Genetic studies have shown that New York City white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) populations exhibit substantial genetic structure and high levels of allelic diversity and heterozygosity. These studies have also identified mutations and genes involved in the divergence of urban and rural P. leucopus populations. To investigate whether morphological change mirrors the genetic differentiation observed in New York City P. leucopus populations, we conducted univariate and multivariate analyses on 4 external and 14 skull variables to compare urban, suburban and rural P. leucopus populations from in and around New York City. The only significant morphological differences among the three populations were in upper and lower toothrow lengths, both of which had high loadings in our principal components analyses. In general, rural individuals were found to have longer upper and lower toothrows than urban ones. This difference is likely due to the relationship between food quality and size of dental occlusal surfaces. Generally, lowerquality food requires more chewing and its consumption is facilitated by larger occlusal surfaces. Our results suggest that urban mice consume a higher-quality diet or food that requires less chewing than their rural counterparts by making use of the availability of natural food sources in rich, vegetative understories characteristic of urban forest fragments. Our cluster analysis of the skull variables revealed that urban and suburban populations are more similar to one another than to the rural population.

Geckos are among the most diverse radiations of lizards; however, the lack of baseline natural history data on the reproductive biology for many species creates a challenge for predicting their long-term persistence. This study aims to fill a gap in our understanding of the reproductive biology of an enigmatic nocturnal gecko endemic to the islands of Curaçao and Bonaire: Gonatodes antillensis. Using radiographs of specimens from natural history collections, we conduct the first investigation of the potential role of endolymphatic sacs in the reproduction of the species. We find that females have larger endolymphatic sacs than males, with further quantification of endolymphatic sac sizes between females with or without visible eggs supporting the hypothesis that calcium stores are built up in the early reproductive phase and depleted during the development of the egg. Additionally, we combined data on endolymphatic sacs sizes with examinations of gravidity to expand the known reproductive interval of the species into fall and winter months and suggest the possibility of year-round reproduction. Along with providing baseline data, our findings raise a new conservation concern for the species. The spread of the invasive gecko Hemidactylus mabouia has resulted in a notable decline in the abundance of Gonatodes antillensis across its native range. This decline has been attributed to Hemidactylus mabouia acting as both a competitor and possible predator of Gonatodes antillensis. However, stress can inhibit calcium uptake in endolymphatic sacs, and these findings raise the possibility that Hemidactylus mabouia may also be indirectly affecting the reproductive success of this species.

A new species of underwing moth, Catocala bastropi sp. nov., is described from Texas and Louisiana, USA. Wing pattern, genitalic and cytochrome oxidase subunit I 5′ mitochondrial DNA characters separate C. bastropi from phenotypically similar and closely related species. The new species occurs in xeric uplands from western Louisiana to the Bastrop Lost Pines ecoregion in Bastrop County, Texas, north to Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri, USA. Also evaluated here is a distinctive wing pattern phenotype with forewings resembling C. andromedae but with yellow-banded hind wings.

A new species of underwing moth, Catocala becheri sp. nov., is described from Vietnam. Wing pattern and male genitalia separate C. becheri from the similar and closely related C. intacta Leech, 1889 and C. hoferi Ishizuka and Ohshima, 2003. The subspecific name C. intacta taiwana Sugi, 1965 is also subsumed as a syn. nov. under nominate intacta.

Turtles (Testudinata) are the clade of amniotes characterized by a complete turtle shell. New insights into the phylogeny of the group have revealed that a diverse assemblage of fossil turtles populate the stem lineage that lead to the turtle crown (Testudines). To aid communication, the terms Mesochelydia and Perichelydia are herein defined for two internested clades more inclusive than Testudines but less inclusive than Testudinata. The earliest representatives of Testudinata are found globally in Late Triassic (Norian) to Middle Jurassic deposits. In concert with the vicariant split of crown Testudines into three primary clades (i.e., Paracryptodira, Pan-Pleurodira, and Pan-Cryptodira), basal perichelydians diversify into three additional clades with overlapping geographic distributions: Helochelydridae in Euramerica, Sichuanchelyidae in Asia, and Meiolaniformes in southern Gondwana. Sedimentological, anatomical, and histological data universally hint at terrestrial habitat preference among the earliest stem turtles, but a more mixed, though unambiguously continental signal is apparent further towards the crown. A taxonomic review of Mesozoic stem turtles, excluding representatives of the Gondwanan Meiolaniformes, concludes that of 48 named taxa, 26 are nomina valida, 18 are nomina invalida, 4 are nomina dubia, 1 is a nomen nudum, and that 9 do not represent turtles.

Turtles of the clade Pan-Trionychidae have a rich fossil record in the Old World, ranging from the Early Cretaceous (Hauterivian) to the Holocene. The clade most probably originated in Asia during the Early Cretaceous but spread from there to the Americas and Europe by the Late Cretaceous, to India and Australia by the Eocene, and to Afro-Arabia by the Neogene. The presence of a single pan-cyclanorbine in the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Asia provides a minimum estimate for the age of the trionychid crown. As preserved, diversity was relatively high in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, but the subsequent, strong decline is likely a preservational bias, as extant faunas are relatively rich, especially throughout Asia. The range of trionychids contracted southward in Europe over the course of the Neogene, and the group is now locally extirpated. The group is now similarly absent from Arabia and Australia. A taxonomic review of the 180 named Old World taxa finds 42 nomina valida, 38 nomina invalida, 88 nomina dubia, 11 nomina nuda, and 1 nomen suppressum.

Museum collections are critical resources for examining comparative anatomy, developmental biology and life history hypotheses. Evaluation of skeletal collections provides insight into spatiotemporal, species, population and individual variation associated with environmental, social and epidemiological history. For endangered species such as primates, these collections provide data that are nearly impossible to replicate today.

In this first in a series of papers reviewing the great ape holdings of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University, we describe the Pan troglodytes skeletal collection. Although most of the collection is from Central Africa's Atlantic coast, it includes several Pan troglodytes subspecies. Multiple age and sex classes are present, with craniodental and postcranial elements available for each age class. All material was assessed for developmental, disease, trauma and socioecological indicators. Multiple indicators of metabolic stress are present and likely associated with nutritional and epidemiological factors. Instances of trauma and injury, ranging from antemortem to perimortem events, are described. For some individuals, these injuries are likely associated with intraspecific and intrasexual competition and violence, whereas others are suggestive of infanticide attempts. Other injuries associated with interspecific violence are of value for forensic examination.

Our evaluation of the Yale Peabody Museum collection provides a baseline for future research and testable hypotheses for alternate techniques, such as isotopic analyses of calculus and noninvasive genetic testing. Museum collections continue to provide new insights into taxonomic and individual variation and environmental cues, and ultimately allow for comparisons between modern and historical environmental and behavioral variables.