Kechi Dong, Longming Dong, Xincheng Cai, Rui Dong, Guohui Ye, Ruichang Jia, Bin Chu, Limin Hua, Jianwei Zhou, Yujie Niu
{"title":"Seismic Signaling Associated With Breeding-Season Spatial Behavior in the Subterranean Plateau Zokor.","authors":"Kechi Dong, Longming Dong, Xincheng Cai, Rui Dong, Guohui Ye, Ruichang Jia, Bin Chu, Limin Hua, Jianwei Zhou, Yujie Niu","doi":"10.1111/1749-4877.70223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.70223","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi) is a solitary subterranean rodent endemic to the Tibetan Plateau, but breeding-season spatial behavior and the possible role of seismic signaling remain poorly understood. Here, we integrated radio-tracking, field seismic recordings, artificial seismic disturbance based on the temporal structure of breeding-season recordings, reproductive assessment, and histological analyses to examine spatial behavior, seismic-recording patterns, and reproductive outcomes. Male home ranges were larger during the breeding season than the non-breeding period, although seasonal samples comprised different individuals, and seismic-signal parameters showed descriptive variation among male- and female-associated recordings and between recording periods. Pregnancy prevalence was 30% (3/10) in the interference plot and 80% (8/10) in the control plot; because each experimental condition was represented by one plot, this contrast does not establish a general artificial seismic disturbance effect. Histological sections revealed corpuscle-like structures in the nasal pad and limb skin morphologically compatible with putative Meissner-like corpuscles, but their receptor identity and sensory function remain to be tested. Collectively, these observations are consistent with the hypothesis that seismic signaling may contribute to mating-associated spatial coordination, while highlighting the need for replicated behavioral, sensory, and controlled disturbance experiments.</p>","PeriodicalId":13654,"journal":{"name":"Integrative zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149193359","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Successful 22-Hour Rescue and Release of a 19.5 M Beached Sperm Whale.","authors":"Zitong Zhou, Yu Pan, Zhi Yang, Fangqiao Wang, Tianshi Wei, Zhitao Wang","doi":"10.1111/1749-4877.70227","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.70227","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Whales, dolphins, and porpoises are important flagship species and play a vital role in maintaining healthy aquatic ecosystems. However, stranded cetaceans are often doomed if left unattended. Furthermore, successful rescues of large cetaceans documented by comprehensive operational records remain exceptionally scarce worldwide. On 19 April 2022, a 19.5-meter-long sperm whale was stranded on a mudflat along the coast of Xiangshan County, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China. A dramatic 22-hour rescue operation ultimately saved the whale and enabled it to return to the sea. Beyond the whale's individual resilience and its putative emergency energy-conserving survival strategy, the rescue effort-characterized by relentless dedication, perseverance, and the involvement of 12 rescue and law-enforcement vessels and more than 200 rescuers-also contributed significantly to the successful outcome. This rescue raises awareness of the threat's marine mammals face, including pollution, climate change, and habitat disruption. It sends a powerful message: marine conservation is achievable when there is sufficient will to act, and rescuing large cetaceans that become stranded is entirely feasible.</p>","PeriodicalId":13654,"journal":{"name":"Integrative zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149193343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Maya Rocha-Ortega, Carezza Botto-Mahan, Gemma Rojo, Alex Córdoba-Aguilar
{"title":"Predicting Mammal Species Suitable for Chagas Disease Spread Using a Machine-Learning Framework.","authors":"Maya Rocha-Ortega, Carezza Botto-Mahan, Gemma Rojo, Alex Córdoba-Aguilar","doi":"10.1111/1749-4877.70216","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.70216","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding which mammalian species participate in the sylvatic cycle of Trypanosoma cruzi is vital for clarifying the ecological processes that maintain Chagas disease transmission. Although more than 100 mammal species have been reported as naturally infected, the actual diversity of hosts is much broader. In this study, we employed a trait-based, machine-learning framework to evaluate mammals associated with natural infection. Data concerning life-history traits, morphological characteristics, environmental factors, trophic ecology, habitat use, biogeographic distributions, and spatial overlap with triatomine vectors were compiled to model compatibility with T. cruzi infection using extreme gradient-boosted regression. Our analysis indicates that triatomines overlap with 573 mammal species. While triatomines are considered generalists, they also utilize mammal species with specific traits, such as den-dwelling behavior, medium to large body size, and tolerance to habitat disturbance. This approach offers a structured foundation for identifying potential host species and prioritizing field research in regions that are insufficiently studied. By integrating ecological traits with geographic and behavioral data, the model enhances the understanding of host-parasite interactions in sylvatic Chagas disease and supports targeted surveillance of predicted mammalian hosts.</p>","PeriodicalId":13654,"journal":{"name":"Integrative zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149193328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Climate Change and Dispersal Limitation Reshape Future Habitat Accessibility for Lady Amherst's Pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae) in China.","authors":"Lingsen Cao, Yiming Wu, Yiqiang Fu, Wenbo Liao","doi":"10.1111/1749-4877.70226","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.70226","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Montane forest birds are highly vulnerable to climate warming because their habitats are often fragmented, topographically constrained, and difficult to track through dispersal. For Lady Amherst's Pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae), future climate risks remain poorly understood, especially the mismatch between habitat suitability and habitat accessibility. We combined occurrence records across China with multisource environmental variables using ensemble species distribution modeling, optimal-parameter geographical detector analysis, and dispersal simulations. The ensemble model showed good predictive performance, yielding an AUC of 0.935 and a TSS of 0.748. Habitat suitability was mainly associated with annual potential evapotranspiration, precipitation of the driest month, temperature seasonality, precipitation seasonality, and their interactions. Current highly suitable habitats were concentrated around the Hengduan Mountains and adjacent plateau transition zones, covering 99 623.42 km<sup>2</sup>, or 3.9% of the study area. Total suitable habitat declined under most future scenarios, except for the late century under the highest-emission scenario, where expansion mainly involved low- and medium-suitability habitats. Centroids of predicted suitable areas shifted westward by 160-371 km, while mean elevation increased from 2075 to 2283-3109 m. Dispersal simulations indicated that many newly suitable habitats may remain inaccessible. These findings support prioritizing stable montane refugia, maintaining elevational and landscape connectivity, and field validation of projected expansion areas and areas identified as dispersal limited.</p>","PeriodicalId":13654,"journal":{"name":"Integrative zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149180995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Guadalupe García-Arguello, Carlos Daniel Pinacho-Pinacho, Miguel Rubio-Godoy
{"title":"Uncoupled Histories in the Largest Continental Arc of North America: Goodeid Fishes and Their Gyrodactylid Parasites Influenced Differently by the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt.","authors":"Guadalupe García-Arguello, Carlos Daniel Pinacho-Pinacho, Miguel Rubio-Godoy","doi":"10.1111/1749-4877.70192","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.70192","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We characterized monopisthocotylans infecting endemic goodeid fishes south of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB), a major North American barrier separating the Nearctic and Neotropical biogeographic provinces. Considering that TMVB emergence powerfully influenced goodeid diversification and distribution, we assessed whether it also affected Gyrodactylus lineages associated with these Nearctic hosts. Previously, six Gyrodactylus spp. were known to infect goodeids (Goodea atripinnis, Giradinichthys multiradiatus) within and north of the TMVB; we recorded seven gyrodactylids (three known, four undescribed species) infecting Ilyodon and Allotoca spp. south of the TMVB (S-TMVB). Using phylogenetic (internal transcribed spacer, cytochrome oxidase subunit II) and species delimitation (Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning and Multispecies Coalescent [MSC] models) analyses, we tested three hypotheses: (1) ancient parasite lineages whose association with goodeids probably predates TMVB emergence occur on both sides of this barrier; (2) following TMVB emergence, some nearctic gyrodactylids will only be found in S-TMVB; (3) gyrodactylids infecting goodeids in S-TMVB switched hosts from other Cyprinodontiformes. Analyses showed that (1) Gyrodactylus tomahuac occurs on both sides of the TMVB; (2) no nearctic parasites were found in S-TMVB, confirming the TMVB is a biogeographical barrier; (3) four undescribed gyrodactylids infecting goodeids S-TMVB are morphologically and phylogenetically closely related to parasites infecting profundulid fishes, suggesting host switches from these neotropical hosts whose northern distribution limit is the TMVB. Our data reveal a complex and profound evolutionary history of Gyrodactylus species parasitizing goodeids, uncoupled from that of their hosts. Phylogenetic analyses and MSC models suggest three main parasite groups are associated with goodeid fishes and that gyrodactylids have historically switched hosts between Cyprinodontiformes (Goodeidae, Profundulidae, and Poeciliidae).</p>","PeriodicalId":13654,"journal":{"name":"Integrative zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149181103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yongbo Li, Yang Yang, Zeyu Li, Jiao Yang, Hanzheng Yao, Yu Huan, Boyi Zhang, Junjie Mu, Xi Yang, Colin A Chapman, Marcel Holyoak, Baoguo Li, Rong Hou
{"title":"Unity Brings Mutual Benefits: The Huddling Strategies of Temperate-Living Primates in Cold Environments.","authors":"Yongbo Li, Yang Yang, Zeyu Li, Jiao Yang, Hanzheng Yao, Yu Huan, Boyi Zhang, Junjie Mu, Xi Yang, Colin A Chapman, Marcel Holyoak, Baoguo Li, Rong Hou","doi":"10.1111/1749-4877.70220","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.70220","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Behavioral thermoregulation is a key adaptive tactic shaped by natural selection and species evolution, enabling animals to cope with variable thermal environments, particularly facing cold challenges. Quantifying the thermal and energetic consequences of behavior in the wild provides key insights into how animals cope with environmental challenges. Our study examines huddling, a typical social thermoregulatory behavior in the golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana), the northernmost distributed colobine primate, using behavioral observations and infrared thermography to assess its energetic benefits and social function. As environmental temperatures decrease, both the frequency and duration of huddling behaviors significantly increase. Notably, when temperatures fall below 5°C, the occurrence of larger huddles (comprising more than five individuals) increases, with a marked preference for the ground as the primary site for these aggregations. Individuals exhibit partner preferences in huddling. Furthermore, the monkeys in higher-ranking social units exhibited higher huddling frequency and longer durations, suggesting a link between social rank and huddling behavior. Thermal imaging results revealed 3.7°C escalation in average body surface temperature among huddling individuals compared to solitary counterparts, the principal contact areas (chest and abdomen), in particular, increased by 6.7°C. We calculated thermal dissipation in cold environments, demonstrating that huddling individuals experienced substantially reduced heat loss compared to solitary states: peripheral individuals reduced heat loss by 40.7%, while central individuals (primarily females and juveniles) achieved a dramatic 72.6% reduction. This study examines the social and ecological factors driving huddling behavior and quantifies its thermal benefits, advancing our understanding of thermoregulatory strategies in gregarious mammals facing cold environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":13654,"journal":{"name":"Integrative zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149181285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Federica Perazzo, Giovannantonio Pilo, Maria Grazia Cappai
{"title":"Feeding Practices, Body Condition, and Estimated Energy Provision in Rescued Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta) at a Mediterranean Rehabilitation Center: A Three-Year Retrospective Study.","authors":"Federica Perazzo, Giovannantonio Pilo, Maria Grazia Cappai","doi":"10.1111/1749-4877.70224","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.70224","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The loggerhead sea turtle [Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758)] is the most frequently stranded marine turtle in the Mediterranean and faces substantial anthropogenic threats. No species-specific nutritional guidelines currently exist for its rehabilitation. This retrospective study analyzed feeding practices, feed acceptance, and body weight change in 20 C. caretta admitted to a Mediterranean rescue center between 2020 and 2023. Estimated target gross energy provision, modeled from body-weight percentages, ranged from 11.1 to 22.2 kcal/kg body weight/day under a squid-only regimen and from 18.1 to 36.2 kcal/kg body weight/day under a mixed regimen, with corresponding target dry matter provision of 2.7-5.4 and 3.1-6.2 g/kg body weight/day. Energy actually consumed, derived from recorded daily rations, fell within the modeled target range for both regimens, the daily ration corresponding to a median of 2.01% of body weight. Dietary variety was positively associated with weight change, but this did not persist after correction for multiple comparisons and is reported as hypothesis generating. Overall, 90% of animals were released, a descriptive outcome that the retrospective design does not allow to be attributed to feeding management. Thawed squid (Loligo vulgaris) was the most frequently offered and the most readily accepted feed item. These findings offer a preliminary, hypothesis-generating framework for future prospective nutritional studies of this species in Mediterranean rehabilitation settings.</p>","PeriodicalId":13654,"journal":{"name":"Integrative zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149164633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Life Under the Snow: Camera Trap Videos Capture Year-Round Lemming Activity and Behavior.","authors":"Mathilde Poirier, Davood Kalhor, Anastasiia Pusenkova, Gilles Gauthier, Xavier Maldague, Tigran Galstian","doi":"10.1111/1749-4877.70209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.70209","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Studying Arctic animals in winter is challenging, particularly for cryptic species like lemmings, which live within the snowpack for protection from the cold. Winter reproduction is thought to be a crucial component of their cyclic fluctuations, yet little is known about their winter behavior and demography. Camera traps are widely used to study animal ecology, but none are specifically designed for animal life beneath the snow under harsh conditions. We evaluated the reliability of camera traps specifically designed to study the activity and behavior of lemmings under the snow in the High Arctic. Between 2018 and 2024, we deployed 18 camera traps on Bylot Island, Nunavut, to study the year-round activity of brown and collared lemmings. We collected a total of 5884 lemming videos and 15 ermine videos. The frequency of lemming observations in our camera traps was strongly related to lemming abundances estimated with conventional field methods (live-trapping and winter nest counts), highlighting the suitability of camera traps for evaluating lemming relative abundance. Additionally, videos successfully recorded lemming behavior. Both species spent more time exploring and less time resting during winter compared to summer, possibly to search for suitable refuge and food to meet their energetic demands. We also documented several events of reproductive behavior inside the camera traps, and the observation of juveniles provided information on the timing of winter reproduction. Our camera traps offer a valuable tool for improving our understanding of the mechanisms underlying lemming demographic fluctuations and provide new insights into the broader dynamics of tundra ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":13654,"journal":{"name":"Integrative zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149166161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Lightweight Deep Neural Network for Individual Leopard Identification: Supporting Movement Ecology in the Taihang Mountains of Henan.","authors":"Jing He, Guoqing Shangguan, Yu Li, Fuming Ma, Zhishu Xiao, Mingliang Fan, Zhuo Chen, Junzhan Ren, Yingfeng Ren, Yunlong Wang, Tianping Wang, Hua Yang, Hualei Shen, Xiaohong Chen","doi":"10.1111/1749-4877.70210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.70210","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Individual identification and tracking of leopards (Panthera pardus) are critical for conserving wild populations and understanding their behavioral ecology. Current methods primarily rely on manual coat pattern matching, which is inefficient for large datasets and makes it difficult to identify subadults undergoing growth-related pattern changes. Moreover, individual-based studies on the movement ecology of wild North China leopards (Panthera pardus japonensis) remain scarce. To address these challenges, we propose LeoNet, a lightweight hybrid deep learning model integrating convolutional neural networks and multilayer perceptrons for individual leopard identification. Using 42 868 images collected from 142 captive and wild felids, LeoNet outperformed most of the 11 models in adult identification (best accuracy, 97.42%) and performed robustly in cub identification (95.24%) and the stranger test (96.28%). By applying LeoNet to camera trap data from the Taihang Mountains in Henan, we identified 41 wild individuals, reconstructed their movement trajectories, estimated individual home ranges (1.63-29.09 km<sup>2</sup>), and analyzed inter-individual social relationships based on behavior over the 2017-2024 monitoring period. Significant sex-based differences in social behavior were detected, with females recorded in a higher proportion of co-appearance events in Jiyuan (p < 0.01) and males in Jiaozuo (p < 0.05). These findings revealed three spatially separated groups, extensive home range overlap, and pronounced habitat fragmentation associated with anthropogenic infrastructure. This study introduces a computationally efficient model and an integrated framework for long-term monitoring and ecological analysis of solitary carnivores, providing individual-level records and ecological insights for evidence-based conservation of the endangered North China leopard.</p>","PeriodicalId":13654,"journal":{"name":"Integrative zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149136181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly of Strauchbufo raddei and Multi-Omic Insights Into Drought Adaptation.","authors":"Fanrui Chen, Rui Su, Chengqi Wang, Shengnan Wang, Jinjing Wang, Yuquan Miao, Wenya Zhang, Wei Zhao","doi":"10.1111/1749-4877.70214","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.70214","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding how amphibians adapt to terrestrial and arid environments is important for elucidating vertebrate terrestrialization. In this study, we present the first chromosome-level, high-quality genome assembly of Strauchbufo raddei, constructed using PacBio HiFi long-read sequencing and Hi-C scaffolding. The assembled genome is 4.47 Gb in size, with a scaffold N50 of 575 Mb and 94.5% BUSCO completeness, and 99.8% of sequences anchored to 11 chromosomes, providing a valuable genomic resource for amphibian evolutionary and ecological studies. Comparative genomic analyses identified 163 significantly expanded gene families in the S. raddei lineage, including transposable-element-associated and immune-related gene families. These expansions suggest lineage-specific genomic contributions to immune and barrier-associated adaptations in xeric environments. To further explore these adaptations, we integrated comparative genomics with transcriptomic data and physiological assays across Xenopus tropicalis, Bufo gargarizans, and S. raddei. Notably, although S. raddei lacks the dermal calcified layer present in B. gargarizans, it exhibits comparable water retention and rehydration capacities. Desiccation experiments demonstrated that S. raddei dynamically modulates epidermal thickness and mucus secretion under dehydration. Transcriptomic analyses revealed upregulation of keratin (KRT) genes and activation of pathways related to epidermal integrity and water balance. Phylogenetic analysis of the KRT gene family identified a lineage-specific expansion in bufonid toads, particularly within KRT10- and KRT14-associated subclades. Together, this study provides a high-quality genomic resource for S. raddei and offers integrative insights into the molecular and physiological basis of amphibian adaptation to arid environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":13654,"journal":{"name":"Integrative zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149126677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}