The turbinal skeleton inside the nasal cavity supports the respiratory and olfactory epithelia of the mammalian nose and can provide systematic and morphofunctional information. For the first time, the turbinal skeleton of Pentalagus furnessi (Amami rabbit) from Japan is described based on µCT scans and virtual 3D reconstructions of two specimens. In general, the turbinal skeleton of Pentalagus furnessi resembles the pattern and characters observed in other Leporidae. The maxilloturbinal is highly dendritic, nasoturbinal and crista semicircularis are in close contact and form a common recess, the frontoturbinal recess houses two frontoturbinals and one interturbinal between them, the ethmoturbinal recess houses three ethmoturbinals and one interturbinal between ethmoturbinal I and II. Pentalagus furnessi is derived from the leporid grundplan in having a lamina semicircularis with almost straight posterior margin and ventral lamella and in showing a single-scrolled and relatively short interturbinal between frontoturbinal 1 and 2. These characters can be regarded as autapomorphic for the Amami rabbit. Furthermore, the two specimens have an additional small and short interturbinal between frontoturbinal 2 and ethmoturbinal I that shows some variation. This pattern supports previous observations of intraspecific variation of certain interturbinals in Oryctolagus cuniculus and some Sylvilagus and Lepus species. The comparison of the turbinal skeleton of Pentalagus furnessi and its possible sister taxon (e.g., Pronolagus, Poelagus or Caprolagus) reveals a puzzling pattern which is discussed.
{"title":"The turbinal skeleton of Pentalagus furnessi (Leporidae, Lagomorpha)","authors":"I. Ruf","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e83324","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e83324","url":null,"abstract":"The turbinal skeleton inside the nasal cavity supports the respiratory and olfactory epithelia of the mammalian nose and can provide systematic and morphofunctional information. For the first time, the turbinal skeleton of Pentalagus furnessi (Amami rabbit) from Japan is described based on µCT scans and virtual 3D reconstructions of two specimens. In general, the turbinal skeleton of Pentalagus furnessi resembles the pattern and characters observed in other Leporidae. The maxilloturbinal is highly dendritic, nasoturbinal and crista semicircularis are in close contact and form a common recess, the frontoturbinal recess houses two frontoturbinals and one interturbinal between them, the ethmoturbinal recess houses three ethmoturbinals and one interturbinal between ethmoturbinal I and II. Pentalagus furnessi is derived from the leporid grundplan in having a lamina semicircularis with almost straight posterior margin and ventral lamella and in showing a single-scrolled and relatively short interturbinal between frontoturbinal 1 and 2. These characters can be regarded as autapomorphic for the Amami rabbit. Furthermore, the two specimens have an additional small and short interturbinal between frontoturbinal 2 and ethmoturbinal I that shows some variation. This pattern supports previous observations of intraspecific variation of certain interturbinals in Oryctolagus cuniculus and some Sylvilagus and Lepus species. The comparison of the turbinal skeleton of Pentalagus furnessi and its possible sister taxon (e.g., Pronolagus, Poelagus or Caprolagus) reveals a puzzling pattern which is discussed.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48459985","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}
We describe three distinct, small-bodied, scansorial species of south Asian Cnemaspis from Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, India—Cnemaspis azhagusp. nov. from Thirukurungudi forest range, Cnemaspis mundanthuraiensissp. nov. from Mundanthurai forest range and Cnemaspis kalakadensissp. nov. from Kalakad forest range. Phylogenetic analyses using a partial sequence of the mitochondrial ND2 gene and general morphology places each of the three new species in the beddomei, gracilis and littoralis clades, respectively. The three new species are diagnosed from all other described members of their respective clades by a suite of differing morphological characters including snout vent length, number of dorsal tubercle rows at mid-body, number of paravertebral tubercles, presence or absence of spine-like scales on flanks, number of ventral scales across belly at mid-body, number of ventral scales from mental to anterior border of cloaca, number of lamellae under digit IV of pes, number of femoral and/or precloacal pores and poreless scales separating these series, as well as subtle colouration differences. We also provide some novel characters of tail tuberculation of the three new species described herein. With the discovery of these three new species, eight species of geckos including five Cnemaspis are now known to be endemic to KMTR.
{"title":"Three more novel species of South Asian Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India","authors":"Akshay Khandekar, T. Thackeray, Ishan Agarwal","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e82343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e82343","url":null,"abstract":"We describe three distinct, small-bodied, scansorial species of south Asian Cnemaspis from Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, India—Cnemaspis azhagusp. nov. from Thirukurungudi forest range, Cnemaspis mundanthuraiensissp. nov. from Mundanthurai forest range and Cnemaspis kalakadensissp. nov. from Kalakad forest range. Phylogenetic analyses using a partial sequence of the mitochondrial ND2 gene and general morphology places each of the three new species in the beddomei, gracilis and littoralis clades, respectively. The three new species are diagnosed from all other described members of their respective clades by a suite of differing morphological characters including snout vent length, number of dorsal tubercle rows at mid-body, number of paravertebral tubercles, presence or absence of spine-like scales on flanks, number of ventral scales across belly at mid-body, number of ventral scales from mental to anterior border of cloaca, number of lamellae under digit IV of pes, number of femoral and/or precloacal pores and poreless scales separating these series, as well as subtle colouration differences. We also provide some novel characters of tail tuberculation of the three new species described herein. With the discovery of these three new species, eight species of geckos including five Cnemaspis are now known to be endemic to KMTR.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41995234","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}
A. T. Nguyen, Tang Van Duong, Perry L. Wood, Jr., L. Grismer
An integrative taxonomic analysis of species in the colubrid genus Lycodon Fitzinger, 1826 recovered two new syntopic species of the L. rufozonatus complex from the imperiled Song Giang River valley in Khan Hoa Province, of Southern Vietnam. Although L. truongisp. nov. and L. anakradayasp. nov. are syntopic, they are not particularly closely related and can be differentiated from each other and all other species in the L. rufozonatus complex on the basis of meristics, morphometrics, color pattern, and uncorrected pairwise genetic distance based on the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b. The discovery of these two new range-restricted species and a previously described range-restricted gekkonid in the genus Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1828 from the same valley, underscores the necessity of continued field work in the Song Giang River valley so as to catalog the unrealized herpetological diversity in this area and establish research-based conservation programs.
{"title":"Two new syntopic species of wolf snakes (genus Lycodon H. Boie in Fitzinger, 1826) from an imperiled ecosystem in the Song Giang River Valley of southern Vietnam (Squamata: Colubridae)","authors":"A. T. Nguyen, Tang Van Duong, Perry L. Wood, Jr., L. Grismer","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e82201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e82201","url":null,"abstract":"An integrative taxonomic analysis of species in the colubrid genus Lycodon Fitzinger, 1826 recovered two new syntopic species of the L. rufozonatus complex from the imperiled Song Giang River valley in Khan Hoa Province, of Southern Vietnam. Although L. truongisp. nov. and L. anakradayasp. nov. are syntopic, they are not particularly closely related and can be differentiated from each other and all other species in the L. rufozonatus complex on the basis of meristics, morphometrics, color pattern, and uncorrected pairwise genetic distance based on the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b. The discovery of these two new range-restricted species and a previously described range-restricted gekkonid in the genus Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1828 from the same valley, underscores the necessity of continued field work in the Song Giang River valley so as to catalog the unrealized herpetological diversity in this area and establish research-based conservation programs.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46890214","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}
Elasmobranchs, comprising sharks, skates, and rays, have a long evolutionary history extending back into the Palaeozoic. They are characterized by various unique traits including a predominantly cartilaginous skeleton, superficial prismatic phosphatic layer, and permanent tooth replacement. Moreover, they exhibit a more or less marked sexual dimorphism. Especially the morphology of the chondrocranium and the elements of the whole cranial region of extant and extinct chondrichthyans can provide valuable information about corresponding functions, e.g. the feeding apparatus might reflect the diet of the animals. However, studies on sexual dimorphisms are lacking in orectolobiform sharks, therefore, little is known about possible sexual dimorphic characters in the cranial region in this group. For this reason, we present in this study a comprehensive morphological description of the cranial region of the brownbanded bamboo shark Chiloscyllium punctatum Müller & Henle, 1838, with a special focus on its sexual dimorphic characters. Our results reveal clear morphological differences in both sexes of the examined C. punctatum specimens, particularly in the chondrocranium and the mandibular arch. The female specimen shows a comparatively more robust and compact morphology of the chondrocranium. This pattern is also evident in the mandibular arch, especially in the palatoquadrate. The present study is the first to describe the morphology of an orectolobiform shark species in detail using both manual dissection and micro-CT data. The resulting data furthermore provide a starting point for pending studies and are intended to be a first step in a series of comparative studies on the morphology of the cranial region of orectolobiform sharks, including the determination of possible sexual dimorphic characteristics.
{"title":"Cranial morphology of the orectolobiform shark, Chiloscyllium punctatum Müller & Henle, 1838","authors":"M. Staggl, D. Abed-Navandi, J. Kriwet","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e84732","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e84732","url":null,"abstract":"Elasmobranchs, comprising sharks, skates, and rays, have a long evolutionary history extending back into the Palaeozoic. They are characterized by various unique traits including a predominantly cartilaginous skeleton, superficial prismatic phosphatic layer, and permanent tooth replacement. Moreover, they exhibit a more or less marked sexual dimorphism. Especially the morphology of the chondrocranium and the elements of the whole cranial region of extant and extinct chondrichthyans can provide valuable information about corresponding functions, e.g. the feeding apparatus might reflect the diet of the animals. However, studies on sexual dimorphisms are lacking in orectolobiform sharks, therefore, little is known about possible sexual dimorphic characters in the cranial region in this group. For this reason, we present in this study a comprehensive morphological description of the cranial region of the brownbanded bamboo shark Chiloscyllium punctatum Müller & Henle, 1838, with a special focus on its sexual dimorphic characters. Our results reveal clear morphological differences in both sexes of the examined C. punctatum specimens, particularly in the chondrocranium and the mandibular arch. The female specimen shows a comparatively more robust and compact morphology of the chondrocranium. This pattern is also evident in the mandibular arch, especially in the palatoquadrate. The present study is the first to describe the morphology of an orectolobiform shark species in detail using both manual dissection and micro-CT data. The resulting data furthermore provide a starting point for pending studies and are intended to be a first step in a series of comparative studies on the morphology of the cranial region of orectolobiform sharks, including the determination of possible sexual dimorphic characteristics.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49579510","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}
M. Vences, J. Köhler, A. Crottini, M. Hofreiter, C. Hutter, L. D. du Preez, M. Preick, Andolalao Rakotoarison, Loïs Rancilhac, A. P. Raselimanana, G. Rosa, Mark D. Scherz, F. Glaw
The subgenus Laurentomantis in the genus Gephyromantis contains some of the least known amphibian species of Madagascar. The six currently valid nominal species are rainforest frogs known from few individuals, hampering a full understanding of the species diversity of the clade. We assembled data on specimens collected during field surveys over the past 30 years and integrated analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear-encoded genes of 88 individuals, a comprehensive bioacoustic analysis, and morphological comparisons to delimit a minimum of nine species-level lineages in the subgenus. To clarify the identity of the species Gephyromantis malagasius, we applied a target-enrichment approach to a sample of the 110 year-old holotype of Microphryne malagasia Methuen and Hewitt, 1913 to assign this specimen to a lineage based on a mitochondrial DNA barcode. The holotype clustered unambiguously with specimens previously named G. ventrimaculatus. Consequently we propose to consider Trachymantis malagasia ventrimaculatus Angel, 1935 as a junior synonym of Gephyromantis malagasius. Due to this redefinition of G. malagasius, no scientific name is available for any of the four deep lineages of frogs previously subsumed under this name, all characterized by red color ventrally on the hindlimbs. These are here formally named as Gephyromantis fiharimpesp. nov., G. matsilosp. nov., G. oelkrugisp. nov., and G. portonaesp. nov. The new species are distinguishable from each other by genetic divergences of >4% uncorrected pairwise distance in a fragment of the 16S rRNA marker and a combination of morphological and bioacoustic characters. Gephyromantis fiharimpe and G. matsilo occur, respectively, at mid-elevations and lower elevations along a wide stretch of Madagascar’s eastern rainforest band, while G. oelkrugi and G. portonae appear to be more range-restricted in parts of Madagascar’s North East and Northern Central East regions. Open taxonomic questions surround G. horridus, to which we here assign specimens from Montagne d’Ambre and the type locality Nosy Be; and G. ranjomavo, which contains genetically divergent populations from Marojejy, Tsaratanana, and Ampotsidy.
{"title":"An integrative taxonomic revision and redefinition of Gephyromantis (Laurentomantis) malagasius based on archival DNA analysis reveals four new mantellid frog species from Madagascar","authors":"M. Vences, J. Köhler, A. Crottini, M. Hofreiter, C. Hutter, L. D. du Preez, M. Preick, Andolalao Rakotoarison, Loïs Rancilhac, A. P. Raselimanana, G. Rosa, Mark D. Scherz, F. Glaw","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e78830","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e78830","url":null,"abstract":"The subgenus Laurentomantis in the genus Gephyromantis contains some of the least known amphibian species of Madagascar. The six currently valid nominal species are rainforest frogs known from few individuals, hampering a full understanding of the species diversity of the clade. We assembled data on specimens collected during field surveys over the past 30 years and integrated analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear-encoded genes of 88 individuals, a comprehensive bioacoustic analysis, and morphological comparisons to delimit a minimum of nine species-level lineages in the subgenus. To clarify the identity of the species Gephyromantis malagasius, we applied a target-enrichment approach to a sample of the 110 year-old holotype of Microphryne malagasia Methuen and Hewitt, 1913 to assign this specimen to a lineage based on a mitochondrial DNA barcode. The holotype clustered unambiguously with specimens previously named G. ventrimaculatus. Consequently we propose to consider Trachymantis malagasia ventrimaculatus Angel, 1935 as a junior synonym of Gephyromantis malagasius. Due to this redefinition of G. malagasius, no scientific name is available for any of the four deep lineages of frogs previously subsumed under this name, all characterized by red color ventrally on the hindlimbs. These are here formally named as Gephyromantis fiharimpesp. nov., G. matsilosp. nov., G. oelkrugisp. nov., and G. portonaesp. nov. The new species are distinguishable from each other by genetic divergences of >4% uncorrected pairwise distance in a fragment of the 16S rRNA marker and a combination of morphological and bioacoustic characters. Gephyromantis fiharimpe and G. matsilo occur, respectively, at mid-elevations and lower elevations along a wide stretch of Madagascar’s eastern rainforest band, while G. oelkrugi and G. portonae appear to be more range-restricted in parts of Madagascar’s North East and Northern Central East regions. Open taxonomic questions surround G. horridus, to which we here assign specimens from Montagne d’Ambre and the type locality Nosy Be; and G. ranjomavo, which contains genetically divergent populations from Marojejy, Tsaratanana, and Ampotsidy.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46801216","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}
L. Grismer, Attapol Rujirawan, Siriporn Yodthong, B. Stuart, M. Le, D. Le, Y. Chuaynkern, Perry L. Wood, Jr., A. Aowphol
Abstract Convergent morphological specializations for an arboreal lifestyle in most species of the Cyrtodactylus brevipalmatus group have been a confounding factor for establishing a stable taxonomy among its species. Recent references to C. interdigitalis from throughout Thailand and Laos were made without comparisons to the type material from Tham Yai Nam Nao, Nam Nao National Park, Phetchabun Province, Thailand, but instead, were based on general morphological similarity and distribution. The taxonomy of C. interdigitalis is stabilized here by comparing the paratypes to other specimens from Thailand and Laos and recovering their phylogenetic relationships based on newly acquired genetic data, including those from the type locality. The phylogeny recovered all specimens outside the type locality to be either C. ngati from Vietnam or new species closely related to C. ngati. Cyrtodactylus interdigitalis is shown here to be a range-restricted upland endemic on the Phetchabun massif of northern Thailand. The phylogeny also indicates that C. ngati extends hundreds of kilometers farther south into northern Thailand and central Laos. We hypothesize that the significant morphological divergence in body shape of the types of C. ngati, compared to that of the Lao and Thai populations, may be due to local adaptions for utilizing karst (C. ngati) rather than vegetation (Lao and Thai populations). Additionally, phylogenetic and multivariate analyses identified a potentially new species from Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park, Phitsanulok Province, in northern Thailand and another from the Khlong Naka Wildlife Sanctuary, Ranong Province, in southern Thailand. A series of newly examined specimens from Kaeng Krachan National Park, Phetchaburi Province, Thailand represents a possible ~82 km range extension to the southeast of C. rukhadeva. This research continues to underscore the high diversity of range-restricted upland endemics in Thailand and the importance of examining type material (if possible) in the context of a phylogeny so as to construct proper taxonomies that reveal, rather than obscure, diversity.
摘要短掌Cyrtodactylus shortipamatus群大多数物种的树栖生活方式的趋同形态专门化是在其物种中建立稳定分类学的一个混杂因素。最近对泰国和老挝各地的叉指C.intergitalis的引用没有与泰国Phetchabun省Nam Nao国家公园Tham Yai Nam Nau的类型材料进行比较，而是基于一般的形态相似性和分布。通过将副型与泰国和老挝的其他标本进行比较，并根据新获得的遗传数据（包括模式所在地的遗传数据）恢复它们的系统发育关系，叉指C.intergitalis的分类学在这里得到了稳定。系统发育发现模式区以外的所有标本要么是来自越南的C.ngati，要么是与C.ngati密切相关的新物种。叉指Cyrtodactylus intergitalis是泰国北部Phetchabun地块上的一种限制范围的高地特有种。系统发育还表明，C.ngati向南延伸数百公里，进入泰国北部和老挝中部。我们假设，与老挝和泰国种群相比，C.ngati体型的显著形态差异可能是由于当地对利用喀斯特（C.ngati）而非植被（老挝和泰国人口）的适应。此外，系统发育和多元分析在泰国北部Phitsanulok省Phu Hin Rong Kla国家公园和泰国南部拉农省Khlong Naka野生动物保护区发现了一个潜在的新物种。来自泰国Phetchaburi省Kaeng Krachan国家公园的一系列新检查标本表明，该地区可能延伸至C.rukhadeva东南约82公里。这项研究继续强调了泰国范围受限的高地特有种的高度多样性，以及在系统发育的背景下检查类型材料（如果可能的话）的重要性，以便构建适当的分类法，揭示而不是模糊多样性。
{"title":"The taxonomy and phylogeny of the Cyrtodactylus brevipalmatus group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) with emphasis on C. interdigitalis and C. ngati","authors":"L. Grismer, Attapol Rujirawan, Siriporn Yodthong, B. Stuart, M. Le, D. Le, Y. Chuaynkern, Perry L. Wood, Jr., A. Aowphol","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e80615","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e80615","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Abstract\u0000 \u0000 Convergent morphological specializations for an arboreal lifestyle in most species of the Cyrtodactylus brevipalmatus group have been a confounding factor for establishing a stable taxonomy among its species. Recent references to C. interdigitalis from throughout Thailand and Laos were made without comparisons to the type material from Tham Yai Nam Nao, Nam Nao National Park, Phetchabun Province, Thailand, but instead, were based on general morphological similarity and distribution. The taxonomy of C. interdigitalis is stabilized here by comparing the paratypes to other specimens from Thailand and Laos and recovering their phylogenetic relationships based on newly acquired genetic data, including those from the type locality. The phylogeny recovered all specimens outside the type locality to be either C. ngati from Vietnam or new species closely related to C. ngati. Cyrtodactylus interdigitalis is shown here to be a range-restricted upland endemic on the Phetchabun massif of northern Thailand. The phylogeny also indicates that C. ngati extends hundreds of kilometers farther south into northern Thailand and central Laos. We hypothesize that the significant morphological divergence in body shape of the types of C. ngati, compared to that of the Lao and Thai populations, may be due to local adaptions for utilizing karst (C. ngati) rather than vegetation (Lao and Thai populations). Additionally, phylogenetic and multivariate analyses identified a potentially new species from Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park, Phitsanulok Province, in northern Thailand and another from the Khlong Naka Wildlife Sanctuary, Ranong Province, in southern Thailand. A series of newly examined specimens from Kaeng Krachan National Park, Phetchaburi Province, Thailand represents a possible ~82 km range extension to the southeast of C. rukhadeva. This research continues to underscore the high diversity of range-restricted upland endemics in Thailand and the importance of examining type material (if possible) in the context of a phylogeny so as to construct proper taxonomies that reveal, rather than obscure, diversity.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47172284","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}
Amphibians of the Mexican Cloud Forest have a great diversity but are highly threatened. Forest endemisms are useful for recognizing biodiversity hotspots; furthermore, the interaction of historical and current events has generated areas of endemism that can be used for biological conservation in forest fragments; therefore, their identification is an essential part of the management and planning of biological conservation. Thus, our objective was to identify areas of endemism in the cloud forests of Mexico through the analysis of geographical distribution of 126 species of amphibians, as well as their conservation status to obtain information that supports the selection of priority areas for conservation. For this, the endemicity analysis method was used with three spatial scales, 1°×1°, 0.5°×0.5° and 0.25°×0.25° (lat/long), to achieve more complete results and avoid visual overrepresentation of areas of endemism. Seventeen consensus areas distributed in four of the five provinces of the Mexican Transition Zone were identified. The province of the Sierra Madre del Sur exhibited the highest amount of endemism areas, followed by the Sierra Madre Oriental, the East of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, and the Altos de Chiapas. Results indicate that the endemic areas of the Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre del Sur provinces are composed of amphibians included in the IUCN red list and the Official Mexican Standard NOM-059. Thus, the small areas of endemism in eastern and western Sierra Madre del Sur, nested within larger ones may be used to increase the protected areas of cloud forests in Mexico.
{"title":"Amphibian areas of endemism: A conservation priority in the threatened Mexican cloud forest","authors":"Gustavo Montiel Canales, Irene Goyenechea Mayer Goyenechea","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e73534","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e73534","url":null,"abstract":"Amphibians of the Mexican Cloud Forest have a great diversity but are highly threatened. Forest endemisms are useful for recognizing biodiversity hotspots; furthermore, the interaction of historical and current events has generated areas of endemism that can be used for biological conservation in forest fragments; therefore, their identification is an essential part of the management and planning of biological conservation. Thus, our objective was to identify areas of endemism in the cloud forests of Mexico through the analysis of geographical distribution of 126 species of amphibians, as well as their conservation status to obtain information that supports the selection of priority areas for conservation. For this, the endemicity analysis method was used with three spatial scales, 1°×1°, 0.5°×0.5° and 0.25°×0.25° (lat/long), to achieve more complete results and avoid visual overrepresentation of areas of endemism. Seventeen consensus areas distributed in four of the five provinces of the Mexican Transition Zone were identified. The province of the Sierra Madre del Sur exhibited the highest amount of endemism areas, followed by the Sierra Madre Oriental, the East of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, and the Altos de Chiapas. Results indicate that the endemic areas of the Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre del Sur provinces are composed of amphibians included in the IUCN red list and the Official Mexican Standard NOM-059. Thus, the small areas of endemism in eastern and western Sierra Madre del Sur, nested within larger ones may be used to increase the protected areas of cloud forests in Mexico.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47912376","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}
We name and describe a new species of Andean mouse from the eastern slope of the Andes of central Ecuador (Sangay National Park). This rodent is large-bodied (head-body length 167–184 mm) inhabiting the wet montane forest between 3,400–3,900 m in elevation. A molecular phylogeny based on mitochondrial genes resolved the new species as a member of the “aureus” group, closely related to an undescribed species from north Ecuador. This finding increases the diversity of Thomasomys to 48 species, of which 18 species inhabit Ecuador. In addition, the species described herein is the largest species of the genus described in Ecuador.
{"title":"A new species of Andean mouse of the genus Thomasomys (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) from the eastern Andes of Ecuador","authors":"Thomas E. Lee Jr., Nicolás Tinoco, J. Brito","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e78219","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e78219","url":null,"abstract":"We name and describe a new species of Andean mouse from the eastern slope of the Andes of central Ecuador (Sangay National Park). This rodent is large-bodied (head-body length 167–184 mm) inhabiting the wet montane forest between 3,400–3,900 m in elevation. A molecular phylogeny based on mitochondrial genes resolved the new species as a member of the “aureus” group, closely related to an undescribed species from north Ecuador. This finding increases the diversity of Thomasomys to 48 species, of which 18 species inhabit Ecuador. In addition, the species described herein is the largest species of the genus described in Ecuador.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43875874","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}
Sonali Garg, Sivaperuman Chandrakasan, G. Gokulakrishnan, C. Gopika, I. Das, S. Biju
Since the description of Charles Darwin’s frog as Rana charlesdarwini in 1998, its generic placement has been a taxonomic enigma. Subsequent studies first transferred this species to the dicroglossid genus Limnonectes, and then considered it as a ceratobatrachid of the genus Ingerana, which has since been moved to the family Dicroglossidae. However, recent works have doubted this generic placement and also suggested the possibility of its sister relationship with the genus Liurana, within Ceratobatrachidae. Nonetheless, there have been no detailed investigations to ascertain the generic placement of this taxon by confirming its phylogenetic position or using integrative taxonomic approaches. Here, we provide the first molecular assessment of Ingerana charlesdarwini based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA and reveal that it is nested in the dicroglossid genus Minervarya. A member of the Minervarya andamanensis species group, Minervarya charlesdarwinicomb. nov. is sister taxon to M. andamanensis and shows relatively shallow genetic distances (2.8–3.6%) in the 16S gene. Both species are widely distributed, occur sympatrically, and exhibit high morphological variations, leading to long-standing confusions with other dicroglossid frogs reported from the region. Our combined morphological and molecular studies on dicroglossid frogs sampled across the known ranges of these species suggest that reports of Limnonectes doriae (Boulenger, 1887) and L. hascheanus (Stoliczka, 1870) from the Andamans are misidentifications of the former two, pointing to the absence of genus Limnonectes from the Andaman Islands. Our study also reveals the novel record of Minervarya agricola from the Andamans, a species that appears to have been confused with Fejervarya limnocharis and Minervarya keralensis in the literature and misidentified museum specimens, and is found to be widely distributed across these islands. We further find another congener from the Nicobar group of Islands, M. nicobariensis, to be closely related to M. charlesdarwini. Similar to the case of Andaman dicroglossids, our work emphasises on the need for further studies to ascertain the taxonomic identities and generic placement of Minervarya and Limnonectes species reported from the Nicobars.
{"title":"The curious case of Charles Darwin’s frog, Rana charlesdarwini Das, 1998: Phylogenetic position and generic placement, with taxonomic insights on other minervaryan frogs (Dicroglossidae: Minervarya) in the Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago","authors":"Sonali Garg, Sivaperuman Chandrakasan, G. Gokulakrishnan, C. Gopika, I. Das, S. Biju","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e79496","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e79496","url":null,"abstract":"Since the description of Charles Darwin’s frog as Rana charlesdarwini in 1998, its generic placement has been a taxonomic enigma. Subsequent studies first transferred this species to the dicroglossid genus Limnonectes, and then considered it as a ceratobatrachid of the genus Ingerana, which has since been moved to the family Dicroglossidae. However, recent works have doubted this generic placement and also suggested the possibility of its sister relationship with the genus Liurana, within Ceratobatrachidae. Nonetheless, there have been no detailed investigations to ascertain the generic placement of this taxon by confirming its phylogenetic position or using integrative taxonomic approaches. Here, we provide the first molecular assessment of Ingerana charlesdarwini based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA and reveal that it is nested in the dicroglossid genus Minervarya. A member of the Minervarya andamanensis species group, Minervarya charlesdarwinicomb. nov. is sister taxon to M. andamanensis and shows relatively shallow genetic distances (2.8–3.6%) in the 16S gene. Both species are widely distributed, occur sympatrically, and exhibit high morphological variations, leading to long-standing confusions with other dicroglossid frogs reported from the region. Our combined morphological and molecular studies on dicroglossid frogs sampled across the known ranges of these species suggest that reports of Limnonectes doriae (Boulenger, 1887) and L. hascheanus (Stoliczka, 1870) from the Andamans are misidentifications of the former two, pointing to the absence of genus Limnonectes from the Andaman Islands. Our study also reveals the novel record of Minervarya agricola from the Andamans, a species that appears to have been confused with Fejervarya limnocharis and Minervarya keralensis in the literature and misidentified museum specimens, and is found to be widely distributed across these islands. We further find another congener from the Nicobar group of Islands, M. nicobariensis, to be closely related to M. charlesdarwini. Similar to the case of Andaman dicroglossids, our work emphasises on the need for further studies to ascertain the taxonomic identities and generic placement of Minervarya and Limnonectes species reported from the Nicobars.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41991373","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}
J. Schultz, R. Schellhorn, P. Skutschas, D. Vitenko, V. Kolchanov, D. V. Grigoriev, I. Kuzmin, P. Kolosov, A. Lopatin, A. Averianov, T. Martin
Abstract A mammalian petrosal from the Lower Cretaceous Teete locality in Yakutia (Russia) shows a prominent and complex system of venous channels in the bony wall of the pars cochlearis surrounding the straight cochlear canal. This complex venous system is distinctive and more strongly developed than in other mammalian petrosals. A bony ridge is present on the ventral side of the cochlear canal endocast, continuing from between fenestra vestibuli and fenestra cochleae in anterior direction. This ridge corresponds to the position of the scala tympani, and is similar to the secondary bony lamina of crown therians, but lacks the sharp laminar edge. The fenestra cochleae is separate from the canal for the aquaeductus cochleae (derived), but the fenestra retains a deep sulcus that resembles the perilymphatic sulcus (plesiomorphic). The fenestra cochleae is oval shaped and deep. The straight cochlear canal with a ridge on the ventral side strongly resembles that of eutriconodontans like Priacodon fruitaensis from the Upper Jurassic of North America. However, thick and extensive venous channels in the pars cochlearis are otherwise known from docodontans. In the Teete petrosal the channels are even more developed, and resemble the pattern recently reported from possible haramiyidan petrosals from the Middle Jurassic of western Siberia (Russia). Both eutriconodontan and haramiyidan dental remains are known from the Teete locality beside that of tritylodontids and docodontans.
{"title":"Mammalian petrosal from the Lower Cretaceous high paleo-latitude Teete locality (Yakutia, Eastern Russia)","authors":"J. Schultz, R. Schellhorn, P. Skutschas, D. Vitenko, V. Kolchanov, D. V. Grigoriev, I. Kuzmin, P. Kolosov, A. Lopatin, A. Averianov, T. Martin","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e78479","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e78479","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Abstract\u0000 \u0000 A mammalian petrosal from the Lower Cretaceous Teete locality in Yakutia (Russia) shows a prominent and complex system of venous channels in the bony wall of the pars cochlearis surrounding the straight cochlear canal. This complex venous system is distinctive and more strongly developed than in other mammalian petrosals. A bony ridge is present on the ventral side of the cochlear canal endocast, continuing from between fenestra vestibuli and fenestra cochleae in anterior direction. This ridge corresponds to the position of the scala tympani, and is similar to the secondary bony lamina of crown therians, but lacks the sharp laminar edge. The fenestra cochleae is separate from the canal for the aquaeductus cochleae (derived), but the fenestra retains a deep sulcus that resembles the perilymphatic sulcus (plesiomorphic). The fenestra cochleae is oval shaped and deep. The straight cochlear canal with a ridge on the ventral side strongly resembles that of eutriconodontans like Priacodon fruitaensis from the Upper Jurassic of North America. However, thick and extensive venous channels in the pars cochlearis are otherwise known from docodontans. In the Teete petrosal the channels are even more developed, and resemble the pattern recently reported from possible haramiyidan petrosals from the Middle Jurassic of western Siberia (Russia). Both eutriconodontan and haramiyidan dental remains are known from the Teete locality beside that of tritylodontids and docodontans.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45025199","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}
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