Field Museum of Natural History

Resolving the mystery of Cyanerpes (Thraupidae) ‘black eggs’, with notes on the breeding and exaggerated displays of Hypocnemoides antbirds (Thamnophilidae)

Between the end of the nineteenth and the middle of the twentieth centuries intermittent reports of ‘black eggs’ belonging to one or more species of Passeriformes in South America were usually attributed to small-bodied tanagers of the genera Cyanerpes and Chlorophanes. Doubts co...

A Tortoise Shell from a Colonial-Era Shipwreck in Cuba Sheds Light on the Translocation of Chelonoidis Carbonarius

Human-mediated species translocations have played a major role in reshaping Caribbean diversity, yet the timing and pathways of many Indigenous and early European introductions remain poorly documented. Here we report a shell of the red-footed tortoise, Chelonoidis carbonarius, r...

Field sampling guidelines for sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) research in lacustrine and coastal systems: from field collection to laboratory subsampling

Abstract Sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) has emerged as a powerful proxy for reconstructing past biodiversity and environmental change in lacustrine and coastal systems, yet standardized field guidance remains limited, particularly for researchers working in tropical and coasta...

Jeanerpeton mazonensis , gen. et sp. nov.: a new, exceptionally preserved, late Carboniferous amphibamiform from the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte, Illinois

The Mazon Creek fossil assemblage has provided the earliest fossil records of several important early tetrapod lineages, including the oldest dissorophoid temnospondyl, Amphibamus grandiceps. Recent systematic efforts have unveiled exceptional diversity of recumbirostran tetrapod...

Water relations and gas exchange across developmental stages in the páramo rosette Paepalanthus alpinus Körn. (Eriocaulaceae) in the tropical high Andes

Alpine environments impose strong and rapidly fluctuating constraints on plant function, yet ontogenetic modulation of physiological strategies in tropical alpine rosettes remains poorly understood. We examined stage-specific variations in leaf water potential and gas exchange of...

Equidistant sets for additive kernels with finitely many negative squares

We isolate a linear-algebraic principle underlying several recent bounds for equilateral sets and equidistant codes. Let κ be a symmetric kernel on a set S that can be written as a squared Hilbert distance minus a squared distance into a space of dimension at most q (equivalently...

Breaking the habit. A commentary on “Fossil flowers of Ayenia (Malvaceae) preserved in amber: evidence for lianas in Miocene rainforest of Southeast China”

Caroline Siegert; Breaking the habit. A commentary on “Fossil flowers of Ayenia (Malvaceae) preserved in amber: evidence for lianas in Miocene rainforest o

Assessing genetic population structure of permit (Trachinotus falcatus) between South Florida and Belize: movement towards inferring population health

Abstract Understanding population structure and connectivity is essential for effective fisheries management, particularly for wide-ranging marine species like permit ( Trachinotus falcatus ). We investigated the genetic structure and diversity of permit at ecologically important...

History of divergence and gene flow shaping geographic variation in Andean warblers (Myioborus).

Studying how genetic variation is structured across space, and how it relates to divergence in phenotypic traits relevant to reproductive isolation, is important for our understanding of the speciation process. We used ddRAD-seq data to examine genetic variation across the distri...

Towards a unified publicly accessible database of avian type specimens

Type specimens represent the crucial physical reference for any scientific bird name, but type material is scattered widely across the globe, and there is still no one comprehensive source documenting the presence, status and condition of all avian type specimens, as well as asso...

Macroevolutionary dynamics of Androsace s.l . (Primulaceae) across the Northern Hemisphere

Abstract Mountain regions of the Northern Hemisphere harbor exceptional biodiversity, yet the processes underlying species diversification and migration among these regions remain poorly understood. This study investigates the macroevolutionary dynamics of Androsace s.l ., a genu...

The secret of the saws: historical DNA analysis reveals global genetic diversity loss in a highly threatened species

Abstract Genetic diversity is critical to long-term survival of species but can be eroded by population declines driven by human pressures. Temporal genetic monitoring of threatened species can reveal changes in genetic diversity over time, providing key data for conservation. Sp...