Record Total Lengths of the American Alligator in Florida

Brunell, Arnold M.; Delaney, J. Patrick; Spratt, Richard G.; Carbonneau, Dwayne A.; Waller, Jason

doi:10.1656/058.012.0411

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…( 1995 ) noted that, of the 72,760 Alligator mississippiensis individuals harvested in Florida between 1977 and 1994, just 0.01% were >4 m in total length (the largest confirmed record at the time was 4.27 m long, harvested in 1989). But despite this intensive sampling, several larger individuals have been recorded outside of Florida, in Texas and Alabama (Brunell et al., 2013 ). The largest confirmed A. mississippiensis was harvested in Alabama in 2014 and measured 4.50 m long (Brunell et al., 2015 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These additional sources of variation conspire to ensure that, unless population sampling is both intensive and spatiotemporally exhaustive, it can be difficult to establish the upper limits of body size even for extant species, considerations of which typically do not even incorporate historical population data.By way of a more practical example,Woodward et al (1995) noted that, of the 72,760 Alligator mississippiensis individuals harvested in Florida between 1977 and 1994, just 0.01% were >4 m in total length (the largest confirmed record at the time was 4.27 m long, harvested in 1989). But despite this intensive sampling, several larger individuals have been recorded outside of Florida, in Texas and Alabama(Brunell et al, 2013). The largest confirmed A. mississippiensis was harvested in Alabama in 2014 and measured 4.50 m long(Brunell…”

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confidence: 99%

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Estimation of maximum body size in fossil species: A case study using Tyrannosaurus rex

Mallon,

Hone

2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Among extant species, the ability to sample the extremes of body size—one of the most useful predictors of an individual's ecology—is highly unlikely. This improbability is further exaggerated when sampling the already incomplete fossil record. We quantify the likelihood of sampling the uppermost limits of body size in the fossil record using Tyrannosaurus rex Osborn, 1905 as a model, selected for its comparatively well‐understood life history parameters. We computationally generate a population of 140 million T. rex (based on prior estimates), modelling variation about the growth curve both with and without sexual dimorphism (the former modelled after Alligator mississippiensis), and building in sampling limitations related to species survivorship and taphonomic bias, derived from fossil data. The 99th percentile of body mass in T. rex has likely already been sampled, but it will probably be millennia before much larger giants (99.99th percentile) are sampled at present collecting rates. Biomechanical and ecological limitations notwithstanding, we estimate that the absolute largest T. rex may have been 70% more massive than the currently largest known specimen (~15,000 vs. ~8800 kg). Body size comparisons of fossil species should be based on ontogenetically controlled statistical parameters, rather than simply comparing the largest known individuals whose recovery is highly subject to sampling intensity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Estimation of maximum body size in fossil species: A case study using Tyrannosaurus rex

Mallon,

Hone

2024

Ecology and Evolution

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“…We measured head length (“dorsal cranial length” 54 , DCL) and total body length (TL) in a group of captive alligators and recorded bellows from each individual. Most subjects bellowed in water (majority of the body submerged, head and tail raised above the water surface, see Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formants provide honest acoustic cues to body size in American alligators

Reber

Janisch

Torregrosa

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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In many vertebrates, acoustic cues to body size are encoded in resonance frequencies of the vocal tract (“formants”), rather than in the rate of tissue vibration in the sound source (“pitch”). Anatomical constraints on the vocal tract’s size render formants honest cues to size in many bird and mammal species, but it is not clear whether this correlation evolved convergently in these two clades, or whether it is widespread among amniotes (mammals, birds, and non-avian reptiles). We investigated the potential for honest acoustic cues in the bellows of adult American alligators and found that formant spacing provided highly reliable cues to body size, while presumed correlates of the source signal did not. These findings held true for both sexes and for all bellows whether produced in or out of water. Because birds and crocodilians are the last extant Archosaurians and share common ancestry with all extinct dinosaurs, our findings support the hypothesis that dinosaurs used formants as cues to body size. The description of formants as honest signals in a non-avian reptile combined with previous evidence from birds and mammals strongly suggests that the principle of honest signalling via vocal tract resonances may be a broadly shared trait among amniotes.

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