{"title":"13. The first record of sea anemone Stichodactyla gigantea consuming a sea snake Emydocephalus ijimae","authors":"Takahide Sasai","doi":"10.33256/hb161.4445","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/hb161.4445","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35972,"journal":{"name":"Herpetological Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41398887","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}
Abstract - Acid rain for many decades has led to severe acidification of waters in southern Norway. Acidic water can be fatal to gill-breathing vertebrates (i.e. fish and larval amphibians). Great crested newt Triturus cristatus (GCN) - seems to be less tolerant of acidic water than other Norwegian amphibians. Not until 2015 was GCN recorded in Agder, the southernmost county in Norway, when the larvae of this species were found in two ponds. The aim of our investigation, in late spring and summer 2021, was to find out whether GCN was still present in these two ponds and ten others in the same area, which are surrounded by peat bogs and forest. Since this is a marginal and acidic area with probably low numbers of individuals and low detectability, we used three survey methods in combination (funnel traps, nets, and eDNA) and also measured water conductivity and pH. At the same time, the occurrence of other amphibians in the area were investigated; the smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris, the common toad Bufo bufo, the common frog Rana temporaria and the moor frog Rana arvalis. Using traps and nets, GCN was found in four ponds but in only two of these ponds by eDNA. However, GCN eDNA was detected in three other ponds, showing that a combination of methods gave the most complete result. eDNA of the common toad and the common frog were detected in (almost) all samples but there were few records from traps or nets. Smooth newts were detected in almost all ponds by traps, nets and eDNA, while none of the methods detected the moor frog. Especially when a species is rare at a location, eDNA analysis may be the most efficient method of detection. However, only trapping and netting can give information about breeding. Water pH in late spring and early summer varied from 4.7 to 5.6 (median pH 5.1), which makes this area marginal for amphibian reproduction.
{"title":"02. Great crested newt Triturus cristatus, smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris, and other amphibians in an acidified area of southern Norway surveyed using eDNA and other methods","authors":"L. Strand","doi":"10.33256/hb161.511","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/hb161.511","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract - Acid rain for many decades has led to severe acidification of waters in southern Norway. Acidic water can be fatal to gill-breathing vertebrates (i.e. fish and larval amphibians). Great crested newt Triturus cristatus (GCN) - seems to be less tolerant of acidic water than other Norwegian amphibians. Not until 2015 was GCN recorded in Agder, the southernmost county in Norway, when the larvae of this species were found in two ponds. The aim of our investigation, in late spring and summer 2021, was to find out whether GCN was still present in these two ponds and ten others in the same area, which are surrounded by peat bogs and forest. Since this is a marginal and acidic area with probably low numbers of individuals and low detectability, we used three survey methods in combination (funnel traps, nets, and eDNA) and also measured water conductivity and pH. At the same time, the occurrence of other amphibians in the area were investigated; the smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris, the common toad Bufo bufo, the common frog Rana temporaria and the moor frog Rana arvalis. Using traps and nets, GCN was found in four ponds but in only two of these ponds by eDNA. However, GCN eDNA was detected in three other ponds, showing that a combination of methods gave the most complete result. eDNA of the common toad and the common frog were detected in (almost) all samples but there were few records from traps or nets. Smooth newts were detected in almost all ponds by traps, nets and eDNA, while none of the methods detected the moor frog. Especially when a species is rare at a location, eDNA analysis may be the most efficient method of detection. However, only trapping and netting can give information about breeding. Water pH in late spring and early summer varied from 4.7 to 5.6 (median pH 5.1), which makes this area marginal for amphibian reproduction.","PeriodicalId":35972,"journal":{"name":"Herpetological Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48361546","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":"11. First case of predation of the Tyrrhenian endemic Sardinian tree frog Hyla sarda by an alien water frog Pelophylax sp. in northern Sardinia, Italy","authors":"M. D. Di Nicola","doi":"10.33256/hb161.4041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/hb161.4041","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35972,"journal":{"name":"Herpetological Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48961047","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}
ABSTRACT - Sexual dimorphism is commonly encountered in amphibians. Its presence and its ontogeny in a given species has implications for ecology, conservation and captive husbandry. We monitored changes in length and mass of captive mountain chicken frogs Leptodactylus fallax. Initially, sexes were no different in snout-vent length or mass, but by about 17 months after metamorphosis females became significantly larger and heavier than males. Diverging growth trajectories between male and female frogs appeared to coincide with the development of secondary sexual characters in males, indicating sexual maturity, while female frogs did not produce nests until the following breeding season, suggesting later reproductive maturity. The absence of similar dimorphism in other large leptodactylids suggests that its presence in L. fallax may be linked to its unique and energy-intense reproductive strategy, which involves extended maternal provisioning of their young.
{"title":"pdf 03. Sexually dimorphic growth and maturity in captive mountain chicken frogs Leptodactylus fallax","authors":"C. Michaels","doi":"10.33256/hb161.1215","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/hb161.1215","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT - Sexual dimorphism is commonly encountered in amphibians. Its presence and its ontogeny in a given species has implications for ecology, conservation and captive husbandry. We monitored changes in length and mass of captive mountain chicken frogs Leptodactylus fallax. Initially, sexes were no different in snout-vent length or mass, but by about 17 months after metamorphosis females became significantly larger and heavier than males. Diverging growth trajectories between male and female frogs appeared to coincide with the development of secondary sexual characters in males, indicating sexual maturity, while female frogs did not produce nests until the following breeding season, suggesting later reproductive maturity. The absence of similar dimorphism in other large leptodactylids suggests that its presence in L. fallax may be linked to its unique and energy-intense reproductive strategy, which involves extended maternal provisioning of their young.","PeriodicalId":35972,"journal":{"name":"Herpetological Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45275410","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":"14. Smooth newt Lissotriton vulgaris preyed upon by European starling Sturnus vulgaris","authors":"Mario I. Shimbov","doi":"10.33256/hb161.46","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/hb161.46","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35972,"journal":{"name":"Herpetological Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44330518","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}
ABSTRACT - Bothrops species are known to have a wide range of defensive behaviours against potential threats. Herein we show a frequently observed, but to date undocumented, behaviour in male and female Bothrops spp of varying sizes in newly arrived specimens from the wild, short-or long-term captives as well as in captive born individuals. The behaviour consists of irregular, synchronous or asynchronous muscular twitches in segments of the body flanks in otherwise motionless snakes. We named this ‘Segmental Muscle Twitching Behaviour’ (SMTB). We observed fifteen Bothrops spp from six species groups for incidence of this behaviour and made videos of snakes during the ‘alertness’ and ‘threatening’ phases of response to human approach. We found the behaviour in only five species, these belong to the monophyletic Bothrops jararacussu and Bothrops atrox species groups, suggesting a single evolutionary origin of this behaviour. Macroscopically, SMTB varied in the number of segments involved and the twitches had uneven intensities. Although recurrent and often replicable in similar situations during human approach, the behaviour was not displayed consistently. In addition, SMTB can be interrupted, stay inactive for quite some time and then restart. Hypotheses to explain this behaviour are suggested.
{"title":"04. Segmental muscle twitching behaviour in the flanks of lancehead vipers Bothrops spp in response to human approach","authors":"M. Duarte","doi":"10.33256/hb161.1619","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/hb161.1619","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT - Bothrops species are known to have a wide range of defensive behaviours against potential threats. Herein we show a frequently observed, but to date undocumented, behaviour in male and female Bothrops spp of varying sizes in newly arrived specimens from the wild, short-or long-term captives as well as in captive born individuals. The behaviour consists of irregular, synchronous or asynchronous muscular twitches in segments of the body flanks in otherwise motionless snakes. We named this ‘Segmental Muscle Twitching Behaviour’ (SMTB). We observed fifteen Bothrops spp from six species groups for incidence of this behaviour and made videos of snakes during the ‘alertness’ and ‘threatening’ phases of response to human approach. We found the behaviour in only five species, these belong to the monophyletic Bothrops jararacussu and Bothrops atrox species groups, suggesting a single evolutionary origin of this behaviour. Macroscopically, SMTB varied in the number of segments involved and the twitches had uneven intensities. Although recurrent and often replicable in similar situations during human approach, the behaviour was not displayed consistently. In addition, SMTB can be interrupted, stay inactive for quite some time and then restart. Hypotheses to explain this behaviour are suggested.","PeriodicalId":35972,"journal":{"name":"Herpetological Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44663875","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":"07. The threat of discarded food and drinks containers to monitor lizards","authors":"P. Zdunek","doi":"10.33256/hb161.2830","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/hb161.2830","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35972,"journal":{"name":"Herpetological Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46014674","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":"08. Limb malformations in introduced populations of midwife toad Alytes obstetricans in Great Britain","authors":"M. Goodman","doi":"10.33256/hb161.3133","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/hb161.3133","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35972,"journal":{"name":"Herpetological Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43240243","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":"pdf 09. Rediscovery of the marbled caecilian Epicrionops marmoratus and first record from Colombia","authors":"Juan David Fernández-Roldán","doi":"10.33256/hb161.3436","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/hb161.3436","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":35972,"journal":{"name":"Herpetological Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44178031","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}
ABSTRACT - A qualitative survey of the chromatic and morphological variability of the pond slider turtle Trachemys scripta was undertaken in the parks of ten cities in Romania. Large variability was observed, melanistic individuals and intra-specific hybrids were found, and the characteristics of some specimens were such as to imply possible hybridisation with other species. The large morphological variability of the introduced populations of T. scripta indicates multiple geographical origins from the native range and very likely hybridisation. These factors contribute to a great diversity in the introduced populations and may influence their capacity for acclimatisation in the new range.
{"title":"05. Variability and hybridisation in the introduced pond slider turtle Trachemys scripta in Romania","authors":"A. Iftime","doi":"10.33256/hb161.2023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.33256/hb161.2023","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT - A qualitative survey of the chromatic and morphological variability of the pond slider turtle Trachemys scripta was undertaken in the parks of ten cities in Romania. Large variability was observed, melanistic individuals and intra-specific hybrids were found, and the characteristics of some specimens were such as to imply possible hybridisation with other species. The large morphological variability of the introduced populations of T. scripta indicates multiple geographical origins from the native range and very likely hybridisation. These factors contribute to a great diversity in the introduced populations and may influence their capacity for acclimatisation in the new range.","PeriodicalId":35972,"journal":{"name":"Herpetological Bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49269291","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}