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Irregularly calcified eggs and eggshells of Caiman latirostris (Alligatoridae: Crocodylia)

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Abstract

We describe irregularly calcified egg and eggshell morphologies for the first time in nests of the broad-snouted caiman, Caiman latirostris. Research is based on detailed descriptions of 270 eggs from a total sample of 46,800 collected between 2005 and 2011 in Santa Fe Province, Argentina, and encompasses animals from both natural habitats and held in captivity. We discuss possible reasons for the occurrence of eggs with different mineralisation patterns in our extensive C. latirostris field sample and its conservation significance; the chemistry of egg laying in amniotes is sensitive to environmental contamination which, in turn, has biological implications. Based on our egg sample, we identify two caiman eggshell abnormalities: (1) regularly calcified eggs with either calcitic nodules or superficial wrinkles at one egg end and (2) irregularly calcified eggs with structural gaps that weaken the shell. Some recently laid clutches we examined included eggs with most of the shell broken and detached from the flexible membrane. Most type 1 regularly calcified eggs lost their initial calcified nodules during incubation, suggesting that these deposits do not affect embryo survival rates. In contrast, irregularly calcified caiman eggs have a mean hatching success rate of 8.9 % (range 0–38 %) across our sample compared to a mean normal success of 75 %. Most irregularly calcified caiman eggs probably die because of infections caused by fungi and bacteria in the organic nest material, although another possible explanation that merits further investigation could be an increase in permeability, leading to embryo dehydration.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Proyecto Yacaré, Yacarés Santafesinos (Gobierno de la Provincia de Santa Fe/MUPCN) and Programa de Apoyo de Investigación para Estudiantes (CSG/SSC/IUCN) (to M. Simoncini). We thank Frankie Jackson, Leonardo Salgado, Randall Nydam and Jesus Rivas for their comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript and four anonymous reviewers and our editor Sven Thatje for their patience and constructive critiques. Carlos Cotaro (Centro Atomico Bariloche) Miguel Moreno-Azanza and Cristina Gallego (Universidad de Zaragoza) kindly assisted with SEM images, while Nora Ibargüenegoytía and Mauro Cocco connected us with CNEA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente (INIBIOMA–CONICET), Quintral 1250, 8300, San Carlos de Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina

    Mariela Soledad Fernández

  2. CIC y TTP, CONICET, Dr. Materi y España, 3105, Diamante, Entre Ríos, Argentina

    Melina Soledad Simoncini

  3. Proyecto Yacaré, Laboratorio de Zoología Aplicada, Anexo Vertebrados (FHUC—UNL/MASPyMA), A. del Valle 8700, 3000, Santa Fe, Argentina

    Melina Soledad Simoncini

  4. Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 3ZH, UK

    Gareth Dyke

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  1. Mariela Soledad Fernández
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  2. Melina Soledad Simoncini
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  3. Gareth Dyke
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Correspondence to Gareth Dyke.

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Communicated by: Sven Thatje

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Fernández, M.S., Simoncini, M.S. & Dyke, G. Irregularly calcified eggs and eggshells of Caiman latirostris (Alligatoridae: Crocodylia). Naturwissenschaften 100, 451–457 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-013-1044-3

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