Crocodilians (Crocodiles, Alligators, Caiman, Gharial)

Fleming, Gregory J.; Fontenot, Deidre K.

doi:10.1016/b978-1-4557-7397-8.00005-0

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because reptiles and especially crocodilians do not exhibit early signs of discomfort or disease, routine observations are not practical or neither recommended. However, blood testing could offer more information and be performed twice per year for preventive medical programs (14,15). This leads to a frequent and tedious issue with reptiles; the lack of baseline information limits the application of diagnostic tools (16).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hematology, Biochemistry Reference Intervals, and Morphological Description of Peripheral Blood Cells for a Captive Population of Crocodylus intermedius in Colombia

et al. 2021

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The Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius, Graves, 1918) is the most threatened crocodilian of South America. There is only scarce information available about the physiology of this neotropical crocodile. This study aimed to propose baseline hematological and biochemistry reference data and intervals and a morphological description of the peripheral blood cells of captive C. intermedius. Blood was collected from 318 clinically healthy individuals maintained in captivity at Villavicencio, Colombia. Eight of these individuals were sampled and resampled, and these data were compared. Reference intervals were proposed for hematological values [packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell count, white blood cell count, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, hemoglobin, and white blood cell count differential counts] and biochemistries [total solids, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, glucose, albumin, cholesterol, uric acid, creatinine, and lactate] including adults and juveniles, males and females' crocodiles. Blood cell morphology for the species is described. Significant differences between sex and age were observed. The intraindividual analysis concluded differences for total solids (P ≤ 0.01) and red blood cell counts (P ≤ 0.01). Some biochemical analytes showed a moderate correlation between them, such as ALT–alkaline phosphatase and ALT–uric acid. We present here novel and baseline data with special importance for the clinical diagnosis, improving the national reintroduction programs from either in situ and ex situ populations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hematology, Biochemistry Reference Intervals, and Morphological Description of Peripheral Blood Cells for a Captive Population of Crocodylus intermedius in Colombia

et al. 2021

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“…From each captured caiman, we collected samples of the terminal claw (5 mm) on the same finger in all animals, tail scute (1 cm 2 ) from the crest region, tail muscle (2 cm 2 ), and blood (3 ml) using non-lethal sampling techniques and following standard protocols ( Beaupre et al, 2004 ; Campbell, 2015 ; Fleming & Fontenot, 2015 ). We thinly diced claw and scute samples with scissors.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources of intraspecific variation in the isotopic niche of a semi-aquatic predator in a human-modified landscape

Pereira,

Nardoto,

Colli

2023

PeerJ

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Intraspecific variation modulates patterns of resource use by species, potentially affecting the structure and stability of food webs. In human-modified landscapes, habitat disturbance modifies trophic interactions and intraspecific niche variation, impacting population persistence. Here, we investigated the relationship of sex, ontogeny, and habitat factors with the trophic niche of Caiman crocodilus in an agricultural landscape. We evaluated temporal variation in the trophic niche parameters using carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis from different body tissues. We found that caimans exploit the same carbon and nitrogen pools through time, with low isotopic variability between seasons, partly due to the slow isotope turnover rates of tissues in crocodilians. Conversely, the trophic niche of caimans varied across habitats, but with no evidence of a difference between natural and anthropogenic habitats. It apparently results from the influence of habitat suitability, connectivity, and caiman movements during the foraging. Our findings highlight the broader niches of juvenile caimans relative to adults, possibly in response of territorialism and opportunistic foraging strategy. Although using similar resources, females had a larger niche than males, probably associated with foraging strategies during nesting. Considering the sex and body size categories, caimans occupied distinct isotopic regions in some habitats, indicating apparent niche segregation. Ontogenetic trophic shifts in the isotopes (δ13C and δ15N) depended on sex, leading to resource partitioning that can potentially reduce intraspecific competition. Decision-makers and stakeholders should consider the trophic dynamics of sex and body size groups for the sustainable management and conservation of caiman populations, which implies in the maintenance of wetland habitats and landscape heterogeneity in the Formoso River floodplain.

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“…Less attention has been paid to the coordination between these two sets of anatomically‐adjacent epithelial covers; Garrick and Saiff (1974) described a coordinated elevation of the lower eyelid and lower earflap during submergence of Caiman sclerops . Though not as well‐developed as in some other vertebrates (Witzmann et al, 2019), retraction of the eye has been described in Alligator and other Crocodylians (e.g., Fleming & Fontenor, 2014). Similar medial retraction has not been described in the earflaps of crocodylians.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

The orbitalauricular chord of Alligator: The unusual functional linkage between the earflap and eyelid of Crocodylians

et al. 2022

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The Crocodylomorpha arose approximately 230 mya in the late Triassac (Irmis et al., 2013). The Crocodylomorpha underwent considerable ecological radiation including multiple marine invasions, multiple transitions from a semi-aquatic to fully terrestrial taxa, and even some bipedal forms (Kim et al., 2020;Wilberg et al., 2019).The Crocodylia, the crown group of the Crocodyliformes which includes all the extant taxa, arose in the early Cretaceous (Turner & Pritchard, 2015), and also underwent extensive ecological radiation.One of the characteristic features of the early (Novas et al., 2021) and extant (Montefeltro et al., 2016) Crocodylia is the presence of a meatal chamber on the dorsolateral surface of the skull enclosed, in part, by earflaps. Shute and Bellairs (1955) provided the first detailed description of the earflaps, and the associated musculature, of a crocodilian; though

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Crocodilians (Crocodiles, Alligators, Caiman, Gharial)

Cited by 7 publications

References 16 publications

Hematology, Biochemistry Reference Intervals, and Morphological Description of Peripheral Blood Cells for a Captive Population of Crocodylus intermedius in Colombia

Hematology, Biochemistry Reference Intervals, and Morphological Description of Peripheral Blood Cells for a Captive Population of Crocodylus intermedius in Colombia

Sources of intraspecific variation in the isotopic niche of a semi-aquatic predator in a human-modified landscape

The orbitalauricular chord of Alligator: The unusual functional linkage between the earflap and eyelid of Crocodylians

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