Primates of the Caribbean: Ancient DNA reveals history of mystery monkey

Weird evolution revealed in now-extinct monkey which inhabited Jamaica until a few hundred years ago

Date:  November 12, 2018

Source:  Zoological Society of London

Analysis of ancient DNA of a mysterious extinct monkey named Xenothrix -- which displays bizarre body characteristics very different to any living monkey -- has revealed that it was in fact most closely related to South America's titi monkeys (Callicebinae). Having made their way overwater to Jamaica, probably on floating vegetation, their bones reveal they subsequently underwent remarkable evolutionary change.

The research published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (12 November 2018) and carried out by a team of experts from international conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London), London's Natural History Museum (NHM), and the American Museum of Natural History in New York, also reveals that monkeys must have colonised the Caribbean islands more than once. The study reports an incredible discovery of how the unusual ecology of islands can dramatically influence animal evolution.

Xenothrix, unlike any other monkey in the world, was a slow-moving tree-dweller with relatively few teeth, and leg bones somewhat like a rodent's. Its unusual appearance has made it difficult for scientists to work out what it was related to and how it evolved. However, the scientific team have successfully extracted the first ever ancient DNA from an extinct Caribbean primate -- uncovered from bones excavated in a Jamaican cave and providing important new evolutionary insights.

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Extinction mystery solved? Evidence suggests humans played a role in monkey's demise in Jamaica

Date: August 9, 2017

Source: Johns Hopkins Medicine

Summary:

Radiocarbon dating of a fossilized leg bone from a Jamaican monkey called Xenothrix mcgregori suggests it may be the one of the most recent primate species anywhere in the world to become extinct, and it may solve a long-standing mystery about the cause of its demise. The short answer: human settlement of its island home.

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Dolphins receive protection from the Jamaican Government

The Jamaican Government is looking at wild dolphin watching as an alternative to keeping dolphins in aquariums

Dolphin populations might be seeing better days ahead in Jamaica as the Government aims to implement new regulations on the use of the animals for tourism purposes, addressing the trading of dolphins and their use for attractions.

The Government has recommended a suspension of approvals for new dolphin aquariums until a full market ecosystems survey is carried out. The proposed policy would require surveys to be undertaken before any future approvals can be granted for dolphin aquariums, and would require at least two local vets be trained in order to monitor the dolphin facilities.

Under the new policy, importers and exporters of dolphins will also be facing stricter requirements, and any dolphins that are used for breeding programmes must be acquired from sources that have conducted proper population surveys. 

According to the Environment and Climate Change Ministry, the policy is based on precautionary approach due to lack of data on dolphin populations. If the policy goes through, the decision on the further development of dolphin attractions must be based on research and scientific data.

In the meantime, the Government has said it will work on developing a management plan that will explore the possibility of dolphin watching as an alternative to putting the animals in aquariums. It is believed that the policy will strengthen Jamaica’s local preservation laws and bring the country in line with international regulations.

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Iconic Jamaican iguana under threat from $1.5bn Chinese port project

Development will destroy Jamaica's biggest nature reserve and fragile coastal areas, conservationists warn

Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent

theguardian.com, Friday 23 May 2014 07.00 BST

The Jamaican government is pursuing a $1.5bn Chinese port development inside the island's biggest nature reserve, threatening the famous Jamaican iguana (Cyclura collei) and putting fragile coastal areas at risk, environmental groups say.

Government officials have championed the project – which reportedly includes a port, industrial park and causeway – as a boon for the country's economy.

But the United Nations, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and local environmental groups say the China Harbour Engineering Company development risks destroying mangroves and rare forests in the country's biggest nature reserve, the Portland Bight protected area.

The port would also doom a rare conservation success story, the Jamaican iguana, brought back from the point of extinction after a 20-year effort, environmental groups say.

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Crocodiles disappearing as dinner in Jamaica

CASCADE, Jamaica (AP) — Crocodiles were once so abundant along the salty rim of southern Jamaica that images of their toothy jaws and spiny armor crown the tropical island's coat of arms and are stenciled on the bumpers of military vehicles.

Now, the big reptiles are increasingly difficult to spot, and not just because they blend into swampy backgrounds. These days, a growing taste for crocodile meat and even eggs in Jamaica has conservationists worried that the reptiles might be wiped from the wild altogether, although they've been protected by law since 1971.

"I went from never hearing about anyone eating crocodile meat, much less crocodile eggs, to hearing about it all the time. There's just so much carnage going on," said Byron Wilson, a reptile specialist at Jamaica's University of the West Indies.

Crocs have steadily reclaimed their range in Florida, their only U.S. habitat, after rebounding from the edge of extinction. But experts believe the reptiles may be reaching a tipping point in economically struggling Jamaica. A recent newsletter from the Crocodile Specialist Group, a global network involved in croc conservation, said the situation appears dire on the island as the impact of habitat loss deepens with a "new demand for crocodile meat, both for personal consumption and for local market distribution."

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New species of butterfly discovered in Jamaica

University of Florida researcher Andrew Warren displays the holotype specimen of a new genus and species of skipper butterfly from Jamaica in the Florida Museum of Natural. Photo by Jeff Gage.

Skipper butterfly is new species
December 2012. Belonging to the family of skipper butterflies, the new genus and species is the first butterfly discovered in Jamaica since 1995. Scientists hope the native butterfly will encourage conservation of the country's last wilderness where it was discovered: the Cockpit Country. This discovery underscores the need for further biodiversity research and establishing a baseline of organisms as more tropical areas suffer habitat destruction.

University of Florida scientists have co-authored the study describing a new Lepidoptera species found in Jamaica's last remaining wilderness.

"My co-authors on this paper, Vaughn Turland and Delano Lewis, are really excited because they think this butterfly has the potential to be a new sort of flagship species for Jamaican habitat conservation, because it's a black and gold butterfly living in a green habitat, which together comprise the Jamaican national colours," said study co-author Andy Warren, senior collections manager at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Florida Museum of Natural History. "Whether or not a tiny little butterfly is going to attract the type of conservation interest that the giant Homerus Swallowtail in Jamaica has remains to be seen."

Very small butterfly
With a wingspan of little more than 1 centimetre, Troyus turneri is about the size of a thumbnail with its wings spread, Warren said. The genus was named Troyus for the town of Troy, which is nearest to the region of the Cockpit Country where it was collected, and the species was named for Thomas Turner, an expert on Jamaica butterflies who contributed to its discovery.

Surprising discovery
Jamaica is considered one of the most thoroughly researched areas for butterflies in the Greater Antilles, which includes Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Until the discovery of T. turneri, researchers believed they knew all the butterflies in Jamaica, Warren said. The butterfly likely remained undiscovered for so long due to the inaccessible nature of the Cockpit Country, a 247-mile mostly undeveloped tangle of tropical vegetation. The species was described based on one male and one female specimen, collected in 2011 and 2012 within a quarter mile of each another.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/jamaica-butterfly.html

Source found for 1 chemical in dead cat; others a mystery

JAMAICA — Vermilion County health officials have discovered the source of one of the toxic chemicals found in a dead cat in Jamaica.

But the mystery of how this cat got sick and how nine other animals died continues.

Vermilion County Health Department Environmental Health Director Douglas Toole said he learned Wednesday that a cat who had been found to have toxic chemicals in its system received some of those chemicals when it was put down by a veterinarian.

But lab technicians at Michigan State University still found a toxic amount of a household medication not used by the veterinarian in the cat's system.

Toole said that a locally owned cat was convulsing, salivating and suffering from diarrhea when it was found by Vermilion County animal control workers in Jamaica on Feb. 22.

Toole said the cat was taken to Stateline Hillcrest Small Animal Hospital in rural Danville, where a veterinarian decided to euthanize the cat to end its suffering.

The cat was then sent to Michigan State University for toxicology testing. It was found to have both pentobarbital and salicylic acid in its system.

Pentobarbital is a drug sometimes used by veterinarians to put down dogs or cats. Toole said it is typically only found in an injectable form.

According to a report from Michigan State University, salicylic acid is a medication used in the removal of warts, to ease aches and reduce fevers. The report said the substance can be toxic in large quantities.

This cat is among 10 animals, mostly pets, discovered ill or dead in this Vermilion County community since mid-February.

According to Toole, four dogs were found dead between Feb. 19 and 22.

When J.R. Mosay of the Vermilion County Animal Control Department investigated the area on Feb. 22, he also found this cat and a dead skunk.

Mosay took the cat to the veterinarian in rural Danville, where it was put down.

One week later, Mosay found a fifth dead dog on Jamaica's north side.

Then, on March 14, three starlings were found dead on the northwest side of Jamaica. Two of them were sent to the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois, which determined that neither had West Nile Virus or an infectious disease.

The birds were then forwarded to Michigan State University, where tests indicated they died from exposure to carbofuran, a pesticide sometimes used by farmers to control pests on a variety of crops.

Then the dead cat and one of the dead dogs, a female rat terrier, were taken to Michigan State University for toxicology testing.

According to Toole, the rat terrier was found to have the insecticide carbofuran in her system, as well as a trace of strychnine and a trace of pentobarbital.

According to the Michigan State University report, "Strychnine is extremely poisonous. It is chiefly used in poison baits for rodents."

Toole said on Wednesday that the rat tarrier either directly ate the carbofuran or ate a portion of a bird that had eaten carbofuran.

"The cat's stomach was empty, according to the toxicology results," Toole said. "We can't say for certain it ate a bird, but it seems possible."

Toole said that no toxicology tests were performed on four of the dogs, the skunk and one of the three birds.

"We may never know what caused the four dogs or the skunk to die," Toole said. "And we may never know for sure how the two birds and the dog and the cat came to ingest the various toxic chemicals they had in their system."

Toole said his office will continue to monitor the situation.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/courts-police-and-fire/2012-04-04/source-found-1-chemical-dead-cat-others-mystery.html

A Growing Illicit Trade Threatens Jamaica's Wildlife

By Zadie Neufville 


KINGSTON, March 12, 2012 (IPS) - News of Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo's newest attraction shocked Jamaican authorities. The unlikely stars: a flock of 45 endangered Jamaican Amazon parrots, hatched from eggs smuggled out of the island in rum-cake boxes.

The 23 Yellow-Billed Parrots and 22 of their even more rare Black-Billed cousins were the survivors from the incubation of 74 eggs smuggled into Austria by tourists returning from Jamaica. Both species are protected and considered endangered species.

Conservationists are beginning to fear that as demand grows for rare and exotic wildlife, Jamaican authorities will be unable to protect the island's natural treasures.

It is not uncommon to see local wildlife including the Black and Yellow-billed Parrots being offered for sale in tourists towns across the island, but the idea that people would smuggle the birds or their eggs surprised even scientists.

But animal care specialist and educator Karlene Craig is not surprised.

"There is a massive trade in endemics all across the region. Our birds actually make good pets, especially the Black-billed Parrot, as they are less aggressive and less noisy than other parrots and are quite chatty and entertaining," she told IPS.

Parrot stealing aside, rumours flourish of a growing illegal trade in Jamaican wildlife. The National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), which is responsible for protecting natural resources, has recently admitted to receiving "intelligence" regarding the illicit wildlife trade.

Protecting biodiversity

The agency says it is strengthening its enforcement capabilities and increasing general awareness of the value of local biodiversity. A specialised arm of the police enforces environmental laws.

Another tool to counter the trade is the 2010 State of the Environment Report, which provides an overview of the state and quality of the island's natural heritage and, according to NEPA, helps with sustainable management of Jamaica's natural and physical environment.

A variety of other programmes and initiatives also aim to protect Jamaican biodiversity. 


Read on:  http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=107043

Jamaica Plain's Own Loch Ness Monster

Jamaica Plain's Own Loch Ness Monster?
Boston magazine's Boston Daily (blog)
BY Courtney Hollands POSTED ON 2/9/2012
Jamaica Plain's Own Loch Ness Monster?

Ancient Jamaican bird used wings to go clubbing (via Dawn Holloway)

An extinct flightless bird from Jamaica fought rivals and predators using wings evolved into clubs, scientists suggest.


The boney bludgeons carried by Xenicibis xympithecus are unlike anything else known in the bird world - or in mammals, reptiles or amphibians.

Writing in the Royal Society journal Proceedings B, the scientists report finding bones that had apparently been broken by another bird's club.

The species may have survived until less than 10,000 years ago.

A member of the ibis family, it was probably about the size of a chicken, but with an infinitely more robust armoury.

Fossils show that the metacarpus - one of the "hand" bones - was elongated and much bigger than in related species, with very thick walls.

This allowed the wings to function "in combat as a jointed club or flail", the researchers write.

"We don't really know how they would have used these clubs, but we do know that modern ibises grab each other by the beak and pound away with their wings," said Nicholas Longrich, from Yale University in the US.

"And we analysed two bones that had been broken during fighting, including a humerus (upper arm bone) that had been snapped in half - it had started to re-heal, although the two ends hadn't knitted together," he told BBC News.

Dr Longrich's colleague in this research, Storrs Olson from the Smithsonian Institution, was one of the scientists who first identified Xenicibis xympithecus back in the 1970s.

A number of other birds are known to fight by whacking each other with their wings - including swans, who will also protect their young this way.


Some, including screamers, lapwings and and spur-winged goose, have evolved spurs to increase the damage they can wreak.

The extinct solitaire from the Indian Ocean island of Rodrigues - a cousin of the dodo - had bony growths colloquially known as "musketballs" on their wings, which appear to have served the same purpose.

"But among vertebrates - there's no animal of any sort that has anything like a limb modified as a club," noted Dr Longrich.

Julian Hume, an avian palaeontologist with London's Natural History Museum who was not involved in the research, noted that unlike most flightless birds, Xenicibis retained long wings, possibly making its flailing more powerful.

"Ibis young stay in the nest for a relatively long time," he said.

"So if they retained that feature, that suggests they needed it for defence against predators - and there were quite a few on Jamaica."

However, ibises also tend to be intensely territorial, so the flailing clubs may also - or alternatively - have found employment in disputes between individuals, probably with both sexes involved.

By Richard Black

Environment correspondent, BBC News

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12115776