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The past distribution of Boa snakes and their interactions with Pre-Columbian human populations in the Lesser Antilles (Caribbean) remain enigmatic. These snakes currently have a patchy distributio...

Indigenous human populations in Guadeloupe coexisted with island reptile species extinguished by later European colonialists., Large-scale extinction is one of the defining challenges of our time, as human processes fundamentally and irreversibly reshape global ecosystems. While the extinction of large animals with popular appeal garners widespread public and research interest, the importance of smaller, less “charismatic” species to ecosystem health is increasingly recognized. Benefitting from systematically collected fossil and archaeological archives, we examined snake and lizard extinctions in the Guadeloupe Islands of the Caribbean. Study of 43,000 bone remains across six islands revealed a massive extinction of 50 to 70% of Guadeloupe’s snakes and lizards following European colonization. In contrast, earlier Indigenous populations coexisted with snakes and lizards for thousands of years without affecting their diversity. Study of archaeological remains provides insights into the causes of snake and lizard extinctions and shows that failure to consider fossil-derived data probably contributes to substantial underestimation of human impacts to global biodiversity.

Paleo- and neo-taphonomic analyses of bone assemblages rarely consider all the occurring taxa in a single study and works concerning birds of prey as accumulators of microvertebrate bone remains mostly focus on small mammals such as rodents and soricomorphs. However, raptors often hunt and consume a large range of taxa, including vertebrates such as small mammals, fishes, amphibians, squamates and birds. Bone remains of all these taxonomic groups are numerous in many paleontological and archaeological records, especially in cave deposits. To better characterize the predators at the origin of fossil and sub-fossil microvertebrate accumulations and the taphonomic history of the deposit, it is thus mandatory to conduct global and multi-taxa taphonomic approaches. The aim of this study is to provide an example of such a global approach through the investigation of a modern bone assemblage from a sample of pellets produced by the Lesser Antillean Barn Owl (Tyto insularis) in the island of Dominica. We propose a new methodology that allows us to compare different taxa (rodents, bats, squamates and birds) and to experiment with a cross-validation process using two observers for each taxonomic group to test the reliability of the taphonomic observations. 1. Introduction 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Owl Pellets Sampling 2.2. Prey Identification 2.3. Taphonomic Analysis 2.3.1. Anatomical Representation 2.3.2. Fragmentation 2.3.3. Surface Modifications 2.3.4. Size/Weight Classes of Preys 2.4. Cross-Validation of Observations 3. Results 3.1. Faunal Spectrum 3.2. Anatomical Representation 3.3. Fragmentation 3.4. Modifications of Bone Surface 4. Discussion 4.1. Diet of Tyto Insularis in Dominica 4.2. Taphonomic Impact of Tyto Insularis on Small Vertebrate Bone Assemblage 4.2.1. Remarks on the Size/Weight Classes of Preys 4.2.2. Anatomical Representation 4.2.3. Fragmentation 4.2.4. Digestion 4.3. Degree of Inter-Observer Differences and Potential Outcomes 4.4. Towards an “Inter-Taxa Calibration” 5. Conclusions

Evidence for chronological change in intra-site subsistence strategies is very rare in the Amerindian record of the Lesser Antilles. The study of the vertebrate assemblage from the archeological site of Roseau in the Guadeloupe Islands underlines the complexity and variability of Ceramic Age Amerindian subsistence behavior. This study establishes a more precise chronology of the previously identified strata of the site, and demonstrates that the Contact period was only represented by rare archeological artifacts dispersed in the stratigraphy. The results from this assemblage indicate that the earlier occupations of the site exhibit a more intensive exploitation of aquatic vertebrate resources compared to later occupations, which have a larger focus on terrestrial fauna, especially rodents and iguanas. This unusual pattern highlights how subsistence behaviors in the Lesser Antilles during the Late and Final Ceramic periods were highly variable. This new evidence of strong inter-site variability shows that the behaviors of Amerindians are not only dependent of large-scale environmental conditions but also influenced by more complex socio-cultural and local environmental parameters. Introduction The site of Roseau Materials and methods - 14C dating and calibration - Archeological material recovery - Ceramic analysis - Zooarchaeological analysis - Paleoproteomic analysis Results - Ceramic analysis - Revaluation of the stratigraphy and dating of the site - Zooarchaeological analysis -- Fish remains -- Reptile remains -- Bird remains -- Mammal remains -- Paleoproteomic analysis -- General zooarchaeological remarks Discussion - The Roseau zooarchaeological assemblage in the regional context - Evolution of fishing techniques - Evolution of vertebrate exploitation strategies Conclusion

In this paper we present a natural deposit in Marie-Galante island (French West Indies), Blanchard 2, where historical-period Audubon's shearwater remains dominate the vertebrate assemblage. We combined a study of sediment geometry, a taphonomic analysis of molluscs, crustaceans and vertebrate remains, and direct radiocarbon dating on bird bone to demonstrate that the cave was used as a nesting ground during the island's colonial period. This approach also allows the discussion of the causes leading to the desertion of the site by birds. Finally, we investigate hypotheses regarding the dynamics of Audubon's shearwater nesting during prehistoric and historical times and the impact of anthropogenic phenomenon on these birds.

This paper aims to demonstrate how subfossil bone remains from Pleistocene and Holocene deposits can help to reconstruct the history of recently extinct taxa through the example of Pholidoscelis li...

With more than 50 extant turtle species, Southeast Asia is currently a hotspot of turtle biodiversity. However, the distribution areas of most species are decreasing as a consequence of human activities. The causes of this decline are multiple: habitat and natural resources destruction, introduction of invasive species, hunting, etc. Historical data are however still lacking for a detailed understanding of that regional trend as well as for forecasting its evolution in the future. Indeed, while oral testimonies and text data can provide a rather good appreciation of the decline of biodiversity over the last few decades; nothing is known about the dynamic of turtle biodiversity over the Holocene. This lack of data is especially damaging in area where human activities are interacting for a long time with the wild fauna, as the central plain of Thailand, which is now dominated by agricultural landscape. In order to solve these issues, we investigated five Holocene localities in Thai central plain which provided assemblages of turtle remains ranging from Neolithic to Dvaravati periods (4000 to 1000 BP). The studied archaeological assemblages showed a very high species richness. Species such as Malayemys macrocephala, Cuora amboinensis, Heosemys annandalii, Heosemys grandis, Siebenrockiella crassicolis, Amyda ornata were among the most abundant. We also found several plates and a cranial material belonging to a species of the genus Batagur and tortoise remains including Indotestudo elongata and a few plates belonging to the genus Geochelone. The Batagur and Geochelone genera are absent from living turtle assemblages in the central plain but are present in Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia or Southern Thailand for Batagur and far in the West for Geochelone (Myanmar) respectively. Batagur is usually found in coastal areas and its disappearance from central plain is interpreted as resulting from the destruction of a fragile habitat and possibly from the rapid geomorphological evolution of the Chao-Phraya deltaic plain, the disappearance of tortoises could result from deforestation. Cutting traces showed that most turtles were used as food resources at these times, suggesting that turtle hunting was a common practise. Furthermore, occurrence of holes in the margin of the carapace of specimens from Kheed Khin (Saraburi Province) and Promthin Tai (Lopburi Province) suggests that turtles were sometimes kept captive alive or transported. This study shows that investigation of recent fossil localities allows for a better understanding of the role of past human populations in the alteration of the biodiversity through time, and for a more accurate estimation of the rates of species extinction.

Snakes of the family Dipsadidae Bonaparte, 1838 still occur on most of the Lesser Antillean islands, although they have been strongly impacted by modern and historical anthropogenic disturbances as it has been demonstrated for many squamate taxa worldwide. However, these observations mostly rely on modern assemblages, whereas the fossil record of dipsadid snakes, which is the most direct way to assess their past diversity, remains largely understudied. In order to fill this gap we performed a comprehensive review of the dipsadid snake fossils recovered on the Guadeloupe Islands. We identify the fossils on the basis of both qualitative osteological criteria and a morphometric study of the vertebrae. These approaches allow us to recognize three different dipsadid snake taxa, two of which still occur nowadays in Guadeloupe, but have been partly extirpated: Alsophis antillensis (Schlegel, 1837) and Erythrolamprus juliae cf. copeae (Parker, 1936), and a third one that is now extinct (Alsophis sp. 2). In addition, we evaluate previous interpretations of occurrences of snake remains in archaeological deposits. Our conclusions raise questions about the putative consumption of snake meat by past Amerindian populations, which is still far from being clearly demonstrated.

International audience; Several Late Pleistocene and Holocene South-East Asian subfossil deposits are known to contain important osteological assemblages of Monitor lizards (Varanus sp.) possibly accumulated by past human populations. Indeed, thanks to their large sizes, Monitor lizards are supposed to have been an important source of meat intake for past hunter-gatherer groups. However, the taphonomic and zooarchaeological study of their bones currently suffers from strong limitations related to the lack of appropriate comparative frameworks concerning their osteology and osteometry. These limitations preclude having a good understanding of the biological characteristics of subfossil individuals but also of their accumulation process in the sites and their possible exploitation by past humans. In the present study, we try to solve these issues by producing size and weight estimation equations using bone measurements that are applicable to subfossil Southeast Asian Varanus. These equations are then applied to the study of an archaeological assemblage of Varanus from a Late Pleistocene Thai deposit, the Doi Pha Kan rock shelter. The obtained data help to demonstrate that these lizards were accumulated by Hoabinhian hunter-gatherers, and allow for the description of the hunting strategies of these human groups. We also demonstrate the interest to develop new methodological tools concerning taxa of tropical areas that present a rich biodiversity but remain understudied in zooarchaeology.; Plusieurs dépôts subfossiles d’Asie du Sud-est datant de la fin du Pléistocène et de l’Holocène sont connus pour avoir livré d’importantes quantités de restes de Varans (Varanus sp.) qui reflètent possiblement une activité de prédation par l’Homme. En effet, du fait de leur taille importante, les varans sont supposés avoir été chassés et consommés par les groupes de chasseurs-cueilleurs préhistoriques. Cependant, l’étude taphonomique et archéozoologique des restes de Varans demeure complexe et limitée du fait d’un manque de travaux concernant l’ostéologie et l’ostéométrie de ces lézards. De ce fait, il est actuellement impossible de documenter les caractéristiques biologiques des varans subfossiles, les processus d’accumulation de leurs ossements dans les sites, ainsi que les modalités de leur possible exploitation par l’Homme. Dans ce travail, nous tentons de résoudre ces problèmes en proposant des équations d’estimation de taille et de poids basées sur des mesures ostéologiques et applicables aux varans du Sud-Est asiatique. Nous appliquons ensuite ces équations à l’étude d’un assemblage archéologique de Varans provenant d’un site thaïlandais datant de la fin du Pléistocène, l’abri sous-roche de Doi Pha Kan. Les données obtenues démontrent que les restes subfossiles de Varans ont été accumulés par les chasseurs-cueilleurs hoabinhiens et permettent de décrire les stratégies de chasse de ces groupes humains. Nous démontrons également l’intérêt de développer de nouveaux outils méthodologiques, notamment concernant les taxons de régions présentant une riche biodiversité telles que les aires tropicales, zones qui restent pourtant très peu étudiées en archéozoologie.

International audience; Since the initial description of the complex Ailuropoda-Stegodon as a faunal association with biochronological significance for the Southeast Asian area, few sites have provided paleontological data allowing for an extensive documentation of past fauna. Biodiversity and paleo-environmental reconstructions of Pleistocene fauna are still generally based on bone assemblages whose taphonomy and dating are not or badly documented. However, in order to be useful in a paleo-eclogical perspective, the dating of collected assemblages should be associated with periods of times corresponding to climatic episodes. In this study, we provide a detailed stratigraphic, taphonomical, paleontological and ESR dating studies concerning the site of Ban Fa Suai II discovered near the cave of the Monk in northern Thailand. Our results demonstrate the changes in the taxonomic composition of the fauna over time and argue against the use of the currently available regional dataset for paleo-ecological reonstructions.; Depuis la description initiale du complexe Ailuropoda-Stegodon en tant qu’association faunique ayant une signification biochronologique pour l’Asie du Sud-est, peu de sites ont fourni de données paléontologiques permettant une documentation complète des faunes anciennes. La biodiversité et les reconstitutions paléo-environnementales de la faune du Pléistocène sont, de plus, encore souvent basées sur des assemblages fauniques dont la taphonomie et la datation ne sont soit pas prises en compte, soit mal documentées. Pour être utile dans des perspectives paléo-écologiques, les assemblages fauniques collectés doivent être datés avec une résolution suffisante pour être confronté à des épisodes de changements climatiques d’ampleur comparable. Dans ce travail nous fournissons une étude stratigraphique, taphonomique, et paléontologique détaillée et des datations ESR concernant le site de Ban Fa Suai II découvert près de la grotte du Moine dans le nord de la Thaïlande. Les résultats permettent de documenter les changements de la composition taxonomique de la faune au cours du temps mais également de souligner les biais et les verrous actuels quant à l’emploi des données disponibles pour des reconstructions paléo-écologiques.

Squamate remains from fossil-bearing deposits are difficult to identify on the basis of their morphology, because their modern relatives lack osteological description. In addition, intraspecific morphological variability of modern taxa is mostly understudied, making taxonomic identification of subfossil bones even more difficult. The aim of this study was to investigate osteological differences between two sympatric gecko species, Thecadactylus rapicauda and Hemidactylus mabouia, both currently occurring in the Lesser Antilles and in the subfossil assemblages of the region. Comparison of several modern museum specimens reveals the intraspecific osteological variability of these lizards and how difficult it is to distinguish between their bones, even though they are from two distant families. This study presents nine osteological characters, allowing for a fully reliable distinction of these two gecko species. These characters are applied to the specific identification of gecko species subfossil r...

Several studies have reported the occurrence of fossil remains of a now extinct Boa snake from the upper Pleistocene of Marie-Galante Island, French West Indies. However, these remains have never been fully investigated and no complete description of this possible new species has been published. In this paper, we try to bridge this gap by providing a detailed morphological study of the Boa remains discovered in the three major fossil deposits of Marie-Galante Island. Our study reveals the specific morphological aspects of this fossil snake and allows us to identify it as a new species, Boa blanchardensis. We also reconstructed its body size, carried out a paleohistological investigation, and suggest that this snake may have been a dwarf species. We then discuss the possible explanation for the extinction of this snake on Marie-Galante Island and possibly also on other Guadeloupe islands.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7E352396-4945-447D-80A8-C2D9057B39EBSUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVPCitation for this article: Bochaton, C., and S. Bailon. 2018. A new fossil species of Boa Linnaeus, 1758 (Squamata, Boidae), from the Pleistocene of Marie-Galante Island (French West Indies). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2018.1462829.

The goal of this study was to provide tools to estimate size and maturity of the archaeological Iguana specimens on the basis of their skeletal remains. To achieve this, a reference of 40 Iguana osteological specimens from different collections was used to derive size prediction equations relying on bone measurements. The sequence of fusions of skeletal elements was also observed and found to be strictly identical in all observed specimens. These observations enable the size and skeletal maturity of an archaeological specimen to be determined on the basis of an isolated bone. Such data could be valuable in zooarchaeological studies, as is demonstrated using the case of a pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Lesser Antilles. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fossil remains provide useful insights into the long-term impact of anthropogenic phenomena on faunas and are often used to reveal the local (extirpations) or global (extinctions) losses of populations or species. However, other phenomena such as minor morphological changes can remain inconspicuous in the fossil record depending on the methodology used. In this study, we used the anole of Marie-Galante Island ( Anolis ferreus ) in Guadeloupe (French, West Indies) as a model to demonstrate how the morphological evolution of an insular lizard can be tracked through the Pleistocene/Holocene climatic transition and the recent anthropization of the island. We used a fossil assemblage of nearly 30 000 remains and a combination of anatomical description, traditional morphometry and geometric morphometrics. These fossils are attributed to a single taxon, most likely to be A. ferreus on the basis of morphological and morphometric arguments. Our results show the disappearance of a distinct (sub)population of large specimens that were about 25% larger than the modern representatives of A. ferreus . We also demonstrate an apparent size stability of the main fossil population of this species since the Late Pleistocene but with the possible occurrence of a reduction in morphological diversity during the Late Holocene. These results highlight the impact of anthropic disturbances on a lizard whose morphology otherwise remained stable since the Late Pleistocene.

International audience; Among the lizards in the Lesser Antillean Islands, iguanas are undoubtedly the most emblematic, 18 especially the endemic species, Iguana delicatissima. However, although much effort is currently 19 made for the conservation of this species as a result of the present biodiversity crisis, nearly 20 2 nothing is known of the history of this animal on these islands during the last millennia. Here we 21 present the first data relating to the distribution, morphology, and interaction of past iguanas with 22 human populations in the Lesser Antilles. To do so, we review the archaeological Iguana remains 23 collected over the past 15 years on the Guadeloupe Islands. Our results show that the only Iguana 24 species occurring in pre-Columbian archaeological deposits is Iguana delicatissima. Moreover, 25 we demonstrate that this species occurred on all the islands of Guadeloupe during pre-Columbian 26 times and then suddenly became extinct between 1960 and 1990 on most of these islands. We 27 also confirm the modern introduction of I. iguana to the Guadeloupe Islands. In addition, 28 zooarchaeological research demonstrates that pre-Columbian human populations occasionally 29 used iguanas as a source of food, but with no apparent impact on the native population. However, 30 the first data relating to past size variations of I. delicatissima on the Guadeloupe Islands indicate 31 that archaeological iguanas were much larger than the largest remnant modern specimens and that 32 a marked decrease in body length (more than 20%) occurred in these lizards after contact with 33 European populations. This evidence of widespread extinction and morphological change during 34 modern times is another demonstration of the extensive effects of disturbance and selection 35 induced by modern human societies on endemic insular faunas.

Today, Diploglossine lizards (Anguidae) are common on the Greater Antillean Islands (West Indies), where they are represented by many endemic species. However these lizards are very rare on the Lesser Antillean Islands, where they are only represented by a single species, the Montserrat galliwasp (Diploglossus montisserrati). Here, we show that diploglossine lizards were present in the past on other Lesser Antillean islands, by reporting the discovery of Anguidae fossil remains in two Amerindian archaeological deposits and in a modern deposit. These remains are compared to skeletons of extant diploglossine lizards, including D. montisserrati, using X-ray microtomography of the type specimen of this critically endangered lizard. We also conducted a histological study of the osteoderms in order to estimate the putative age of the specimen. Our results show that the fossil specimens correspond to a member of the Diploglossus genus presenting strong similarities, but also minor morphological differences with D. montisserrati, although we postulate that these differences are not sufficient to warrant the description of a new species. These specimens, identified as Diploglossus sp., provide a new comparison point for the study of fossil diploglossine lizards and reflect the historical 17th century mentions of anguid lizards, which had not been observed since.

Pit cave 6 on Pointe Gros Rempart (Baie-Mahault, La Désirade, French West Indies) is a stratified fossil-bearing site. While the archaeological material and faunal remains from the oldest assemblage demonstrate it to have formed during the Amerindian period, the second assemblage dates to the first one-hundred years of the island's colonial period (mid-18th to mid-19th centuries). Faunal analysis revealed the presence of 4 now locally extinct or extinct species, three of which have never before been documented on La Désirade (Ameivasp.,Leiocephaluscf.cuneusandAlsophissp.). Changing faunal spectrums (invertebrates and vertebrates) due to environmental destabilisation combined with aspects of the island's colonial economy demonstrate habitat degradation and over-grazing to be the principal causes of extinctions and or extirpations.

This work presents the herpetofaunal remains collected from Blanchard Cave (Marie-Galante, Guadeloupe Archipelago). This site has yielded the oldest stratigraphic layers (around 40,000 BP) of the island, along with data concerning the herpetofaunal biodiversity of the island from the Late Pleistocene to pre-Columbian and modern times. The study of these fossil remains reveals the presence of at least 11 amphibian and squamata taxa ( Eleutherodactylus cf. martinicensis , Iguana sp., Anolis ferreus , Leiocephalus cf. cuneus , Thecadactylus cf. rapicauda , cf. Capitellum mariagalantae , Ameiva sp., cf. Antillotyphlops , Boa sp., Alsophis sp. and Colubridae sp. 2) during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene on Marie-Galante Island and provides new evidence concerning extinction times and the introduced or native status of taxa. This study also reveals that this bone assemblage is the result of diverse accumulation processes and provides new morphological data on the past herpetofauna of Marie-Galante.

Estimating the size of fossil organisms is essential for most paleontological studies, including studies of fossil squamates. Paradoxically, few works about the methods used to achieve this goal have been published. This study focuses on two genera of lizards found in the Lesser Antilles: Pholidoscelis and Anolis. We produced sets of size estimation equations based on skeletal measurements taken on modern specimens. We tested the effect of the anatomical part used and of the species composition of the comparative sample in order to produce reliable and statistically significant equations. We then compared our results with previously published estimates of fossil size for Anolis lizards. We found that past studies were inconsistent with each other in how body size was estimated even if the same value for a measurement was obtained independently. Further, we found that what others have described as Holocene dwarfism for Anolis bimaculatus is likely to reflect a methodological bias, and fossil repre...