicos y morfológicos. La particularidad y relevancia de las pipas de fumar, en este caso holandesas, por su cantidad en el sitio y presencia de marcas visibles en su talón, posibilitan establecer la cronología del naufragio, probablemente en el último tercio del siglo XVII. La investigación histórica y geográfica de este entorno en la costa norte de Cuba, determinó la comprensión del contexto particular del naufragio. Este acercamiento resulta ser testimonio de un período en el siglo XVII donde la actividad comercial y el intercambio marítimo fueron protagonistas dentro de las dinámicas coloniales en el Caribe.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhset2-_138Th5p2DOsEbzvCal-XDSbjwDTrXbof_xOmnOlJtuSp5CiiasvLdETa_neOdmdB2F1j6AjZTnbnI1y63PE4L1lj1XAJCUXzYDiUK3mdOYJumxAO55gG5VK_Q3_FjPz1gzLE7tnS7sJv7M6VVHJ_ShC_tI8evJzKnDKXGOrMqrvY4ltaK9s/s424/Picture1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="424" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhset2-_138Th5p2DOsEbzvCal-XDSbjwDTrXbof_xOmnOlJtuSp5CiiasvLdETa_neOdmdB2F1j6AjZTnbnI1y63PE4L1lj1XAJCUXzYDiUK3mdOYJumxAO55gG5VK_Q3_FjPz1gzLE7tnS7sJv7M6VVHJ_ShC_tI8evJzKnDKXGOrMqrvY4ltaK9s/w400-h283/Picture1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUoGMjp7c-1JC0odhewRi131lzFlG-pTJadSQZHiLJwD8uHO6IubAeJEySr-gb5fRP9WKySRgc_DfaTY7erKXwg3wBuOJKGn_Jn0SPyHxyoSer6yvGWrkrhv26tVXUErItiCJGyh4BZbGv6Ly1HWvrk7CjyDET1L3RIhd_dRGrZvtUO3HToPcrzm3f/s1057/Picture4%20Bani.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1057" data-original-width="653" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUoGMjp7c-1JC0odhewRi131lzFlG-pTJadSQZHiLJwD8uHO6IubAeJEySr-gb5fRP9WKySRgc_DfaTY7erKXwg3wBuOJKGn_Jn0SPyHxyoSer6yvGWrkrhv26tVXUErItiCJGyh4BZbGv6Ly1HWvrk7CjyDET1L3RIhd_dRGrZvtUO3HToPcrzm3f/w248-h400/Picture4%20Bani.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXC_nia_sl82Ii8A0i3TekOScb-8TBMhFdvh_133Bhfjr0AeuseG6I3xle2XBS3BHRAJlPtp3xmlW4wYWpAiyIFNDWqg_MFMV3RE_afdjbjl1Od1JO-6Ohkagee8gx9Iuh0NbxN4BQzmbUL--aQ8VKYZre2gT8zUeyKJeAs8I3E2Fl815Ys1Ka8tNi/s2846/284632087_1661458810899104_2365149587363733921_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="2846" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXC_nia_sl82Ii8A0i3TekOScb-8TBMhFdvh_133Bhfjr0AeuseG6I3xle2XBS3BHRAJlPtp3xmlW4wYWpAiyIFNDWqg_MFMV3RE_afdjbjl1Od1JO-6Ohkagee8gx9Iuh0NbxN4BQzmbUL--aQ8VKYZre2gT8zUeyKJeAs8I3E2Fl815Ys1Ka8tNi/w640-h360/284632087_1661458810899104_2365149587363733921_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Recommended citation: <br /><br />Rojas Espinosa, Y., Rodriguez Buzón, Y., Orihuela León, J., Munoz Varona, R. E. (2022). <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361879548_Estudio_de_evidencias_procedentes_de_un_yacimiento_arqueologico_subacuatico_Naufragio_del_siglo_XVII_en_playa_Puerto_Rico_Banes_Cuba" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Estudio de evidencias procedentes de un yacimiento arqueológico subacuático: Naufragio del siglo XVII en playa Puerto Rico, Banes</a>, Cuba. 29 Congreso Asociación Internacional de Arqueología del Caribe (IACA-AIAC): Simposio 9: Arqueología de la esclavitud, Arqueología Histórica y Arqueología Subacuática. El jueves 30 de junio de 2022, de 12:15-12:30pm.<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 22px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><span lang="ES-TRAD" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-25499494096129511592021-11-20T21:27:00.007-05:002021-11-20T21:27:58.179-05:00New book on the history of Matanzas, Cuba<br /><i>Historia fundacional de Matanzas: los años formativos (1680-1765)</i> from Aspha Ediciones publishing house (ISBN-978-987-3851-33-9), is a book that covers the planning and population process of the city of Matanzas, northeast of Cuba.<br /><br />The book provides a rich compendium in 584 pages of detailed information, extracted from the documents of the time, on the planning of San Severino, the main fortification, and the settlement system of the region. Several chapters are dedicated exclusively to the migratory process of whole Spanish families (Canary Islands) that emigrated to the island of Cuba and were later selected to populate the new city of San Carlos de Matanzas in 1693. Lists of founders and other families are provided with details about the date of their arrival, precedence in the Canary archipelago, names and surnames, their physical condition and health history, and in some cases even a physical description. Therefore, these data make this work a relevant source of genealogical information for the investigation of Canarian families who emigrated to Cuba at the end of the seventeenth century and their settlement and distribution within the island since then. In addition to this, details of other ethnic groups and migratory groups are provided, with similar detail, which also included the population of the city of Matanzas and the surroundings of its bay.<br /><br /><br />The book is available here:<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="ES-TRAD"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="ES-TRAD"><a href="https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/johanset-orihuela-le%C3%B3n/historia-fundacional-de-matanzas-los-a%C3%B1os-formativos-1680-1765/paperback/product-gkngqq.html?page=1&pageSize=4" style="color: #954f72;">https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/johanset-orihuela-león/historia-fundacional-de-matanzas-los-años-formativos-1680-1765/paperback/product-gkngqq.html?page=1&pageSize=4</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="ES-TRAD"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span lang="ES-TRAD"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81LCP7GloRBX7aV0WSOTvEoSjNUjQgHu-VsrvnQxrF7_Z1Ja3sJhgeKtle9ftG8-Yita6y9x425Rl2KPup6m1NmF0sr46abD72qezZF7HgKyv3s9fIPPNG-X7bJeSPJj9TeWDJwYTV8I/s2048/IMG_4517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1371" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi81LCP7GloRBX7aV0WSOTvEoSjNUjQgHu-VsrvnQxrF7_Z1Ja3sJhgeKtle9ftG8-Yita6y9x425Rl2KPup6m1NmF0sr46abD72qezZF7HgKyv3s9fIPPNG-X7bJeSPJj9TeWDJwYTV8I/w428-h640/IMG_4517.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><br /><span lang="ES-TRAD"><br /></span><p></p>Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-91054630236278523722021-01-19T18:47:00.001-05:002021-01-19T18:47:24.701-05:00New findings of birds in paleontological and archaeological contexts of CubaWith great excitement here I announce the publication of another contribution to the archaeology and paleontology of the island of Cuba. On this occasion as a collaborator to Osvaldo Jimenez, zooarchaeologist, a specialist from the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, Cuba. Our paper came out today on the scientific journal <i><b>Novitates Caribaea</b></i>, available <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348444396_New_findings_of_birds_in_paleontological_and_archaeological_contexts_of_CubaNUEVOS_HALLAZGOS_DE_AVES_EN_CONTEXTOS_PALEONTOLOGICOS_Y_ARQUEOLOGICOS_DE_CUBA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>:<div><br /></div><div><a href="https://novitatescaribaea.do/index.php/novitates/article/view/251">https://novitatescaribaea.do/index.php/novitates/article/view/251</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://doi.org/10.33800/nc.vi17.251">https://doi.org/10.33800/nc.vi17.251</a> </div><div><br /></div><div>We take this opportunity to extend our thanks to Roger Arrazcaeta Delgado, Raúl Mesa Morales, Marcos A. Acosta Mauri, Gabinete de Arqueología, Oficina del Historiador de La Habana (OHH), Jorge A. Garcell Domínguez, Consejo Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural (CNPC); William Suárez Duque, P.O. Box 16477, West Palm Beach, Florida 33165, USA.; S. L. Olson, Megan Spitzer y Christina A. Gebhard, Division of Birds, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA; Peter Capainolo, Division of Birds, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA.
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5hIBuL1eQZ7JhOfC8UIe79eCcjCjceouXCRH4zbCUibpRE-7plgAms8V3TVrs5CR4C5Qw41tm7pKzh73E3hEg7vhETCUtihjMH3dTN9Iauhiv8lXO-rR8OoXQUBgtY6CGtCQk9hKTBE/s1527/Fig.+6+Pulsatrix+arredondoi.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1452" data-original-width="1527" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH5hIBuL1eQZ7JhOfC8UIe79eCcjCjceouXCRH4zbCUibpRE-7plgAms8V3TVrs5CR4C5Qw41tm7pKzh73E3hEg7vhETCUtihjMH3dTN9Iauhiv8lXO-rR8OoXQUBgtY6CGtCQk9hKTBE/s400/Fig.+6+Pulsatrix+arredondoi.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Arredondo´s owl (</span><i style="text-align: left;">Pulsatrix arredondoi</i><span style="text-align: left;">). <br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table>
Bilingual abstract: </div><div><br /></div><div> This paper provides new records on Cuban birds such as the endemic Cuban macaw (<i>Ara tricolor</i>), found in two archaeological sites in Old Havana dated in the 17th and 18th centuries. We provide details on Arredondo´s owl (<i>Pulsatrix arredondoi</i>), extinct since prehistory, but whose remains have been collected in two caves near Las Charcas, a community in San José de las Lajas municipality, Mayabeque province. The report also includes the ivory-billed woodpecker (C<i>ampephilus principalis</i>), from a specimen collected in Cueva del Aguacate in the above-cited location. The bone remains found in Cueva de Las Charcas match a paleontological context, but the other was found in la Cueva de los Muertos, an archaic culture archaeological site (i.e., hunter-fisher-gatherers). The possibility that <i>P. arredondoi</i> formed part of this pre-Columbian aboriginal’s diet is considered. The record of <i>C. principalis</i> represents the first finding of this species in paleontological contexts in Cuba. Information on the natural history of the species is moreover provided. </div><div><br /></div><div>Spanish:</div><div><br /></div><div> Se comentan nuevos registros de aves de Cuba, como el guacamayo cubano (<i>Ara tricolor</i>), hallado en dos sitios arqueológicos de La Habana Vieja, de los siglos XVII y XVIII, asimismo, el búho de Arredondo (<i>Pulsatrix arredondoi</i>), ave extinta en tiempos prehistóricos, cuyos restos hemos colectado en dos cuevas de la comunidad Las Charcas, municipio San José de las Lajas, provincia Mayabeque, y por último, el carpintero real (<i>Campephilus principalis</i>), colectado en la Cueva del Aguacate, sitio localizado también en la comunidad Las Charcas. El resto óseo de <i>P. arredondoi</i> colectado en la Cueva de Las Charcas procede de un contexto paleontológico. En cambio, el otro resto proviene de la Cueva de los Muertos, que es un sitio arqueológico de aborígenes arcaicos, también conocidos como apropiadores mesolíticos. Por vez primera se considera la posibilidad de que P. arredondoi formara parte de la dieta de los aborígenes precolombinos citados. El registro de <i>C. principalis</i> representa el primer hallazgo de esta especie en contextos paleontológicos de Cuba. Adicionalmente se aporta información novedosa sobre la historia natural de las especies tratadas. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> Citation: </div><div><br /></div><div> Jiménez, O. & Orihuela, J. (2021) «Nuevos hallazgos de aves en contextos paleontológicos y arqueológicos de Cuba», <i>Novitates Caribaea</i>, (17), pp. 163-176. doi: 10.33800/nc.vi17.251.
</div>Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-49167549452359749842020-12-05T10:02:00.003-05:002020-12-05T10:02:56.584-05:00New findings! A novel Late Holocene Fauna from Cuba<p>A new contribution to the vertebrate paleontology of Cuba has been recently published in the scientific journal Palaeontologia Electronica this month. It includes an array of last occurrence dates for some of the extinct species and isotope analysis of environmental and past climate. <a href="https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2020/3232-late-holocene-fauna-from-cuba" target="_blank">Open access here</a>!</p><p>Palaeontologia Electronica: 23(3):a57</p><p>https://doi.org/10.26879/995</p><p>Copyright Society for Vertebrate Paleontology, December 2020</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I want to take the time to thank the coauthors, Ricardo Viera, Leonel Perez Orozco, Jorge Alvarez, and Candido Santana for over a decade of research and fieldwork. Also, Jorge Garcell, Adrian Tejedor, the Speleological Society of Cuba, and the speleo-group Norbert Casteret; this last discovered and first explored the site in 1986. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjduNJXUfVLQZWnK5AvMRhLNG_E5kefM2QXEUhH344xSv2gcdy2Niy1KSr56rLOXCobI0S81_J_d3SNMUSfzcoSGkTq0lHpopBtzTpyq94qVIlAkIe8qit8c9eDPoSYDR9aYnEBdcVuB4Y/s2048/IMG_2096+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjduNJXUfVLQZWnK5AvMRhLNG_E5kefM2QXEUhH344xSv2gcdy2Niy1KSr56rLOXCobI0S81_J_d3SNMUSfzcoSGkTq0lHpopBtzTpyq94qVIlAkIe8qit8c9eDPoSYDR9aYnEBdcVuB4Y/w480-h640/IMG_2096+%25282%2529.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Abstract</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The discovery of a cave deposit rich in small land vertebrate, in western Cuba, provided an exceptional opportunity to study the changes in the regional fauna. The species discovered there included many currently rare, unreported, globally extinct, locally extinct, and vulnerable species. Several of the extinct species were subjected to radiocarbon dating and isotope chemical analysis to understand their age, diet, and paleoenvironments. These analyses indicated that the deposit formed from raptor-derived pellets, such as owl vomitus or roosting activities within the cave during the last 2000 years. Others were of organisms that commonly inhabit and die in caves. The radiocarbon dates provided a last appearance time frame for several of Cuba’s extinct mammals. Isotope analyses and faunal composition support the former presence of diverse habitats, including palm grove savannas and mixed woodlands, and a shift from colder-drier local conditions to warmer and wetter conditions, with a more intense colder-drier period between 660 and 770 AD. Our findings further expand the understanding of Cuban Quaternary extinction episodes and provide data on the distribution and paleoecology of extinct taxa that is useful to both Cuban and Caribbean researchers in general. It supports the conclusion that many Cuban extinct species survived well into the pre-Columbian Late Holocene and retained wide distribution ranges until European colonization.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Resumen en Español</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fauna de microvertebrados del Holoceno tardío de la Cueva de los Nesofontes, Cuba: Estratigrafia, cronología, diversidad y paleoecología</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Aquí reportamos un depósito rico en fósiles del Holoceno tardío en la Cueva de los Nesofontes, provincia de Mayabeque, Cuba. La formación del depósito y su fauna fueron estudiadas a través de un enfoque multidisciplinario que incluyó análisis de isótopos estables, cronología de radiocarbono y estratigrafía. Se recuperaron miles de restos esqueléticos de microvertebrados que representan una diversa fauna de vertebrados terrestres, incluyendo especies amenazadas y extintas. El depósito se caracterizó por abundantes restos de Nesophontes debido a la depredación de rapaces. Se proporcionan fechas de última aparición no reportadas previamente para la especie extinta Nesophontes major, los murciélagos Artibeus anthonyi y Phyllops vetus. Se obtuvieron estimaciones de edad de radiocarbono (14C AMS) entre ~ 1960 rcyr BP y el presente para los depósitos estudiados. La presencia de especies localmente extintas, incluido el catey Psittacara eups, el carpintero Colaptes cf. fernandinae, el murciélago Antrozous koopmani y el almiquí Solenodon cubanus, sugieren que estas especies tuvieron distribuciones más amplias en el pasado reciente. Los análisis de isótopos y la composición de la fauna indican la presencia de diversos hábitats, entre ellos sabanas con palmerales y bosques mixtos cerca de la cueva. Los isótopos también proporcionan información sobre el hábitat y la coexistencia del murciélago extinto Artibeus anthonyi y el A. jamaicensis aun existente, la dieta de Nesophontes major y las condiciones paleoambientales locales. Los isótopos de oxígeno revelaron una excursión que sugiere condiciones locales más secas/más frías entre 660 y 770 d.C. Nuestra investigación amplía aún más la comprensión de los episodios de extinción del Cuaternario cubano y proporciona datos sobre la distribución y paleoecología de taxones extintos. Apoyamos la conclusión de que muchas especies extintas cubanas sobrevivieron hasta bien entrado el Holoceno tardío precolombino y se conservaron amplios rangos de distribución hasta la colonización europea.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_BId32MYtfFyT9AurntpjsCLDnLkZC_3K0b04vZZLnrlQJxnPo-q-dVSyK7h_ZjYzYDEnLvVD2wIF5qI7fem6zmi1TgZP7N9dYfE8Tn0BgvUJjgW5BLUvAcpOFU8IXzF3pgeSToc7OM/s2048/IMG_0139+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1533" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW_BId32MYtfFyT9AurntpjsCLDnLkZC_3K0b04vZZLnrlQJxnPo-q-dVSyK7h_ZjYzYDEnLvVD2wIF5qI7fem6zmi1TgZP7N9dYfE8Tn0BgvUJjgW5BLUvAcpOFU8IXzF3pgeSToc7OM/w400-h300/IMG_0139+%25283%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiScr6UyXNHZfB3P9Cd-CaXJbp0lvIgO3lFbMGrBIvfiGTu8A8SvkxUozzguWQjqbF5E9vvCZFgSNavhUGLN61G8gP_egaNQFnFd19onj_rTBxhImQsIChM5JU9PjbvocfX5DHlwux2rpE/s1565/IMG_0138+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="1565" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiScr6UyXNHZfB3P9Cd-CaXJbp0lvIgO3lFbMGrBIvfiGTu8A8SvkxUozzguWQjqbF5E9vvCZFgSNavhUGLN61G8gP_egaNQFnFd19onj_rTBxhImQsIChM5JU9PjbvocfX5DHlwux2rpE/w400-h268/IMG_0138+%25283%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>Late #Holocene #cave assemblage from #Cuba suggests extinct species widespread prior to European colonization</p><p>Johanset Orihuela, Leonel Pérez Orozco, Jorge L. Álvarez Licourt, Ricardo A. Viera Muñoz, and Candido Santana Barani</p><p>https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2020/3232-late-holocene-fauna-from-cuba …</p><p>Copyright Society for Vertebrate Paleontology, December 2020</p>Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-50586543593531419882020-10-11T17:36:00.001-04:002020-10-11T17:36:45.217-04:00Our new paper on Greater Antillean land mammal extinctions is published! <p>With great pleasure (and relief after nearly a decade of research) here I announce the publication of our paper <b>Assessing the role of humans in Greater Antillean land vertebrate extinctions: New insights from Cuba</b> on the journal <i>Quaternary Science Review</i>. Also, here is a link for its free download to all parties interested, in the next fifty days. </p><p>I take this opportunity to thank all the coauthors of this paper, Ángelo Soto Centeno, Lázaro W. Viñola, Osvaldo Jiménez, Odlanyer Hernández de Lara, Logel Lorenzo, and Alexis Mychajliw – all respected specialists in their fields – for their significant contribution and participation in making this dream come true. Thank you. </p><p>Here is a brief abstract: </p><p>The Caribbean archipelago is a hotspot of biodiversity characterized by a high rate of extinction. Recent studies have examined these losses, but the causes of the Antillean Late Quaternary vertebrate extinctions, and especially the role of humans, are still unclear. Previous results provide support for climate-related and human-induced extinctions, but often downplaying other complex bio-ecological factors that are difficult to model or to detect from the fossil and archaeological record. Here, we discuss Caribbean vertebrate extinctions and the potential role of humans derived from new and existing fossil and archaeological data from Cuba. Our results indicate that losses of Cuba’s native fauna occurred in waves: one during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, a second during the middle Holocene, and a third one during the last 2 thousand years, combining the arrival of agroceramists and later of Europeans. The coexistence of now-extinct species with multiple cultural groups in Cuba for over 4 thousand years implies that Cuban indigenous non-ceramic cultures exerted far fewer extinction pressures to native fauna than the later agroceramists and Europeans that followed. This suggests a determinant value to increased technological sophistication and demographics as plausible effective extinction drivers. Beyond looking at dates of first human arrival alone, future studies should also consider cultural diversity with attention to different bioecological factors that influence these biodiversity changes. </p><p>Highlights</p><p>Cuban land mammal extinctions occurred in several waves after the middle Holocene, most intensively during the last 2000 thousand years</p><p>Cuba lost nearly half of its land mammal fauna during the late Amerindian subinterval (< 1500 thousand years)</p><p>Most important extinction episodes occurred after the arrival of agroceramist cultures, and later, Europeans</p><p>Cultural diversity, demographics, technological sophistication, and naturally occurring factors must be considered in human-induced extinction models</p><p>Future extinction models must consider the complex and concomitant combination of bioecological and climatological factors</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8d7ojTP_hSy1VGNqUMBsyXvsDULZpV3J7eH5TJuJ3tUZYfiTvPd52OqUjLXlDQVTAzk1nluSRumT6WLMUa8rlaNXDI8nij_1z0da8nHceG5Szb3gtHTqTWCvQXYbpXkdnFXMqe2ltJYc/s2048/Fig.+4.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1496" data-original-width="2048" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8d7ojTP_hSy1VGNqUMBsyXvsDULZpV3J7eH5TJuJ3tUZYfiTvPd52OqUjLXlDQVTAzk1nluSRumT6WLMUa8rlaNXDI8nij_1z0da8nHceG5Szb3gtHTqTWCvQXYbpXkdnFXMqe2ltJYc/w640-h468/Fig.+4.tif" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>[in Spanish]</p><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ES-TRAD" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-TRAD;">Con
gran gusto – y después de casi una década de investigación – anunciamos la
publicación de nuestro artículo “<b>Assessing the role of humans in Greater
Antillean land vertebrate extinctions: New insights from Cuba” (Evaluación del
papel de los seres humanos en la extinción de vertebrados terrestres de las
Grandes Antillas: nuevas perspectivas desde Cuba) </b>en la prestigiosa revista
<i>Quaternary Science Review</i>. Aprovechen y compártanlo con los amigos y
colegas que les interesen estos temas. Tomo este momento para agradecerle a los
coautores Ángelo Soto Centeno, Lázaro W. Viñola, Osvaldo Jiménez, Odlanyer
Hernández de Lara, Logel Lorenzo y Alexis Mychajliw por su arduo trabajo y
participación en hacer este sueño realidad. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ES-TRAD" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-TRAD;">Resumen
del trabajo:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ES-TRAD" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-TRAD;">El
archipiélago caribeño es un “punto caliente” de biodiversidad caracterizado por
una alta tasa de extinción. Los estudios recientes han examinado estas
pérdidas, pero las causas de las extinciones de vertebrados del Cuaternario
tardío de las Antillas, y especialmente el rol de los seres humanos, aún no
están claros. Los resultados anteriores brindan apoyo a las extinciones
inducidas por el hombre, pero a menudo se minimiza otros factores bioecológicos
que son difíciles de modelar o detectar a partir del registro arqueológico o
fósil. Aquí discutimos las extinciones de vertebrados en las Antillas Mayores y
el papel que han jugado los humanos en las extinciones más recientes desde la perspectiva
de datos arqueológicos y paleontológicos de Cuba. Nuestros resultados apoyan la
hipótesis de que las pérdidas de la fauna nativa de Cuba ocurrieron en ondas:
una durante el Pleistoceno tardío y el Holoceno temprano, una segunda durante
el Holoceno medio, y una tercera durante los últimos 2 mil años. Estos dos
milenios resultan ser los más importantes, combinando la llegada de los
agroceramistas y luego de los europeos como importantes golpes a la fauna. La
coexistencia de especies ahora extintas con múltiples grupos culturales en Cuba
por más de 4 mil años implica que las culturas indígenas no-ceramistas
ejercieron menos presiones de extinción sobre la fauna nativa que las agroceramistas
y los europeos que siguieron. Esto sugiere un valor determinante para la
sofisticación tecnológica y la demografía vías importantes de extinción. Más
allá de mirar las fechas de la primera llegada humana, los estudios futuros
también deben considerar la diversidad cultural y atención a diferentes factores
bioecológicos que influyen en los cambios de biodiversidad.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="ES-TRAD" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-TRAD;">Recommended citation:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">Orihuela, J., Viñola, L.W., Jiménez Vázquez, O., Mychajliw, A., Hernández de Lara, O., Lorenzo, L. and, Soto-Centeno, J. A. (2020a). Assessing the role of humans on Greater Antillean land vertebrate extinctions: new insights from Cuba. Quaternary Science Reviews, 249: <a aria-label="Persistent link using digital object identifier" class="doi" href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106597" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #e9711c; font-family: NexusSans, Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", "Arial Unicode MS", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank" title="Persistent link using digital object identifier">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106597</a></p><br /></div><br />Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-83356692744112189352020-08-06T17:40:00.002-04:002020-08-06T18:22:10.862-04:00New fossil mollusk form the Eocene of Cuba<div>Mollusks are one of the most diverse organisms of the animal kingdom. They inhabit most types of habitats and are extremely diverse in their forms. Octopi and the extinct ammonoids are also mollusks. Within the Mollusca, the so-called phylum of the mollusks, there is the Bivalvia or bivalves. The bivalves are also diverse in their shape, form, and habitat. The group includes clams, cockles, mussels, oysters, and scallops. They have existed for at least 520 million years - since the early Cambrian and appear in most part of the Earth's fossil record. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIuakMaEQRGuJoZCK422WmJ1i5a_DcHeCa3yBvS1WlTGLz08oSz3AY_KY7EPwBpOdGkfoJ0qmFqgtIApcD4DNY7Enx3UhxdBbP1022WY5LB2nRqqKZePte5t7-oPuv8gocDxWkwJjboU/s2048/Fig.+3.jpg" style="display: inline; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIuakMaEQRGuJoZCK422WmJ1i5a_DcHeCa3yBvS1WlTGLz08oSz3AY_KY7EPwBpOdGkfoJ0qmFqgtIApcD4DNY7Enx3UhxdBbP1022WY5LB2nRqqKZePte5t7-oPuv8gocDxWkwJjboU/s640/Fig.+3.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>During the Eocene - or about 33 to 56 million years ago, the Antillean islands did not exist in the configuration that is known today. In fact, most paleogeographic reconstructions suggest the whole area was a deep marine environment, flanked by two main bank systems (Florida and Yucatan), with small volcanic islands scattered through. The rocks and substructures that would make the Greater Antillean arch later, during the late Eocene - early Oligocene (~33 million years ago), did not yet exist. However, there is no doubt these waters held mollusk faunas - a story that can be told by their fossils. </div><div><br /></div><div>Our recent paper in the <i>Journal of South American Earth Sciences</i> (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S089598112030314X?via%3Dihub" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>) describes two unreported species from the Cuban Eocene: the genera <i>Schedocardia</i> and <i>Acanthocardia</i>. The fossilized remains of these mollusks, still encased in rock-matrix, were collected at the Madruga Formation a couple of years ago by Yasmani Ceballos, one of the authors of our paper. This Formation includes microscopic organisms, corals, brachiopods, and sea urchins from the Late Paleogene and Early Eocene - and thus provides a window into the marine life of Cuba's early seas. Equally important, these two fossils represent forms that had not been reported from the Cuban fossil record! </div><div><br /></div><div>A free copy of our paper can be downloaded for free on the <a href="https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1bUa1_KNqlezvg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ScienceDirect page</a>, but only until September 18, 2020. Don't miss the opportunity to acquire the paper now. </div><div><br /></div><div>Recommended citation</div><div><br /></div><div>Orihuela, J., Y. Ceballos Izquierdo, R. W. Portell (2020). First report of the Eocene bivalve Schedocardia (Mollusca, Cardiidae) from Cuba. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 103. <a aria-label="Persistent link using digital object identifier" class="doi" href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2020.102771" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #e9711c; font-family: nexussans, arial, helvetica, "lucida sans unicode", "microsoft sans serif", "segoe ui symbol", stixgeneral, "cambria math", "arial unicode ms", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; word-break: break-word;" target="_blank" title="Persistent link using digital object identifier">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsames.2020.102771</a></div><div><br /></div>Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-39467304342226247052020-06-13T21:37:00.003-04:002020-11-05T09:41:04.831-05:00On Antillean vertebrate bat extinctions: PCMDOMINICANA YouTube talks<div>Our colleagues from the Dominican Republic treated us, this past week, to a series of online lectures on Caribbean bats by the world’s forefront researchers. Each day a different specialist spoke of their research and what is known and unknown about bats. These included talks by Nancy Simmons, Paul Velazco, Liliana Davalos, and Angelo Soto Centeno. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2GKpMKkX7A&feature=youtu.be">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2GKpMKkX7A&feature=youtu.be</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I want to share Centeno’s talk here and take the opportunity to thank him for mentioning our own ongoing research on Greater Antillean vertebrate extinctions and biodiversity (time stamp 36:20). Many thanks, Angelo! </div><div><br /></div><div>I also thank our friends at the PCM from Republica Dominicana and their great initiative with the YouTube channel.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLGcK-SMS1DtVsoQpQ_imGlkjAuhu06LmE04fiqpJ7BL8AzH_mVK-xVgsBrDKK9Zgb17cVumeHbN6-iDfkYvuwW_4DiuaIzDyddu_nFDTA043S7nvhEejkASS4tGApJtBQP29iIzvpnI/s469/P.quadr.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="469" height="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLGcK-SMS1DtVsoQpQ_imGlkjAuhu06LmE04fiqpJ7BL8AzH_mVK-xVgsBrDKK9Zgb17cVumeHbN6-iDfkYvuwW_4DiuaIzDyddu_nFDTA043S7nvhEejkASS4tGApJtBQP29iIzvpnI/w640-h564/P.quadr.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Pteronotus quadridens</i> from Los Haitises, Dominican Republic. (C Joha Orihuela, 2004). </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div>Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-10349583675333371482020-06-13T21:22:00.004-04:002020-06-14T07:50:40.356-04:00Collagen sequence reveals evolutionary history of extinct 'island-shrews' - Nesophontes<div>With great satisfaction, I announce the publication of our paper on the extinct Greater Antillean endemic: <i>Nesophontes</i>. As you may have read from posts in this <a href="http://fossilmatter.blogspot.com/2017/" target="_blank">blog</a>, the genus <i>Nesophontes</i> is a group of shrew-like mammals for which several species have been identified on the islands of Cuba, Cayman, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico, but not The Bahamas or Jamaica. Each island had its own exclusive forms. These unique varieties to each island are called endemics. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1vgUJXhifTY4WBG3wWevLgj9WqW2DBodKbFn4sbaYv3srCM0XDxYLtkHY0Ctptz8Ivw74IQbo59f3t0-fXxGv4ysbV4xbclfSa0YN0ucZNsiBlcLz46mFUZZUvzTs_dWfP43cFNvBeU/s1717/IMG_0699+%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1717" data-original-width="1314" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1vgUJXhifTY4WBG3wWevLgj9WqW2DBodKbFn4sbaYv3srCM0XDxYLtkHY0Ctptz8Ivw74IQbo59f3t0-fXxGv4ysbV4xbclfSa0YN0ucZNsiBlcLz46mFUZZUvzTs_dWfP43cFNvBeU/w490-h640/IMG_0699+%25282%2529.JPG" width="490" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original specimen from which <i>Nesophontes</i> was described: <i>N. edithae</i> (AMNH 14174). </td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>The genus <i>Nesophontes</i> is grouped within the mammal order Eulipotyphla. This is a group of basal placental mammals that are considered ancestrally associated to the <i>Solenodon</i> of Cuba and Hispaniola. Also, to other North American extinct shrew-like micromammals, but surprisingly not to the African tenrecs despite their physical similarity. <i>Nesophontes</i> was small, likely venomous, nocturnal, and could tunnel underground. At least eight species are currently recognized: three in Cuba (<i>N. major</i>, <i>N. micrus</i> and <i>N. longirostris</i>); three in Hispaniola (<i>N. paramicrus</i>, <i>N. hypomicrus</i>, and <i>N. zamicrus</i>); one in Puerto Rico (N. edithae) and one in Cayman (<i>N. hemicingulus</i>). However, the identification, naming, and evolutionary history of this diverse group has been somewhat controversial. </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghH8-S3estdbxUC05Aei75KVpe3moQa05_kqzeDzf-TXqCh90_fgIACiNvoeSdzbm05nhhbJggCw_vDYnmNEff_82fegO8MMVWaM3XDxDLGd0fnJ9C2_QKS5v4YhLe4EEm379-6ekt0jo/s1200/Allen+Gm+1910+Plate+II+S.+cubanus.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1200" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghH8-S3estdbxUC05Aei75KVpe3moQa05_kqzeDzf-TXqCh90_fgIACiNvoeSdzbm05nhhbJggCw_vDYnmNEff_82fegO8MMVWaM3XDxDLGd0fnJ9C2_QKS5v4YhLe4EEm379-6ekt0jo/w640-h410/Allen+Gm+1910+Plate+II+S.+cubanus.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Solenodon paradoxus</i> from Hispaniola. Plate from Allen's (1910) monograph on the species. </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>We designed our study to help unravel especially the issue of evolution and species limits. Our paper, formally accepted in the journal <i>Molecular Biology and Evolution</i> this past march, provides the following abstract: </div><div><br /></div><div>“Ancient biomolecule analyses are proving increasingly useful in the study of evolutionary patterns, including extinct organisms. Proteomic sequencing techniques complement genomic approaches, having the potential to examine lineages further back in time than achievable using ancient DNA, given the less stringent preservation requirements. In this study, we demonstrate the ability to use collagen sequence analyses via proteomics to provide species delimitation as a foundation for informing evolutionary patterns. We uncover biogeographic information of an enigmatic and recently extinct lineage of <i>Nesophontes</i> across their range on the Caribbean islands. First, evolutionary relationships reconstructed from collagen sequences reaffirm the affinity of <i>Nesophontes</i> and <i>Solenodon</i> as sister taxa within Solenodonota. This relationship helps lay the foundation for testing geographical isolation hypotheses across islands within the Greater Antilles, including movement from Cuba towards Hispaniola. Second, our results are consistent with Cuba having just two species of Nesophontes (<i>N. micrus</i> and <i>N. major</i>) that exhibit intrapopulation morphological variation. Finally, analysis of the recently described species from the Cayman Islands (<i>N. hemicingulus</i>) indicates that it is a closer relative to the Cuban species, <i>N. major</i> rather than <i>N. micrus</i> as previously speculated. Our proteomic sequencing improves our understanding of the origin, evolution, and distribution of this extinct mammal lineage, particularly with respect to approximate timing of speciation. Such knowledge is vital for this biodiversity hotspot, where the magnitude of recent extinctions may obscure true estimates of species richness in the past.”</div><div><br /></div><div>I take this opportunity to extend my gratitude and thanks to the whole team, for pushing through with persistence for nearly a decade. And to all the friends and colleagues that helped along the way. </div><div><br /></div><div>Stay tuned for more details on our findings and these peculiar mammals ahead. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Recommended Citation</div><div><br /></div><div>Buckley, Mike; Virginia L. Harvey; Joha Orihuela; Alexis M. Mychajliw; J. Keating; J. N. Almonte Milan; C. Lawless; A. T. Chamberlain; V. M. Egerton; and Phillip L. Manning (2020). Collagen sequence analysis reveals evolutionary history of extinct West Indies <i>Nesophontes</i> ('island-shrews'). <i>Molecular Biology and Evolution</i>: https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa137</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-72895063019491368692020-01-29T09:23:00.002-05:002020-02-18T23:15:41.422-05:00New papers and preprints on antillean vertebrate extinctions now available!Hi there internet surfers and blog-verse travelers, what a great way to start the new year. There are several new research papers and findings now available on Cuban - generally Antillean - Late Quaternary land vertebrate extinctions. A lot of exiting and revealing new data, on which I will expand in future blog posts; hopefully, soon.<br />
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In the mean time, here I share some links for those interested in our new data and preprints.<br />
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Our new paper on Cuba bats is now available on my ResearchGate page <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338634057_NEW_BAT_LOCALITY_RECORDS_FROM_CUBA_WITH_EMPHASIS_ON_THE_PROVINCE_OF_MATANZAS_Nuevas_localidades_y_registros_de_murcielagos_para_Cuba_con_enfasis_en_la_provincia_de_Matanzas?_sg=GhllB6xY5qiXOVeFd0kzC2I72lLiJ-bpt8rNeCspxvFcwQB-JDDqB6PftuzXVofR8eMPkeLx1WlnQSlpPFrzreZmuQgDG6jwZiLaCi_J.etio-uP2K0DWvL0ko2xRGBya9bgmZLKBBkIOQbu2v8kPzGMJCMHgQIDWh0Wp19kN84TdM4YGxRboDB9uJJmPbw">here</a>, or on the <em>Novitates Caribaea</em> journal page, <a href="https://novitatescaribaea.do/index.php/novitates/article/view/218">here</a>. To see a post on this research, visit <a href="http://fossilmatter.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-bats-of-matanzas.html" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
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Three of our preprints posted on <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/search/Johanset%252BOrihuela">BioRxiv</a> are available there, and they are citable as:<br />
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J. Orihuela, Lázaro W. Viñola, Osvaldo Jiménez Vázquez, Alexis Mychajliw, Odlanyer Hernández de Lara, Logel Lorenzo, J. Angel Soto-Centeno "Assessing the role of humans in Greater Antillean land vertebrate extinctions: new insights from Cuba" bioRxiv 2020.01.27.922237;doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.27.922237">https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.27.922237</a><br />
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J. Orihuela, Leonel Pérez Orozco, Jorge L. Álvarez Licourt, Ricardo A. Viera Muñoz, Candido Santana Barani "Late Holocene land vertebrate fauna from Cueva de los Nesofontes, Western Cuba: stratigraphy, last appearance dates, diversity and paleoecology" <br />
bioRxiv 2020.01.17.909663; doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.17.909663">https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.01.17.909663</a><br />
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J. Orihuela, Yasmani Ceballos Izquierdo, Roger W. Portell "First report of the Eocene bivalve Schedocardia (Mollusca, Cardiidae) from Cuba" <a href="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7806-603X">bioRxiv 2020.02.03.932756; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.03.932756 </a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMCk0s2zzNJK43alLmLZzyLR4DNUXFkyW6gAlXvcCPfENf7yI-W7eWGnfRqU_aeF1DifMNBbCn8hrbhNU1yVNqM2fKZ2RQNXaqa-e8hPymsSJHkdfxl2G3gitYJXN7vfDbx-giqkT5Uw/s1600/MerodensCub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="750" height="547" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMCk0s2zzNJK43alLmLZzyLR4DNUXFkyW6gAlXvcCPfENf7yI-W7eWGnfRqU_aeF1DifMNBbCn8hrbhNU1yVNqM2fKZ2RQNXaqa-e8hPymsSJHkdfxl2G3gitYJXN7vfDbx-giqkT5Uw/s640/MerodensCub.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extinct Cuban ground sloth<em> Megalocnus rodens</em>. Specimen mounted with remains discovered by Carlos de la Torre<br />
This skeleton is part of the collection at the Cuban National Museum. </td></tr>
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<br />Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-75132701258257702352019-09-05T15:46:00.001-04:002019-09-05T16:55:25.565-04:00Describing the impossible: a sauropod fossil from CubaA joint effort of Cuban-Argentinian paleontologists have recently published a detailed description of a dinosaur fossil found in the rocks of Cuba. With it, the researchers concluded that the fragmentary remain could have belonged to a rare dinosaur group that inhabited the surrounding landmasses of the proto-Caribbean Sea, preserving it in rocks that are now part of the Cuban terrain. <br />
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The interesting fossil was discovered at the start of the 20th century, in Jurassic-age rocks of the Jagua Formation, which crop out near Viñales, western Cuba. The fossil, however, did not gain certain attention until it was described and figured in a small note published by the Cuban geologist Alfredo de la Torre y Callejas, in 1949. In it, de la Torre credits the discovery to America Ana Cuervo, a professor of Geology and Paleontology at the University of Havana, and who had published several articles on Cuban fossil reptiles. Apparently, professor Cuervo donated the specimen to the University’s museum, where it was later available to de la Torre.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoG5LrI7xaweTkhciDsHkgIh5JbdB2GsJt5QY5a9QYdFLqUcl3HZ-gFyFP1OQcMBpE5sCjiZWICFNiGp4QVww_3bTpufH9x-KviYSCS1_z40jo8nFTZ3zvxi9Z16dMwioMtD3XpgCPYVw/s1600/Yas+Dino+CUba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1303" data-original-width="1600" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoG5LrI7xaweTkhciDsHkgIh5JbdB2GsJt5QY5a9QYdFLqUcl3HZ-gFyFP1OQcMBpE5sCjiZWICFNiGp4QVww_3bTpufH9x-KviYSCS1_z40jo8nFTZ3zvxi9Z16dMwioMtD3XpgCPYVw/s640/Yas+Dino+CUba.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Metacarpal position for the somphospondylan sauropod from Cuba.<br />
With insert of original specimen found by Prof. America A. Cuervo.<br />
Courtesy of Yasmani Ceballos. </td></tr>
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Unfortunately, the fossil has been lost since, and its whereabouts are still a mystery. All that remains of the enigmatic fossil are de la Torre’s vague descriptions and the small photograph published in 1949 (see figure below). Classifying it, based on such scanty data, has no doubt been challenging for the research team, but also very rewarding for Cuban paleontology. Comprising a rare and noteworthy record indeed.<br />
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The research team, composed of Yasmani Ceballos Izquierdo – an upcoming Cuban paleontologist – and Dr. Manuel Iturralde-Vinent – the Cuban geologist-paleontologist extraordinaire, were led by the Argentinian dinosaur specialist Dr. Sebastián Apesteguía. Together, they recently published the interesting findings of their study in the prestigious journal <em>Historical Biology</em>. <br />
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Based on detailed comparisons, they have been able to identify the lost fossil bone as pertaining to the hand bone – a metacarpal – representing an old lineage of the Somphospondylii or a basal titanosaurid. These dinosaurs belonged to a group of giant herbivore sauropods that inhabited the coastal lands of Laurasia and Gondwanaland.<br />
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Alliance between Cuban and Argentinian paleontologists has spanned over a hundred years, starting with the Argentinian paleontologist Florentino Ameghino, who collaborated with Cuban researchers through the late 19th century. During the 1990s, Dr. Manuel Iturralde worked with Dr. Zulma Gasparini in the identification of rare reptilian fossils found in Jurassic-age rocks from Cuba. The most recent collaboration with Dr. Sebastián Apesteguía, like in the past, has no doubt bore fruitful results.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbj58yhIUaWGrsVyzMQFpHyGJ8BZapHDR8a9dyL9M4jAbvkc7BObqtK5PLHR6HcCBEqKGbCKRM6HsfwTxJ4wB9-WMgRiVlroGi8KNigYCVC_DNSUha1CT1TUubcHmtvJHNihOixkvBOoo/s1600/Cuban+sauropod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1264" data-original-width="549" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbj58yhIUaWGrsVyzMQFpHyGJ8BZapHDR8a9dyL9M4jAbvkc7BObqtK5PLHR6HcCBEqKGbCKRM6HsfwTxJ4wB9-WMgRiVlroGi8KNigYCVC_DNSUha1CT1TUubcHmtvJHNihOixkvBOoo/s400/Cuban+sauropod.jpg" width="172" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Metacarpal from somphospondylan sauropod from Cuba.<br />
Original specimen found by Prof. America A. Cuervo.<br />
Courtesy of Yasmani Ceballos. </td></tr>
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Not only is this the first and only dinosaur yet reported from Cuba, but the fossil is also of biogeographical importance. It brings evidence of the extinct animals that inhabited the area that was to become the Caribbean Sea and some of its islands, like Cuba, several millions of years before the end-Cretaceous mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMeY_IMNT7e87yqbGriJkFLxX9NhuqKaW_DZSC93QPklDwgUXQFvt8388VNGpMq29LAbysJSQcIr9v5vRRRRzLFk7IcQXDi-IofIe56RASuBMsG56Ifxt4F0cIvXyd3naMetqmgd-Syjg/s1600/Jurasico+de+Cuba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="753" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMeY_IMNT7e87yqbGriJkFLxX9NhuqKaW_DZSC93QPklDwgUXQFvt8388VNGpMq29LAbysJSQcIr9v5vRRRRzLFk7IcQXDi-IofIe56RASuBMsG56Ifxt4F0cIvXyd3naMetqmgd-Syjg/s640/Jurasico+de+Cuba.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Idealized scene of the western Tethys - early Caribbean seaway, and fauna <br />
known from fossil remains found in Cuba. <br />
Artwork by Roilan. Courtesy of Yasmani Ceballos. </td></tr>
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After the supercontinent Pangea broke up, around 200-180 million years ago, it divided into several landmasses. Some to the northern hemisphere, others to the southern hemisphere. Laurasia is the landmass that existed when the North American continent was interconnected to its Eurasian counterpart, several hundred million years ago. The surrounding landmasses had a narrow seaway in which this fossil was probably washed into. The rocks of the bottom of that seaway have long since moved and incorporated to form parts of the main island of Cuba. This fossil, among other biological remains known from similar rocks formations, support the presence of emerged land nearby the proto-Caribbean seaway – known as the western Tethys.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYC_PYg6nZn2f-cw05Tl6roj5E88xu8JLQ3FSfo7FkhysczR-Qi9m5jpzU9ohXln8r4v4vywCujViT3qjrpshudzwf2KGzJfIw-bkyGj6-Zee60Fe6gOMcytoY2fSXdS7QdzelQOhZQH4/s1600/Jurassic_period2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1120" height="570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYC_PYg6nZn2f-cw05Tl6roj5E88xu8JLQ3FSfo7FkhysczR-Qi9m5jpzU9ohXln8r4v4vywCujViT3qjrpshudzwf2KGzJfIw-bkyGj6-Zee60Fe6gOMcytoY2fSXdS7QdzelQOhZQH4/s640/Jurassic_period2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Earth during the Jurassic period (~200 -145 million years ago). Red circle shows area of proto Caribbean<br />
Artwork and geologic interpretation by Christopher Scotese. </td></tr>
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<h4>
Acknowledgments</h4>
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I extend my thanks to and appreciation for Yasmani Ceballos, who shared revealing information to prepare this post.<br />
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<h4>
Recommended citation:</h4>
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Apesteguía, S., Ceballos Izquierdo, Y., and Iturralde-Vinent, M. (2019). New taxonomic assignment for a dinosaur sauropod bone from Cuba. <strong><em>Historical Biology</em></strong>, https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2019.1661406<br />
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Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-85254613807418453802019-08-16T17:51:00.000-04:002019-09-07T09:12:58.308-04:00When did the turkey vulture arrive in Cuba?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
All the American vultures belong to the Cathartidae, a neotropical endemic and diverse bird family of carrion scavengers. Currently, the family is integrated by four buzzard-like vultures and three condors including the turkey vulture (<em>Cathartes aura</em>), the black vulture (<em>Coragyps atratus</em>), up to the California condor (<em>Gymnogyps californianus</em>) and the Andean condor (<em>Vulture gryphus</em>).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhla0vNZJpNKz3GrH_-oIWtdH2sRXN9nVNGhRK_rk14_JTMoMVmvra73d43GTTI88RqR3wGIfl3sdBYHGyI0_H64BEkKhfF2j_Veip6fP-DChIcmlwUpQLblN5Q5OhW-gKGEWcy8fAx0sY/s1600/red-dead-redemption-2--wildlife--vulture-1537808754948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhla0vNZJpNKz3GrH_-oIWtdH2sRXN9nVNGhRK_rk14_JTMoMVmvra73d43GTTI88RqR3wGIfl3sdBYHGyI0_H64BEkKhfF2j_Veip6fP-DChIcmlwUpQLblN5Q5OhW-gKGEWcy8fAx0sY/s640/red-dead-redemption-2--wildlife--vulture-1537808754948.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Of these New World vultures, the genus <em>Cathartes</em> is the most diverse with three species, <em>C. burrovianus</em>, <em>C. melanbrothus</em>, and <em>C. aura</em>. Of these, the turkey vulture <em>Cathartes aura</em>, along with the black vulture <em>Coragyps atratus</em>, are the most widespread, inhabiting nearly all the American continent and parts of the West Indies, including the island of Cuba. Turkey vultures abound on the island and is easily observable today. But when did it reach Cuba? When did it become part of its fauna? Was it before or after the arrival of Europeans?<br />
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Cathartidae fossils are known in the New World, confidently, since at least late Miocene, and more so during the Pliocene-Pleistocene epoch, meaning during the last 6 million years. Interestingly, fossil Cathartidae have been reported from the late Oligocene (~23 million years) of Mongolia (Emslie, 1988). With such a long fossil record, one would think that the presence of the turkey vulture in Cuba spans to the Pleistocene. At least, that was what was originally thought by Cuban paleontologists.<br />
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The source of uncertainty is because turkey vultures seem to have a poor fossil record in Cuba. Several remains found in cave deposits near the capital city of La Habana, in Cueva Lamas and Cueva del Túnel, were at first interpreted as Late Pleistocene in age (see Arredondo, 1984). These specimens were later revised by the Cuban paleornithologist extraordinaire, William Suárez, who concluded that these were modern specimens and not fossil material (mixing of bone remains in caves is a common phenomenon, and one must be extra careful in discerning what is a fossil, or subfossil, and what is modern).<br />
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Based on the research of the Cuban zooarchaeologist Osvaldo Jiménez, turkey vulture remains have been identified in early 17th-century colonial contexts of La Habana Vieja (Old Havana), which agree with documentation of the time. Jiménez argues that the species was already considered common in Jamaica by 1680, where it adopted the name of John Crow. It was from this island that the species spread into Cuba, Hispaniola, and Bahamas, becoming established by the late 18th century. It was further introduced in Puerto Rico during the 19th century for sanitary reasons (Jiménez and Arrazcaeta, 2008).<br />
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Two important accounts document the presence and widespread of the turkey vulture in Cuba during the colonial period. One is a mention made by the governor of the eastern department of Cuba, Juan Garcia de Navia Castrillón, in June of 1617. The other is a watercolor sketch made by soldier Henry Fletcher in august 1762, during the Siege of Havana by the British (see figure below). This illustration brings an interesting note that reads “<em>head of a turkey buzzard or carrion crow, a fowl common in the West Indies. The body resembles very much a large brown turkey</em>”. Both accounts support the apparent widespread of this species on the islands by then.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGF36mZGIvN-nESct4T27ANzXlO9VLjJMjPLWntbz3vxaDPHEMHRE3DdrY4_F8IAeNJR-0dZDRf9JxpKRJusje_wR4qV6XzVG-fs-ZhTmAbbSH9onPyBFn7Ep9Od1UZBFHefpJZ0qgsKU/s1600/Catharte+aura+in+17652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1227" data-original-width="1600" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGF36mZGIvN-nESct4T27ANzXlO9VLjJMjPLWntbz3vxaDPHEMHRE3DdrY4_F8IAeNJR-0dZDRf9JxpKRJusje_wR4qV6XzVG-fs-ZhTmAbbSH9onPyBFn7Ep9Od1UZBFHefpJZ0qgsKU/s640/Catharte+aura+in+17652.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"<em>head of a turkey buzzard or carrion crow, a fowl common in the West Indies. </em><br />
<em>The body resembles very much a large brown turkey</em>"<br />
By Henry Fletcher (august 1762). <br />
Digital scan of the John Carter Brown Library, Rhode Island.</td></tr>
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More recently, however, during our excavations of Cueva de los Nesofontes at Palenque Hill (source of several posts in this blog, available <a href="http://fossilmatter.blogspot.com/2015/07/fieldwork-cuba-2002-2004.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://fossilmatter.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-living-cave-floor-intro-to-cave.html" target="_blank">here</a>), we encountered several unequivocal <em>Cathartes aura</em> subfossil remains in beds dated to less than a couple thousand years before the present (Orihuela, 2019). These fossils seem to reinstate that the turkey vulture was present in Cuba before European arrival for at least several thousands of years.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPfVLtLrL6KAX7vdBvy9DCzfIdkZ2WtaN5xeZZTxCHknyeqis9gsc0Nn-a_3DOOFqZKvkjh-c_I-PxbNsipptfrH-zyKYZbTuUdcuc-FBMjMF2tJPMAmZhQmok15ZAxDF4ObWZvFuQwTk/s1600/Cathartes+aura+Palenque.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="919" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPfVLtLrL6KAX7vdBvy9DCzfIdkZ2WtaN5xeZZTxCHknyeqis9gsc0Nn-a_3DOOFqZKvkjh-c_I-PxbNsipptfrH-zyKYZbTuUdcuc-FBMjMF2tJPMAmZhQmok15ZAxDF4ObWZvFuQwTk/s400/Cathartes+aura+Palenque.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Cathartes aura</em> from a cave deposit at Cueva de los Nesofontes, Cuba<br />
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This makes sense biogeographically, due to the proximity of the Greater Antilles and the continental mainland. In fact, many of the turkey vulture groups that migrate between parts of the continents, do so by flying over the same span of Caribbean ocean (Moore, 2000). Moreover, fossils of the species have also been found in Bahamian sinkhole deposits (Ficus Pit, in San Salvador, see Olson et al., 1990). Olson and colleagues reached the conclusion, as we do here, that turkey vultures likely arrived in the Greater Antilles due to natural expansion, especially after the extinction of many of the islands large and diverse raptors probably during the Holocene. <br />
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<br />
<br />
<strong>Cited Literature</strong><br />
<br />
Arredondo, O. (1980). Sinopsis de las aves halladas en depósitos fosilíferos Pleisto-Holocenicos de Cuba. Reporte de Investigación del Instituto de Zoología, 17: 1-35.<br />
<br />
Emslie, S. D. (1988). The fossil history and phylogenetic relationships of condors (Ciconiiformes: Vulturidae) in the New World. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 8(2):212-228.<br />
<br />
Fletcher, Henry (1757–1765) Seven Year’s War journal of the 35th regiment on foot (unedited 1409 manuscript). John Carter Brown Library, Rhode Island.<br />
<br />
Jiménez Vázquez, O. and Arrazcaeta, R. 2008. Las aves en la arqueología histórica de La<br />
Habana Vieja. Boletín del Gabinete de Arqueología, 7:17–29.<br />
Moore, R. (2000). A fallout of turkey vultures over Florida Bay with notes on water crossing behavior. <em>Florida Field Naturalist</em>, 28(3): 118-121.<br />
<br />
Olson, S. L., G. K. Pregill, and W. B. Hilgartner (1990). Studies on fossil and extant vertebrates from San Salvador (Watling’s) Island, Bahamas. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.<br />
<br />
Orihuela, J. (2019). An annotated list of Late Quaternary extinct birds of Cuba. <em>Ornitología<br /> Neotropical</em>, 30: 57–67.<br />
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Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-34533368061461871082019-05-03T07:53:00.000-04:002019-09-02T17:19:01.257-04:00First Sirenian brain endocast from the Miocene of CubaWith great pleasure, I announce the recent publication of our paper on the first sirenian endocranial casts yet known from the Caribbean. Our paper, coauthored by the paleontologists Lázaro W. Viñola and Ted Macrini, was published on the specialized <strong><em>Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology</em></strong> this month (link <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2019.1584565" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/3KMFE4HUET3XRGWJKRGT/full?target=10.1080/02724634.2019.1584565" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DGxFO-7NPXVEwNMOqCSjmaz6TWUiQ71RQ4lHn0q1UYly14UCIcnoGqIzEIr_pkevClhhd3LYpDd34Cdpqknke8wQK-AV6N2z4s7JGTOPq78KvpOx5Fr9s759Bdbd6AmBW0jJaho7aGk/s1600/IMG_4261+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1384" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DGxFO-7NPXVEwNMOqCSjmaz6TWUiQ71RQ4lHn0q1UYly14UCIcnoGqIzEIr_pkevClhhd3LYpDd34Cdpqknke8wQK-AV6N2z4s7JGTOPq78KvpOx5Fr9s759Bdbd6AmBW0jJaho7aGk/s400/IMG_4261+%25282%2529.JPG" title="Brain endocast Dugongid specimen from Matanzas, Cuba" width="345" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fossilized brain mold of a Dugongid specimen from Matanzas, Cuba</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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A resume of the major findings can be read in the abstract:<br />
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We report and describe the first sirenian endocranial casts from the West Indies based on three specimens collected from two quarries of the late Oligocene-early Miocene Colón Formation, in the Province of Matanzas, western Cuba. We assign them to Dugongidae incertae sedis, based on a phylogenetic analysis of fossil and extant sirenians. Thus, these new specimens provide a unique opportunity to describe the endocranial neuroanatomy of a long-extinct sirenian. The endocasts suggest a dugongid with limited vision and olfactory, based on the diminished olfactory and optic nerves. Additionally, we provide a geologic reinterpretation of the Colón Formation and its paleoecological setting. Altogether, these data provide further insight into the diversity and evolution of sirenians, especially Caribbean dugongs.<br />
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For the interested reader, sirenians are marine mammals which include the manatees of the Atlantic Ocean and the dugongs of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. These aquatic mammals were originally called sirenians because seem by sailors from afar, they looked similar to humans or the famed sirens of mythological lore (example from Homer’s The Odyssey). These extraordinary mammals were also documented by Columbus’s and its chroniclers after 1492 (see our post on the matter <a href="http://fossilmatter.blogspot.com/2016/10/columbus-and-rediscovery-of-new-world.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWZnes4N2pPiGnBmQ4dgWIXHcR1593oR690C8-RhR-V2sL7OtKoLLNHHDRH-25ou_JWSGravFpBN6VkOKLSV_nHrQP3wu08xPqx-JTsRtqqW007Of5EYcDvdnrjf0SAyK_QJe0YQnxkM/s1600/Dugons+and+Manatees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="625" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaWZnes4N2pPiGnBmQ4dgWIXHcR1593oR690C8-RhR-V2sL7OtKoLLNHHDRH-25ou_JWSGravFpBN6VkOKLSV_nHrQP3wu08xPqx-JTsRtqqW007Of5EYcDvdnrjf0SAyK_QJe0YQnxkM/s640/Dugons+and+Manatees.jpg" title="Main differences between manatees (Trichechydae) and dugongs (Dugongidae). " width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main differences between manatees (Trichechydae) and dugongs (Dugongidae). <br />
From Enciclopedia Britanica. </td></tr>
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One of the first fossil sirenians discovered in Cuba was found by a local researcher named Eustaquio Calera, from Matanzas. He discovered few remains in the limestones of the town of Cabezas, on the road to Union de Reyes, in central Matanzas Province, Cuba. The significance of these fossils, however, remained undetected until the archaeologist Manuel Rivero found them while studying Calera’s collection. Rivero pressed the matter to Luis S. Varona, the main mastozoologist in Cuba at the time, who published his accounts in 1972.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRItiVxLyJc9VqDaqY8vgtDqSFh0M-nDu5MphNmHFmTZgaJRh54-epXwH1ezYM1JylypZMehhkaZDnb4YPw1QHRdERClz-KukOe_bKFxcQ7AjHXKj4eP7VUu1VFRTjfiHvqRHLXhey0kk/s1600/Fig.+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1224" data-original-width="1600" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRItiVxLyJc9VqDaqY8vgtDqSFh0M-nDu5MphNmHFmTZgaJRh54-epXwH1ezYM1JylypZMehhkaZDnb4YPw1QHRdERClz-KukOe_bKFxcQ7AjHXKj4eP7VUu1VFRTjfiHvqRHLXhey0kk/s640/Fig.+5.jpg" title="Anatomy of one of the dugongid brain endocasts from Matanzas, Cuba, described" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anatomy of one of the dugongid brain molds from Matanzas (Cuba) described<br />
in our paper. </td></tr>
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This discovery is significant for several reasons:<br />
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The first being, that this is thus far, the first brain mold (endocast) reported from any sirenian in the Caribbean fossil record. Second, it suggests the presence of at least two unknown species yet undescribed from the region. Although the Caribbean basin is known to have been a hotspot of sirenian speciation and evolution since the Eocene (~40 million years ago), these additional species support a higher level of diversity during the last 20 million years or during the Miocene. Last, but not least, these kind of fossils are very rare, and represent a unique phenomenon of fossilization. For an endocast or mold to form, the organism must be covered, almost immediately after death, in sediment. That sediment must be fine enough to invade all the nicks and crannies, including the brain cavity. After that, that parcel of mud must become stone o lithified enough to preserve the specimen it encapsulates.<br />
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In nature, these events are extremely rare or very low probability. Making this finding a unique and one of a kind opportunity to study the brain anatomy of long-gone organisms that we can study today only through their fossil matter.<br />
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We take this opportunity to thank all those that were involved in our project. The discoverers of the fossils in the quarries and the museum curator that allowed us to study their collections. Many thanks are due to our friends and family who supported us with guidance and critical commentaries that no doubt made our work better. Many thanks to all. <br />
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Reference:<br />
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Orihuela, J., L. W. Vinola Lopez, and T. Macrini (2019). First cranial endocasts of early Miocene sirenians (Dugongidae) from the West Indies. <em>Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology</em> 39: DOI:10.1080/02724634.2019.1584565<span style="font-family: "advttfbe2f401"; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "advttfbe2f401"; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "advttfbe2f401"; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "advttfbe2f401"; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span><br />
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<br />Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-43024745249008738742019-04-05T14:23:00.002-04:002019-07-01T18:22:42.924-04:00Peñas Altas: a forgotten colonial military fortification Welcome back blog readers. New publication available!<br />
It is with great pleasure once more that I announce the publication of yet another of our papers in the series dedicated to the archaeology and history of the military fortifications of the bay of Matanzas, Cuba. In this occasion, we discuss new evidence – of archaeological, historical and geological nature –pertaining to the battery of Cagigal or Peñas Altas. Demolished in 1962, this battery was converted to a park and nearly forgotten by locals, was named in the honor of one of Cuba’s colonial governors: don Juan Manuel de Cagigal y Martinez, who governed the island from 1819 until 1821.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTa6-I4u9Z64Kz23gtqv11PSHsYfmiTil1W_GiqSmzTc6XmX9QtijSlSPXJIHkPKO9urjsHcvLmzzFi0cWbq4zC5sgYHvsUN3kZZl7YAuTt56FxiS0yx3AWOr8X1pwSpb-8C9nT_6pyaY/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="636" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTa6-I4u9Z64Kz23gtqv11PSHsYfmiTil1W_GiqSmzTc6XmX9QtijSlSPXJIHkPKO9urjsHcvLmzzFi0cWbq4zC5sgYHvsUN3kZZl7YAuTt56FxiS0yx3AWOr8X1pwSpb-8C9nT_6pyaY/s640/Untitled.jpg" title="Penas Altas battery plan of 1819" width="498" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our new discovered fort plans made it to the cover:<br />
Penas Altas battery plan of 1819</td></tr>
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An abstract of the paper reads thus:<br />
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The coastal battery of Peñas Altas was the last fortification to complete the defensive system surrounding Matanzas Bay, Cuba. This research offers new information gathered from the analysis of unpublished maps, historical archives, and a preliminary archaeological survey. Such information has allowed us to limit the construction of the fortification between December 1819 and 1820, and not in 1818- 1819 as assumed by traditional historiography. Four important moments in its evolution are identified: planning and construction (1818-1827), remodeling (1840-1850), expansion (1876-1886), and a second remodeling in 1907. Peñas Altas functioned as a military post throughout the nineteenth century, and later became a police station and munition warehouse until its demolition in 1962. Only a few walls and part of the platform remain, however, they represent an important part of the lost heritage with potential for further research and tourism development.<br />
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The paper presents several unknown or inedited documents, plans, maps and photographs that record the history of the battery and the changes it underwent through Cuban history. We also explore the preservation of several of its surviving features and the possibility of turning its current state into a historical park.<br />
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The article is available on my other pages <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Johanset_Orihuela/2" target="_blank">here</a>, or on the page of the scientific journal <a href="http://rau.cujae.edu.cu/index.php/revistaau/issue/view/40/showToc" target="_blank"><em>Arquitectura and Urbanismo</em></a>, on which it was published.<br />
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Thank you once more for reading and visiting. Stay tuned for more news! <br />
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Recommended citation<br />
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Hernández de Lara, O., J. Orihuela León & B. Rodríguez Tápanes (2019). Batería de Peñas Altas: apuntes histórico-arqueológicos sobre una fortaleza olvidada (Matanzas, Cuba). <em>Revista científica de Arquitectura y Urbanismo</em>, XV, 1: 5-22. <br />
<br />Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-80099664000452780812019-02-26T15:29:00.003-05:002019-03-01T09:48:22.738-05:00New fossil records of triggerfish from the Miocene of CubaExciting news for the Cuban fossil record! A new article was recently published on the journal <strong><em>Historical Biology</em></strong> describing a new species of triggerfish (<em>Balistes vegai</em>) and a new occurrence record for the triggerfish species <em>Balistes crassidens</em> from the Miocene of Matanzas, Cuba. This is an exciting new contribution to the geological and fossil record, particularly the region of Matanzas, and the island of Cuba in general.<br />
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The article is co-authored by the Cuban researchers Lazaro W. Viñola and Logel Lorenzo along with the specialist Richard Carr of Montana State University. In it, the authors provide not only the description of the new species but also a revision of the taxonomy and fossil record of the genus.<br />
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The fish of the genus <em>Balistes</em> are most diverse in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific Ocean, with a few species occurring also in the Mediterranean and western Atlantic. Two species are currently known from the Caribbean: <em>Balistes vetula</em> and <em>Balistes capriscus</em>. The new species, <em>B. vegai</em>, is so far the largest species described. It was named in honor of Johnny Vega Piloto, a member of the Cuban Speleological Society, who in 2013 discovered the first fossil evidence.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRpY7EuidGCX5yjesexQssNHN2RCIQjFY_CLko-VXa9OELPub2HP2ZLgYGnmA18EUJsuc62e311lzpuSGiVJ9gG9AytR8ja6M0yChRFaBU04HL2ItKc3wMoPqti69MRrLut7P2Vk7m2o/s1600/Balistes+vegai.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Copyright 2019" border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1600" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRpY7EuidGCX5yjesexQssNHN2RCIQjFY_CLko-VXa9OELPub2HP2ZLgYGnmA18EUJsuc62e311lzpuSGiVJ9gG9AytR8ja6M0yChRFaBU04HL2ItKc3wMoPqti69MRrLut7P2Vk7m2o/s640/Balistes+vegai.JPG" title="Artistic reconstruction of Balistes vegai by Ethan Schmunk " width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artistic reconstruction of<em> Balistes vegai</em> by <strong>Ethan Schmunk</strong> showing <br />
an adult <em>B. vegai</em> chasing a juvenile megalodon shark (<em>Otodus megalodon</em>) in Cuban waters. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<em>Balistes</em> are peculiar fish characterized by an elongated snout, powerful jaws, and teeth that allow them to prey on invertebrates such as sea urchins. These are often aggressive and territorial fishes. Generally, these are not easily digestible by humans since they tend to be toxic. Nonetheless, people eat them in several parts of Cuba and the Caribbean.<br />
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Maybe one of the most relevant aspects of this discovery is its implication for the local fossil record, and Caribbean natural history, geology, and paleontology in general. The presence of triggerfish in the Miocene rocks of Cuba suggests the existence of marine ecosystems similar to those exploited by these fish in the region today. Moreover, it supports the hypothesis that a wide, shallow and warm sea existed in what is today the central lowlands and low hills of the Matanzas region, about a dozen million years ago.<br />
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Cite:<br />
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Viñola, L. W., R. Carr, and L. Lorenzo (2019). First occurrence of fossil <em>Balistes</em> (Tetradontiformes: Balistidae) from the Miocene of Cuba with the description of a new species and a revision of fossil Balistes. <em>Historical Biology</em> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08912963.2019.1580278" target="_blank">DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2019.1580278</a>. <br />
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Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-63083343459301755852019-01-25T14:01:00.000-05:002019-02-27T14:22:18.461-05:00New Book: Cuba, Archaeology and Historical LegacyA new book on Cuban archaeology was presented this past January 25, in the old city of La Habana, Cuba. The event was sponsored by the city of Havana historian's office, the Montane Anthropological Museum and the Cultural Patrimony Council. The title of the work is "<em><strong>Cuba: Arqueología y Legacía Histórica</strong></em>" (Polymita).<br />
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This is an important contribution, which in the constellation of other recent works - which includes several important articles and full-length treaties on several themes – gathers some of the most significant minds of Cuban archaeology of the XX and XXI centuries.<br />
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The book includes a series of diverse articles touching upon current issues and problematica in the fields of archaeological and historical research in Cuba. There are sections on the interpretation of aboriginal or prehistoric burial practices, use of fauna, and applications of theoretical archaeology; plus, the interpretation of the chronicles penned by conquistadores during the first decades of the colonization. Moreover, it includes an array of classic works on physical anthropology, toolkits and technological usage of wood and mollusks. The contributions provided both by the young and the older, though distinguished, generations of archaeologists. Among them, some of the most renown names in Cuban and Caribbean archaeology. <br />
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<br />
Within the attendees were the city historians Eusebio Leal Spengler (La Habana) and Ercilio Vento Canosa (Matanzas), the conservator of the city of Matanzas, Leonel Perez Orozco, among other prominent Cuban archaeologists. Presenting were Jorge Garcell of the council of Cultural Patrimony and the photographer - wind beneath the wings of this publication- Julio Larramendi.<br />
<br />
Please, join us in congratulating our friends and colleagues, those that made within and outside the covers, for this important contribution.<br />
<br />
<br />
A complete list of the book’s content is here provided (in Spanish): <br />
<br />
PRÓLOGO<br />
José Barreiro<br />
<br />
LOS ESTUDIOS SOBRE ARQUEOLOGÍA ABORIGEN EN CUBA: TEORÍAS Y APRECIACIONES<br />
Armando Rangel Rivero<br />
LAS COMUNIDADES ABORÍGENES DE CUBA. CENSO 2013<br />
José Jiménez Santander, Liamne Torres La Paz, Dany Morales Valdés y Lisandra Jiménez Ortega<br />
<br />
CRÓNICAS Y CRONISTAS DE INDIAS OCCIDENTALES<br />
Ulises M. González Herrera<br />
<br />
VIDA COTIDIANA Y ORGANIZACIÓN SOCIAL DE LAS COMUNIDADES ABORÍGENES DE CUBA<br />
Lillián J. Moreira de Lima<br />
<br />
POBLACIÓN ABORIGEN PRECOLOMBINA. DESCRIPCIÓN DE LAS CARACTERÍSTICAS CRANEALES Y LA ESTATURA<br />
Manuel F. Rivero de la Calle<br />
<br />
LA ALIMENTACIÓN DE LOS ABORÍGENES DE CUBA<br />
Roberto Rodríguez Suárez y Yadira Chinique de Armas<br />
<br />
EL ARTE COMO EXPRESIÓN SOCIAL DE LOS ABORÍGENES DE CUBA<br />
Lourdes Sarah Domínguez González<br />
<br />
ANIMALES EN EL ARTE ABORIGEN<br />
Carlos Arredondo Antúnez y Rafael Borroto-Páez<br />
PINTURAS Y GRABADOS RUPESTRES EN EL ARCHIPIÉLAGO CUBANO<br />
Divaldo A. Gutiérrez Calvache y José B. González Tendero<br />
<br />
MEDICINA DE LOS ABORÍGENES DE CUBA<br />
Enrique Beldarraín Chaple<br />
<br />
LOS BATEYES ABORÍGENES: JUEGO Y RITO EN EL ESPACIO COMUNAL<br />
Daniel Torres Etayo<br />
<br />
COSTUMBRES FUNERARIAS: LA MUERTE, EL ESPACIO Y EL TRATAMIENTO DEL CADÁVER EN LAS COMUNIDADES ORIGINARIAS DE CUBA<br />
Jorge Fernando Garcell Domínguez<br />
<br />
LOS ABORÍGENES Y EL USO DE LOS MOLUSCOS<br />
Alina Lomba Garmendia y Daniel Torres Etayo<br />
<br />
LAS INDUSTRIAS LÍTICAS DE LAS SOCIEDADES ABORÍGENES EN CUBA<br />
Gerardo Izquierdo Díaz<br />
<br />
LAS MADERAS EN LOS OBJETOS ABORÍGENES CUBANOS<br />
Raquel Carreras Rivery<br />
LA INDUSTRIA DE LA MADERA DE LOS ABORÍGENES DE CUBA<br />
Gabino La Rosa Corzo<br />
<br />
EL ÁREA ARQUEOLÓGICA LOS BUCHILLONES: ZONA EXCEPCIONAL PARA EL CARIBE<br />
Adrián García Lebroc y Jorge Calvera Rosés<br />
<br />
EL CHORRO DE MAÍTA<br />
Roberto Valcárcel Rojas<br />
<br />
EL LEGADO ARUACO EN EL ESPAÑOL CUBANO<br />
Sergio Valdés Bernal<br />
<br />
DESCENDIENTES DE LOS ABORÍGENES CUBANOS<br />
Manuel F. Rivero de la Calle<br />
<br />
LA HUELLA ABORIGEN EN EL PATRIMONIO GENÉTICO DE LA NACIÓN CUBANA<br />
Beatriz Marcheco Teruel<br />
<br />
ENTREVISTA A ALEJANDRO HARTMAN, HISTORIADOR DE BARACOA Y DIRECTOR DEL MUSEO MATACHÍN<br />
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<br />
Photographs published here are courtesy of personnel of the Oficina del Historiador de La Habana. Most special thanks to Lisette Roura Alvarez (C). </div>
Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-68131407787445399502018-12-12T10:38:00.000-05:002019-02-27T14:22:10.797-05:00Survey Question Why write for an audience that does not like to read? Why try to teach a population that is not interest in learning?<br />
<br />
Hi there readers of the blogverse! Please help me explore these questions. If you have answers to these queries please leave a message below. <br />
<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMX37WES-4IRj-_7q10LN2uTqg1xX131JxG57EPslxT6GVSMlLlHfOk5eG9pm0pEl5hfPsjLEfxZy101yULS3LTaz2wHao7TGDf6BDHWI7DRFzTgrmpX_-opFIpaPQPCrozQc9ZwBy2b8/s1600/IMG_0420.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMX37WES-4IRj-_7q10LN2uTqg1xX131JxG57EPslxT6GVSMlLlHfOk5eG9pm0pEl5hfPsjLEfxZy101yULS3LTaz2wHao7TGDf6BDHWI7DRFzTgrmpX_-opFIpaPQPCrozQc9ZwBy2b8/s640/IMG_0420.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Nautilus macromphalus</em> (Mollusca: Nautilida) or bellybutton nautilus, <br />
a shelled mollusk from New Caledonia and <br />
the Loyalty Islands of the South Pacific Ocean. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-36690491853737204952018-11-16T14:51:00.000-05:002019-01-23T18:33:24.956-05:00Local practices did not often follow royal ordersOur new article is out, published in the Cuban traditional journal <strong><em>Islas</em></strong>. This specialized magazine divulges studies in humanities and social sciences and has been in existence since 1958 when it was first edited and coordinated by Samuel Feijoo. Today, its base is located in the Universidad Central “Marta Abreu” of Las Villas, in central Cuba.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8hvL-zKWiIKg99xUVhjO5Hj0Kb_QO0grJxgbq7a-xlkGde9M5uvYRfT1NYRfbyT1W8Y9CBz_FlwvZhuUN3VLeux3SFvXOi5oN7jccsY4sc3gRX49voTXy7Z-yPukCyPj3-Ga0KvA3aQ/s1600/IMG_5601.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8hvL-zKWiIKg99xUVhjO5Hj0Kb_QO0grJxgbq7a-xlkGde9M5uvYRfT1NYRfbyT1W8Y9CBz_FlwvZhuUN3VLeux3SFvXOi5oN7jccsY4sc3gRX49voTXy7Z-yPukCyPj3-Ga0KvA3aQ/s640/IMG_5601.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Main drawbridge to the Castillo de San Severino, Matanzas city, Cuba</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The article deals with the earliest and lest known history of the Castillo de San Severino, the cities’ oldest building and the main reason for the city’s official foundation. Most especially, it drives home the point that many of the ordinances, related to the Castillo’s construction and the city’s foundation, although painstakingly designed and ordained in such manner by the crown, where not fully obeyed by the local officials. This likely mirrors the situation, not just in rural Cuba, but also in its major cities and throughout the New World, far from the Spanish Crown. This was likely the cause of differences in what the crown thought best for its subjects and colonies, and what the inhabitants of those colonies actually needed or felt it was to their best interest.<br />
<br />
Here is a brief abstract<br />
<br />
Castillo de San Severino in Matanzas had a construction standstill that lasted between 1694 and 1716. The historiography of the fort during these years pointed to the lack of funds to maintain a stable labor and materials for its construction as the main cause of the standstill. However, primary documents, including one by Juan de Síscara, assistant engineer to the viceroy of Mexico in 1696, points to other common factors for such delay of construction. In this way, our study provides new information and a new interpretation on one of the least known years of the construction of San Severino, plus insight into the political dynamics that influenced the construction and maintenance of Cuban military entities during the late 17th Century.<br />
<br />
The article can be downloaded for free at <a href="http://islas.uclv.edu.cu/index.php/islas" target="_blank">Islas</a> or <a href="https://www.academia.edu/37788870/Ordenes_reales_practicas_locales_el_castillo_de_San_Severino_y_la_dinamica_colonial.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. On that note, I send out a happy birthday to all my friends from La Habana, a city that turns 499 years today. <br />
<br />
Citation:<br />
<br />
Orihuela, J., O. Hernández de Lara & R. Viera Muñoz (2018). Órdenes reales y prácticas locales: el Castillo de San Severino de Matanzas y la dinámica colonial (1683-1698). <em>Islas</em> 60 (191): 39-68. <br />
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Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-43166031820485614442018-10-12T14:23:00.000-04:002018-11-16T14:52:08.748-05:00Matanzas’s City turns 325For the town of San Carlos de Matanzas, the month of October if full of celebration. It was on that month, in 1693, that the city was officially founded. This year, however, it was more special than ever thanks to the herculean efforts of the Conservator’s Office and its many workers, who have restored the historical part of the city to its colonial splendor and glamour.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimA0mSzhlFvorkYpsHfXh-FxvBNO02HVL6GrZNh8ggbF4k5-Y4BdPxXNHZHp1GJaocGJlja4xiv8loD7mo_SJiPqh4D7nGR3lThUj_yGs8PJhCAL9KG2d2iRU_tOreHRXj3pLg4f_cPkI/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1208" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimA0mSzhlFvorkYpsHfXh-FxvBNO02HVL6GrZNh8ggbF4k5-Y4BdPxXNHZHp1GJaocGJlja4xiv8loD7mo_SJiPqh4D7nGR3lThUj_yGs8PJhCAL9KG2d2iRU_tOreHRXj3pLg4f_cPkI/s640/1.jpg" title="Front cover of Revista Matanzas, where our article is featured" width="481" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front cover of Revista Matanzas, where our article is featured</td></tr>
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<br />
In celebration of this historical moment, albeit local and personal, we contributed with a small publication on the local magazine <strong><em>Matanzas</em></strong>. In it, we published a small piece on Matanzas's first coat of arms. Unknown until now was the revelation that the governor Severino de Manzaneda, who founded de city in October 1693, had provided the city with an official coat of arms since 1694, which was approved by the crown in 1698, but unfortunately forgotten by local and crown officials until 1828, when the colonial shield was redesigned.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM32g95LruQHlEL33ovwpttdYd8DRa0r7lrEMtfeTJUEIN9PHMlh1DugGqB4cJcCIBKx4NrUx7CCCrclkTM4IcjSVYCuiWt_9-dBbo7rgS0VXJez6Jd6Rt1UqwWLMyNP6Y9iYu2-Ve3BY/s1600/Archivo+General+de+Indias%252CMP-ESCUDOS%252C165+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1163" data-original-width="1517" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM32g95LruQHlEL33ovwpttdYd8DRa0r7lrEMtfeTJUEIN9PHMlh1DugGqB4cJcCIBKx4NrUx7CCCrclkTM4IcjSVYCuiWt_9-dBbo7rgS0VXJez6Jd6Rt1UqwWLMyNP6Y9iYu2-Ve3BY/s400/Archivo+General+de+Indias%252CMP-ESCUDOS%252C165+2.jpg" title="Colonial Coat of Arms given by the Spanish Crown to the city of Matanzas, 1828" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colonial Coat of Arms given by the Spanish Crown to the city of Matanzas, 1828,<br />
Courtesy of the Archivo General de Indias. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Although this may seem trivial, the coat of arms of Matanzas has been seen as a unifying symbol, first of its relationship to the Spanish crown and then to the Republic. More interestingly, it was previously unreported or unknown by local and national historians. Thus, this little note added a little piece of history, which was lost amongst the old archive papers in Seville, providing a different hue to our local history's color. Moreover, it adds to the poorly studied Cuban and Novohispanic heraldry. <br />
<br />
That article can be accessed for free <a href="https://www.academia.edu/37601025/El_primer_escudo_de_armas_de_San_Carlos_de_Matanzas_Revista_Matanzas_XIX_1_y_2_7a11.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. Other posts on Matanzas history can be accessed <a href="http://fossilmatter.blogspot.com/2015/10/matanzas-city-celebrating-322-years-of.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Stay tuned for more updates on fossils and old documents!<br />
<br />
Article can be sited as: <br />
<br />
Orihuela León, J., R. A. Viera Muñoz & L. Pérez Orozco (2018). El blasón desconocido: Primer escudo de San Carlos de Matanzas. <em>Revista Matanzas</em> XIX (1/2): 7-11.
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<br />Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-32203885822245673442018-09-11T17:56:00.002-04:002018-09-11T18:08:48.534-04:00Featured article: Clay Tobacco Pipes from a Colonial Refuse Deposit in Fort San Severino, Matanzas Province, CubaHello blog readers, here I provide a link to our article "Clay Tobacco Pipes from a Colonial Refuse Deposit in Fort San Severino, Matanzas Province, Cuba" published on the International Journal of Historical Archaeology, which Spinger Nature has kindly allowed us to share. <br />
<br />
This article deals with the identification of clay tobacco pipes used for smocking by prisoners and soldiers of the fort's garrison between the late XVIII and through the middle XIX century. This small collection of smocking pipes, as personal portable objects, speak volumes to the pastime activities available at the fort. More so, it provides a small window into the origin and circulation of pipes. <br />
<br />
Visit the link below to read more!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://rdcu.be/6hvK" target="_blank">https://rdcu.be/6hvK </a> <br />
<br />
Stay tuned!<br />
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Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-34262799508235335952018-08-16T16:01:00.001-04:002020-06-21T08:49:33.768-04:00Updated list of Cuba’s extinct birdsCuba had a former, richly diverse bird fauna, most of which is today extinct. In recent years, the known species have seen revisions, additions, and deletions that have changed the topography of the species' roster. For the benefit of all those interested, here I provide an actualized list of Cuba’s extinct birds reflecting those changes.<br />
<br />
This has been the recent topic of an article I have now submitted to an ornithological journal with the hopes that it may aid my peers in understanding the diversity of long-gone Cuban birds. But most especially, my intent has been to divulge in a single compendium an actualized list that reflects those recent changes.<br />
<br />
Update: this paper is now published and available at the journal <em>Ornitologia Neotropical </em><a href="http://journals.sfu.ca/ornneo/index.php/ornneo/article/view/389" target="_blank">here</a>. <br />
<br />
Much work it is jet to be done, and with the interesting new deposits being explored and researched in the Greater Antillean island of Hispaniola and The Bahamas, it would not surprise me to see Cuban species, even some of those we today consider endemics, appear in those contexts.<br />
<br />
<br />
With that said, here is the list:
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<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"><br />Supercohort: Dinosauria<br /><br />Class: Aves<br /><br />Order: Pelecaniformes<br /><br />Family: Ardeidae Leach, 1820</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: calibri;">(Herons and egrets)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Tigrisoma <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">mexicanum</span></i>
<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Swaison</span> 1834, reported by Olson &
Suarez (2008). This is a Tiger-heron. </span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: calibri;">Order: Ciconiiformes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: calibri;">Family: Ciconiidae J.
E. Gray, 1840</span><br />
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><span style="font-family: calibri;">(Cranes)</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Ciconia <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">lydekkeri</span> </i>(Ameghino
1891), is considered a senior synonym of C. <i>maltha</i> (L. Miller 1910:440)
by Agnolin (2009).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="ES" style="line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Ciconia</span></i><span lang="ES" style="line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> sp. <span style="font-family: calibri;"><span style="line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This species was mentioned by Suárez & Olson (2003a: 151) . <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Mycteria <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">wetmorei</span></i>
Howard 1935: 253. (See Iturralde et al. 2000; Suárez & Olson 2003a).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Order: <i>Incertae
Sedis </i>or Accipitriformes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Family:
Teratornithidae L. Miller, 1909</span><br />
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><span style="font-family: calibri;">(large, near flightless terrestrial raptor birds)</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Oscaravis</span> <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">olsoni</span></i> (Arredondo & Arredondo 1999:16)
(=<i>Teratornis <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">olsoni</span></i>) amended and
redescribed by Suárez & Olson (2009:106).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Order:
Accipitriformes or Cathartiformes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Family: Cathartidae
Lafresnaye, 1839</span><br />
<span style="font-family: calibri;">(vultures and condors)</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;">Gymnogyps
varonai</span></i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;"> (Arredondo
1971:310) (=<i>Antillovultur <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">varonai</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-no-proof: yes;">). Amended by Suárez (2000a).
<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">Cathartes</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-no-proof: yes;"> sp. 1 or Cathartidae indet. 2. See Suárez
(2001c:110). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-no-proof: yes;"><o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Family: Accipitridae
Vieillot, 1816</span><br />
<span style="font-family: calibri;">(hawks and falcons)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Amplibuteo <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">woodwardi</span></i>
(L. Miller 1911:312)<span lang="" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-AU;">, reported
in Suárez (2004)</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Buteo lineatus</i> (Gmelin 1788:268), reported in Suárez
& Olson (2003b). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;">Buteogallus <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">borrasi</span></span></i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;"> (Arredondo 1970) =<i>Aquila <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">borrasi</span> </i>Arredondo (1970) amended by Suárez
& Olson 2007. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Black-Chested Buzzard Eagle <i>Geranoaetus melanoleucus </i>Swan,
1922:67. Reported by Alexander Wetmore (1928). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;">Gigantohierax <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">suarezi</span></span></i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;"> Arredondo & Arredondo 1999: 10. </span>Now
includes specimens previously identified as <i>Aguila <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">borrasi</span></i> (=<i>Buteogallus <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">borrasi</span></i>).
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Caracara creightoni</i> Brodkorb 1959:353, reported by Suárez
& Olson (2003c:306).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;">Milvago
carbo</span></i><span lang="" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"> Suárez &
Olson (2003:302). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="PT" style="mso-ansi-language: PT;">Milvago</span></i><span lang="PT" style="mso-ansi-language: PT;"> sp. from Suárez & Arrendondo (1997).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Falco <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">femoralis</span></i>
Temminck 1922:121. This Aplomado falcon was reported by Suárez & Olson (2003b).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"></span> </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtsf1x35GpE3-y8UuTrToWqox8u5iA84QOuVLN7U7lY98VJ1OYOOIEOQqZL1Fw7zkMtK9Oyjt2kxPfwFwnb74UQ54Fkbh3faL9aMT1Mu2sNDfqlyRUcBNzAi745pgcSWEB5y47laleNY/s1600/IMG_1383+Falco+femoralis+pichinchae.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtsf1x35GpE3-y8UuTrToWqox8u5iA84QOuVLN7U7lY98VJ1OYOOIEOQqZL1Fw7zkMtK9Oyjt2kxPfwFwnb74UQ54Fkbh3faL9aMT1Mu2sNDfqlyRUcBNzAi745pgcSWEB5y47laleNY/s640/IMG_1383+Falco+femoralis+pichinchae.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aplomado Falcon (<em>Falco femoralis</em>) near the town of Tinke, at the foot of the majestic Ausangate Mountain, Peru. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="PT" style="mso-ansi-language: PT;">Falco
kurochkini</span></i><span lang="PT" style="mso-ansi-language: PT;"> Suárez &
Olson 2001a:35. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="PT" style="mso-ansi-language: PT;"><o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Order: Gruiformes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Family: Gruidae
Vigors, 1825</span><br />
<span style="font-family: calibri;">(storks)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Grus cubensis</i> (Fischer & Stephan 1971a:565). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Family: Rallidae
Rafinesque, 1815<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Nesotrochis <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">picapicensis</span></i>
(Fischer & Stephan 1971b:595), revised and amended by Olson (1974). This is an endemic near-flightless Cuban rail. Puerto Rico had a similar species. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Order:
Charadriiformes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Family: Burhinidae
Mathews, 1912<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Burhinus</i> sp. reported by Oscar Arredondo (1984). This is another form of water bird called the Double-striped Thick-knee that lives in Central and South America. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Family: Scolopacidae
Rafinesque, 1815<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Gallinago</i> <i><span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">kakuki</span></i>
by Steadman & Takano (2016: 348). Formerly <em>Capella</em> sp. (Suárez 2004a). This is a type of sandpiper or snipe. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Order: Psittaciformes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Family:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Psittacidae Rafinesque, 1815<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Ara tricolor</i> Bechstein 1811:64 (= <i>A. cubensis</i>
of Wetherbee, 1985). The Cuban macaw: see my previous post on this species <a href="http://fossilmatter.blogspot.com/2018/04/ara-tricolor-cubas-extinct-endemic-macaw.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Family: Tytonidae
Ridgway, 1914<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Tyto noeli</i> Arredondo 1972a: 416. This species new
included <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tyto <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">neddi</span></i> of Steadman & Hilgartner (1999) from Barbuda. This is a large barn owl, like the other species listed below. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Tyto pollens</i> Wetmore 1937:436. This taxon now
includes <i>Tyto <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">riveroi</span></i> Arredondo
1972b: 131. The rarest of all Cuban tytonids, known from a single locality. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;">Tyto <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">cravesae</span></span></i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;"> Suárez & Olson 2015: 544.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Tyto</i> sp. A small species reported by Suárez &
Díaz-Franco (2003: 375).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;"><span style="font-family: calibri;">Family: Strigidae Leach, 1820<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;">Bubo <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">osvaldoi</span></span></i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;"> Arredondo & Olson 1994:438.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;">Pulsatrix
arredondoi</span></i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;"> Brodkorb,
1969: 112.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">Ornimegalonyx <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">oteroi</span></span></i><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;"> Arredondo 1958: 11.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;">Ornimegalonyx
acevedoi</span></i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;"> Arredondo,
1982: 95.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;">Ornimegalonyx
minor</span></i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;"> Arredondo, 1982: 46.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;">Ornimegalonyx
gigas</span></i><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES;"> Arredondo, 1982: 47.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">It is likely that all <i>Ornimegalonyx</i> represent a
single species. Their size disparity could be due to sexual dimorphism,
chrono-temporal or/and individual variation (Alegre 2002).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Order:
Caprimulgiformes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Family: Caprimulgidae
Vigors, 1825<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i><span lang="" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;">Siphonorhis
daiquiri</span></i><span lang="" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"> Olson,
1985:528. This is the endemic pauraque or Cuban Poorwill, a species of nightjar. </span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span lang="" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-MX;"><o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Order: Passeriformes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;">Family:
Rhinocryptidae Wetmore, 1930<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Scytalopus</i> sp. reported by Olson and Kurochkin (1987).
This is a small passerine bird commonly known as "tapaculo". </span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Family: Icteridae</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><i>Dolichonyx <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">kruegeri</span></i>
Fischer & Stephan (1971: 597).<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span>This is
likely a misidentified specimen of Bobolink (<i>D. <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">oryzivorus)</span>,
</i>an uncommon transient species in Cuba (Garrido & Kirkconnell 2000: 218).
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-44738147108434937092018-04-25T12:46:00.002-04:002018-04-25T16:19:53.747-04:00Ara tricolor: Cuba's extinct endemic macawUp to 150 years ago Cuba possessed three parrots in its avifauna-one of them a large and beautifully colored macaw.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEc46aVcunFntV8gvANsB17v2jDRieCPuYDFhWL4D0kCQs5PCz29rNqlhBtTaSIrCxpEXl2oOEnCc99taSWCKagBb6-J5f3wYsLcgMvyskgIEjyps9ZmGOU6cVOZMXAIRYIeAuT2cxaNM/s1600/A__tricolor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1149" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEc46aVcunFntV8gvANsB17v2jDRieCPuYDFhWL4D0kCQs5PCz29rNqlhBtTaSIrCxpEXl2oOEnCc99taSWCKagBb6-J5f3wYsLcgMvyskgIEjyps9ZmGOU6cVOZMXAIRYIeAuT2cxaNM/s640/A__tricolor.jpg" title="Cuban macaw Ara tricolor circa 1800 by Jacques Barraband" width="457" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watercolor of the Cuban macaw <em>Ara tricolor</em> circa 1800 by Jacques Barraband, <br />
a French zoological illustrator. From the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_macaw" target="_blank">Cuban macaw Wikipedia</a>. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Parrots belong to the bird family Psittacidae, of which Cuba has two representative genera and species: the endangered Cuban conure <em>Psittacara eups</em> (=<em>Aratinga</em>), and the better widespread Cuban parrot <em>Amazona leucocephala</em>. Up to the mid-XIX, Cuba also had a large macaw, <em>Ara tricolor</em>. The last known pair was shot in 1864 at La Vega, in the Cienaga de Zapata-the largest wetland swamp of the Caribbean archipelago. The ornithologists Johannes Gundlach and C. B. Cory believed that this species survived up until the later XIX century. In Spanish, these large parrots are known as guacamayos, which is the Arawak indian name, or papagayos, the Castilian.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4UMFx2H0TgOgIy5pX8HLKyaqtIYFmEMRiwSsCJP8fn0TmHjBRc8xJzO_SatCflQP2l872WQ5Ri1UXNCWViTmWxSmZ9Iz0alj0SUZlnksGOiwrZVH-UFFRUcBKZLA58TDxbjrLC2k8oo/s1600/A_Moorhen_A_Gull_A_Scarlet_Macaw_and_Red-Rumped_A_Cacique_By_A_Stream_in_a_Landscape_by_Philip_Reinagle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="510" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl4UMFx2H0TgOgIy5pX8HLKyaqtIYFmEMRiwSsCJP8fn0TmHjBRc8xJzO_SatCflQP2l872WQ5Ri1UXNCWViTmWxSmZ9Iz0alj0SUZlnksGOiwrZVH-UFFRUcBKZLA58TDxbjrLC2k8oo/s640/A_Moorhen_A_Gull_A_Scarlet_Macaw_and_Red-Rumped_A_Cacique_By_A_Stream_in_a_Landscape_by_Philip_Reinagle.jpg" title=""A moorhen, a gull, and a Scarlet Macaw by a stream in a landscape" by Philip Reinagle" width="564" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oil on canvas: "<a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Moorhen_A_Gull_A_Scarlet_Macaw_and_Red-Rumped_A_Cacique_By_A_Stream_in_a_Landscape_by_Philip_Reinagle.jpg" target="_blank">A moorhen, a gull, and a Scarlet Macaw by a stream in a landscape</a>" by Philip Reinagle<br />
circa early XIX century. </td></tr>
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Scientist recognize that other large <em>Ara</em> macaws existed in other islands of the Caribbean, but the Cuban macaw is the only one known from complete specimens, preserved as stuffed, mounted, or skins, and several skeletal parts found in paleontological and archaeological deposits.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizkuqZs_ZLMLQX31lVQrggif5R_08bvOd81dLjMpRJVDCq_vfPzqSI3SGk737h0JgAX2D95o1-6D_21mopPdfg7PJrvfo9hp3GxvIK3fIVLzDPsgQtbU-pS6LehQmcAopkYv6IGdusK1g/s1600/Cuban_Macaw+Fracois+Nicolas+Martinet+1765.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizkuqZs_ZLMLQX31lVQrggif5R_08bvOd81dLjMpRJVDCq_vfPzqSI3SGk737h0JgAX2D95o1-6D_21mopPdfg7PJrvfo9hp3GxvIK3fIVLzDPsgQtbU-pS6LehQmcAopkYv6IGdusK1g/s640/Cuban_Macaw+Fracois+Nicolas+Martinet+1765.jpg" title="Painting of Ara tricolor by Francois-Nicolas Martinet, in 1765" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painting of <em>Ara tricolor</em> by Francois-Nicolas Martinet, in 1765. </td></tr>
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Colonists that came to the island after Columbus’s rediscovery of the New World, documented the massive killings of these birds by amerindians, but mostly by conquistadors, who used them for food, plumage, or kept them as pets. In one occasion, Father Bartolome de las Casas records a mass killing of macaws at the indian town of Casaharta in 1513 by the natives for the sake of the colonists:<br />
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“[my translation] …<em>the many things marvelous and abundance of food from many sources, bread and game, and fish, but above all of macaws, which if I have not forgotten, during the 15 days that we were there, at least 10,000 macaws were eaten. These were of the most beautiful in the world, which was a real shame to see them killed. Even the little native kids would climb trees to catch them</em>…”</div>
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Las Casas also recorded the presence of a “<em>different</em>” macaw, with a white, not red, forehead on the island of Hispaniola. He mentions that when Columbus reached the island of Cuba, “nice, green macaws” were gifted to him by the natives (Las Casas, 1875:296, vol. 1). The colonists accepted these gifts, and many macaws were sacrificed for their beautiful feathers, which were to be sent to Spain as exotic souvenirs. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimldzxdbubRB6oVOfoDlCAjZyX2ao21iw6QNx-MuPISpwME1paVHE2oebo80HyXZZ-AtAIs5ZPO420VnzrBnCeKhKLEEtXBLQFvIZdh0xKQ0HISQwAVlrZ4APX23LKAR8HhqeTF3Go3JE/s1600/RMNH+110_095+Ara+tricolor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="1600" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimldzxdbubRB6oVOfoDlCAjZyX2ao21iw6QNx-MuPISpwME1paVHE2oebo80HyXZZ-AtAIs5ZPO420VnzrBnCeKhKLEEtXBLQFvIZdh0xKQ0HISQwAVlrZ4APX23LKAR8HhqeTF3Go3JE/s640/RMNH+110_095+Ara+tricolor.jpg" title="Mounted specimen of the Cuban macaw from the RMNH. " width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mounted specimen of the Cuban macaw from the RMNH. <br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_macaw" target="_blank">Naturalis Biodiversity Center</a>. </td></tr>
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It seems, by these accounts, that the Caribbean amerindians were also fond of keeping parrot pets. Yet still, during these early years of the conquest, “<em>there were so many flocks of parrots, that they covered the sun</em>”. This was not to last past the colonial era. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSAKc2s15UfWdF6H5HmsPwHVqqlE4eIDcl0FgDsirxsNVa7GwVozrmBkLNxQD1-JP5n8RTSw00W4ph-gYizwsdZkE1uCaIck7ad_kaQD-GhCa6rLY_wFuoFlAKJgjEenj1dcHWtoymdE/s1600/IMG_4166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSAKc2s15UfWdF6H5HmsPwHVqqlE4eIDcl0FgDsirxsNVa7GwVozrmBkLNxQD1-JP5n8RTSw00W4ph-gYizwsdZkE1uCaIck7ad_kaQD-GhCa6rLY_wFuoFlAKJgjEenj1dcHWtoymdE/s640/IMG_4166.JPG" title="Otton A. Suarez (1974) Ara tricolor" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration by the Cuban zoological illustrator Otton A. Suarez (1974) from <br />
<em>Las Aves de Cuba: Especies Endemicas</em> (1980) by Orlando A. Garrido. <br />
This is the same specimen from the Institute of Ecology and Systematics, in Havana, below. </td></tr>
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The causes of its final extinction are closely tied to human pressure: overhunting at first, and later, deforestation for agricultural development, most intensified during the XVIII and early XIX. During this time, the king’s preserves of forests were maintained and untouched until then by Real decree and accessed only illegally or under special grant by the king. But with the massive onset of agriculture deforestation for tobacco and sugar cane plantations likely drove these large birds to the few remaining forests of the island, Cienaga de Zapata being one of them, and one of the most protected even now. It was at these locations that a few naturalists secured the last specimens, treasures of American and European museums. Sadly, the only surviving mounted skin of <em>Ara tricolor</em> in Cuba was recently stolen from the Institute of Ecology and Systematics (IES) in the outskirts of the city of Havana. This was a gorgeous well-preserved specimen collected by <a href="http://fossilmatter.blogspot.com/2016/07/in-memoriam-et-causa-honoris-johannes.html" target="_blank">Johannes Gundlach</a>, and one of the most treasured specimens of the old Academy of Sciences, which are now housed at the Institute. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUSh29M32mDjDXHqJuc2FcK0H7GXVhp1i8eJGvbAJN7IZobAJNDtTV8AYkJJbljdTK20mTaXltogVafghIEVssLbV4kbBzjt87bl0HuNVqtDSaLX7cEY2N6uqZZCwv9ZGrXG8shICC-M/s1600/Ara+cubensis+A+Tejedor+MNHNCu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1486" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUSh29M32mDjDXHqJuc2FcK0H7GXVhp1i8eJGvbAJN7IZobAJNDtTV8AYkJJbljdTK20mTaXltogVafghIEVssLbV4kbBzjt87bl0HuNVqtDSaLX7cEY2N6uqZZCwv9ZGrXG8shICC-M/s400/Ara+cubensis+A+Tejedor+MNHNCu.jpg" width="371" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuban macaw <em>Ara tricolor</em> from the National Museum<br />
of IES in Havana, Cuba. <br />
This specimen has been recently lost or stolen. <br />
Courtesy of A. Tejedor.</td></tr>
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These rare representatives of Cuban macaws belong in museums, were they are taken care by specialists, people who have studied their whole lives to preserve specimens such as these, and where they are kept under special conditions, and where they can be studied by those that are interested. They do not belong in some collector’s cabinet. It is only hoped that the final itinerary of this specimen is secured, and that the collector protects the beautiful mounted specimen with the dignity it deserves-for the rarity it represents, and as a reminder of the vulnerability of the Earth’s fauna before human destructiveness. </div>
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<strong>Bibliography</strong> <br />
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<br />
De Las Casas, Bartolomé (1560/1875). <em>Historia de las Indias</em>. Vol. 1-4. Imprenta de Miguel Ginesta (Press), Madrid.<br />
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Gundlach, J. C. 1876.<em> Contribución a la ornitología cubana</em>. Imprenta La Antilla, La Habana, 364 pp.<br />
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Gundlach, J. C. 1893. <em>Ornitología cubana</em>. Imprenta La Moderna, La Habana, 357 pp.<br />
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Wetmore, A. (1928). Bones of birds from the Ciego Montero deposit of Cuba. <em>American Museum Novitates</em> 301: 1-5.<br />
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Wiley, James W. and G. M. Kirwan (2013). The extinct macaws of the West Indies, with special reference to Cuban macaw <em>Ara tricolor</em>. <em>Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club</em> 132 (2):125-156.
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<span lang="ES" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"></span><br />Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-69211114209249559582018-03-15T14:34:00.000-04:002018-04-25T11:06:25.438-04:00Rodents gnaw bonesRats eat dead bodies; be it human or another organism. These animals are mostly plant eaters, but mice and rats have evolved to ingest human waste, meat, fat, and including bones. This behavior is peculiar and important to us, those that study bones from the fossil or archaeological record.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1Ohvr7mHkLvJ4MUJyRxLj_zdpqIsnLlNEnl7ZJ-YHEz7vHv_CV-lJOiReB-gyIsZKQ6bXjDKSY2qNU3nMxs2lp8HXQe-5TAUxRXAquSgLNauk7O4R5LvvcEZaRy67TiOogUWuhf0Jl4/s1600/IMG_4152+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="1600" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1Ohvr7mHkLvJ4MUJyRxLj_zdpqIsnLlNEnl7ZJ-YHEz7vHv_CV-lJOiReB-gyIsZKQ6bXjDKSY2qNU3nMxs2lp8HXQe-5TAUxRXAquSgLNauk7O4R5LvvcEZaRy67TiOogUWuhf0Jl4/s640/IMG_4152+%25282%2529.JPG" title="Extensive gnawing by gray squirrels Sciurus carolinensis" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 1. Extensive gnawing by gray squirrels <em>Sciurus carolinensis</em>. Note the parallel, fan-shaped grooves. </td></tr>
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Many organisms are instantly attracted to human waste and trash. Also to animal and human burials. It seems that rodents are attracted to the bones the most, which they gnaw and chew to acquire calcium salts and other nutrients. Gnawing also helps them file their ever-growing teeth.<br />
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This physical activity leaves physical evidence: characteristic, almost unmistakable, double grooved, fan-shaped marks on the objects they gnaw. For paleontologists, archaeologist, and forensic anthropologists, these marks are important and diagnostic of burial conditions, timing, and environment.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gaYxZfJvjNDgqWbO7q7tDmCn_8zxBoFrDm5XzFKKoqVFQ0jEIvrMkvLSC0N8pPaG1E55cA0rOZYVaJME5dzswtt_Fm4U4Qggyr43L28YYO-F8kfQ3xZ28WA5fBNcw_7UV35rlQfqEYA/s1600/Rattus+OCala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1508" data-original-width="1600" height="601" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7gaYxZfJvjNDgqWbO7q7tDmCn_8zxBoFrDm5XzFKKoqVFQ0jEIvrMkvLSC0N8pPaG1E55cA0rOZYVaJME5dzswtt_Fm4U4Qggyr43L28YYO-F8kfQ3xZ28WA5fBNcw_7UV35rlQfqEYA/s640/Rattus+OCala.jpg" title="Gnaw-marks made by the Brown rat Rattus norvegicus" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 2. Gnaw-marks made by the Brown rat <em>Rattus norvegicus</em>. Note and compare to figure 1. <br />
The grooves made by mice and rats are much straighter, and closely packed, with a smaller width. </td></tr>
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Research during the past decades has shown that these marks are tell-tell signs of exposure and scavenger activity. A cadaver that is exposed, or unburied, attracts dogs, raccoons, and rodents, which eat, chew, and gnaw the parts that are exposed, available, or that are most attractive to them, leaving their markings behind. Several of them, like the African porcupine, take bones back to their burrow, where over the years, a collection or cache of bones builds up. These animals are modifiers, and their modifications can help determine how long those remains were unburied and who had access to scatter them.<br />
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In the case of rats, it had been assumed that they were most attracted to old, dry bones. But evidence from human and animal cadavers had been contradictory. A recent article, “Rodents as Taphonomic Agents” by Walter E. Klippel and Jennifer A. Syntelien, discuss this very issue. They found that in fact, rats are most attracted to fresh bones, especially those that still preserve yellow marrow, and fat. Remains with these characteristics are usually less than 30 months old, even under direct exposure to the elements and other modifiers. Their experiment showed that rats and canids (dog family), preferred fresh remains; usually, those that were less than a year old.<br />
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On the other hand, experiments on body farms, show that other rodents like squirrels do prefer older, dry bones, that have been exposed over several years. This is important because it can provide a confirmable timetable to estimate time of deposition and exposure for remains that bear these markings. For forensic anthropologists, the identification of these marks (along with other indicators such as insects and vegetation) can provide a time-since death, in the case of human cadavers resulting from accidents or homicides. For paleontologists and archaeologists like me, they can provide evidence of a nearby scavenger fauna, or proximity of several scavengers to human dwellings, and the approximate time of burial or exposure for those remains. Overall, providing much more information that can be gleaned from the bones alone.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHQdFvgJKBUYY2rBNbm0TlquGmEdA8ZsBaWUxVwc73fg3bPWlJMTUvLnUkHc36qVNx5649YwqXZX2TNen3dyJNdvooeRDU1yJReEoZUBC_sWGVijFolbP7XaFHl8QQcA3uEdJX4y-f2Y/s1600/rodent+gnaw+Cuba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="1600" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHQdFvgJKBUYY2rBNbm0TlquGmEdA8ZsBaWUxVwc73fg3bPWlJMTUvLnUkHc36qVNx5649YwqXZX2TNen3dyJNdvooeRDU1yJReEoZUBC_sWGVijFolbP7XaFHl8QQcA3uEdJX4y-f2Y/s640/rodent+gnaw+Cuba.jpg" title="Rodent marks made by a Cuban hutia (likely the large Capromys sp.)" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 3. Rodent marks made by a Cuban hutia (likely the large <em>Capromys</em> sp.), on a extinct hutia's femur shaft. <br />
Note that there are characteristic, smaller, perpendicular striations. </td></tr>
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We have found similar markings in Cuban archaeological deposits, but these are not referable to rats or squirrels since these rodents are not native to the island. However, they are referable, based on size, to the Cuban native hutias; rodents of the family Capromyidae, with several endemic species on the island. These markings suggest that hutias also were attracted to indocuban refuse, where they could gnaw on bones. The variation in the size of the marks also suggests that more than one species gnawed on refuse bone-remains that Cuban Indians discarded. Our evidence indicates that capromyid rodents were the most important bone dispersers and modifiers on the archaeological and paleontological deposits of the island much before Columbus rediscovered the New World (see Orihuela, Jimenez and Garcell, 2016).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifW8M4zjDVIY5PSdctHHUNRdvPgk76IOFxFKTpW_ZVcNAy-0RbKJyyIfVgyFZkZANfgwrVDKlFRXtuXeCD-7s0YTw8NHt7a48xJGwP75a_HhZMfYzATacAfYP2Akyn4GKj77bDeGagWlI/s1600/rodentCuba+garcell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1422" data-original-width="1338" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifW8M4zjDVIY5PSdctHHUNRdvPgk76IOFxFKTpW_ZVcNAy-0RbKJyyIfVgyFZkZANfgwrVDKlFRXtuXeCD-7s0YTw8NHt7a48xJGwP75a_HhZMfYzATacAfYP2Akyn4GKj77bDeGagWlI/s400/rodentCuba+garcell.jpg" title="Rodent gnaw marks on the distal end of an extinct hutia's tibia" width="376" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 4. Rodent gnaw marks on the distal end of an extinct hutia's tibia. <br />
These smaller marks were likely made by a medium sized hutia, spiny rat<br />
from Cuba's extinct fauna. </td></tr>
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But how quickly did they seek out the bones? Or for how long were the remains available for these rodents? What role did the introduction of domesticated dogs affect these natural processes? We do not have concrete answers for these questions yet, but we have research on the way that can help clarify some of these issues and their importance in the study of the past and for historical sciences.<br />
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Stay tuned to find out!<br />
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Here is a brief bibliography for those that would like to read these interesting articles:<br />
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Fisher, J. W. (1995). Bone surface modifications in zooarchaeology. <em>Journal of Archaeological Methods and Theory</em> 2(1): 7-68.<br />
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Haglund, W. D. (1992). Contributions of rodents to postmortem artifacts of bone and soft tissue. <em>Journal of Forensic Sciences</em> 37:1459-1465.<br />
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Haglund, W. D., D. T. Ready, y D. R. Swindler (1988). Tooth mark artifacts and survival of bones in animal scavenged human skeletons. <em>Journal of Forensic Sciences</em> 33: 985-997.<br />
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Klippel, Walter E., y Jennifer A. Synstelien (2007). Rodents as taphonomic agents: Bone gnawing by brown rats and grey squirrels. <em>Journal of Forensic Sciences</em>, 52(4):765-773. <br />
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Orihuela, J., O. Jimenez Vazquez, and Jorge F. Garcell (2016). Modificaciones tafonomicas bioticas en restos oseos de depositos arqueologicos y paleontologicos en las provincias de Mayabeque y Matanzas, Cuba. <em>Cuba Arqueologica</em>. <br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-17546458804487413432018-02-15T11:38:00.000-05:002018-04-17T12:32:20.302-04:00Trilobites-Sea Cockroaches of the OceanTrilobites were the sea cockroaches of the paleoworld. They were marine arthropods, highly adapted to multiple types of ocean ecosystems and diets that included all sorts things from the ocean bottom. This versatility and diversity helped them dominated the oceans for over 320 million years. Yes! That’s millions of years! To put in context, dinosaurs ruled the world for nearly 200 million years, whereas us humans, as a recognizable biological species, have existed for only a mere 300 thousand years. That’s less than ten percent the time trilobites existed on the planet.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJDNq0i0trMVEPNxyW5esXhq_eo1-Geb6yI9Z7vDjJ4vakO116uvFhDKm-K-9KDPqOzPQvXrjl6oArrBGQYPXaQQJddOy00yyw6GU_C5E5SSssqU3tVeDZzyCBTEm0wp0kcLxO4_8Ry8/s1600/IMG_0560+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="1600" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwJDNq0i0trMVEPNxyW5esXhq_eo1-Geb6yI9Z7vDjJ4vakO116uvFhDKm-K-9KDPqOzPQvXrjl6oArrBGQYPXaQQJddOy00yyw6GU_C5E5SSssqU3tVeDZzyCBTEm0wp0kcLxO4_8Ry8/s640/IMG_0560+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Asaphus</em>, a trilobite genus common in the Ordovician</td></tr>
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Trilobites belong to the animal phylum Arthropoda. Arthropod means jointed legs, one of the characteristics that define the group of segmented, jointed-leggedness, hard-bodied animals that include the insects, spiders, scorpions, crabs, and lobsters. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPEvxcFyPdnU-i-aeEP5SBbmNstVXgjQjWmKxeH1eqn75sE5MALB0AfVmfviMn3B5xYliKbPbQMnbsdjJ8NpHeqYqcjJee4kCKviRacZ5aePN_OuYI6KnKcQNGBnRaXeKMj8BkLD3ePBQ/s1600/IMG_0574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPEvxcFyPdnU-i-aeEP5SBbmNstVXgjQjWmKxeH1eqn75sE5MALB0AfVmfviMn3B5xYliKbPbQMnbsdjJ8NpHeqYqcjJee4kCKviRacZ5aePN_OuYI6KnKcQNGBnRaXeKMj8BkLD3ePBQ/s400/IMG_0574.JPG" title="Horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus from the Gulf of Mexico" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horseshoe crab <em>Limulus polyphemus</em> from the Gulf of Mexico. <br />
Note the segmented body, carapace, and jointed legs. <br />
These are characteristics of the Arthropods. </td></tr>
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Trilobites appeared on the Earth’s fossil record since the early Cambrian, around 540 million years ago, and went extinct during the massive extinction event that took place in the Permian-Triassic, around 250 million years ago. Trilobites had suffered previous minor extinctions before. The first occurring soon after their origination, during the late Cambrian, around 485 million years ago. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ769tNc5dVeHSzg6sNBx5AX593KY0mAymRuNP-F3L4MO_zk5NeAltedWClWIP6CDWac8z04xcHKWgAor-d0Ma7gaS_udhoAfI0SH_zOO6RvoeEfxocGO554GbNOu6ef2tRm-9b48DwwY/s1600/IMG_0575+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1446" data-original-width="1600" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ769tNc5dVeHSzg6sNBx5AX593KY0mAymRuNP-F3L4MO_zk5NeAltedWClWIP6CDWac8z04xcHKWgAor-d0Ma7gaS_udhoAfI0SH_zOO6RvoeEfxocGO554GbNOu6ef2tRm-9b48DwwY/s400/IMG_0575+%25283%2529.JPG" title="Trilobite fossil casts for study " width="400" /></a></div>
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Yet, their acme or time of greatest diversity and distribution, occurred during the Ordovician, and lasted for millions of years until the Devonian period, when fish-like predators began to keep them in check. Their large eyes, capable of all-around vision, and hard segmented bodies (carapace) likely arose out of the necessity to look out and scape from such predators. Their interesting and unique eye characteristics were reminiscent of frogs. For that reason, scientists gave them names such as <em>Phacobs rana</em>, or “frog-like eyes”, best known from fossils commonly found in northeastern North America. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6mBghcESeZ7CDgTdOqlGZ5e6sOY-1YlkNB45x3Wfq6hyphenhypheni0dU29zlFH73ICqTHl85FFqcWGQKZ6w0qEWmH9l-kt-YAlVzquvb97xGy05GG1kb0fyOKnPCn59oz54VVOYGbsKtH1ewfm9I/s1600/IMG_0588+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="954" data-original-width="1600" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6mBghcESeZ7CDgTdOqlGZ5e6sOY-1YlkNB45x3Wfq6hyphenhypheni0dU29zlFH73ICqTHl85FFqcWGQKZ6w0qEWmH9l-kt-YAlVzquvb97xGy05GG1kb0fyOKnPCn59oz54VVOYGbsKtH1ewfm9I/s640/IMG_0588+%25283%2529.JPG" title="Phacops rana: trilobite species common during the north American Silurian-Devonian" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Phacops rana</em>: trilobite species common during the north American Silurian-Devonian.<br />
Note its segmented, frog-like eyes with minute lenses. </td></tr>
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Trilobites inhabited shallow, shelf, marine environments. By having eyes and eyespots on the top of their heads, trilobites could watch the world above their backs. The hard, segmented body, allowed for multiple forms of locomotion, swimming, and flexibility. Some species were more swimmers, others more bottom crawlers. Their tracks are known from rocks made from ocean bottom muds. They fed mostly on anything, from small organisms to organic matter and sea bottom detritus. This included dead organisms that fell down to the ocean floor. This made them, sort of, ocean bottom vultures or cockroaches. That goes besides their obvious physical similarity. <br />
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An analogous species today would be the horseshoe crab or lobsters.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib4NeJFh4DpsIAaP_6GMoWq9q4lg77ekG4bh8GT6W1llUsOUSyDhyphenhyphen2cVDpVmiJnL6gGwiaSLvzOZWCsPdCJq2gYDKlwfPGmG7zGVKgs-P1OfCmTz_6dURDVtN2YnckCSSTvoJ7psk8Rf4/s1600/IMG_0572.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib4NeJFh4DpsIAaP_6GMoWq9q4lg77ekG4bh8GT6W1llUsOUSyDhyphenhyphen2cVDpVmiJnL6gGwiaSLvzOZWCsPdCJq2gYDKlwfPGmG7zGVKgs-P1OfCmTz_6dURDVtN2YnckCSSTvoJ7psk8Rf4/s640/IMG_0572.JPG" title="Horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus from the Gulf of Mexico" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Horseshoe crab <em>Limulus polyphemus</em> from the Gulf of Mexico.</td></tr>
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Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-17660625613004765732018-01-02T11:42:00.000-05:002018-01-15T23:13:42.147-05:00 Few research abstracts: 2015 - 2017As the first blog post of the new year, this fulfills one of the goals of this page: to put new research discoveries, curiosities and research findings in the view of the general public. I will be sharing a few of my most recent research findings through the abstracts of their journal publications. <br />
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Thus, without much ado, here they are: <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlorhmF-g_fn8SggmkyuHhQ-id7NNLFzZE-1jY-hTFOqihyphenhyphens8AMz5PhrZG9egtU_wACNUWiuiuh2RChS9lK5rVqZExcUeBeo6ctX7QPJHDx1haz0A58isWJ1WthfqRrvYOsYe5DKfx3OA/s1600/Figure+Spanish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1404" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlorhmF-g_fn8SggmkyuHhQ-id7NNLFzZE-1jY-hTFOqihyphenhyphens8AMz5PhrZG9egtU_wACNUWiuiuh2RChS9lK5rVqZExcUeBeo6ctX7QPJHDx1haz0A58isWJ1WthfqRrvYOsYe5DKfx3OA/s640/Figure+Spanish.jpg" width="560" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spanish (Catalonian) clay tobacco pipes from Castillo de San Severino; early-mid XIX century</td></tr>
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<strong>The clay tobacco pipes of Castillo de San Severino fort (Matanzas, Cuba): typology, spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and contextual analyses</strong><br />
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Here we provided a detailed study of a clay tobacco pipe collection, based on typology and using energy dispersion spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), recovered from fort Castillo de San Severino, Matanzas, Cuba. The pipes came from a trash deposit that dates to between the late XVIII century and the late XIX century. The collection includes pipes of north European traditional typology, such as Dutch and English, plus reed-stemmed pipes, including pipes from Catalonia (Spain) and eastern Mediterranean <br />
such as the Balkans. The EDS analysis suggested that the samples studied are not likely of local manufacture, or manufactured with local clays. Our study, based on historic documents and artifact analysis, contributes to the general history of the fort by providing an interpretation of the socioeconomic factors controlling the culture of pipe smocking at the fort. Our data adds valuable information on the archaeology of these portable artifacts in the fort and the region.<br />
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<strong>New Stereoviews of San Jose de la Vigia, Matanzas, Cuba: A historical contribution and new archaeological perspectives</strong><br />
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Here we reported five stereoviews that reveal details of Matanzas city during the mid-XIX, particularly of the Plaza de la Vigía and the fort of San José de la Vigía, previously unexplored in the local historiography. These rare photographs are an invaluable resource to the historic, preservation and archaeological research of these features, which such as the fort, are today long gone. In comparison to the known etchings and sketches, these photographs constitute a less distorted record of the city.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49OHvqKUxRoWKfLqNRKxxbKvAcPtbnoPM6M6PytjivtJRwQLABbh46-iXKe6dBSBeN-yfkfJlpfUHUuwM4hIsF2-KRqlmhvbG9GkYPlxWsAtoeudia7aGNQkksQP5dNP1z807vktO80c/s1600/CA+IX+2+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="621" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg49OHvqKUxRoWKfLqNRKxxbKvAcPtbnoPM6M6PytjivtJRwQLABbh46-iXKe6dBSBeN-yfkfJlpfUHUuwM4hIsF2-KRqlmhvbG9GkYPlxWsAtoeudia7aGNQkksQP5dNP1z807vktO80c/s640/CA+IX+2+2016.jpg" width="494" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover of Cuba Arqueologica, prestigious journal of Caribbean archaeology, with a<br />
stereoview photograph of Plaza and fort La Vigia, Matanzas, Cuba, in 1859. </td></tr>
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<strong>First report of the marine mollusk <em>Busycon perversum</em> (Gastropoda: Busyconidae) from the archaeological site of El Morrillo, Matanzas, Cuba</strong><br />
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Here we reported the presence of the mollusk <em>Busycon perversum</em> in the archaeological site of El Morrillo. Although several species of<em> Busycon</em> are known from colonial sites in Havana, this constitutes the first confirmed record of this alocthonous species in region of Matanzas. This finding, as in the cases in Havana, are interpreted as importation or exchange between Floridian Amerindians, such as the Calusa or Tekestas, in Cuba during the early centuries of the island's colonization. However, it could have been introduced in Cuba also by sailors visiting the Gulf of Mexico and Florida. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4o74cx1npt_2R4tBEFJz5WNxg9ksRgnlhXLxctRLIM_BzKbQYXbO7yKHIZPYuImRKRjTHDy88GTr_181JkOKWYNktFwi6v0smQ67pmT4nkjapedziGIbhraUHuatppjA86u0ECn8gH0/s1600/Busycon+perversum+El+Morrillo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="913" data-original-width="1600" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4o74cx1npt_2R4tBEFJz5WNxg9ksRgnlhXLxctRLIM_BzKbQYXbO7yKHIZPYuImRKRjTHDy88GTr_181JkOKWYNktFwi6v0smQ67pmT4nkjapedziGIbhraUHuatppjA86u0ECn8gH0/s640/Busycon+perversum+El+Morrillo.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Busycon perversum</em> juv. from El Morrillo</td></tr>
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<strong>The First Battle of the Spanish-Cuban-American War (1898): Insights from a Historical and Archaeological Perspective</strong><br />
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The Spanish-Cuban-American War of 1898 constituted not only the events leading to the start of the first modern war but also marked the beginning of the colonialist expansion of the United States throughout the world. The explosion of the USS Maine in Havana’s harbor has often been interpreted as the excuse used by the US to get involved in the Cuban War of Independence; a war that Cubans and Spaniards had been fighting since 1895, but rooted since 1868. Previous research has traditionally focused in the naval encounters of the Spanish and US fleets in Santiago de Cuba, or the end of the war with the occupation of Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam, thus underestimating the role of the Cuban troops and leaving the early events of the war poorly explored. Our research focuses on the first battle of the war, which occurred on Matanzas Bay, Cuba, on April 27th, 1898. Historic documentation from Cuban, Spanish, and US archives is analyzed, and compared to the available archaeological data, to deepen the understanding of the defensive and offensive strategies employed, and their impact on the media and their publicist strategies.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYK7id_rWzMAvJFXuVUaFYsTrYEH-SnJHmNNJURG7_CUGPb6C4xDvqGs4V_0vQdQzgkhpXbp5XrwPnTtTnJAAcjzCdzuQ1qGHZv5OpQAiTZeE93x-c66t8X1yt51ITFZMjQsN1DafwtI/s1600/Bombardment_of_Matanzas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="810" height="606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYK7id_rWzMAvJFXuVUaFYsTrYEH-SnJHmNNJURG7_CUGPb6C4xDvqGs4V_0vQdQzgkhpXbp5XrwPnTtTnJAAcjzCdzuQ1qGHZv5OpQAiTZeE93x-c66t8X1yt51ITFZMjQsN1DafwtI/s640/Bombardment_of_Matanzas.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image, mounted on glass of the bombardment of Matanzas by three USS warships in 1898</td></tr>
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<strong>Contribution to the chronology and paleodiet of an aboriginal individual excavated in the archaeological site of El Morrillo, Matanzas, Cuba</strong><br />
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El Morrillo, an archaeological site localized on the margin of the Canímar River, in the bay of Matanzas, is considered one of the most important agroceramist culture deposits of western Cuba. Despite its importance and richness, only one radiocarbon date, based on charcoal, had been reported from this site since 1966. Here we provide the first AMS 14 C date measured directly from human remains, excavated in 2009, along with a carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis to infer the diet of this individual. The AMS 14 C provided a radiocarbon age of 420±40 rcyBP (AP) (2σ calAD1420-1523). These results indicate a post-Columbian time of burial, likely near or during the first decades of the Cuban conquest early in the XVI century. The stable isotopes suggest that the individual had a mixed diet, with intermediate carbon consumption, and high on marine/riverine resources, which suggest the exploitation of the nearby coastal and fluvial ecosystems. These values are generally comparable to several populations of similar filiation in the Greater Antilles. Our results highlight the importance of El Morrillo in the study of agroceramist communities in Cuba and the Caribbean.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1mHmmGo1f-3zds7mkbJz5l7ZMjyAIXiD6dG04FS9QFgF4ctShP5qYN0Krjj043LjL8hwYabjPLWYzgZts2SEub5sXNWHabj36nQTBtGVEwE5tJt-iWjiLxa3kdBqCHuBnrZQA81TXxo/s1600/CA+X+2+2017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="623" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1mHmmGo1f-3zds7mkbJz5l7ZMjyAIXiD6dG04FS9QFgF4ctShP5qYN0Krjj043LjL8hwYabjPLWYzgZts2SEub5sXNWHabj36nQTBtGVEwE5tJt-iWjiLxa3kdBqCHuBnrZQA81TXxo/s640/CA+X+2+2017.jpg" width="496" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cover of Cuba Arqueologica with an architectural plan of La Laja, <br />
interesting water locked fortification planed for the center of the bay of Matanzas<br />
that was never completed.</td></tr>
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<strong>Plans for a fort in the middle of the bay of Matanzas: La Laja</strong><br />
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The construction of fortifications in strategic or advantageous localities constituted a main method of military landscape colonization. With the economic boom of Matanzas's city, in northwestern Cuba, the importance of the growing port incited the planning of several strategic defense points, but many of them were not completed. One of them, named La Laja, planned in the center of the bay was one of such strategic localities selected for a fortification and lighthouse. Here we analyzed and reported eight unpublished plans that document several of the different projects planned for La Laja. These plans provide insight into the constructive dynamics and the evolution of defense fortifications surrounding the port and city, in this case where the bureaucracy and demolition of fort La Vigia prevented the completion of what could have been a singular and unique engineering feature.<br />
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To our great joy, several of our paper's illustrations made the journals front image. None of these accomplishment would have been possible without the help and encouragement of my coauthors, Ricardo Viera Munoz, Odlanyer Hernandez de Lara, Leonel Perez Orozco, and Osvaldo Jimenez. Moreover the patronage and encouragement of Adrian Tejedor, Herman Benitez, and many others that with their guidance and help, made our research process fun and educational. Our most sincere thanks. <br />
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For more information visit our other blogs and pages: <br />
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<a href="http://sancarlosdematanzas.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">San Carlos de Matanzas</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.arqueologiaydesarrollo.org/2018/" target="_blank">Progressus: Arqueologia, Patrimonio y Desarrollo Social</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Johanset_Orihuela/publications" target="_blank">Research Gate</a><br />
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Visit us and stay tuned!</div>
<br />Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2469197062011153756.post-46251835039395536352017-12-11T11:22:00.001-05:002018-11-21T09:26:36.941-05:00Nesophontes: The Discovery of the first Greater Antillean Island Slayer<em>Nesophontes</em> are a small group of shrew-like mammals with a very primitive past that reaches as far back as the Cretaceous - when the dinosaurs roamed this planet. We owe its discovery to Harold H. Anthony, one of the most proliferous pioneers of Caribbean vertebrate paleontology. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61r_nFFYpfUYFXRM0IWDohn-y_Y-GOireChlgfAyQN0Jyi2UrirDfAEFHAMKa4qA44tsSZSXS9Ef1PosZWkd6TNtSGEHCLrqjGo-onrNKnyFqsKxN8eNuEuY0XaQdSPt8a97ozBpzQyk/s1600/IMG_0699+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1225" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj61r_nFFYpfUYFXRM0IWDohn-y_Y-GOireChlgfAyQN0Jyi2UrirDfAEFHAMKa4qA44tsSZSXS9Ef1PosZWkd6TNtSGEHCLrqjGo-onrNKnyFqsKxN8eNuEuY0XaQdSPt8a97ozBpzQyk/s640/IMG_0699+%25282%2529.JPG" width="488" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original illustration of the type description of <em>Nesophontes edithae</em> H. E. Anthony 1916</td></tr>
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The genus <em>Nesophontes</em> is today grouped within the Eulipotyphla order. This is a group of basal placental mammals that are today considered ancestrally associated to <em>Solenodon </em>and other North American extinct shrew-like micromammals, but surprisingly, not to the African tenrecs. They were small, likely venomous, nocturnal and semi-fossorial mammals endemic to the Great Antilles, where they had a widespread distribution, with the interesting exception of The Bahamas and Jamaica. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIaCwzfQNF9p9hrEdgQoHKI98gDEISMZ24Kh4RRLVelXl_dIew1qsxzd8Tni_tw1tqWYj6LBNGeX3JChkV9EnhfCbW89GU5Ua-FBLXF5Hhs3O_it4BbcFRNawINmmmdzHcWOqajyD540U/s1600/Joha+164+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1470" data-original-width="1394" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIaCwzfQNF9p9hrEdgQoHKI98gDEISMZ24Kh4RRLVelXl_dIew1qsxzd8Tni_tw1tqWYj6LBNGeX3JChkV9EnhfCbW89GU5Ua-FBLXF5Hhs3O_it4BbcFRNawINmmmdzHcWOqajyD540U/s640/Joha+164+%25283%2529.jpg" width="606" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Solenodon paradoxus</em> from Hispaniola at the Mammalogy collection of the AMNH</td></tr>
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By 1915, H. E. Anthony had a hint of the existence of <em>Nesophontes</em> from fossils found in the island of Puerto Rico. Dr. Franz Boas, the German-American father of modern anthropology, had sent material from his expedition in Puerto Rico to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City (AMNH) that same year. Anthony worked as a paleontologist there, and from Boas's material he extracted the first incomplete specimens of <em>Nesophontes</em>. But these were not enough to describe a new species.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwRnGhIwR1cL7cp_-dZT3dR_NtrXSMH19jhzC8YnV8v2APkWi0sjOD2BqzQeryFxAxC8Giql4A3n8DQfuQw93MKMneTPV4FkTR8Qmzenn16SfL9v-DGedfKrJCv0UQiuniV1j0al8vNs/s1600/Boaz-Anthony.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="395" data-original-width="695" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwRnGhIwR1cL7cp_-dZT3dR_NtrXSMH19jhzC8YnV8v2APkWi0sjOD2BqzQeryFxAxC8Giql4A3n8DQfuQw93MKMneTPV4FkTR8Qmzenn16SfL9v-DGedfKrJCv0UQiuniV1j0al8vNs/s640/Boaz-Anthony.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left: Franz Boas, German American Anthropologist, circa 1916. Right: Harold H. Anthony, circa 1930s. </td></tr>
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In fact, it was Dr. Anthony's wife, Edith I. Anthony, who on July 19, 1916, discovered the first undoubtable evidence of the existence of this peculiar mammal in Cueva Clara, near Morovis, Puerto Rico. Anthony, in honor of its wife, named the type species <em>Nesophontes edithae</em>. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4DxelvgQvZ_EzVhkUCvUOi5fbFhcAUcyuMYMqOyKQrxA1UOps9IzZvTqo-cYOaQYyHzoJCMXoS0zRittxH90rHWaX8VoVDJe1yCq75nlVluKp8duIoLmy_tsiRS1hnIHY4MFpjQgCL8/s1600/Joha+463+%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="1600" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji4DxelvgQvZ_EzVhkUCvUOi5fbFhcAUcyuMYMqOyKQrxA1UOps9IzZvTqo-cYOaQYyHzoJCMXoS0zRittxH90rHWaX8VoVDJe1yCq75nlVluKp8duIoLmy_tsiRS1hnIHY4MFpjQgCL8/s640/Joha+463+%25283%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Type specimen of <em>Nesophontes edithae</em> AMNH 14174, collected by Mrs. Anthony in 1916</td></tr>
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The study of <em>Nesophontes</em> is forever tied to the efforts of Anthony, the discovery of his wife and the material sent by Franz Boas. Gerritt S. Miller and Glover M. Allen, in addition, played a role too in the further discovery and study of these peculiar extinct mammals. In 1919, Anthony described a new species, <em>Nesophontes longirostris</em>, this time from a cave deposit in Daiquiri, southeastern Cuba. <br />
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H. E. Anthony would continue to work for the AMNH until the 1960's as one of the museum's most respected mammalogists, paleontologists, and curators. <br />
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Please stay tuned for an upcoming post on<em> Solendon</em>!</div>
<br />Joha Orihuelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07176145482523688127noreply@blogger.com0