Publications

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gastric lesions in free-ranging black caimans (melanosuchus niger) associated with brevimulticaecum species.the stomachs of 100 free-ranging black caimans (melanosuchus niger spix, 1825) from the mamirauá sustainable development reserve, amazonas state, brazil, were examined for parasitism and pathologic lesions. all animals were harvested for human consumption. ascaridoid nematodes were found in 67 caimans and were identified as brevimulticaecum sp. these parasites were associated with focally extensive, chronic gastric ulcers and formation of localized intramural granulomas containing nematodes. all ...201322961885
similarity of crocodilian and avian lungs indicates unidirectional flow is ancestral for archosaurs.patterns of airflow and pulmonary anatomy were studied in the american alligator (alligator mississippiensis), the black caiman (melanosuchus niger), the spectacled caiman (caiman crocodilus), the dwarf crocodile (osteolaemus tetraspis), the saltwater crocodile (crocodylus porosus), the nile crocodile (crocodylus niloticus), and morelet's crocodile (crocodylus moreletii). in addition, anatomy was studied in the orinoco crocodile (crocodylus intermedius). airflow was measured using heated thermis ...201526141868
anti-inflammatory activity of animal oils from the peruvian amazon.animal oils and fats from the fishes electrophorus electricus and potamotrygon motoro, the reptiles boa constrictor, chelonoidis denticulata (geochelone denticulata) and melanosuchus niger and the riverine dolphin inia geoffrensis are used as anti-inflammatory agents in the peruvian amazon. the aim of the study was to assess the topic anti-inflammatory effect of the oils/fats as well as to evaluate its antimicrobial activity and fatty acid composition.201425150527
non-legalized commerce in game meat in the brazilian amazon: a case study.in tropical forests, wild game meat represents an option or the only protein source for some human populations. this study analyzed the wildlife meat trade destined to human consumption in an open market of the amazon rainforest, brazil. wildlife meat trade was monitored during 2005 through interviews to vendors and consumers in order to evaluate the socioeconomic profile of the sellers, the main species and byproducts sold, their geographical origin, commercial value, frequency of sale and prod ...201020737856
distribution and abundance of four caiman species (crocodylia: alligatoridae) in jaú national park, amazonas, brazil.jaú national park is a large rain forest reserve that contains small populations of four caiman species. we sampled crocodilian populations during 30 surveys over a period of four years in five study areas. we found the mean abundance of caiman species to be very low (1.0 +/- 0.5 caiman/km of shoreline), independent of habitat type (river, stream or lake) and season. while abundance was almost equal, the species' composition varied in different waterbody and study areas. we analysed the structur ...200112189791
ethyl-branched aldehydes, ketones, and diketones from caimans (caiman and paleosuchus; crocodylia, reptilia).secretions from the paracloacal glands of alligators (alligator spp.) and caimans (caiman spp., melanosuchus niger, and paleosuchus spp.) were examined by gc-ms. the secretions of the common caiman (c. crocodilus), the broad-snouted caiman (c. latirostris), the yacare caiman (c. yacare), the dwarf caiman (p. palpebrosus), and the smooth-fronted caiman (p. trigonatus) yielded a new family of 43 aliphatic carbonyl compounds that includes aldehydes, ketones, and beta-diketones with an ethyl branch ...200616792401
phylogeographic and conservation genetic analysis of the black caiman (melanosuchus niger).we assessed the spatial distribution of the genetic variability of melanosuchus niger from 11 localities in south america using 1,027 base pairs of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. screening 132 animals, we found 41 haplotypes, high values of genetic diversity, low values of nucleotide diversity and significant deviations from neutral expectation of allelic frequencies in some localities. mantel test and nested-clade analysis indicated that isolation-by-distance was an important population d ...200818404687
distribution patterns, population status and conservation of melanosuchus niger and caiman yacare (crocodylia, alligatoridae) in oxbow lakes of the ichilo river floodplain, bolivia.caiman yacare (lagarto) and melanosuchus niger (black caiman), sympatric species in the bolivian amazon basin, have been severely overexploited in the past. we present the results of a standardized survey of c. yacare and m. niger populations in order to evaluate their actual population status in twelve oxbow lakes of the ichilo river floodplain. additionally we explored the effect of environmental and anthropogenic variables on caiman distribution patterns. the average density of c yacare and m ...200819256453
a fatal attack on a child by a black caiman (melanosuchus niger).we describe a fatal attack by a black caiman (melanosuchus niger) on an 11-year-old child with comments on the reptile's aggression mechanisms and the conditions under which this kind of incident takes place in the amazon region.201121377122
acoustic signals of baby black caimans.in spite of the importance of crocodilian vocalizations for the understanding of the evolution of sound communication in archosauria and due to the small number of experimental investigations, information concerning the vocal world of crocodilians is limited. by studying black caimans melanosuchus niger in their natural habitat, here we supply the experimental evidence that juvenile crocodilians can use a graded sound system in order to elicit adapted behavioral responses from their mother and s ...201121978842
an evaluation of the use of reptile dermal scutes as a non-invasive method to monitor mercury concentrations in the environment.reptiles are ideal organisms for the non-invasive monitoring of mercury (hg) contamination. we have investigated hg bioaccumulation in tissue layers of reptile dermis as a basis for establishing a standardized collection method for hg analysis. tissue samples from freshwater turtle species podocnemis unifilis and podocnemis expansa and caiman species melanosuchus niger and caiman crocodilus, all from the amazonian region, were analysed in this study. we first tested the relationships between hg ...201524974226
mercury contamination in alligators (melanosuchus niger) from mamirauá reservoir (brazilian amazon) and human health risk assessment.mercury (hg) concentrations in muscles of wild alligators (melanosuchus niger) from the mamirauá reservoir (a reference area in the brazilian amazon) and the human health risks associated with its consumption were assessed. the mean hg concentration in alligator muscles was 0.407 ± 0.114 μg/g (n = 61). close to 5 % of the muscle samples showed hg levels above the world health organization guideline for fish consumption (0.5 μg/g). a positive and significant relationship was observed between hg c ...201425017870
correction to: the metabolic cost of nesting: body condition and blood parameters of caiman crocodilus and melanosuchus niger in central amazonia.although nesting ecology is well studied in several crocodilian species, it is not known how nest attendance influences physiology and body condition of nesting females. in this study, we describe body condition and serum biochemical values of nesting female, non-nesting female and male spectacled caiman (caiman crocodilus) and black caiman (melanosuchus niger) in two areas of central amazonia. we also evaluated the effect of nest age and nest distance to water on body condition and blood parame ...201729130117
cranial shape variation in jacarean caimanines (crocodylia, alligatoroidea) and its implications in the taxonomic status of extinct species: the case of melanosuchus fisheri.melanosuchus niger (crocodylia, alligatoroidea) is one of the six living caimanine species widely distributed throughout the amazon river basin today. although there is only one extant species of melanosuchus, fossil material assigned to this genus, represented by m. fisheri, has been reported from the late miocene in south america. however, the validity of this taxon has been questioned and a recent investigation indicates that the referred specimen of m. fisheri (mcz 4336) actually belongs to ...201829139133
ontogeny of the postcranial axial skeleton of melanosuchus niger (crocodylia, alligatoridae).this study proposes the description of the development of the postcranial axial skeleton, including vertebrae, gastralium, ribs, sternum, and interclavicle, in melanosuchus niger. six nests were marked and two eggs removed from each nest at 24-hr intervals until hatching. for posthatching evaluation, 30 hatchlings were kept in captivity and one exemplar was euthanized at three-day intervals. samples were diaphanized using potassium hydroxide (koh), alizarin red s, and alcian blue. a routinely ge ...201729150983
biomechanics of the rostrum in crocodilians: a comparative analysis using finite-element modeling.this article reports the use of simple beam and finite-element models to investigate the relationship between rostral shape and biomechanical performance in living crocodilians under a range of loading conditions. load cases corresponded to simple biting, lateral head shaking, and twist feeding behaviors. the six specimens were chosen to reflect, as far as possible, the full range of rostral shape in living crocodilians: a juvenile caiman crocodilus, subadult alligator mississippiensis and croco ...200616835925
the phylogeography of trypanosomes from south american alligatorids and african crocodilids is consistent with the geological history of south american river basins and the transoceanic dispersal of crocodylus at the miocene.little is known about the diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and biogeography of trypanosomes infecting non-mammalian hosts. in this study, we investigated the influence of host species and biogeography on shaping the genetic diversity, phylogenetic relationship, and distribution of trypanosomes from south american alligatorids and african crocodilids.201324499634
field and experimental evidence of a new caiman trypanosome species closely phylogenetically related to fish trypanosomes and transmitted by leeches.trypanosoma terena and trypanosoma ralphi are known species of the south american crocodilians caiman crocodilus, caiman yacare and melanosuchus niger and are phylogenetically related to the tsetse-transmitted trypanosoma grayi of the african crocodylus niloticus. these trypanosomes form the crocodilian clade of the terrestrial clade of the genus trypanosoma. a pcr-survey for trypanosomes in caiman blood samples and in leeches taken from caimans revealed unknown trypanosome diversity and frequen ...201526767165
ontogeny of the appendicular skeleton in melanosuchus niger (crocodylia: alligatoridae).the objective of the present study was to analyze chondrogenesis and the ossification pattern of the limbs of melanosuchus niger in order to contribute with possible discussions on homology and the fusion pattern of autopodial elements and phylogeny. in the reserva extrativista do lago cuniã, rondônia, brazil, six nests were marked and two eggs removed from each nest at 24-hour intervals until hatching. embryos were cleared using koh; bone tissue was stained with alizarin red s and cartilage wit ...201627498797
first record of microfilaria in the blood of black caiman melanosuchus niger (crocodylia: alligatoridae) specimens from the amazon river basin. 201728300941
the metabolic cost of nesting: body condition and blood parameters of caiman crocodilus and melanosuchus niger in central amazonia.although nesting ecology is well studied in several crocodilian species, it is not known how nest attendance influences physiology and body condition of nesting females. in this study, we describe body condition and serum biochemical values of nesting female, non-nesting female and male spectacled caiman (caiman crocodilus) and black caiman (melanosuchus niger) in two areas of central amazonia. we also evaluated the effect of nest age and nest distance to water on body condition and blood parame ...201828631010
acoustic communication in crocodilians: information encoding and species specificity of juvenile calls.in the crocodylia order, all species are known for their ability to produce sounds in several communication contexts. though recent experimental studies have brought evidence of the important biological role of young crocodilian calls, especially at hatching time, the juvenile vocal repertoire still needs to be clarified in order to describe thoroughly the crocodilian acoustic communication channel. the goal of this study is to investigate the acoustic features (structure and information coding) ...201222820991
mercury concentrations in different tissues of turtle and caiman species from the rio purus, amazonas, brazil.total mercury (hg) concentrations of muscle, liver, blood, and epidermal keratin were measured in typically consumed, economically and culturally important species of turtle (podocnemis unifilis and podocnemis expansa) and caiman (melanosuchus niger and caiman crocodilus) from the rio purus in the amazon basin, brazil. methylmercury (mehg) concentrations were also measured in muscle tissue, representing the first analysis of mehg concentrations in amazonian reptile species. in muscle tissues hg ...201526387493
mercury concentration in the spectacled caiman and black caiman (alligatoridae) of the amazon: implications for human health.mercury (hg) concentrations in the amazon are generally high, but no studies have been published on hg concentrations in caimans (alligatoridae) from the region. aiming for sizes representative of caimans traded for food in the amazon, we measured hg concentration in tail muscle of spectacled caiman (caiman crocodilus crocodilus) and black caiman (melanosuchus niger) from the purus river basin. the information on hg concentration in caimans from this area is important because of the potential he ...201222580737
temporal variation in black-caiman-nest predation in varzea of central brazilian amazonia.on the amazon floodplain, the main predators of black caiman (melanosuchus niger) eggs are jaguars (panthera onca), tegu lizards (tupinambis teguixim), capuchin monkeys (sapajus macrocephalus) and humans (homo sapiens). in this study, we investigated the relationship between predator attacks on nests and incubation period, and evaluated the influence of initial predation on subsequent predation in the mamirauá sustainable development reserve. we also evaluated the influence of presence of female ...201728854258
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