Vertebrate Zoology最新文献

{"title":"Novel type of egg-clustering in threadsnakes (Serpentes: Leptotyphlopidae)","authors":"Mariana Chuliver, Agustín Scanferla","doi":"10.3897/vz.73.e108402","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.73.e108402","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Snakes lay their eggs in clutches of different size, which are usually attached to each other forming a cluster. Egg-clustering is a widespread phenomenon across alethinophidian snakes, mostly recorded in Pythonoidea and caenophidian clades. Here we report a new type of egg-clustering for threadsnakes (Leptotyphlopidae) that departs from the alethinophidian type. We found that females of Epictia australis and Leptotyphlops sylvicolus lay their eggs connected to each other through a filament, and we dubbed it ‘string-egg clustering’. The histomorphology of the filament linking the eggs in E. australis showed an outer calcareous layer underlain by a thick layer of collagen fibers, demonstrating that it is an integral part of the eggshell formed during its deposition process in the oviduct. String egg-clustering seems to be present only among species belonging to both subfamilies of threadsnakes, Epictinae and Leptotyphlopinae. Egg-clustering in alethinophidians has been demonstrated to have several advantages for embryo development and post-hatching survival, including fixing the position of the embryo within the egg, protection against predators, and embryo-to-embryo communication. The presence of a filament connecting the eggs in leptotyphlopid species might be relevant for maintaining the position of the embryo in the egg, to avoid the dispersion of the egg in the nesting site, and potentially for the transmission of physical cues. Thus, we hypothesize that the string-egg clustering constitutes an advantageous reproductive trait among threadsnakes.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135879093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new pale-ventered nurse frog (Aromobatidae: Allobates) from southwestern Brazilian Amazonia","authors":"Jesus R. D. Souza, Miquéias Ferrão, I. L. Kaefer, A. S. Cunha-Machado, P. Melo-Sampaio, J. Hanken, A. Lima","doi":"10.3897/vz.73.e103534","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.73.e103534","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Abstract\u0000 \u0000 We use integrative taxonomy to formally describe a candidate species of nurse frog of the genus Allobates from southwestern Brazilian Amazonia. The new species nests within a clade that has been defined historically as A. gasconi, but it has an 8.8–11.0% genetic distance for 16S to samples from the type locality of A. gasconi. The new species differs from congeners mainly by males having a translucent white throat and vocal sac; advertisement calls with a duration of 42–60 ms, two notes separated by an inter-note interval of 8–23 ms, and a dominant frequency of 4,953–6,331 Hz; and exotrophic tadpoles with 2 pyramidal papillae on each end of the upper lip and 10–13 pyramidal and cylindrical papillae surrounding the lower lip. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA suggest that A. gasconi sensu lato as defined previously represents a complex of as many as seven species, corroborating studies that have shown high levels of cryptic diversity within Allobates.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47514278","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new species of stream-living toad (Anura: Bufonidae: Bufo) from Guangdong, China","authors":"Shuo Qi, Zhi-Tong Lyu, Han-Ming Song, Shi-Chao Wei, Qi-Feng Zhong, YING-YONG Wang","doi":"10.3897/vz.73.e98558","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.73.e98558","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Abstract\u0000 \u0000 In this work, we describe a new species of genus Bufo, Bufo exiguussp. nov. from Mt. Nankun, Guangdong Province, China. This new species can be distinguished from all congeners by significant divergences in the mitochondrial 16S rRNA and CO1 genes and by a combination of morphological characters: small body size, tympanum absent, parotoid glands small and olive-shaped, tarsal fold absent, dorsal body with a fine vertebral line and white nuptial spinules present on dorsal and inner surfaces of fingers I and II in males. At present, Bufo exiguussp. nov. is only known from the slow-flowing montane streams from its type locality and its conservation status should be carefully addressed.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-07-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47980285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new species of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephali­dae) from Serra do Tabuleiro, Southern Brazil","authors":"Sarah Mângia, D. Santana, Leandro de Oliveira Drummond, L. T. Sabagh, Luiz Ugioni, P. Costa, Milena Wachlevski","doi":"10.3897/vz.73.e102098","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.73.e102098","url":null,"abstract":"The number of described species of Brachycephalus has rapidly increased in the last decade (n = 22, which represents 56% of the total). Species of the genus Brachycephalus are mostly distributed in isolated mountaintops from Bahia (northeastern Brazil) to Santa Catarina states (southern Brazil), each one occupying only one or a few adjacent mountaintops. Herein, we described a new species of Brachycephalus of the B. pernix group, from Serra do Tabuleiro in Santa Catarina state, which also represents the southernmost known species. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of characters, including the following: (1) “bufoniform” body; (2) small adult SVL: 9.57–11.10 mm for males and 10.88–12.70 mm for females; (3) head proportionally small (HL/SVL 19–28%) and eye proportionally large (ED/HL 36–56%); (4) dorsum texture rough; (5) snout shape rounded in dorsal and lateral views; (6) general dorsal body color olive green with head, arms and legs yellow-orangish scattered with olive green, and an orangish vertebral stripe spotted with white and brown colors; (7) skull and skeleton without hyperossification; (8) frontoparietal and sphenethmoid not fused; (9) advertisement with one or two high-frequency notes (6,115–6,562 Hz), and 2–4 pulses per note. The type locality is adjacent to Parque Estadual da Serra do Tabuleiro, a protected area, but we observed various agricultural activities in this locality, including the presence of exotic plants, which can change the amount and the quality of leaf litter, somehow compromising the population of the new species. Another aggravating factor is that the municipality of São Bonifácio has conflicts over land use with irregular occupation and unfinished expropriation processes in Parque Estadual da Serra do Tabuleiro. Considering that Brachycephalussp. nov. is probably a mountaintop microendemic species, it is paramount that future studies quantifying the new species’ full distribution and evaluating population trends to accurately assess its conservation status.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":"45 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41245599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new species of green-eyed Cordylus Laurenti, 1768 from the west-central highlands of Angola, and the rediscovery of Cordylus angolensis (Bocage, 1895) (Squamata: Cordylidae)","authors":"M. Bates, J. Lobón-Rovira, E. Stanley, W. Branch, Pedro Vaz Pinto","doi":"10.3897/vz.73.e95639","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.73.e95639","url":null,"abstract":"Cordylus angolensis (Bocage, 1895) was described 128 years ago on the basis of a single specimen collected at Caconda in the west-central highlands of Angola. Additional specimens referred to this species were collected at ‘Mombolo’ (also in the central highlands) during the Vernay Angola Expedition in 1925. As the holotype was apparently destroyed in the fire of 1978 at the Museu Bocage in Lisbon and no additional specimens have been collected, its taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationships has remained uncertain. The species has eluded all efforts aimed at its re-discovery in the vicinity of the type locality, with a single specimen from near Condé, north of Mombolo—collected in 1970 by Wulf Haacke—the only other specimen of Cordylus known from west-central Angola. Recent field work in the Angolan highlands resulted in the collection of a series of specimens from Taqueta Mountain (west of Caconda), Monte Verde (Sandula, ‘Mombolo’) and Uassamba (Vondo). A phylogenetic analysis, using three mitochondrial and six nuclear genes, indicated the existence of two distinct species-level lineages in the Angolan highlands. These two species are allopatric and morphologically distinct, differing especially in terms of their colour patterns, eye colour and certain scalation characteristics. We therefore confirm that C. angolensis is a valid species and designate a neotype, and describe a new species, Cordylus momboloensissp. nov.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44659844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A taxonomic reassessment of Rhinolophus rex Allen, 1923 and its allies (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae)","authors":"V. Tu, N. Furey, Tamás Görföl, A. Hassanin, S. Arai, D. Koyabu, Bounsavane Douangboubpha, G. Csorba","doi":"10.3897/vz.73.e101487","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.73.e101487","url":null,"abstract":"This study integrates analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequences and morphological and acoustic data to re-evaluate the taxonomic status of Rhinolophus rex rex, R. r. paradoxolophus and R. schnitzleri throughout their distribution ranges. Based on a dense geographic sampling of specimens hitherto referred to these taxa and contrary to the current taxonomic view, our results indicate that all examined specimens of these taxa are representatives of a single, widely distributed and morphologically variable species, R. rex. The recognition of its geographic populations as different subspecies (R. r. rex and R. r. paradoxolophus) or distinct species (R. schnitzleri) based on morphological and acoustic data should be regarded as invalid. In the light of this revision, we also reassess the conservation status of R. rex against IUCN Red List criteria as Near Threatened.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41977006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new species of green tree frog of the genus Gracixalus (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from the evergreen forest of Northeast India","authors":"Bitupan Boruah, V. Deepak, N. G. Patel, V. Jithin, Tajum Yomcha, Abhijit Das","doi":"10.3897/vz.73.e98444","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.73.e98444","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Abstract\u0000 \u0000 We describe a new species of rhacophorid frog of the genus Gracixalus from northeast India based on molecular, morphological and acoustic evidence. The new species, formally described herein as Gracixalus patkaiensissp. nov., is morphologically distinct from other congeners by a suite of morphological characters such as snout-vent length 23.6–26.5 mm in adult males; green dorsum with irregular brown spots; dorsal skin shagreened with numerous spinules; snout shape nearly acuminate in dorsal and ventral view; a prominent dark streak along the cranial margins; white reticulations along lateral side and ventrum distinct in life. Genetically, the new taxon is found to differ from all the recognized Gracixalus species by 4–14.8% divergence in the 16S mitochondrial gene. The discovery confirms the presence of genus Gracixalus from the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh underlines the importance of biological exploration even in well-known protected areas of India.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47219717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Central American Trachemys revisited: New sampling questions current understanding of taxonomy and distribution (Testudines: Emydidae)","authors":"U. Fritz, C. Kehlmaier, R. Scott, R. Fournier, J. Mccranie, Natalia Gallego-García","doi":"10.3897/vz.73.e104438","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.73.e104438","url":null,"abstract":"Using 3226-bp-long mtDNA sequences and five nuclear loci (Cmos, ODC, R35, Rag1, Rag2, together 3409 bp), we examine genetic differentiation and relationships of Central American slider turtles (Trachemys grayi, T. venusta). Our investigation also included samples from taxa endemic to North America (T. gaigeae, T. scripta), the Antilles (T. decorata, T. decussata, T. stejnegeri, T. terrapen), and South America (T. dorbigni, T. medemi plus the two T. venusta subspecies endemic to northern South America). Our mitochondrial phylogeny retrieves all studied species as distinct, with three well-supported clades in a polytomy: (1) the Central and South American species (T. grayi + T. venusta) + (T. dorbigni + T. medemi), (2) the Antillean species, and (3) T. gaigeae + T. scripta. Our nuclear DNA analyses also suggest three distinct but conflicting clusters: (1) T. scripta plus the Antillean species, (2) T. gaigeae, and (3) the Central and South American species T. dorbigni, T. grayi, T. medemi, and T. venusta. However, in the mitochondrial phylogeny, T. gaigeae is the little divergent sister taxon of T. scripta. This conflicting placement of T. gaigeae suggests a distinct evolutionary trajectory and old hybridization with T. scripta and mitochondrial capture. Despite prominent color pattern differences, genetic divergences within T. grayi and T. venusta are shallow and the taxonomic diversity of each species with several currently recognized subspecies could be overestimated. Finally, we provide for the first time evidence for the occurrence of T. grayi along the Caribbean versant of Costa Rica.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47963066","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative mitochondrial phylogeography of water frogs (Ranidae: Pelophylax spp.) from the southwestern Balkans","authors":"Petr Papežík, P. Mikulíček, M. Benovics, M. Balogová, L. Choleva, Marie Doležálková-Kaštánková, P. Lymberakis, Edvárd Mizsei, Simona Papežíková, N. Poulakakis, E. Saçdanaku, Márton Szabolcs, R. Šanda, M. Uhrin, J. Vukić, D. Jablonski","doi":"10.3897/vz.73.e95220","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.73.e95220","url":null,"abstract":"The genus Pelophylax (water frogs) includes relatively common, widely distributed, and even invasive species, but also endemic taxa with small ranges and limited knowledge concerning their ecology and evolution. Among poorly studied species belong endemics of the southwestern Balkans, namely Pelophylax shqipericus, P. epeiroticus and P. kurtmuelleri. In this study, we focused on the genetic variability of these species aiming to reveal their phylogeographic patterns and Quaternary history. We used 1,088 published and newly obtained sequences of the mitochondrial ND2 gene and a variety of analyses, including molecular phylogenetics and dating, historical demography, and species distribution modeling (SDM). We revelated the existence of two mitochondrial lineages within P. epeiroticus and P. shqipericus that diverged at ~ 0.9 Mya and ~ 0.8 Mya, respectively. Contrarily, no deeply diverged lineages were found in P. kurtmuelleri. Pelophylax kurtmuelleri also shows a close phylogenetic relationship with widely distributed P. ridibundus, suggesting that both represent one evolutionary clade called here P. ridibundus/kurtmuelleri. The estimated split between both lineages in the clade P. ridibundus/kurtmuelleri date back to ~ 0.6 Mya. The divergence between the ridibundus and kurtmuelleri lineages on the ND2 gene is thus lower than the divergence between the two lineages found in P. epeiroticus and P. shqipericus. According to haplotype networks, demographic analyses, and SDM, endemic water frogs survived the last glacial maximum (LGM) in Balkan microrefugia, and their distribution has not changed significantly or even retracted since the LGM. Haplotypes of the kurtmuelleri lineage were also found in northern parts of Europe, where haplotype diversity is however much lower than in the Balkans, suggesting the possible hypothesis of their postglacial expansion to the north.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46549218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A new species of rock-dwelling Hemidactylus Goldfuss, 1820 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the southern Eastern Ghats, India","authors":"S. Narayanan, P. Christopher, K. Raman, Nilanjan Mukherjee, Ponmudi Prabhu, Maniezhilan Lenin, Sivangnanaboopathidoss Vimalraj, V. Deepak","doi":"10.3897/vz.73.e104494","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.73.e104494","url":null,"abstract":"A new large-bodied (SVL 101–109 mm) gecko of the genus Hemidactylus is described from the Gingee Hills in the Eastern Ghats of India. The new species is closely related to H. graniticolus and the recently described H. easai, from which it can be distinguished by its lower femoral pores count. The new species described here was previously identified as H. cf. graniticolus based only on the molecular data, pending its formal description. Our findings were consistent with the results from the molecular DNA analyses, showing that this population is morphologically distinct from other closely related species. As a result, we formally describe this lineage as a new species, providing a comprehensive description of its morphological characteristics based on a type series of five specimens and compare it with its congenerics.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2023-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44042911","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}