scholarly journals Assembly of the eastern North American herpetofauna: new evidence from lizards and frogs

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-392 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Robert Macey ◽  
James A Schulte ◽  
Jared L Strasburg ◽  
Jennifer A Brisson ◽  
Allan Larson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
Dna Evidence ◽  
Bering Land Bridge ◽  
Biotic Diversity ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Dispersal Events ◽  
New Evidence

Darwin first recognized the importance of episodic intercontinental dispersal in the establishment of worldwide biotic diversity. Faunal exchange across the Bering Land Bridge is a major example of such dispersal. Here, we demonstrate with mitochondrial DNA evidence that three independent dispersal events from Asia to North America are the source for almost all lizard taxa found in continental eastern North America. Two other dispersal events across Beringia account for observed diversity among North American ranid frogs, one of the most species-rich groups of frogs in eastern North America. The contribution of faunal elements from Asia via dispersal across Beringia is a dominant theme in the historical assembly of the eastern North American herpetofauna.

THE IDENTIFICATION AND ORIGIN OF THE STRAINS OF THE LARCH SAWFLY, PRISTIPHORA ERICHSONII (HYMENOPTERA: TENTHREDINIDAE), IN NORTH AMERICA

1974 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 1121-1131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Horne R. Wong
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
Bering Land Bridge ◽  
Pristiphora Erichsonii ◽  
Larch Sawfly

AbstractThis study identifies and presents a key to five strains of the larch sawfly, Pristiphora erichsonii (Hartig), which are designated Aweme, Fernie, Ambleside, Thirlmire, and Salzburg.Aweme and Fernie strains occur only in North America and Salzburg strain is confined to Eurasia. Two Eurasian strains, Ambleside and Thirlmire, were accidentally introduced into Canada from England by 1913 among cocoons shipped for the release of the parasite Mesoleius tenthredinis Morley. It is postulated that the ancestors of Aweme-Salzburg strains Fernie–Thirlmire strains dispersed across the Bering Land Bridge into North America some time in the Miocene. These phyletic lines evolved into distinct Eurasian and North American strains. Early infestations in North America apparently consisted of North American strains, while later outbreaks have consisted primarily of the recently introduced Eurasian strains.

scholarly journals A biogeographic perspective on the evolution of fire syndromes in pine trees ( Pinus : Pinaceae)

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 172412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin J. Badik ◽  
Joshua P. Jahner ◽  
Joseph S. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
New World ◽  
Historical Biogeography ◽  
Ancestral State ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
Bering Land Bridge ◽  
Pine Trees ◽  
Dispersal Events ◽  
The Relationship

Our goals were to explore the relationship between biogeography and the evolution of fire-adaptive syndromes in the genus Pinus . We used a previously published time-calibrated phylogeny and conducted ancestral trait reconstruction to estimate the likely timing of diversification in Pinus , and to determine when fire-adaptive syndromes evolved in the lineage. To explore trait conservation among fire syndromes and to investigate historical biogeography, we constructed ancestral state reconstructions using the program RASP and estimated the degree of conservatism for fire-adapted traits in the program BaTS. Our reconstructions suggest that the Bering land bridge, which connected North America and Asia, probably played a major role in early pine evolution. Our estimates indicated that fire-adaptive syndromes seem to have evolved more frequently in New World taxa and probably are related to the uplift of major North American mountain ranges. Our data suggest that certain geographically widespread adaptations to fire evolved repeatedly, possibly due to localized changes in climate and environment, rather than resulting from large dispersal events of pre-adapted individuals.

scholarly journals Asymmetric biotic interchange across the Bering land bridge between Eurasia and North America

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 739-745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dechun Jiang ◽  
Sebastian Klaus ◽  
Ya-Ping Zhang ◽  
David M Hillis ◽  
Jia-Tang Li
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Opposite Direction ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Disjunct Distribution ◽  
Dispersal Patterns ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
Last Glacial Period ◽  
Bering Land Bridge ◽  
Dispersal Events

ABSTRACT The exchange of biotas between Eurasia and North America across the Bering land bridge had a major impact on ecosystems of both continents throughout the Cenozoic. This exchange has received particular attention regarding placental mammals dispersing into the Americas, including humans after the last glacial period, and also as an explanation for the disjunct distribution of related seed plants in eastern Asia and eastern North America. Here, we investigate bi-directional dispersal across the Bering land bridge from estimates of dispersal events based on time-calibrated phylogenies of a broad range of plant, fungus and animal taxa. We reveal a long-lasting phase of asymmetrical biotic interchange, with a peak of dispersal from Asia into North America during the late Oligocene warming (26–24 Ma), when dispersal in the opposite direction was greatly decreased. Influx from North America into Asia was lower than in the opposite direction throughout the Cenozoic, but with peak rates of dispersal at the end of the Eocene (40–34 Ma) and again in the early to middle Miocene (16–14 Ma). The strong association between dispersal patterns and environmental changes suggests that plants, fungi and animals have likely dispersed from stable to perturbed environments of North America and Eurasia throughout the Cenozoic.

scholarly journals Return to Beringia: parasites reveal cryptic biogeographic history of North American pikas

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1727) ◽  
pp. 371-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt E. Galbreath ◽  
Eric P. Hoberg
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
Biogeographic History ◽  
Staging Area ◽  
Ochotona Collaris ◽  
Bering Land Bridge ◽  
History Of ◽  
Host Parasite

Traditional concepts of the Bering Land Bridge as a zone of predominantly eastward expansion from Eurasia and a staging area for subsequent colonization of lower latitudes in North America led to early inferences regarding biogeographic histories of North American faunas, many of which remain untested. Here we apply a host–parasite comparative phylogeographical (HPCP) approach to evaluate one such history, by testing competing biogeographic hypotheses for five lineages of host-specific parasites shared by the collared pika ( Ochotona collaris ) and American pika ( Ochotona princeps ) of North America. We determine whether the southern host species ( O. princeps ) was descended from a northern ancestor or vice versa. Three parasite phylogenies revealed patterns consistent with the hypothesis of a southern origin, which is corroborated by four additional parasite lineages restricted to O. princeps . This finding reverses the traditional narrative for the origins of North American pikas and highlights the role of dispersal from temperate North America into Beringia in structuring northern diversity considerably prior to the Holocene. By evaluating multiple parasite lineages simultaneously, the study demonstrates the power of HPCP for resolving complex biogeographic histories that are not revealed by characteristics of the host alone.

New multituberculate mammal from the Early Cretaceous of eastern North America

2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Cifelli ◽  
Cynthia L. Gordon ◽  
Thomas R. Lipka
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
North American ◽  
Lower Cretaceous ◽  
Late Jurassic ◽  
Relative Length ◽  
Central Position ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
The North

Multituberculates, though among the most commonly encountered mammalian fossils of the Mesozoic, are poorly known from the North American Early Cretaceous, with only one taxon named to date. Herein we describe Argillomys marylandensis, gen. et sp. nov., from the Early Cretaceous of Maryland, based on an isolated M2. Argillomys represents the second mammal known from the Arundel Clay facies of the Patuxent Formation (Lower Cretaceous: Aptian). Though distinctive in its combination of characters (e.g., enamel ornamentation consisting of ribs and grooves only, cusp formula 2:4, presence of distinct cusp on anterobuccal ridge, enlargement of second cusp on buccal row, central position of ultimate cusp in lingual row, great relative length), the broader affinities of Argillomys cannot be established because of non-representation of the antemolar dentition. Based on lack of apomorphies commonly seen among Cimolodonta (e.g., three or more cusps present in buccal row, fusion of cusps in lingual row, cusps strongly pyramidal and separated by narrow grooves), we provisionally regard Argillomys as a multituberculate of “plagiaulacidan” grade. Intriguingly, it is comparable in certain respects to some unnamed Paulchoffatiidae, a family otherwise known from the Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula.

scholarly journals Six new species and reports of Hydnum (Cantharellales) from eastern North America

MycoKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 35-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel A. Swenie ◽  
Timothy J. Baroni ◽  
P. Brandon Matheny
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Phylogenetic Species ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
Taxonomic Descriptions ◽  
Molecular Phylogenetic ◽  
Herbarium Collections ◽  
Environmental Sequences

Five species of Hydnum have been generally recognized from eastern North America based on morphological recognition: H.albidum, H.albomagnum, H.repandum and varieties, H.rufescens, and H.umbilicatum. Other unique North American species, such as H.caespitosum and H.washingtonianum, are either illegitimately named or considered synonymous with European taxa. Here, seventeen phylogenetic species of Hydnum are detected from eastern North America based on a molecular phylogenetic survey of ITS sequences from herbarium collections and GenBank data, including environmental sequences. Based on current distribution results, sixteen of these species appear endemic to North America. Of these, six species are described as new: H.alboaurantiacum, H.cuspidatum, H.ferruginescens, H.subconnatum, H.subtilior, and H.vagabundum. Geographic range extensions and taxonomic notes are provided for five additional species recently described as new from eastern North America. A new name, H.geminum, is proposed for H.caespitosum Banning ex Peck, non Valenti. Overall, species of Hydnum are best recognized by a combination of morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses. Taxonomic descriptions are provided for seventeen species, including epitype designations for H.albidum, H.albomagnum, and H.umbilicatum, taxa described more than 100 years ago, and molecular annotation of the isotype of H.washingtonianum. Photographs and a key to eastern North American Hydnum species are presented.

Telephinaand Other Trilobites from the Pratt Ferry Beds, Ordovician of Alabama, U.S.A.

2014 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 545-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick C. Shaw
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Original Description ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Zone Boundary ◽  
Middle Ordovician ◽  
Conodont Zone ◽  
Stratigraphic Range ◽  
Single Locality

The Pratt Ferry beds are a three meter thick bioclastic carbonate unit containing thePygodus serrus–P. anserinusconodont zone boundary and lying just below theNemagraptus gracilisgraptolite zone at a single locality in Alabama.TelephinaMarek at Pratt Ferry and other eastern North American localities is represented by at least six species. These are judged widespread and in part conspecific with Scandinavian or Asian forms of similar age. Most of the fifteen Appalachian telephinid species proposed by Ulrich (1930) are reviewed and some synonymized.BevanopsisCooper is present, extending its stratigraphic range viaB. buttsi(Cooper). The original description ofCeraurinella buttsiCooper is augmented. Other recorded but poorly represented genera includeAmpyxina,Arthrorhachis,Calyptaulax,Hibbertia,Lonchodomas,Mesotaphraspis,Porterfieldia, andSphaerexochus. The entire faunule represents a mixture of ‘inshore’ and ‘offshore’ or planktonic faunal elements rarely seen elsewhere in the latest Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian) of eastern North America.

North American biogeography and taxonomy of Cryptolithus (Trilobita, Ordovician)

1994 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 808-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick C. Shaw ◽  
Pierre J. Lespérance
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Type Species ◽  
Time Span ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Evolutionary Mechanisms ◽  
Variable Character

Museum and field restudy of Cryptolithus from all known geographic and stratigraphic occurrences in eastern North America shows that the principal variable character in this genus is the number of fringe pit arcs. Because this character varies within populations and even single individuals, it cannot be used to distinguish the earlier, typologically defined species of the genus. Instead, a neotype is designated here for the type species, Cryptolithus tessellatus Green, 1832, and morph designations are used for all pit arc variants. Over the time span considered, the species increased the number of pit arcs, but the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms responsible cannot be identified with certainty.

Flake Tools in the American Arctic: Some Speculations

1964 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 338-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin N. Wilmsen
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
New World ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
River Delta ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
Bering Land Bridge

AbstractTwo sites, Kogruk (at the summit of Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska) and Engigstciak (at the head of the Firth River delta, Yukon Territory, Canada), have recently yielded flake-tool assemblages which show striking resemblances to a Eurasiatic flake-blade tradition based on a Levallois-Mousterian stone-chipping technique, and to the Clovis flake-blade tradition of America which appears to be based on a similar chipping technique. It is suggested that these traditions are historically related and that the Arctic sites provide a possible link between the two. The presence of incipient fluting in Siberia and at Engigstciak may prove significant. Dating is discussed in terms of the ecology and geology of the sites and is correlated with the probable periods of availability of the Bering land bridge. An upland-foothills zone is seen to be essentially continuous from central Asia to central North America. It is suggested that this zone provided the only environmentally compatible link between the two continents, and that it was therefore the most probable route of early hunting peoples into the New World.

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