The Oligocene Fossil Caudates of Oregon: Classification, Analysis, and Insights on the Paleoecology and Conservation Biology of Pacific Newts

dc.contributor.advisorHopkins, Samanthaen_US
dc.contributor.authorJacisin, Johnen_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-09-29T17:52:25Z
dc.date.issued2014-09-29
dc.description.abstractNewts, abundant worldwide, have unclear pre-Pliocene evolution and phylogenetic relationships. North America has a sporadic pre-Pliocene newt record. Several undescribed fossils can address this lack of information. I built a character matrix of >70 morphological characters for extant newts and two fossil species, Taricha oligocenica and Taricha lindoei. Phylogenetic analyses were used to investigate the relationships of the fossil taxa within newts. The morphology of the fossil taxa was compared with extant North American newts to redescribe the fossil specimens. The past ecology and biogeography of North American fossil newts was compared with their current ecologies and distribution to better understand their evolution and dispersal and to predict possible changes for newts in the face of environmental change. Results indicate that T. oligocenica and T. lindoei are closely-related species nested within Taricha, but their relationships with extant species are unresolved; the genus itself is rooted at least 32 Ma.en_US
dc.description.embargo2015-09-29
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/18420
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregonen_US
dc.rightsAll Rights Reserved.en_US
dc.subjectLindoeien_US
dc.subjectNewten_US
dc.subjectOligocenicaen_US
dc.subjectOregonen_US
dc.subjectSalamandriden_US
dc.subjectTarichaen_US
dc.titleThe Oligocene Fossil Caudates of Oregon: Classification, Analysis, and Insights on the Paleoecology and Conservation Biology of Pacific Newtsen_US
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertationen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineDepartment of Geological Sciencesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Oregonen_US
thesis.degree.levelmastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameM.S.en_US

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