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Evolutionary Biology pp 397–465Cite as

Biochemical and Immunological Systematics of the Order Crocodilia

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Abstract

Attempts to assess the natural affinities and evolution of living crocodilians have been difficult and largely contradictory (Kalin, 1955; Steel, 1973; Dowling and Duellman, 1974). Morphological character analysis has been misleading due to the overall conservatism of these reptiles and to the tendencies toward parallelism and convergence of traits that has occurred during their evolution (Langston, 1973). These complications, together with the lack of critical fossils, have made paleontological interpretations extremely difficult (Sill, 1968; Hecht and Malone, 1972; Langston, 1973; Buffetaut, 1979). Because of such problems and the small number of living species, morphoclines are rare, further complicating the efforts of the comparative morphologist (Hecht and Malone, 1972).

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  1. Llewellyn D. Densmore III

    Present address: Division of Biological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA

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  1. Department of Biochemistry, Louisiana State University Medical Center, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70112, USA

    Llewellyn D. Densmore III

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  1. Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, New York, USA

    Max K. Hecht

  2. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

    Bruce Wallace

  3. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York, USA

    Ghillean T. Prance

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Densmore, L.D. (1983). Biochemical and Immunological Systematics of the Order Crocodilia. In: Hecht, M.K., Wallace, B., Prance, G.T. (eds) Evolutionary Biology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6971-8_8

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