Pub Date : 2022-03-22DOI: 10.30906/1026-2296-2022-29-1-47-64
Na Wu, Minli Chen, Jinlong Liu, B. Cai, Song-hua Wang, Minggang Xu, Xianguang Guo
In this study we amplified and sequenced the nearly complete mitochondrial DNA of an individual of the Liu’s skink, Plestiodon liui, from south of the Yangtze River. The obtained mitochondrial genome was 17, 945 bp in length, comprising 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and an incomplete control region (D-loop). Another nearly complete mitogenome of P. liui, from north of the Yangtze River, was retrieved from GenBank and used for comparative analyses. The results showed that the genome organization, base composition, codon usage, and gene arrangement of the mitochondrial genomes for the two individuals of P. liui were highly similar to each other. Twelve out of 13 PCGs initiated with canonical start codon (ATG), while COX1 started with GTG. The codon usage analysis revealed a preferential use of the LeuCUN, Pro, and Thr codons with the A/U ending. Among the 22 tRNA genes, only tRNA-SerAGY was not folded into a typical cloverleaf secondary structure and had no recognizable DHU stem. The phylogenetic tree inferred from Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood approaches strongly supported that the two individuals of P. liui clustered together, and formed the sister taxon to a clade of P. capito and P. tunganus. All PCGs had undergone a strong purifying selection, whereas 27 residues of the ATP6, COX2, Cytb, ND3, ND4, ND5, ND6 genes might have undergone positive selection. Bayesian molecular dating indicated that the split between P. liui and P. capito – P. tunganus was approximately 9.62 million years ago (Ma). Meanwhile, the coalescence time of the two individuals of P. liui was estimated to be 2.26 Ma with 95% highest posterior density of 1.32 – 3.28 Ma, which fell within the timeframe for the Yangtze River run-through between the late Pliocene to the middle Pleistocene. This finding implied that the Yangtze River run-through had played an important role in the diversification of the Liu’s skink.
{"title":"Comparative Analyses of Two Nearly Complete Mitochondrial Genomes of the Liu’s Skink, Plestiodon liui, from South and North Sides of the Yangtze River","authors":"Na Wu, Minli Chen, Jinlong Liu, B. Cai, Song-hua Wang, Minggang Xu, Xianguang Guo","doi":"10.30906/1026-2296-2022-29-1-47-64","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2022-29-1-47-64","url":null,"abstract":"In this study we amplified and sequenced the nearly complete mitochondrial DNA of an individual of the Liu’s skink, Plestiodon liui, from south of the Yangtze River. The obtained mitochondrial genome was 17, 945 bp in length, comprising 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and an incomplete control region (D-loop). Another nearly complete mitogenome of P. liui, from north of the Yangtze River, was retrieved from GenBank and used for comparative analyses. The results showed that the genome organization, base composition, codon usage, and gene arrangement of the mitochondrial genomes for the two individuals of P. liui were highly similar to each other. Twelve out of 13 PCGs initiated with canonical start codon (ATG), while COX1 started with GTG. The codon usage analysis revealed a preferential use of the LeuCUN, Pro, and Thr codons with the A/U ending. Among the 22 tRNA genes, only tRNA-SerAGY was not folded into a typical cloverleaf secondary structure and had no recognizable DHU stem. The phylogenetic tree inferred from Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood approaches strongly supported that the two individuals of P. liui clustered together, and formed the sister taxon to a clade of P. capito and P. tunganus. All PCGs had undergone a strong purifying selection, whereas 27 residues of the ATP6, COX2, Cytb, ND3, ND4, ND5, ND6 genes might have undergone positive selection. Bayesian molecular dating indicated that the split between P. liui and P. capito – P. tunganus was approximately 9.62 million years ago (Ma). Meanwhile, the coalescence time of the two individuals of P. liui was estimated to be 2.26 Ma with 95% highest posterior density of 1.32 – 3.28 Ma, which fell within the timeframe for the Yangtze River run-through between the late Pliocene to the middle Pleistocene. This finding implied that the Yangtze River run-through had played an important role in the diversification of the Liu’s skink.","PeriodicalId":48693,"journal":{"name":"Russian Journal of Herpetology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48411961","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-22DOI: 10.30906/1026-2296-2022-29-1-1-18
Yun-He Wu, C. Suwannapoom, N. Poyarkov Jr., Wei Gao, Alex P. Karuno, Zhiyong Yuan, J. Che
Thailand is a global biodiversity hotspot, harboring a striking diversity of species and endemism. However, the amphibian diversity in the region is poorly understood. In this study, the frogs Kurixalus odontotarsus and Raorchestes longchuanensis were collected and recorded for the first time in northern Thailand. This determination was based on specimens previously collected from this region. Morphologically, these specimens displayed good agreement with the original descriptions provided for K. odontotarsus and R. longchuanensis. Phylogenetically, the specimens clustered according to the sequences of type locality of K. odontotarsus and R. longchuanensis with only a small degree of genetic distance. Based on our work, we have extended the latitudinal distribution of K. odontotarsus and R. longchuanensis southward into northern Thailand. Notably, our discovery increases the number of amphibian species recorded in Thailand to 195, and the number of rhacophorid species known to occur in Thailand to 40.
{"title":"First Record of Kurixalus odontotarsus (Ye et Fei, 1993) and Raorchestes longchuanensis (Yang et Li, 1978) (Anura: Rhacophoridae) in Thailand","authors":"Yun-He Wu, C. Suwannapoom, N. Poyarkov Jr., Wei Gao, Alex P. Karuno, Zhiyong Yuan, J. Che","doi":"10.30906/1026-2296-2022-29-1-1-18","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2022-29-1-1-18","url":null,"abstract":"Thailand is a global biodiversity hotspot, harboring a striking diversity of species and endemism. However, the amphibian diversity in the region is poorly understood. In this study, the frogs Kurixalus odontotarsus and Raorchestes longchuanensis were collected and recorded for the first time in northern Thailand. This determination was based on specimens previously collected from this region. Morphologically, these specimens displayed good agreement with the original descriptions provided for K. odontotarsus and R. longchuanensis. Phylogenetically, the specimens clustered according to the sequences of type locality of K. odontotarsus and R. longchuanensis with only a small degree of genetic distance. Based on our work, we have extended the latitudinal distribution of K. odontotarsus and R. longchuanensis southward into northern Thailand. Notably, our discovery increases the number of amphibian species recorded in Thailand to 195, and the number of rhacophorid species known to occur in Thailand to 40.","PeriodicalId":48693,"journal":{"name":"Russian Journal of Herpetology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46952465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-27DOI: 10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-327-332
Müge Gidiş, Eyup Başkale
The life history traits of the rough-tailed agama, Stellagama stellio (Linnaeus, 1758) in a population from Kütahya, Turkey were described by the skeletochronological method. From a total of 54 individuals, the mean ages ± standard deviation (SD) of males and females were calculated as 5.03 ± 2.076 years and 4.79 ± 1.584 years, respectively, and age distributions were not significantly different between sexes. The age at maturity was 2 years for both sexes. The longevity of females was 8 years, whereas for males it was 9 years. Mean snout-vent length (SVL) ± SD was 101.7 ± 9.6 mm in females and 104.9 ± 14.4 mm in males and did not significantly differ between the two sexes. We examined the sexual dimorphism of S. stellio in relation to the difference in population age structure between the sexes using the skeletochronological method. Male individuals were slightly larger than female individuals at the same age, but this difference was not statistically significant. We also estimated the maximum ages for S. stellio, which agree with other populations in Turkey.
{"title":"Age Structure and Life Expectancy in a Stellagama stellio (Linnaeus, 1758) Population from Kütahya, Turkey","authors":"Müge Gidiş, Eyup Başkale","doi":"10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-327-332","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-327-332","url":null,"abstract":"The life history traits of the rough-tailed agama, Stellagama stellio (Linnaeus, 1758) in a population from Kütahya, Turkey were described by the skeletochronological method. From a total of 54 individuals, the mean ages ± standard deviation (SD) of males and females were calculated as 5.03 ± 2.076 years and 4.79 ± 1.584 years, respectively, and age distributions were not significantly different between sexes. The age at maturity was 2 years for both sexes. The longevity of females was 8 years, whereas for males it was 9 years. Mean snout-vent length (SVL) ± SD was 101.7 ± 9.6 mm in females and 104.9 ± 14.4 mm in males and did not significantly differ between the two sexes. We examined the sexual dimorphism of S. stellio in relation to the difference in population age structure between the sexes using the skeletochronological method. Male individuals were slightly larger than female individuals at the same age, but this difference was not statistically significant. We also estimated the maximum ages for S. stellio, which agree with other populations in Turkey.","PeriodicalId":48693,"journal":{"name":"Russian Journal of Herpetology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47795729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-27DOI: 10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-355-368
T. V. Nguyen, C. Hoang, Jiang Jianping, N. Orlov, Hoa Thi Ninh, Huy Quoc Nguyen, T. Nguyen, T. Ziegler
We describe Vietnamophryne cuongi sp. nov., a new species of microhylid frog from northern Vietnam, based on morphological and molecular differences. Although superficially similar to remaining Vietnamophryne members, the new species differs by a number of diagnostic morphological characters, such as body size, habitus, head dimensions, finger and toe morphology, skin texture, as well as colour pattern. Phylogenetic analyses based on a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S gene place the new species to be sister to V. orlovi, from which it differed by 2.4% genetic divergence. We also describe the first female known of V. orlovi, collected in the forest of Phia Oac-Phia Den National Park, Cao Bang Province. The latter species, for which we provide an extended description herein, was recently described based on the single male type specimen only from the same site in northern Vietnam. Vietnamophryne cuongi sp. nov. is only known from three specimens, two adult females and a juvenile, from the evergreen tropical forest of Ba Vi National Park, Hanoi. As such, it is likely to be at high risk of habitat loss. Considering its high ecological specialization and the small known distribution range of the new species, we propose Endangered as IUCN Red List status.
{"title":"A New Species of Vietnamophryne with an Extended Description of Vietnamophryne orlovi","authors":"T. V. Nguyen, C. Hoang, Jiang Jianping, N. Orlov, Hoa Thi Ninh, Huy Quoc Nguyen, T. Nguyen, T. Ziegler","doi":"10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-355-368","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-355-368","url":null,"abstract":"We describe Vietnamophryne cuongi sp. nov., a new species of microhylid frog from northern Vietnam, based on morphological and molecular differences. Although superficially similar to remaining Vietnamophryne members, the new species differs by a number of diagnostic morphological characters, such as body size, habitus, head dimensions, finger and toe morphology, skin texture, as well as colour pattern. Phylogenetic analyses based on a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S gene place the new species to be sister to V. orlovi, from which it differed by 2.4% genetic divergence. We also describe the first female known of V. orlovi, collected in the forest of Phia Oac-Phia Den National Park, Cao Bang Province. The latter species, for which we provide an extended description herein, was recently described based on the single male type specimen only from the same site in northern Vietnam. Vietnamophryne cuongi sp. nov. is only known from three specimens, two adult females and a juvenile, from the evergreen tropical forest of Ba Vi National Park, Hanoi. As such, it is likely to be at high risk of habitat loss. Considering its high ecological specialization and the small known distribution range of the new species, we propose Endangered as IUCN Red List status.","PeriodicalId":48693,"journal":{"name":"Russian Journal of Herpetology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45940374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-27DOI: 10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-319-326
K. Candan, Ç. Ilgaz, Y. Kumlutaş, Serkan Gül
The Taurus Mountains that have a very rich biodiversity are one of the most important mountain chains in Anatolia. In this study, we examined distribution patterns of Chalcides ocellatus that has a restricted dispersal between the Taurus Mountains from the past to current using ecological niche modeling. The Taurus Mountains have played the role as a refugium area in which C. ocellatus could survive through a period of unfavorable conditions. Especially in the glaciation period, Amanos Mountains in the Middle Taurus as an isolating barrier appeared unsuitable habitats for the lineages of C. ocellatus. This indicated that the lineages of C. ocellatus were formed as a result of habitat fragmentation during the last glacial maximum and last interglacial, and were consequently adapted to different climatic conditions.
{"title":"An Overview of Historical Distribution Patterns of Chalcides ocellatus (Forsskål, 1775) Using Ecological Niche Modelling: the Taurus Mountains as a Refugium","authors":"K. Candan, Ç. Ilgaz, Y. Kumlutaş, Serkan Gül","doi":"10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-319-326","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-319-326","url":null,"abstract":"The Taurus Mountains that have a very rich biodiversity are one of the most important mountain chains in Anatolia. In this study, we examined distribution patterns of Chalcides ocellatus that has a restricted dispersal between the Taurus Mountains from the past to current using ecological niche modeling. The Taurus Mountains have played the role as a refugium area in which C. ocellatus could survive through a period of unfavorable conditions. Especially in the glaciation period, Amanos Mountains in the Middle Taurus as an isolating barrier appeared unsuitable habitats for the lineages of C. ocellatus. This indicated that the lineages of C. ocellatus were formed as a result of habitat fragmentation during the last glacial maximum and last interglacial, and were consequently adapted to different climatic conditions.","PeriodicalId":48693,"journal":{"name":"Russian Journal of Herpetology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43576114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-27DOI: 10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-333-347
Tomas Zuklin, Nathanael Maury, Saly Sitthivong, Thong Van Pham, Olivier Le Duc, Cédric Bordes, B. Leprince, Charlotte Ducotterd, Lo Van Oanh, Phimphasone Vilay, Vinh Quang Luu, L. Luiselli
Nowadays, Laos remains one of the scientifically least known countries of Asia in terms of herpetological knowledge. Here, we evaluate composition of species in freshwater ecosystems (main river courses) and terrestrial ecosystems (forests) in two distinct regions using Visual Encounter Surveys along designed transects, examination of fishers’ catches and standardized interviews. In Northern Laos, we recorded only 18 reptile individuals (2 turtle and 1 snake species). Interview surveys demonstrated that in Nam Xam River, fishers are more likely to hunt turtles and we identified one potential site where the world’s rarest turtle, Rafetus swinhoei, could be still present in the wild. In Nam Et Phou Louey National Park, we found 19 reptile species (8 lizard, 10 snake, 1 turtle species) in the different study sites, demonstrating a low species density in all different surveyed habitats. In Central/Southern Laos, we observed 30 species of reptiles (14 snake, 16 lizard, 35 amphibian species). Our study offers preliminary insights into the composition of amphibians and reptiles in Laos. The great majority of the species were non-threatened or not evaluated, and a few were threatened, suggesting that more research is needed to proper understand the conservation status of Laos’ herpetofauna. We highlighted, indirectly by interviews with local fishers, the possible presence of the turtle Rafetus swinhoei, thus providing a new hope for avoiding the extinction of this species. Finally, we observed a relatively low number of species in each habitat type, which is remarkably lower than in tropical forests of other continents or of nearby south-east Asian countries, indicating that the herpetofauna communities in Laos are depleted, reflecting an ‘empty forest syndrome’.
如今，老挝仍然是亚洲最不为人所知的爬虫学国家之一。在这里，我们评估了两个不同区域的淡水生态系统(主要河道)和陆地生态系统(森林)的物种组成，方法是沿着设计的样带进行视觉接触调查，检查渔民的捕捞量和标准化访谈。在老挝北部，我们只记录到18只爬行动物个体(2只乌龟和1只蛇)。访谈调查表明，在南萨姆河，渔民更有可能捕猎海龟，我们确定了一个潜在的地点，那里可能仍然存在着世界上最稀有的龟，Rafetus swinhoei。在Nam Et Phou Louey国家公园，我们在不同的研究地点发现了19种爬行动物(8种蜥蜴，10种蛇，1种乌龟)，表明在不同的调查生境中物种密度都很低。在老挝中南部共发现爬行动物30种(蛇14种，蜥蜴16种，两栖动物35种)。我们的研究为老挝两栖动物和爬行动物的组成提供了初步的见解。绝大多数物种未受到威胁或未被评估，少数物种受到威胁，这表明需要更多的研究来正确了解老挝的爬行动物区系的保护状况。我们通过与当地渔民的访谈间接强调了可能存在的龟，从而为避免该物种的灭绝提供了新的希望。最后，我们观察到每种栖息地类型的物种数量相对较低，明显低于其他大陆或邻近东南亚国家的热带森林，这表明老挝的爬行动物群落已经枯竭，反映了“空林综合症”。
{"title":"The «Empty Forest Syndrome» and the Herpetofaunal Communities in Laos (South-Eastern Asia)","authors":"Tomas Zuklin, Nathanael Maury, Saly Sitthivong, Thong Van Pham, Olivier Le Duc, Cédric Bordes, B. Leprince, Charlotte Ducotterd, Lo Van Oanh, Phimphasone Vilay, Vinh Quang Luu, L. Luiselli","doi":"10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-333-347","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-333-347","url":null,"abstract":"Nowadays, Laos remains one of the scientifically least known countries of Asia in terms of herpetological knowledge. Here, we evaluate composition of species in freshwater ecosystems (main river courses) and terrestrial ecosystems (forests) in two distinct regions using Visual Encounter Surveys along designed transects, examination of fishers’ catches and standardized interviews. In Northern Laos, we recorded only 18 reptile individuals (2 turtle and 1 snake species). Interview surveys demonstrated that in Nam Xam River, fishers are more likely to hunt turtles and we identified one potential site where the world’s rarest turtle, Rafetus swinhoei, could be still present in the wild. In Nam Et Phou Louey National Park, we found 19 reptile species (8 lizard, 10 snake, 1 turtle species) in the different study sites, demonstrating a low species density in all different surveyed habitats. In Central/Southern Laos, we observed 30 species of reptiles (14 snake, 16 lizard, 35 amphibian species). Our study offers preliminary insights into the composition of amphibians and reptiles in Laos. The great majority of the species were non-threatened or not evaluated, and a few were threatened, suggesting that more research is needed to proper understand the conservation status of Laos’ herpetofauna. We highlighted, indirectly by interviews with local fishers, the possible presence of the turtle Rafetus swinhoei, thus providing a new hope for avoiding the extinction of this species. Finally, we observed a relatively low number of species in each habitat type, which is remarkably lower than in tropical forests of other continents or of nearby south-east Asian countries, indicating that the herpetofauna communities in Laos are depleted, reflecting an ‘empty forest syndrome’.","PeriodicalId":48693,"journal":{"name":"Russian Journal of Herpetology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44143849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-27DOI: 10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-375-379
W. Ali, A. Javid, A. Hussain, S. M. Bukhari, S. Hussain
This one-year survey was conducted from February 2017 to January 2018 to assess the herpetofaunal diversity in Cholistan desert, Bahawalnagar district, Punjab, Pakistan. Field surveys were conducted during dawn and dusk for fifteen consecutive days in alternate months and five sub sampling sites were sampled at ten field visits. Specimens were collected through hand capture, using snake sticks, forceps, drag nets, noose traps, pitfall and funnel traps. Overall, two species of toads, two species of frogs, two species of turtles, ten lizards species and ten snake species belonging to 23 genera and 14 families were recorded. Simpson index was calculated as 0.933, evenness 0.733 and Shannon – Wiener index was 2.947 indicating moderate to high level of diversity. Bufo stomaticus (Pi = 0.1253), Uromastyx hardwickii (Pi = 0.0739) were the dominant amphibian and reptilian species, respectively while Uromastyx asmussi was recorded for the first time in the study area. Hand capture and pitfall traps appeared to be the most effective methods to capture the amphibian and reptiles. The distribution ranges of amphibians and reptiles have changed and such surveys are necessary to update baseline information in the country. We recommend further systematic survey work and molecular analysis of the native species be undertaken in the future to supplement our findings.
{"title":"Preliminary Assessment of the Diversity and Habitat Preferences of Herpetofauna in Cholistan Desert, Pakistan","authors":"W. Ali, A. Javid, A. Hussain, S. M. Bukhari, S. Hussain","doi":"10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-375-379","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-375-379","url":null,"abstract":"This one-year survey was conducted from February 2017 to January 2018 to assess the herpetofaunal diversity in Cholistan desert, Bahawalnagar district, Punjab, Pakistan. Field surveys were conducted during dawn and dusk for fifteen consecutive days in alternate months and five sub sampling sites were sampled at ten field visits. Specimens were collected through hand capture, using snake sticks, forceps, drag nets, noose traps, pitfall and funnel traps. Overall, two species of toads, two species of frogs, two species of turtles, ten lizards species and ten snake species belonging to 23 genera and 14 families were recorded. Simpson index was calculated as 0.933, evenness 0.733 and Shannon – Wiener index was 2.947 indicating moderate to high level of diversity. Bufo stomaticus (Pi = 0.1253), Uromastyx hardwickii (Pi = 0.0739) were the dominant amphibian and reptilian species, respectively while Uromastyx asmussi was recorded for the first time in the study area. Hand capture and pitfall traps appeared to be the most effective methods to capture the amphibian and reptiles. The distribution ranges of amphibians and reptiles have changed and such surveys are necessary to update baseline information in the country. We recommend further systematic survey work and molecular analysis of the native species be undertaken in the future to supplement our findings.","PeriodicalId":48693,"journal":{"name":"Russian Journal of Herpetology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49400999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-27DOI: 10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-348-354
M. Do, Ki-Baek Nam
Studies on the distribution of species are important to understanding the interspecific ecological niche and habitat selection through geographic environmental information. Particularly, vipers in the same genus have been an important topic because they show differences in the preferred geographical environment, depending on the distance of the phylogenetic relationship. This study investigated the geographical environment of red-tongued pit vipers (Gloydius ussuriensis) and Central Asian pit vipers (Gloydius intermedius) in the mountainous area, Cheonmasan Mountain County Park, South Korea, from April 2012 to October 2014, to understand the relationships among their habitat characteristics and ecological niche. Red-tongued pit vipers mainly lived in low altitude, wet valley areas with a low solar reflectance, while Central Asian pit vipers inhabited high altitude, dry land with large amounts of sunshine. As a result, our study supports that the ecological niche of red-tongued pit vipers and Central Asian pit vipers, inhibiting in Cheonmasan Mountain was overlapped low according to the majority of geographical environmental variables. The differentiated diet preference might be took into consideration as one of the potential key factors to the ecological niche differentiation among two species.
{"title":"Distribution Patterns and Ecological Niches of the Red-tongued Pit Viper (Gloydius ussuriensis) and the Central Asian Pit Viper (Gloydius intermedius) in Cheonmasan Mountain, South Korea","authors":"M. Do, Ki-Baek Nam","doi":"10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-348-354","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-348-354","url":null,"abstract":"Studies on the distribution of species are important to understanding the interspecific ecological niche and habitat selection through geographic environmental information. Particularly, vipers in the same genus have been an important topic because they show differences in the preferred geographical environment, depending on the distance of the phylogenetic relationship. This study investigated the geographical environment of red-tongued pit vipers (Gloydius ussuriensis) and Central Asian pit vipers (Gloydius intermedius) in the mountainous area, Cheonmasan Mountain County Park, South Korea, from April 2012 to October 2014, to understand the relationships among their habitat characteristics and ecological niche. Red-tongued pit vipers mainly lived in low altitude, wet valley areas with a low solar reflectance, while Central Asian pit vipers inhabited high altitude, dry land with large amounts of sunshine. As a result, our study supports that the ecological niche of red-tongued pit vipers and Central Asian pit vipers, inhibiting in Cheonmasan Mountain was overlapped low according to the majority of geographical environmental variables. The differentiated diet preference might be took into consideration as one of the potential key factors to the ecological niche differentiation among two species.","PeriodicalId":48693,"journal":{"name":"Russian Journal of Herpetology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44633788","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-27DOI: 10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-380-382
A. Bauer
{"title":"David B. Wake (1936 – 2021), Salamander Specialist and Evolutionary Biologist","authors":"A. Bauer","doi":"10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-380-382","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-380-382","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48693,"journal":{"name":"Russian Journal of Herpetology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47248374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-27DOI: 10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-369-374
J. Purger, R. Bocz
For estimation of predation plasticine models of prey animals are often used, because the soft material preserves imprints left by predators. We assumed that melanic common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) disappear by selective predation faster than cryptic individuals and habitat features have important role in this process. We studied the survival probabilities of cryptic and melanic colored plasticine common wall lizard models in habitats with different background coloration on selected places near the city of Pécs (south Hungary), where melanic common wall lizards had been observed earlier. Contrary to our expectations the daily survival rates of melanic plasticine common wall lizards were somewhat higher in all three locations (sandstone quarry, stone wall, coal pit) than those of the cryptic ones, but these differences were not significant. Predators were mostly mammals, which left more marks on plasticine models than birds, but we could not show a preference of the body parts of prey. We concluded that rare occurrence of melanic common wall lizards in habitats near the city of Pécs is not due to predation pressure.
{"title":"Predation on Common Wall Lizards: Survival Probabilities of Melanic Individuals","authors":"J. Purger, R. Bocz","doi":"10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-369-374","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-6-369-374","url":null,"abstract":"For estimation of predation plasticine models of prey animals are often used, because the soft material preserves imprints left by predators. We assumed that melanic common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) disappear by selective predation faster than cryptic individuals and habitat features have important role in this process. We studied the survival probabilities of cryptic and melanic colored plasticine common wall lizard models in habitats with different background coloration on selected places near the city of Pécs (south Hungary), where melanic common wall lizards had been observed earlier. Contrary to our expectations the daily survival rates of melanic plasticine common wall lizards were somewhat higher in all three locations (sandstone quarry, stone wall, coal pit) than those of the cryptic ones, but these differences were not significant. Predators were mostly mammals, which left more marks on plasticine models than birds, but we could not show a preference of the body parts of prey. We concluded that rare occurrence of melanic common wall lizards in habitats near the city of Pécs is not due to predation pressure.","PeriodicalId":48693,"journal":{"name":"Russian Journal of Herpetology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2021-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44135539","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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