Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33296401›Full record

ArticlePloS one2020

First known trace fossil of a nesting iguana (Pleistocene), The Bahamas.

Anthony J Martin, Dorothy Stearns, Meredith J Whitten, Melissa M Hage, Michael Page, Arya Basu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Defaunation and species introductions alter long-term functional trait diversity in insular reptiles.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Anthony J MartinDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-6034-8338
Dorothy StearnsSchool of Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America.
Meredith J WhittenNorth Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, Morehead City, North Carolina, United States of America.
Melissa M HageDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Oxford College of Emory University, Oxford, Georgia, United States of America.
Michael PageDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
Arya BasuCenter for Digital Scholarship, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0003-4862-3701

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Most species of modern iguanas (Iguania, Iguanidae) dig burrows for dwelling and nesting, yet neither type of burrow has been interpreted as trace fossils in the geologic record. Here we describe and diagnose the first known fossil example of an iguana nesting burrow, preserved in the Grotto Beach Formation (Early Late Pleistocene, ~115 kya) on San Salvador Island, The Bahamas. The trace fossil, located directly below a protosol, is exposed in a vertical section of a cross-bedded oolitic eolianite. Abundant root traces, a probable land-crab burrow, and lack of ghost-crab burrows further indicate a vegetated inland dune as the paleoenvironmental setting. The trace fossil matches dimensions and overall forms of burrows made by modern iguanas, and internal structures indicate active backfilling consistent with modern iguana nesting burrows. The trace fossil is also located on an island with a modern native species of rock iguana (Cyclura riyeli riyeli), suggesting a presence of iguanas on San Salvador since the Late Pleistocene. This nesting burrow may provide a search image for more fossil iguana burrows in The Bahamas and other places with long-established iguana species and favorable geological conditions for preserving their burrows.

Indexed as

FossilsIguanasAnimalsBahamasGeologic SedimentsNesting Behavior

Identifiers

PMID33296401
PMCPMC7725343

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.