The Herpetological Journal最新文献

{"title":"Larval morphology, vocalisations, and phylogenetic position of Crossodactylus dantei (Anura: Hylodidae): new insights into a little-known anuran species","authors":"Gustavo Fernandes Telles Moreira, Barnagleison S. Lisboa, M. J. M. Dubeux, Jessika Maria de Moura Neves, T. Mott, F. A. C. do Nascimento","doi":"10.33256/34.3.176187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/34.3.176187","url":null,"abstract":"Aspects of the biology and natural history of the endemic anuran Crossodactylus dantei remain unknown even almost 30 years since its description. In this study, we describe its larval stage, along with the advertisement and territorial calls, and assess its phylogenetic positioning based on a fragment of the 16S rRNA mitochondrial gene. The larval stage of C. dantei follows the morphological pattern of Hylodidae, corroborating the relatively uniform larval morphology of the family. However, it is still possible to observe characters that distinguish C. dantei from other species in the genus, such as the elliptical body in dorsal view, nostrils located closer to the snout than to the eyes, an elongated pre-nasal arena, and the absence of taenia tecti medialis and taenia tecti transversalis in the chondrocranium. Its advertisement call is characterised by a sequence of about 23 pulsed notes, with ascending amplitude modulation, and has a mean duration of 2.5 seconds, with a dominant frequency of 3356 Hz. The territorial call has a mean duration of 23 seconds, a dominant frequency of 3160 Hz, and two distinct types of notes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated the existence of two main lineages in the genus. Crossodactylus dantei was recovered with high statistical support as a sister species to the clade composed of C. gaudichaudii and C. timbuhy. Furthermore, the group formed by these three species was recovered as the sister lineage of C. trachystomus. In summary, the information presented here represents a significant advance in the knowledge of this enigmatic and rare species of the northern Atlantic Forest, providing baseline data for future ecological and evolutionary studies of this unique frog. Keywords: tadpole, oral anatomy, chondrocranium, calls, phylogeny, Atlantic Forest","PeriodicalId":512110,"journal":{"name":"The Herpetological Journal","volume":"59 16","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141689585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Aspects of the demography of two Podarcis muralis populations in anthropogenic modified habitats in western France, based on a non-invasive sampling method","authors":"R. Meek, L. Luiselli, Roger A. Avery","doi":"10.33256/34.3.152162","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/34.3.152162","url":null,"abstract":"Urbanisation impacts on both abiotic and biotic characteristics of the environment and is likely to bring new selective pressures on animal species living within these areas. The common European wall lizard Podarcis muralis adapts well to urbanisation and indeed may be described as the archetypical urban lizard. In this paper we investigated some aspects of the demography of two populations of P. muralis from western France, one living in a hedgerow system situated in an agricultural area on the edge of a village and a second in an urban garden. The active year in both populations was from February–March until October–December, the latter in the urban garden where temperatures were higher. Numbers decreased from around June then increased again during September but this varied annually and between populations. Diversity and equality indexes for both populations were high, especially in females, indicating a range of individuals and their frequency of presence. Both populations were therefore stable despite only limited numbers of lizards being present for more than one year. Male lizards with high presence were more frequently seen in the company of females than males that were seen less frequently. Hatchling lizards were seen from June after the spring mating period with a second period of hatchlings appearing during autumn. This supports the notion that females annually deposit two clutches of eggs in the area. Keywords: lizards, Podarcis muralis, demography, western France, non-invasive sampling","PeriodicalId":512110,"journal":{"name":"The Herpetological Journal","volume":"385 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141707782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Feeding ecology of the Jingdong frog Odorrana jingdongensis from Vietnam","authors":"A. Pham, Quyen The Bui, Thuong Thanh Hoang, Hoa Thanh Thi Nguyen, T. Nguyen, M. Le, Thomas Ziegler","doi":"10.33256/34.3.188196","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/34.3.188196","url":null,"abstract":"The Jingdong frog Odorrana jingdongensis Fei, Ye & Li, 2001, is known from China and Vietnam. It is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red list. Knowledge about natural history of this species is virtually lacking. As a result of our field work in Son La Province of north-western Vietnam, we provide novel data about the feeding ecology of O. jingdongensis based on stomach-flushing technique to obtain stomach contents without sacrificing the frogs, a total of 159 individuals (63 males and 96 females). We found a total of 21 prey categories with 682 items, comprising 663 items of invertebrates, three items of vertebrates and 16 unidentified items in the stomachs of O. jingdongensis. The most important (IRI) groups among the prey of O. jingdongensis were Coleoptera (32%), followed by insect larvae (11.10%), Araneae (9.60%), Orthoptera (7.49%), Hymenoptera (6.33%) and Lepidoptera (6.25%). There was an overlap of 78.16% in the diet between males and females, in both sexes the trophic spectrum was similar, predominantly consisting of Coleoptera, insect larvae, Lepidoptera, Araneae, Orthoptera and Hymenoptera. In addition, we also compared the diet composition between the three study sites and seasons. Prey categories varied from 16 to 18 in sites and were higher in the rainy season (19) compared with the dry season (16). Keywords: amphibians, invertebrates, prey items, stomach contents, Son La Province","PeriodicalId":512110,"journal":{"name":"The Herpetological Journal","volume":"10 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141709955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Defensive plasticity in South American rattlesnakes Crotalus durissus","authors":"J. M. Alves-Nunes, Adriano Fellone, Juan Camillo Diaz Ricaurte","doi":"10.33256/34.3.172175","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/34.3.172175","url":null,"abstract":"Reptiles exhibit defensive responses in diverse ways, influenced by situational factors. Snakes, such as the South American rattlesnake Crotalus durissus, display complex defensive responses, adapting tactics based on circumstances when encountering potential predators. Environmental and intrinsic parameters shape snake behaviour during predator encounters. This study employs distinct stimuli to investigate behavioural changes and whether snakes adapt defensive strategies. We compare the behaviours of rattlesnakes before and after an aversive stimulus involving physical contact. Following encounters with higher-risk stimuli, snakes become more defensive.Findings reveal that snakes alter strategies based on threat intensity. This phenomenon might be influenced by the potential cost of defense and prior interactions with predators. The study underscores the intricate nature of snake defensive behaviour. Keywords: behavioural plasticity, antipredator behaviour, aversive stimulus, behavioural cost, active behaviours","PeriodicalId":512110,"journal":{"name":"The Herpetological Journal","volume":"1 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141694051","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects of road salt, egg predation and alterations to the egg-mass jelly layers on the embryos of spotted salamander Ambystoma maculatum","authors":"Jenny Waters, Jacqueline Rounsavill, Abbie Winter, Linsey Trusal, Mizuki K. Takahashi","doi":"10.33256/34.3.130136","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/34.3.130136","url":null,"abstract":"Road de-icing salt has been used to make winter driving safer. However, its eventual drainage into adjacent water bodies has caused detrimental effects on organisms in those aquatic communities, including amphibians. We used the spotted salamander Ambystoma maculatum as a model species and examined whether there would be additive or interactive effects of road salt, egg predation from wood frog Lithobates sylvaticus tadpoles, and alteration to egg-mass jelly layers on the hatching rate, incubation period, snout-vent length (SVL) and developmental stage of hatchlings. We found neither main nor interactive effects of salt on the measured traits, which contradicts some of the previous studies. The other body of previous studies, however, showed observational and experimental evidence that amphibian populations became locally adapted to saline water. Given the roadside origin of our study animals, our negative results provide insight into the ubiquity of local adaptation to saline water among amphibian populations. We also found that egg predation and the presence of egg-mass jelly layers negatively affected the incubation period, SVL, or development in the predicted manners based on the O2 demand-supply balance within egg masses. These responses might be altered by dissolved salt if populations naive to freshwater salinisation were exposed to saline water. Keywords: aquatic pollution, community ecology, conservation, larval amphibians, Lithobates sylvaticus","PeriodicalId":512110,"journal":{"name":"The Herpetological Journal","volume":"5 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141701146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Spatial ecology of the Endangered and endemic Sagalla caecilian Boulengerula niedeni in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya","authors":"David B. Marquis, Basil L. Mashanga, Benjamin Tapley, Oliver R. Wearn, Olivia Couchman, R. Gumbs, Claudia Gray, Nisha R. Owen, Marcus Rowcliffe","doi":"10.33256/34.3.163171","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/34.3.163171","url":null,"abstract":"Caecilians (Order Gymnophiona) are generalist predators of soil invertebrates, and may therefore play an important role in tropical soil ecosystems. However, their fossorial lifestyle and the associated difficulties in surveying them have caused a deficit in data for the majority of species. We applied a systematic approach and an intensive sampling strategy to an Endangered and evolutionarily distinct caecilian from the Eastern Arc Mountains, the Sagalla caecilian Boulengerula niedeni. We investigated the association between habitat type and caecilian occupancy across its entire range, the Sagalla Hill, Kenya, and explored the relationship between several variables (land use type, surface soil temperature, soil compactness and landowner prediction of caecilian presence) and its presence in different habitats. We found no significant effects of any of the investigated variables in predicting caecilian presence across the Sagalla landscape. Instead, our findings suggest that the species survives at least as well in agricultural landscapes as it does in areas with indigenous vegetation, with an estimated density of around 900 caecilians per hectare. A bimodal distribution of sizes and weights of captured specimens suggests ongoing successful breeding and recruitment. This suggests that there is a case for cautious optimism with regard to the status of B. niedeni. Our work could act as a useful pilot for further, improved caecilian surveys in the Eastern Arc Mountains and beyond, to improve our understanding and conservation of these overlooked fossorial amphibians. Keywords: amphibian, Gymnophiona, Herpelidae, soil ecology, amphibian conservation, Taita Hills","PeriodicalId":512110,"journal":{"name":"The Herpetological Journal","volume":"111 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141713503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Patterns of spatial and temporal association between Zootoca vivipara, Anguis fragilis, Vipera berus and Natrix helvetica at artificial refuges","authors":"Rick J. Hodges, Clifford Seabrook, Christopher J. Michaels","doi":"10.33256/34.3.145151","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/34.3.145151","url":null,"abstract":"A 15-year data set of reptile observations at corrugated iron refuges was analysed to describe the spatial and temporal associations between species pairs of viviparous lizards Zootoca vivipara, slow worms Anguis fragilis, northern vipers Vipera berus and grass snakes Natrix helvetica. Of the two snake species, only the viper is known as a routine lizard predator. We analysed two variables expressing pairwise reptile associations at refuges. The first analysis was of monthly spatial overlap assessed as the proportion of unique refuge positions used in common, but not necessarily used simultaneously. The second analysis was of a more precise spatial and temporal assessment based on counts of reptile pairs cohabitating at the refuges (i.e. using the same refuges simultaneously). Apart from viviparous lizards paired with either of the two snake species, the frequencies for both variables were either as expected or significantly greater than expected by chance; in particular grass snakes cohabited much more frequently than expected with both vipers (+327%) and slow worms (+218%). In contrast, for the viviparous lizard/viper pair both variables were statistically significantly less frequent than expected by chance - monthly overlap (-35%) and cohabitation (-87%). As viviparous lizards are predated by vipers, cohabiting would be much reduced but the significantly lowered monthly spatial overlap may indicate active avoidance. For the viviparous lizard/grass snake pair the spatial overlap was as expected by chance but, as with vipers, the frequency of cohabiting was significantly less than expected by chance (-75%). These observations are discussed in relation to the known kairomonal responses of this lizard to viper and grass snake deposits. Viper deposits are also believed to act as a kairomone for slow worms, but we found no evidence that they avoided vipers, supporting existing literature showing that V. berus is unlikely to be an important slow worm predator. Keywords: species associations, cohabitation, corrugated iron refuges, viper kairomone, chalk grassland","PeriodicalId":512110,"journal":{"name":"The Herpetological Journal","volume":"59 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141716035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Endemic amphibians of the Cerrado and Caatinga: species richness, geographic range and conservation","authors":"Gisele do Lago Santana, Davi L. Pantoja, Pedro Peloso, Geovania Figueiredo da Silva, Maiume Silva da Silva, G. Maschio","doi":"10.33256/34.2.116126","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/34.2.116126","url":null,"abstract":"The Cerrado and the Caatinga have few formally protected areas and encompass a high diversity of amphibians, which is still relatively unknown. In this study we present the list of amphibian species endemic to the Cerrado or Caatinga and their geographic range, highlighting current conservation status. We obtained the species list from the compilation of scientific publications (up to July 2022). We obtained the occurrence records from the databases SpeciesLink, GBIF, Portal da Biodiversidade and literature. We classified the species in the categories of threat according to the Brazilian list of threatened species and the global list of threatened species. We compiled 2,659 occurrences of amphibians, 1,335 from the SpeciesLink platform, 414 from GBIF, 371 from the Biodiversity Portal and 539 obtained from the literature. We recorded 100 endemic species, 82 from the Cerrado and 18 from the Caatinga. The Cerrado has three species Vulnerable (VU) (Boana buriti, Bokermannohyla napolii and Scinax pinimus), one Critically Endangered (CR) (Proceratophrys moratoi), 14 species Data Deficient (DD), 46 in the Least Concern (LC) category and 18 Not Evaluated (NE). The Caatinga has three species CR (Adelophryne maranguapensis, Proceratophrys ararype, Rhinella casconi), three DD, five LC and seven NE. Threatened, DD and NE species have few records within the protected areas of Cerrado and Caatinga. We consider that the Cerrado and Caatinga present a rich diversity of endemic amphibians, which have a geographic range relatively reduced, especially the threatened ones, DD and NE. Distribution and taxonomy data are essential, because the lack can hinder the assessment of conservation status, since threatened species, DD, NE, including LC, may be undervalued and at risk. Keywords: amphibia, distribution, endemism, species list, species protection","PeriodicalId":512110,"journal":{"name":"The Herpetological Journal","volume":"5 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140354603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"First natural history observations of the Critically Endangered Wattle-necked softshell turtle Palea steindachneri in its native range","authors":"Pham Van Thong, Ha Van Ngoan, Vi Van Dinh, Nguyen Huu Trung, Luong Van Nam, Lo Tien Bieu, Pham Thi Ha Nguyen, Pham Minh Phuong, Nguyen Van Thai, Tran Xuan Cuong, Hoang Anh Tuan, Russell J. Gray","doi":"10.33256/34.2.127129","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/34.2.127129","url":null,"abstract":"The Wattle-necked softshell turtle Palea steindachneri is poorly understood in its natural habitat, despite being highly productive in farms and commonly observed in the turtle trade. Field observations conducted in Vietnam's Pu Mat National Park represent the inaugural instance of direct, in-the-wild natural history documentation for the species within its native habitat. In contrast, prior research relied on interview data gathered from local communities. The species was found in slow-moving water in a sandy stream, consistent with previous information from community interview data. The limited range and its frequent appearance in the food and traditional medicine trade have led to the species’ classification as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List. Keywords: Natural history, observation, Palea steindachneri, Vietnam turtle, Wattle-necked softshell turtle","PeriodicalId":512110,"journal":{"name":"The Herpetological Journal","volume":"38 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140356423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An improved habitat suitability index for the great crested newt Triturus cristatus","authors":"Emily Seccombe, Roberto Salguero-Gómez","doi":"10.33256/34.2.5567","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/34.2.5567","url":null,"abstract":"Great crested newts Triturus cristatus are a European protected species whose conservation depends on the provision and protection of their breeding habitat. The species is in decline internationally, partly due to loss of suitable breeding habitat (European Environment Agency, 2019). A habitat suitability index (HSI) developed in 2000 is extensively used in great crested newt conservation to assess breeding habitat quality in the UK. Here, we introduce a new HSI with an improved ability to reflect T. cristatus presence/absence in UK ponds. This proposed HSI is easier to use, requires less data and predicts T. cristatus presence/absence better than the previous index. To inform the new index, we used a dual approach to identify the relative importance of environmental criteria to predict T. cristatus presence/absence. Firstly, we conducted a survey of 288 HSI users to assess the perceived strengths and limitations of the existing index. Secondly, we analysed national datasets of T. cristatus presence/absence and associated environmental data. Using these findings, we then tested various index modifications. The final modifications of the new HSI include (i) using an arithmetic (instead of geometric) mean, to reduce calculation errors and allow compensation between variables; (ii) excluding water quality and waterfowl impact, as these lacked significant power to predict T. cristatus presence/absence and were deemed inaccurate by HSI users; and (iii) changing the scoring relationship for pond area to better reflect current data and provide scores for ponds over 2000m2. We compared scores from the new and original HSIs using an independent dataset for validation, showing that the new HSI better reflects T. cristatus presence/absence (larger effect sizes and R-squared values) in comparison to the old HSI. Adopting this improved HSI will enable more effective conservation of the protected species via better-informed decision-making and monitoring. Keywords: HSI, monitoring, Triturus cristatus, amphibian","PeriodicalId":512110,"journal":{"name":"The Herpetological Journal","volume":"49 23","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140357341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}