Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Skutschas, Pavel P.
• Kolchanov, Veniamin V.
• Bulanov, Valeriy V.
• Sennikov, Andrey G.
• Boitsova, Elizaveta A.
• Golubev, Valeriy K.
• Syromyatnikova, Elena V.

Titel

Reconstruction of the life history traits in the giant salamander Aviturus exsecratus (Caudata, Cryptobranchidae) from the Paleocene of Mongolia using zygapophyseal skeletochronology

Ist Teil von

• Historical biology, 2020-05, Vol.32 (5), p.645-648

Ort / Verlag

Abingdon: Taylor & Francis

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Here we describe life history traits in the giant cryptobranchid salamander Aviturus exsecratus from the Paleocene of Mongolia using non-destructive approach for skeletochronological analysis based on the counting of cyclical growth rings on articular surfaces of zygapophyseal processes of vertebrae (= zygapophyseal skeletochronology). We found that Aviturus exsecratus had a similar time of the attainment of sexual maturity and decreasing of juvenile growth (5-8 years) and estimated body size at maturity (50-60% of the maximum size) as modern cryptobranchids. Maximum longevity estimated for A. exsecratus is about 25 years. A. exsecratus had a developmental trajectory similar to that of modern cryptobranchids and is not characterized by extended ontogeny. PIN: Paleontological Institute; Russian Academy of Sciences; Moscow; Russia.