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Journal article
New species from the early Eocene London Clay suggest an undetected early Eocene diversity of the Leptosomiformes, an avian clade that includes a living fossil from Madagascar
We report the first records of the leptosomiform taxon from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK). Two species could be distinguished, one of which is described as , sp. nov. (the other is classified as sp.). We furthermore describe two small leptosomiform-like birds from Walton-on-the-Naze, , gen....Mayr, Gerald ; Kitchener, Andrew C
Waltonavis, gen. nov. , Ypresian , Walton-on-the-Naze, Lutavis, gen. nov. , fossil birds , Aves , and Plesiocathartes insolitipes, sp. nov.
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Journal article
Describing whisker morphology of the Carnivora
One of the largest ecological transitions in carnivoran evolution was the shift from terrestrial to aquatic lifestyles, which has driven morphological diversity in skulls and other skeletal structures. In this paper, we investigate the association between those lifestyles and whisker morphology. However, comparing whisker morphology over a range of species...Dougill, Gary ; Brassey, Charlotte A ; Starostin, Eugene L ; Andrews, Hayley ; Kitchener, Andrew C …
mechanoreception , curvature , touch , aquatic , and vibrissae
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Journal article
Narrow-beaked trogons from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK)
We describe multiple partial skeletons of a new trogon species from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK), which are among the oldest fossils of the Trogoniformes. , gen. et sp. nov. has a much narrower and more gracile beak than extant trogons, which denotes different ecological attributes...Mayr, Gerald ; De Pietri, Vanesa L ; Kitchener, Andrew C
Eotrogon stenorhynchus, gen. et sp. nov. , Phylogeny, Fossil birds , Paratrogon gallicus , Aves , and Evolution
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Journal article
A new fossil from the London Clay documents the convergent origin of a “mousebird-like” tarsometatarsus in an early Eocene near-passerine bird
We describe a partial skeleton of a small bird from the lower Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK), which shows close affinities to two phylogenetically controversial early Paleogene taxa, Morsoravis sedilis (lower Eocene of Denmark) and Pumiliornis tessellatus (lower/middle Eocene of Germany). Our phylogenetic analysis supports a clade including...Mayr, Gerald ; Kitchener, Andrew C
Aves, Walton-on-the-Naze, Sororavis solitarius, Eocene, UK, and evolution
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Research report
Scottish Wildcat Action: Final Summary Report
The wildcat, Felis silvestris, is one of our most iconic species. Elusive and rarely seen, it is threatened by a combination of extremely challenging factors, in particular hybridisation with domestic cats. Its secretive nature has made it a difficult animal to study in the wild, making it harder to design...Kitchener, Andrew C
Felis silvestris, ecology , population, and wildcat
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Journal article
Range-wide whole-genome resequencing of the brown bear reveals drivers of intraspecies divergence
Population-genomic studies can shed new light on the effect of past demographic processes on contemporary population structure. We reassessed phylogeographical patterns of a classic model species of postglacial recolonisation, the brown bear ( ), using a range-wide resequencing dataset of 128 nuclear genomes. In sharp contrast to the erratic geographical...de Jong, Menno J ; Niamir, Aidin ; Wolf, Magnus ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Lecomte, Nicolas …
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Journal article
Psittacopedids and zygodactylids: The diverse and species-rich psittacopasserine birds from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK)
The Daniels collection of fossil birds from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK) contains multiple specimens of the Psittacopedidae and Zygodactylidae, which are here for the first time studied in detail. The Psittacopedidae include Parapsittacopes bergdahli, Psittacomimus eos, gen. et sp. nov., ?Psittacopes occidentalis, sp. nov., and...Mayr, Gerald ; Kitchener, Andrew C
Psittacopasseres, evolution, fossil birds, Aves, and systematics
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Journal article
First recorded stranding of a short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus, in Britain
A male pilot whale, Globicephala sp., was reported as a live stranding on 1st March 2012 at Hazelbeach, near Neyland, Pembrokeshire. It was euthanased and its skull was recovered during an onsite necropsy. Examination of the skull and contemporary photographs of the stranded animal confirm that this is the first...Kitchener, Andrew C ; Hantke, Georg ; Penrose, R S ; Perkins, M W ; Deaville, R
Globicephala melas, Delphinidae, skull, and Globicephala macrorhynchus
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Journal article
Phenotypic plasticity determines differences between the skulls of tigers from mainland Asia
Tiger subspecific taxonomy is controversial because of morphological and genetic variation found between now fragmented populations, yet the extent to which phenotypic plasticity or genetic variation affects phenotypes of putative tiger subspecies has not been explicitly addressed. In order to assess the role of phenotypic plasticity in determining skull variation,... -
Journal article
Biogeography in the deep: Hierarchical population genomic structure of two beaked whale species
The deep sea is the largest ecosystem on Earth, yet little is known about the processes driving patterns of genetic diversity in its inhabitants. Here, we investigated the macro- and microevolutionary processes shaping genomic population structure and diversity in two poorly understood, globally distributed, deep-sea predators: Cuvier’s beaked whale (Ziphius... -
Journal article
Novel mtDNA haplotypes represented in the European captive population of the Endangered François’ langur (Trachypithecus francoisi)
Assessing the genetic diversity of captive populations of endangered species is key to the successful management of conservation-breeding programs. In this study, we sequenced a 393-bp fragment of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region of 23 captive individuals of the Endangered François’ langur ( ) to assess the mtDNA diversity...Farré, Marta ; Johnstone, Cameron ; Hopper, Jane ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Roos, Christian …
Captive populations, mtDNA , Conservation genetics , and François’ langurs
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Journal article
Abnormal (Hydroxy)proline Deuterium Content Redefines Hydrogen Chemical Mass
Analyzing the δ2H values in individual amino acids of proteins extracted from vertebrates, we unexpectedly found in some samples, notably bone collagen from seals, more than twice as much deuterium in proline and hydroxyproline residues than in seawater. This corresponds to at least 4 times higher δ2H than in any...Gharibi, Hassan ; Chernobrovkin, Alexey L ; Eriksson, Gunilla ; Saei, Amir Ata ; Timmons, Zena …
Biopolymers, Ions, Hydrogen , Peptides , Anatomy, proteins, and isotopes
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Journal article
A kingdom in decline: Holocene range contraction of the lion (Panthera leo) modelled with global environmental stratification
Aim We use ecological niche models and environmental stratification of palaeoclimate to reconstruct the changing range of the lion (Panthera leo) during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Location The modern (early 21st century) range of the lion extends from southern Africa to the western Indian Subcontinent, yet through the... -
Journal article
Intraspecific macroscopic digestive anatomy of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), including a comparison of frozen and formalin-stored specimens
Digestive tract measurements are often considered species specific, but little information exists on the degree to which they change during ontogeny within a species. Additionally, access to anatomical material from nondomestic species is often limited, with fixed tissues possibly representing the only available source, though the degree to which this...Clauss, Marcus ; Trümpler, Jelscha ; Ackermans, Nicole L ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Hantke, Georg …
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Journal article
First record of True’s beaked whale, Mesoplodon mirus, in Britain
A female beaked whale, Family Ziphiidae, was reported as stranded on 29th January 2020 at Kearvaig Bay, Sutherland, Scotland. Examination of its skull confirms that this is the first recorded stranding of True’s beaked whale, Mesoplodon mirus, in Britain.Kitchener, Andrew C ; Georg , Hantke ; Herman, Jeremy S ; ten Doeschate, Mariel ; Brownlow, Andrew C
skull, stranding, Ziphiidae, Mesoplodon mirusy, and pathology
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Journal article
Morphological and functional variation between isolated populations of British red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris)
Isolation due to habitat fragmentation can lead to morphological and functional variation between populations, with the effect being well documented in rodents. Here, we investigated whether such morphological variation could be identified between British populations of the Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). This species was once widespread across Great Britain,... -
Journal article
Skull morphology diverges between urban and rural populations of red foxes mirroring patterns of domestication and macroevolution
Human activity is drastically altering the habitat use of natural populations. This has been documented as a driver of phenotypic divergence in a number of wild animal populations. Here, we show that urban and rural populations of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from London and surrounding boroughs are divergent in skull...Parsons, K J ; Rigg, Anders ; Conith, A J ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Harris, S …
Canidae , domestication, developmental bias , contemporary evolution, morphometrics, and urban ecology
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Journal article
Rapid evolution of the primate larynx?
Tissue vibrations in the larynx produce most sounds that comprise vocal communication in mammals. Larynx morphology is thus predicted to be a key target for selection, particularly in species with highly developed vocal communication systems. Here, we present a novel database of digitally modeled scanned larynges from 55 different mammalian...Bowling, Daniel L ; Dunn , Jacob C ; Smaers, Jeroen B ; Garcia, Maxime ; Sato , Asha …
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Journal article
Applying genomic data in wildlife monitoring: Development guidelines for genotyping degraded samples with reduced single nucleotide polymorphism panels
The genomic era has led to an unprecedented increase in the availability of genome‐wide data for a broad range of taxa. Wildlife management strives to make use of these vast resources to enable refined genetic assessments that enhance biodiversity conservation. However, as new genomic platforms emerge, problems remain in adapting...von Thaden, Alina ; Nowak , Carsten ; Tiesmeyer, Annika ; Reiners, Tobias E ; Lyons, Leslie A …
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Journal article
Range-wide patterns of human-mediated hybridisation in European wildcats
Hybridisation between wild taxa and their domestic congeners is a significant conservation issue. Domestic species frequently outnumber their wild relatives in population size and distribution and may therefore genetically swamp the native species. The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) has been shown to hybridise with domestic cats (Felis catus). Previously suggested...Tiesmeyer, Annika ; Ramos, Luana ; Lucas, José Manuel ; Steyer, Katharina ; Alves, Paulo C …
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Journal article
Multi-individual microsatellite identification: a multiple genome approach to microsatellite design (MiMi)
Bespoke microsatellite marker panels are increasingly affordable and tractable to researchers and conservationists. The rate of microsatellite discovery is very high within a shotgun genomic data set, but extensive laboratory testing of markers is required for confirmation of amplification and polymorphism. By incorporating shotgun next‐generation sequencing data sets from multiple... -
Journal article
Distinguishing the victim from the threat: SNP‐based methods reveal the extent of introgressive hybridization between wildcats and domestic cats in Scotland and inform future in situ and ex situ management options for species restoration
The degree of introgressive hybridization between the Scottish wildcat and domestic cat has long been suspected to be advanced. Here, we use a 35‐SNP‐marker test, designed to assess hybridization between wildcat and domestic cat populations in Scotland, to assess a database of 295 wild‐living and captive cat samples, and test...Senn, Helen ; Ghazali, Muhammad ; Kaden, Jennifer ; Barclay, David ; Harrower, Ben …
carnivores, captive populations, conservation management, and invasive species
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Book chapter
Missing mammals from the Mesolithic middens: a comparison of the fossil and archaeological records from Scotland
Wild mammmals were an essential source of food and materials for Mesolithic people in Scotland. However, most Mesolithic sites in Scotland contain scant evidence of the mammals that were exploited locally. In contrast, the fossil and contemporary records indicate that there was a very high and changing diversity of mammal...Kitchener, Andrew C ; Bonsall, Clive ; Bartosiewicz, László
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Book
Scotland’s beginnings: Scotland through time.
Did you know that Scotland began under an iceberg-laden sea near the South Pole hundreds of millions of years ago? The journey north of the land we now call Scotland is an astounding tale of great mountains, subtropical rainforests, coral reefs, howling deserts, ammonite-inhabited seas, high lava plateaus and scouring...Taylor, Michael A ; Kitchener, Andrew C
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Journal article
Oldest known pantherine skull and evolution of the tiger
The tiger is one of the most iconic extant animals, and its origin and evolution have been intensely debated. Fossils attributable to extant pantherine species-lineages are less than 2 MYA and the earliest tiger fossils are from the Calabrian, Lower Pleistocene. Molecular studies predict a much younger age for the...Mazák, J H ; Christiansen, P ; Kitchener, Andrew C
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Journal article
Reconstructing Mammalian Phylogenies: A Detailed Comparison of the Cytochrome b and Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I Mitochondrial Genes
The phylogeny and taxonomy of mammalian species were originally based upon shared or derived morphological characteristics. However, genetic analyses have more recently played an increasingly important role in confirming existing or establishing often radically different mammalian groupings and phylogenies. The two most commonly used genetic loci in species identification are...Kitchener, Andrew C ; Tobe, Shanan S ; Linacre, Adrian
Sequence databases, Animal phylogenetics, Phylogenetic analysis, Sequence alignment, and Mammals
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Book chapter
Bone and antler
Hunter, Fraser ; Kitchener, Andrew C
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Journal article
Rensching cats and dogs: feeding ecology and fecundity trends explain variation in the allometry of sexual size dimorphism
The tendency for sexual size dimorphism (SSD) to increase with body mass in taxa where males are larger, and to decrease when females are larger, is known as Rensch's rule. In mammals, where the trend occurs, it is believed to be the result of a competitive advantage for larger males,...Johnson, P J ; Noonan, M J ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Harrington, L A ; Newman, C …
dimorphism, Canidae, allometry, diet, resource dispersion, and Felidae
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Journal article
Synchronous diversification of Sulawesi's iconic artiodactyls driven by recent geological events
The high degree of endemism on Sulawesi has previously been suggested to have vicariant origins, dating back to 40 Ma. Recent studies, however, suggest that much of Sulawesi's fauna assembled over the last 15 Myr. Here, we test the hypothesis that more recent uplift of previously submerged portions of land...Frantz, Laurent A F ; Rudzinski, Anna ; Nugraha, Abang Mansyursyah Surya ; Evin, Allowen ; Burton, James …
geology, Wallacea, evolution, and biogeography
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Journal article
Radiographic assessment of the skeletons of Dolly and other clones finds no abnormal osteoarthritis
Our recent report detailing the health status of cloned sheep concluded that the animals had aged normally. This is in stark contrast to reports on Dolly (first animal cloned from adult cells) whose diagnoses of osteoarthritis (OA) at 5½ years of age led to considerable scientific concern and media debate...Corr, S A ; Gardner, D S ; Langley-Hobbs, S ; Ness, M G ; Kitchener, Andrew C …
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Journal article
Saving the mountain bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci): assessment of the genetic status of captive bongos as a source for genetic reinforcement of wild populations
Fewer than 140 individuals of the rare and critically endangered mountain bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci) remain in the wild. This population has eroded genetic diversity, with only two haplotypes detected with mitochondrial DNA markers. The genetic diversity of mountain bongos from the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) was assessed for...O’Donoghue, P ; Gruber, Karl ; Bingaman Lackey, Laurie ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; O’Donoghue, Emily …
microsatellites, bongo, genetic augmentation, One Plan Approach, and Tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci
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Journal article
A fossil protein chimera; difficulties in discriminating dinosaur peptide sequences from modern cross-contamination
A decade ago, reports that organic-rich soft tissue survived from dinosaur fossils were apparently supported by proteomics-derived sequence information of exceptionally well-preserved bone. This initial claim to the sequencing of endogenous collagen peptides from an approximately 68 Myr Tyrannosaurus rex fossil was highly controversial, largely on the grounds of potential...Buckley, M ; Warwood, S ; van Dongen, B ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Manning, Phillip L
palaeoproteomics, Tyrannosaurus, ancient collagen, dinosaur protein, Brachylophosaurus, and ostrich
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Journal article
Two species of Southeast Asian cats in the genus Catopuma with diverging histories: an island endemic forest specialist and a widespread habitat generalist
Background. The bay cat Catopuma badia is endemic to Borneo, whereas its sister species the Asian golden cat Catopuma temminckii is distributed from the Himalayas and southern China through Indochina, Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra. Based onmorphological data, up to five subspecies of the Asian golden cat have been recognized, but...Patel, R P ; Förster, D W ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Rayan, M D ; Mohamed, S W …
Toba volcanic eruption, last glacial maximum, Southeast Asia, hybrid capture, next generation sequencing, and Felidae
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Journal article
Sexual size dimorphism in musteloids: An anomalous allometric pattern is explained by feeding ecology
Rensch's rule states that sexual size dimorphism (SSD) increases with body size in taxa where males are larger, and decreases when females are larger. The dominant explanation for the trend is currently that competitive advantage for males is greater in larger individuals, whereas female size is constrained by the energetics...Noonan, M J ; Johnson, Paul J ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Harrington, L A ; Newman, C …
sociality, Musteloidea, diet, Rensch, SSD, resource dispersion, and allometry
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Journal article
Predicted Pleistocene–Holocene range shifts of the tiger (Panthera tigris)
Aim In this article, we modelled the potential range shifts of tiger (Panthera tigris) populations over the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, to provide new insights into the evolutionary history and interconnectivity between populations of this endangered species. Location Asia. Methods We used an ecological niche approach and applied a maximum... -
Journal article
Convex-hull mass estimates of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus): application of a CT-based mass estimation technique
The external appearance of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus, Linnaeus, 1758) has been a source of considerable intrigue, as contemporaneous accounts or depictions are rare. The body mass of the dodo has been particularly contentious, with the flightless pigeon alternatively reconstructed as slim or fat depending upon the skeletal metric used...Brassey, Charlotte A ; O’Mahoney, T G ; Kitchener, Andrew C ; Manning, Phillip L ; Sellers, William I
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Journal article
Planning tiger recovery: Understanding intraspecific variation for effective conservation
Although significantly more money is spent on the conservation of tigers than on any other threatened species, today only 3200 to 3600 tigers roam the forests of Asia, occupying only 7% of their historical range. Despite the global significance of and interest in tiger conservation, global approaches to plan tiger...Wilting, Andreas ; Courtiol, Alexandre ; Christiansen, P ; Jürgen, Niedballa ; Scharf, Anne K …
Taxonomy, Management Units, Subspecies, One Plan Approach, and Felidae
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Journal article
Remarkable ancient divergences amongst neglected lorisiform primates
Lorisiform primates (Primates: Strepsirrhini: Lorisiformes) represent almost 10% of the living primate species and are widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and South/South-East Asia; however, their taxonomy, evolutionary history, and biogeography are still poorly understood. In this study we report the largest molecular phylogeny in terms of the number of represented...Pozzi, Luca ; Nekaris, K Anne-Isola ; Perkin, Andrew ; Bearder, Simon K ; Pimley, Elizabeth R …
mitochondrial DNA, cryptic species, Lorisidae, cytochrome b, Africa, Asia, Strepsirrhini, and Galagidae
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Book
Survey and scoping of wildcat priority areas
This report summarises the findings of three complementary projects commissioned by SNH to inform the selection of Priority Areas for wildcat conservation; as proposed in the Scottish Wildcat Conservation Action Plan 2013. The scoping projects combined field surveys, taxonomic and genetic assessments, population modelling and a questionnaire survey of public...Littlewood, N A ; Campbell, R D ; Dinnie, L ; Gilbert, L ; Hooper, R …
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Journal article
Splitting or lumping? A conservation dilemma exemplified by the critically endangered Dama Gazelle (Nanger dama)
Managers of threatened species often face the dilemma of whether to keep populations separate to conserve local adaptations and minimize the risk of outbreeding, or whether to manage populations jointly to reduce loss of genetic diversity and minimise inbreeding. In this study we examine genetic relatedness and diversity in three...Senn, Helen ; Banfield, Lisa ; Wacher, Tim ; Newby, John ; Rabeil, Thomas …
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