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Although non-marine turtles are nearly ubiquitous in the Southeast Asian archaeological record, their zooarchaeological study has been very poorly undertaken in that tropical region of the world. This lack of study makes the understanding of past human subsistence strategies very complex especially regarding the prehistoric hunter gatherer populations which may have massively exploited inland chelonian taxa. In order to try to start a new dynamic regarding the study of the past human-turtle interactions in Southeast Asia we propose here an in-depth zooarchaeological analysis of the turtle bone remains recovered from four Hoabinhian Hunter-gatherer archaeological assemblages located in Thailand and Cambodia, and dated from the Late Pleistocene to the first half of the Holocene. Our study is focused on the bone remains attributed to the Yellow-Headed Tortoise (Indotestudo elongata) as they account for the majority of the turtle archaeological assemblages identified in the target area. For this species, we developed osteo-metric equations enabling the estimation of the carapace size of the archaeological individuals of this species. This allowed us to study the size structure of the archaeological populations in the different sites and to reveal the human exploitation strategies of these animals. We found a strong taphonomic homogeneity between the studied assemblages suggesting similarities of the subsistence behaviors in the different sites despite their very different environmental settings. We thus hypothesize putative cultural similarities across time and space. In addition, we also provide a baseline for future zooarchaeological studies as well as a methodological frame for the detailed studies of archaeological turtle bones in continental Southeast Asia.

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.

The identification at species level of subfossil remains of lizards from tropical regions currently suffers from strong limitation linked to the lack of comprehensive work conducted on the osteology of modern taxa. The aim of this study is to provide osteological criteria allowing for the specific identification of the subfossil remains of Sundaland and continental Southeast Asian monitor lizards (Varanus sp.), which are often well-represented in the deposits of this geographic area. To do so we performed an osteological study of the four species occurring in this region (V. bengalensis sensu lato, V. salvator, V. dumerilii, and V. rudicollis) using a large set of 88 skeletons of modern specimens. The observation of the full set of specimens allows us to define 41 osteological criteria distributed on 20 different anatomical parts which enable the specific identification of isolated bones of the studied species. The results highlight the importance of taking account of the morphological intraspecific variability by the use of large samples of specimens to avoid identification errors. They also show that the distinction of closely related taxa remains complex even when detailed morphological analyses are performed.

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...

International audience

The identification of domestic equid remains is a recurrent issue and an intense subject of discussion in zooarchaeological studies. Indeed, despite historical sources describing the key role of equids in numerous past societies, their accurate identification on archaeological sites is still problematic, and only few methods have been developed in order to distinguish the bones of horses, donkeys and their hybrids. Moreover, some of the extant published visual macroscopic criteria are considered as possibly unreliable, partly because of the absence of preliminary test on a large sample of modern specimens. In this work, we try to solve these issues by testing a set of macroscopic visual criteria, collected in the literature or newly described, on a comparative sample of 107 modern skeletons of domestic equids. We quantified the reliability of these criteria and found evidence of 26 osteological characters allowing for the identification of between 90% and 100% of the horses and donkeys of our comparative sample. A method to identify the complete or sub-complete skeletons of hybrids is also proposed using combinations of characters observed on several bones. Finally, the defined osteological criteria are observed on a set of archaeological skeletons, coming from antique to modern sites, in order to demonstrate the applicability of our approach to archaeological remains. The use of our methodology on zooarchaeological samples could allow for a better assessment of the presence of donkeys and hybrids in archaeological sites, and thus, could help improve the knowledge of their respective importance and use by human past societies.

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.

International audience; This study presents new information on the diet of Tyto insularis in Dominica, Lesser Antilles. The study of 57 pellets and bulk material collected in 1999 (23) and 2000 (34) contained 517 prey items of relatively high diversity. These included squamates (2 species), rodents (2 species), bats (7 species), birds (17 identified taxa and several unidentified Passeriformes) and insects. Although our inferences stem a few owls, results suggested that the diet of T. insularis in Dominica is similar to the diet of T. glaucops in Hispaniola.

Although diploglossine osteoderms were mentioned in several systematic and paleontological studies, their morphological variability in single specimens or within species remains paradoxically undescribed. This is mainly the effect of the lack of attention paid hitherto to the morphological and histological characteristics of the tail osteoderms. This study demonstrated that a previously undescribed morphological variability exists in these osteoderms, especially in those resulting from tail regeneration. Indeed, regenerated osteoderms display a plesiomorphic anguid morphology that was previously considered to be absent in Diploglossinae. We also provide the first histological description of diploglossine osteoderms and new information about the obvious differences in growth dynamic between regenerated and nonregenerated osteoderms. These new data raise questions about the usefulness of diploglossine osteoderms in systematic, paleontological, and skeletochronological studies. Our study shows that the exact position on the trunk or on a regenerated or nonregenerated tail of each studied osteoderm must be known in order to avoid mistakes related to their important interspecies and intraspecies variability. J. Morphol. 276:1333–1344, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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.

DEPREDACION DEL MURCIELAGO PTERONOTUS DAVYI POR UNA PAREJA DE FALCO SPARVERIUS EN LAS ISLAS DE MARIE-GALANTE, INDIAS FRANCESAS OCCIDENTALES Reportamos la depredacion en una colonia de murcielagos de la especie Pteronotus davyi por parte de una pareja de Falco sparverius basados en observaciones en un periodo de 16 dias. F. sparverius cazo murcielagos a medida que dejaban su dormidero en la tarde noche, habiendo dos factores que influenciaron la eficiencia de caza, a saber: (1) las condiciones meteorologicas y (2) el tiempo de la formacion de la bandada de murcielagos. Aunque al menos un individuo de F. sparverius estuvo presente en 15 de las 16 tardes (93.8%), la tasa de exito de caza fue de 16.4% (6 murcielagos capturados en 37 intentos). Esta es la primera depredacion reportada de especies de murcielagos y la primera depredacion regular documentada de una colonia de murcielagos por parte de F. sparverius. Este comportamiento se interpreta como un ejemplo de la adaptacion trofica de F. sparverius en ambi...

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.

International audience; Small vertebrates and invertebrates are very abundant and generally are good palaeoecological indicators. It is now well recognized that most of small animals’ accumulations in archaeological and palaeontological sites result from predation. Many neotaphonomic studies have been established as references that allow to deduce more or less precisely the origin of a fossil assemblage. By analogy, the predator habitat is used to infer the past one. However, currently, we are still far from having an exhaustive knowledge of modern predators’ diet, ecological niches and bone modification patterns. Moreover, a browse of literature data shows that the establishment of reference is the result of isolated initiatives of palaeontologists, generally taxon specialized and not always published. By the fact, only 108 taphonomic studies for avian predators and 60 for small mammalian carnivores are yet available. Moreover, the reference collections are not always catalogued, deposited in museum or institutions, or even published. There is a need to make these data available to the community and homogenize practices to gain better taphonomic and palaeoecological informations from small animals’ accumulations resulting from predation. We present here some methodological proposals resulting from a workshop were we discussed about respective practices and actions. Then, taking as example pellets from a Moroccan accumulation of Tyto alba nest including various taxa (aves, rodents, shrews, herpetofauna, insects) we propose here a new taphonomic method of study for multi-taxa assemblages.

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.

International audience

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.

Although diploglossine osteoderms were mentioned in several systematic and paleontological studies, their morphological variability in single specimens or within species remains paradoxically undescribed. This is mainly the effect of the lack of attention paid hitherto to the morphological and histological characteristics of the tail osteoderms. This study demonstrated that a previously undescribed morphological variability exists in these osteoderms, especially in those resulting from tail regeneration. Indeed, regenerated osteoderms display a plesiomorphic anguid morphology that was previously considered to be absent in Diploglossinae. We also provide the first histological description of diploglossine osteoderms and new information about the obvious differences in growth dynamic between regenerated and nonregenerated osteoderms. These new data raise questions about the usefulness of diploglossine osteoderms in systematic, paleontological, and skeletochronological studies. Our study shows that the exact position on the trunk or on a regenerated or nonregenerated tail of each studied osteoderm must be known in order to avoid mistakes related to their important interspecies and intraspecies variability.

Reporting the diet of recently extinct or very rare taxa, only known by a few museum specimens, is challenging. This study uses X-ray microtomography, a non-destructive investigation method, to obtain the first data about feeding behaviours in the Montserrat galliwasp ( Diploglossus montisserrati ) by scanning one of the two specimens known to date. The scans revealed the occurrence of shell fragments of a freshwater snail ( Omalonyx matheroni ) in the digestive tract of the specimen. This data combined with morphological evidence shows the occurrence of a durophagous feeding habit and a possible tendency of association with freshwater environments. This information could be crucial to save this critically endangered lizard endemic on Montserrat island.

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...

International audience; The Cadet 3 rockshelter in Marie-Galante was firstly excavated in 2004. Its stratigraphy covers the latest Pleistocene and the second half of the Holocene. An archaeological level of the Late Ceramic Age was evidenced, as well as older levels, rich in bones and invertebrate remains, for which the question of a human contribution to the assemblage formation was raised.New excavations were carried out in 2018 and 2019 with three perspectives: 1) increase the vertebrate assemblage to describe the succession of Holocene vertebrate biocenoses on the island, 2) refine the deposit chronology and the stratigraphic resolution of the collected assemblages, and 3) collect evidence useful for discussing a human use of the site during the Preceramic period.These excavations revealed the funerary function of the site during the late phase of the Late Ceramic Age with the discovery of an Amerindian burial in the highest part of the deposit. They also demonstrate the Preceramic occupation of the shelter as early as 3,000 BC, by highlighting small combustion features and a tiny microlithic assemblage, both included in a layer documented by new radiocarbon datings. The preliminary study of both vertebrate and invertebrate faunal remains provides an opportunity to further discuss the question that remained outstanding from the previous study, namely the fraction of vertebrate and invertebrate assemblages due to Preceramic activities. This study also leads to the clarification of the species that are now extinct on the island and of the time of their extinction.; L’abri sous roche de Cadet 3, à Marie-Galante, a été sondé en 2004. Il livre une séquence documentant la partie finale du Pléistocène et la seconde moitié de l’Holocène. Un niveau archéologique d’âge céramique récent y a été reconnu, ainsi que des niveaux plus anciens, riches en ossements et restes d’invertébrés, pour lesquels se pose la question d’une contribution humaine à la constitution des dépôts.La fouille du site a été reprise en 2018 et 2019 avec trois perspectives : 1) augmenter l’assemblage vertébré pour décrire la succession des biocénoses vertébrées holocènes de l’île, 2) préciser la chronologie du dépôt et affiner la résolution stratigraphique des assemblages collectés et, 3) recueillir des éléments permettant de discuter la fréquentation humaine du site durant la période précéramique.Les nouveaux travaux font apparaître la fonction funéraire du site à l’âge céramique tardif via la mise au jour d’une sépulture amérindienne dans la partie la plus sommitale du dépôt. Ils démontrent également l’occupation précéramique de l’abri dès 3 000 BC, par la mise en évidence de petites structures de combustion et d’un petit assemblage microlithique, tous deux inclus dans une couche documentée par de nouvelles datations radiocarbone. L’étude préliminaire des restes fauniques vertébrés et invertébrés permet, enfin, de discuter plus avant la question restée en suspens à l’issu du précédent sondage, à savoir la fraction des assemblages vertébrés et invertébrés imputable à l’occupation précéramique. Ces mêmes résultats conduisent à préciser les espèces aujourd’hui disparues de l’île et l’époque de leur disparition.

International audience

International audience; The Cayo archaeological deposits documenting the contact period between European and Amerindian populations before the colonization of the Lesser Antilles are rare. Among the few sites dated to this period, the site of Roseau, excavated by Gérard Richard in the early 2000s, remains poorly investigated, especially from a stratigraphic and zooarchaeological point of view. In this study, we performed 20 new radiocarbon datings on the collagen content of rodent dentin along with new studies of the ceramic and faunal assemblages of the site. The results indicate that the archaeological assemblage is mainly associated to the Late Troumassoid, with some admixture of Early Troumassoid and Cayo elements represented in various proportions in the whole stratigraphy. Despite these elements, a chronological trend appears preserved in the stratigraphy allowing for a research of behavioral change in subsistence pattern through time. Vertebrate faunal data indicate that the two Troumassoid layers we recognized document different subsistence strategies. Indeed, the earliest inhabitants of the site were more focused on the exploitation of aquatic resources than the latest ones who more significantly exploited terrestrial fauna, especially rodents and iguanas. Carbon and oxygen stable isotope analyses performed on fossil tooth enamel of rodents (Antillomys rayi) suggest that Amerindians hunted them in both dry and wet environments. Paleontological approaches also led to the discovery of several now-extinct taxa that were part of the Amerindian diet. Our investigations point to a strong chronological variability of subsistence behaviors and improve our understanding of the accumulation history of the site.

National audience

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-C2D9057B39EB SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP Citation 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.

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-C2D9057B39EB SUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVP Citation 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.