Pré-Publication, Document De Travail Année : 2024

Mannikou Matinik History of the Opossum “Manicou Caraibarum” (Plumier, 1690) Didelphis marsupialis insularis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Résumé

The history of the Opossums, Manicous of the Eastern Caribbean, Didelphis marsupialis insularis (Linnaeus, 1758), distributed from the latitude of Grenada to that of Dominica, reconstructed on the basis of data from paleobiology and paleogeology of the biodiversity of the Caribbean, contributes to a questioning of the vision hitherto accepted underestimating tectonic geological history, presenting an eastern Caribbean which would be made up of an archipelago of “oceanic islands which would have emerged one after the other due to volcanic activities” , for which the very existence of terrestrial fauna (insects, molluscs, vertebrates: mammals, reptiles and amphibians, in particular) would come from elsewhere, in a mode of peripatric speciation; thus in a certain confusion and therefore scientific uncertainty, the current dominant discourse claims: - that new species considered as such are by peripatric speciation following dubious scenarios of multiple “rafting”, that is to say dispersals of these animal species from the shores of northern South America crossing expanses of sea while drifting on rafts of plants to be imagined running aground randomly on “oceanic islands”. - and that concerning species considered “non-endemic”, these are said to be “probably introduced” by the first peoples of the Caribbean. But the rate of endemism of the central islands of the eastern Caribbean, and particularly of Martinique, and the latest advances and research results in paleogeology tend to invalidate such scenarios of populations of these central islands of Saint Lucia, Martinique and Dominica by rafting successions. Many flora and fauna species endemic to the central islands of the Eastern Caribbean have not crossed the sea, nor even crossed the marine expanses by air, nor yet been transported and introduced by the first peoples, to find themselves isolated on these he is ; these species exist following a process of allopatric speciation and therefore found themselves progressively isolated from an average of 35 millions years ago, due to a detachment of a northern part of the southern continental crust. American, which will tectonically drift forming an isthmus then a large island, which will slide along the subduction zone of the Caribbean arc, until a collision at the latitude of the Dominica channel, before disintegrating and 'be overwhelmed. Fundamental research for scientific knowledge in paleogeology and paleobiology is crucial for the management and conservation of biodiversity and therefore the fight against invasive exotic species in the Caribbean islands. We propose a reconstructed history of the Manicou Opossum Didelphis marsupialis insularis, determined by the geological history of this geographical region; history consistent with phylogenetic data and current distributions of the Didelphis taxon. This historical scenario being valid for a certain number of mammals; historical scenario therefore leading to a natural distribution of these mammals which were present on the islands of the eastern Caribbean from Grenada to Dominica, and no further north.

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hal-04661579 , version 1 (24-07-2024)

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  • HAL Id : hal-04661579 , version 1

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Marcel Bourgade. Mannikou Matinik History of the Opossum “Manicou Caraibarum” (Plumier, 1690) Didelphis marsupialis insularis (Linnaeus, 1758). 2024. ⟨hal-04661579⟩
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