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Establishing body mass from skeletal remains of an animal is of importance to researchers in the fields of ecology, palaeontology and archaeozoology. Establishing such standards requires that different body parts follow allometric growth curves, and that one can access a sufficiently large sample of individuals of known size and weight for the target species. Here, we have used data collected from modern living and dead leopard tortoises Stigmochelys pardalis (Bell, 1928), to reconstruct body size and mass from measurements taken on individual postcranial bones. The results show high correlations in both mass and size for various dimensions taken on most skeletal elements, enabling reconstruction of these parameters from individual skeletal measurements. To highlight the application of such data to fossil fauna, allometric equations derived from regression analyses of the modern animals were applied to a sample of Later Stone Age (ca. 10,000 BP to present) leopard tortoise remains from Wonderwerk Cave located in the central interior of South Africa. Results for this archaeological sample show significant changes in size and body mass over time. These best correlate with shifts in paleoenvironmental conditions rather than with anthropogenic pressures that have commonly been implicated in size reduction or biased sex ratios in tortoise populations.

The leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis) is among the most ubiquitously distributed chelonian species in Africa. As with other chelonians, however, the species’ slow growth rate, coupled with l...

The efficacy, safety, physiologic effects, and reversibility of butorphanol-medetomidine-midazolam (BMM) immobilization were evaluated in black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) and compared between captive and wild animals. Nine captive and 14 wild black-footed cats were hand injected into an accessible hind limb muscle group with the BMM combination. The captive cats (captive group) received a lower dose of the combination (butorphanol, 0.25 ± 0.03 mg/kg; medetomidine, 0.06 ± 0.01 mg/kg; midazolam, 0.13 ± 0.02 mg/kg), whereas the wild cats received a higher dose (butorphanol, 0.53 ± 0.11 mg/kg, medetomidine, 0.13 ± 0.03 mg/kg, midazolam, 0.27 ± 0.05 mg/kg). Two capture methods were required to restrain the wild cats; previously collared cats were tracked and excavated out of their burrows during daylight hours (excavated group), whereas uncollared cats were randomly located using spotlights and pursued by a vehicle at night (pursued group). Inductions were rapid and no spontaneous arousals occurred. Mean arterial blood pressure in all cats was within normal limits for domestic cats. Initial rectal temperatures varied greatly among the groups, but decreased in all groups as the immobilization progressed. In the pursued animals, heart rates and respiratory rates were initially elevated. All cats had moderate hypoxemia, hypocapnia, and metabolic acidosis. Intramuscular administration of naltrexone, atipamezole, and flumazenil resulted in rapid, uncomplicated recoveries. BMM is thus a safe, effective immobilizing drug combination for both captive and wild black-footed cats, but higher doses are required in wild animals. The capture methods exerted a greater influence on the physiology of the immobilized animals than did the doses of the drugs used. Although this drug combination can be used safely to immobilize black-footed cats, supplemental oxygen should always be available for use, especially in pursued animals due to hypoxia.

The efficacy, safety, physiologic effects, and reversibility of butorphanol-medetomidine-midazolam (BMM) immobilization were evaluated in black-footed cats (

The black-footed cat (Felis nigripes) is sympatric with several species of larger carnivores, although it is not known how this species partitions resources with potential competitors. From 2006 to 2008, we captured, radio-collared, and monitored 3 adult black-footed cats on Benfontein Game Farm in South Africa. We investigated their spatial, habitat, temporal, and dietary overlap with Cape foxes (Vulpes chama), bat-eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis), and black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas) that were monitored during a concurrent study. Annual home range sizes of black-footed cats were 7.1 km2 for the adult female, and 15.6 and 21.3 km2 for the two adult males. Home ranges overlapped completely with the canid species, whereas core areas overlapped the most with jackals (79%), compared to Cape foxes (28%) and bat-eared foxes (21%). Within home ranges, black-footed cats selected habitats in proportion to availability, similar to Cape foxes, but in contrast to jackals and bat-eared foxes. Black-footed cats were primarily nocturnal, and their activity patterns significantly differed from jackals (P < 0.001), marginally differed from bat-eared foxes (P = 0.082), but did not differ from Cape foxes (P = 0.717). Dietary overlap of black-footed cats was high with Cape foxes (R0 = 0.83), compared to jackals (R0 = 0.42) and bat-eared foxes (R0 = 0.12). Two black-footed cats were killed by predation, at least one of which appeared to be by jackals. We conclude that black-footed cats coexisted with jackals by using burrows during the day, and by partitioning activity and diets, but not space. In contrast, black-footed cats appeared to coexist with Cape foxes by partitioning space, but not habitats, activity, or diets. Black-footed cats exhibited relatively low amounts of overlap with bat-eared foxes across resources. Our results show that black-footed cats partitioned resources differently among the sympatric canids, which ultimately facilitated coexistence with these larger carnivores.

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Phylogenetic relationships among eight of nine Myrmecocichla chat species were inferred from DNA data. Bayesian posterior probabilities and maximum-likelihood bootstrap percentages strongly supported most branches in the phylogeny. Based on these results, Myrmecocichla, as currently defined, is not monophyletic. The results indicated that Myrmecocichla albifrons is part of a Cercomela + Oenanthe clade, whereas Oenanthe monticola is shown to be a Myrmecocichla. In addition, Myrmecocichla arnotti is shown to be polyphyletic. Phylogenetic analyses support three Southern versus Eastern or Northern speciation events. The dating of these speciation events suggests that they correspond to periods when the Afrotropical forests were expanded to coastal Kenya, 3‐5 Mya. This forest expansion thus served as a vicariant driver of speciation in the genus, a result consistent with speciation patterns in other arid-adapted African bird genera. Our haplotype analysis within one of the most widespread and habitat diverse Myrmecocichla species (formicivora, a southern African endemic) showed little genetic variation. Along with speciation patterns shown for Myrmecocichla and other avian genera, this lack of standing variation would appear to support large, inter-regional drivers of speciation as having the largest effect on the diversification of arid-adapted Africa bird species, which is in stark contrast to other vertebrate lineages whose genetic structure often shows strong intra-regional effects. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 106, 180‐190.