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Abstract
Abstract
Advances in molecular biology and genetics are revealing that many recognized crocodylian species are complexes of two or more cryptic species. These discoveries will have a profound impact on interpretation of the crocodyliform fossil record. Our understanding of ranges of intraspecific variation in modern crocodylian morphology may be based on multiple species and thus express both intraspecific and interspecific variation. This raises questions about our ability to recognize modern species in the fossil record, and it also indicates that specimens from disparate localities or horizons may represent not single widespread species, but multiple related species. Ranges of variation in modern species require a thorough re-evaluation, and we may have to revisit previous perceptions of past crocodyliform diversity, rates of evolution or anagenetic lineages in stratigraphic succession. These challenges will not be unique to those studying crocodyliforms and will require sophisticated approaches to variation among modern and fossil specimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Brochu
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Colin D Sumrall
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
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Low levels of genetic diversity in Crocodylus acutus in Oaxaca and Guerrero, Mexico, and molecular-morphological evidence of the presence of C. moreletii. BIOCHEM SYST ECOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bse.2016.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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Shafiei-Astani B, Ong AHK, Valdiani A, Tan SG, Yien CYS, Ahmady F, Alitheen NB, Ng WL, Kuar T. Molecular genetic variation and structure of Southeast Asian crocodile (Tomistoma schlegelii): Comparative potentials of SSRs versus ISSRs. Gene 2015; 571:107-16. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2015.06.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2015] [Revised: 04/12/2015] [Accepted: 06/21/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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