The sedimentary record documenting the northward drift of India (Late Cretaceous to late Early Eocene) has recently provided important clues to the evolution, radiation, and dispersal of mammals. Here, we report a definitive Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) archaic ungulate (Kharmerungulatum vanvaleni genus et species nova) from the Deccan volcano-sedimentary sequences exposed near Kisalpuri vil...

E. COSYNS*, A. DELPORTE*, L. LENS† and M. HOFFMANN*‡ * Department of Biology, Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 – S8, Ghent, Belgium, † Department of Biology, Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University, Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium, and ‡ Institute of Nature Conservation, Section Landscape Ecology and Nature Management, Kliniekstraat 25, B-1070 Brussels, Be...

EDITORIAL article Front. Ecol. Evol., 27 April 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.675265

Many processes in wild populations are difficult to study. Genetic data, often non-invasively collected, may provide a solution to these difficulties and are increasingly used to study behavioral, demographic, ecological, and evolutionary processes. Moreover, the improved sensitivity of genetic methods now allows analyses of trace amounts of DNA left by animals in their environment (e.g., saliv...

Specific chewing lice from European bison and some selected species of common European ungulate mammals – cattle, horses, goats, roe deer, red deer, were examined. The faunistic research was on four species of chewing lice, including Bisonicola sedecimdecembrii from European bison (prevalence – 46%, mean intensity – 11 specimens), Bovicola bovis from cattle (29%, 5), Bovicola caprae from goat (...

In polygynous species, mate choice is an integrated part of sexual selection. However, whether mate choice occurs independently of the genetic relatedness among mating pairs has received little attention, although inbreeding may have fitness consequences. We studied whether genetic relatedness influenced females' choice of partner in a highly polygynous ungulate--the reindeer (Rangifer tarandus...

—Maternal defensive behavior against predators may appear risky but is common in many species. Herein we describe maternal defensive behavior of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) against Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) predatory attempts. We found that Golden Eagles attacked goats in 1.9% of sightings (n = 311 sightings of active Golden Eagles over 12 years) but were never successful. Mothe...