Shamna Rajan Palakkool, D. Gower, Ramachandran Kotharambath
Abstract The osteology of the poorly known grandisoniid caecilian Gegeneophis carnosus is described for the first time by applying high-resolution X-ray micro-computed tomography to some recently collected material. The ossified skeleton comprises a stegokrotaphic skull, lower jaw, and vertebral column. The braincase, composed of the sphenethmoid and os basale, is covered by eight other cranial elements viz. nasopremaxilla, frontal, parietal, squamosal, pterygoquadrate, maxillopalatine, vomer, and stapes. The eye is covered by the maxillopalatine, and an (open) orbit is absent. The sphenethmoid is not exposed and lacks a solum nasi or a ventral flange. The olfactory chamber lacks an olfactory eminence. Slight asymmetries were observed in the structure and/or size of the left and right frontals and parietals and in the number and size of some foramina. Except for pterygoquadrate and stapes, all bones are pierced by foramina for nerves and/or blood vessels. The lower jaw shows a typical caecilian pattern with dentigerous pseudodentary and edentulous pseudoangular. Numbers of vertebrae range from 123–130 (mean 126). The vertebrae are somewhat heterogenous, varying in size and proportions along the column. Comparisons are made with other caecilians, especially other grandisoniids. Aspects of the cranial osteology of Gegeneophis, such as the closed orbit, subterminal mouth, and stegokrotaphy are possible adaptations to dedicated fossoriality, but functional, behavioural, and field ecological data are not yet available to test this.
{"title":"Osteology of the caecilian Gegeneophis carnosus (Beddome, 1870) (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Grandisoniidae) from the Western Ghats of peninsular India","authors":"Shamna Rajan Palakkool, D. Gower, Ramachandran Kotharambath","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e79911","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e79911","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Abstract\u0000 \u0000 The osteology of the poorly known grandisoniid caecilian Gegeneophis carnosus is described for the first time by applying high-resolution X-ray micro-computed tomography to some recently collected material. The ossified skeleton comprises a stegokrotaphic skull, lower jaw, and vertebral column. The braincase, composed of the sphenethmoid and os basale, is covered by eight other cranial elements viz. nasopremaxilla, frontal, parietal, squamosal, pterygoquadrate, maxillopalatine, vomer, and stapes. The eye is covered by the maxillopalatine, and an (open) orbit is absent. The sphenethmoid is not exposed and lacks a solum nasi or a ventral flange. The olfactory chamber lacks an olfactory eminence. Slight asymmetries were observed in the structure and/or size of the left and right frontals and parietals and in the number and size of some foramina. Except for pterygoquadrate and stapes, all bones are pierced by foramina for nerves and/or blood vessels. The lower jaw shows a typical caecilian pattern with dentigerous pseudodentary and edentulous pseudoangular. Numbers of vertebrae range from 123–130 (mean 126). The vertebrae are somewhat heterogenous, varying in size and proportions along the column. Comparisons are made with other caecilians, especially other grandisoniids. Aspects of the cranial osteology of Gegeneophis, such as the closed orbit, subterminal mouth, and stegokrotaphy are possible adaptations to dedicated fossoriality, but functional, behavioural, and field ecological data are not yet available to test this.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45700664","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}
Abstract We describe a new, tiny species of Schindleria from a reef lagoon in the Red Sea off the coast of Hurghada, Egypt. Schindleria edentata, new species, belongs to the short dorsal-fin type of Schindleria, with the dorsal and anal fins of about equal length. Schindleria edentata is characterized by an elongated but relatively deep body (body depth at anal-fin origin 10.8% of SL and at 4th anal-fin ray 10.9 % of SL); a short dorsal fin originating just slightly anterior to the anal fin (predorsal-fin length 60.9% of SL, pre-anal fin length 64.8% of SL); a stubby head with a steep frontal profile, a short snout (i.e., 23.1% of head length), and large eye (i.e., 27.7% of the head’s length); a long pectoral radial plate (length 7.6% of SL); four dorsal and four ventral procurrent caudal-fin rays increasing in length posteriorly; last procurrent ray simple without additional spine and, although the longest, not distinctly elongate; 15 dorsal-fin rays; 13 anal-fin rays; the base of the first anal-fin ray positioned below the base of the third dorsal-fin ray; upper and lower jaws toothless; in vivo with translucent body; eye black; swim bladder capped by a melanophore blotch; no pigmentation externally on body after preservation.
{"title":"A new species of toothless, short dorsal-fin Schindleria (Gobiiformes: Gobiidae) from the Red Sea (Egypt)","authors":"H. Ahnelt, Vanessa Robitzch, M. A. El-Regal","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e79401","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e79401","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Abstract\u0000 \u0000 We describe a new, tiny species of Schindleria from a reef lagoon in the Red Sea off the coast of Hurghada, Egypt. Schindleria edentata, new species, belongs to the short dorsal-fin type of Schindleria, with the dorsal and anal fins of about equal length. Schindleria edentata is characterized by an elongated but relatively deep body (body depth at anal-fin origin 10.8% of SL and at 4th anal-fin ray 10.9 % of SL); a short dorsal fin originating just slightly anterior to the anal fin (predorsal-fin length 60.9% of SL, pre-anal fin length 64.8% of SL); a stubby head with a steep frontal profile, a short snout (i.e., 23.1% of head length), and large eye (i.e., 27.7% of the head’s length); a long pectoral radial plate (length 7.6% of SL); four dorsal and four ventral procurrent caudal-fin rays increasing in length posteriorly; last procurrent ray simple without additional spine and, although the longest, not distinctly elongate; 15 dorsal-fin rays; 13 anal-fin rays; the base of the first anal-fin ray positioned below the base of the third dorsal-fin ray; upper and lower jaws toothless; in vivo with translucent body; eye black; swim bladder capped by a melanophore blotch; no pigmentation externally on body after preservation.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42143730","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}
Abstract We used a dataset of georeferenced photos of 5,751 grass snakes from iNaturalist to evaluate subspecific variation of Natrix natrix in coloration and pattern. Our results provide evidence that all four genetically delineated subspecies differ morphologically, although unstriped individuals of N. n. vulgaris are difficult to tell apart from the nominotypical subspecies. The iNaturalist dataset shows that the frequency of dark body coloration increases from south to north and from west to east. This trend is both concordant with taxonomic variation (the easternmost subspecies, N. n. scutata, being the darkest taxon) and variation within the same subspecies (in N. n. natrix and N. n. scutata more northern populations harbor more dark or melanistic individuals than more southern populations). Although available characters were limited to coloration and pattern traits, our study suggests that photo material from iNaturalist and similar platforms can be a valuable data source for studies on morphological variation. However, investigations using such databases can only supplement, but not replace, studies using museum material because only then measureable, meristic and genetic characters will be accessible.
{"title":"Citizen Science, taxonomy and grass snakes: iNaturalist helps to clarify variation of coloration and pattern in Natrix natrix subspecies","authors":"U. Fritz, F. Ihlow","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e87426","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e87426","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Abstract\u0000 \u0000 We used a dataset of georeferenced photos of 5,751 grass snakes from iNaturalist to evaluate subspecific variation of Natrix natrix in coloration and pattern. Our results provide evidence that all four genetically delineated subspecies differ morphologically, although unstriped individuals of N. n. vulgaris are difficult to tell apart from the nominotypical subspecies. The iNaturalist dataset shows that the frequency of dark body coloration increases from south to north and from west to east. This trend is both concordant with taxonomic variation (the easternmost subspecies, N. n. scutata, being the darkest taxon) and variation within the same subspecies (in N. n. natrix and N. n. scutata more northern populations harbor more dark or melanistic individuals than more southern populations). Although available characters were limited to coloration and pattern traits, our study suggests that photo material from iNaturalist and similar platforms can be a valuable data source for studies on morphological variation. However, investigations using such databases can only supplement, but not replace, studies using museum material because only then measureable, meristic and genetic characters will be accessible.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49202100","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}
Anatomical features that have not been previously described in Latimeria were sought in histological section series, tissue-stained microCT scans, MRI scans, and synchrotron scan series. The spiracular organ, ultimobranchial endocrine gland, and m. cucullaris were identified in the expected locations. In addition, a muscle arising on the medial side of the pectoral girdle is identified and compared with a muscle in a similar location that attaches to the cranial rib in lungfish; these are proposed as homologues of the tetrapod m. omohyoideus. These findings are placed in evolutionary context by comparison with selected other groups of fish, lungfish and tetrapods. The position of Latimeria as a key taxon in the fish-to-tetrapod transition is emphasised by these findings, and the findings have potential to inform research on cranial structure in extinct taxa.
{"title":"The missing anatomy of the living coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae (Smith, 1939)","authors":"P. Johnston","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e84274","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e84274","url":null,"abstract":"Anatomical features that have not been previously described in Latimeria were sought in histological section series, tissue-stained microCT scans, MRI scans, and synchrotron scan series. The spiracular organ, ultimobranchial endocrine gland, and m. cucullaris were identified in the expected locations. In addition, a muscle arising on the medial side of the pectoral girdle is identified and compared with a muscle in a similar location that attaches to the cranial rib in lungfish; these are proposed as homologues of the tetrapod m. omohyoideus.\u0000 These findings are placed in evolutionary context by comparison with selected other groups of fish, lungfish and tetrapods. The position of Latimeria as a key taxon in the fish-to-tetrapod transition is emphasised by these findings, and the findings have potential to inform research on cranial structure in extinct taxa.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43852577","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}
Zhi-Tong Lyu, Jian Wang, Zhao-Chi Zeng, L. Luo, Yanwu Zhang, Chungang Guo, Jin-Long Ren, Shuo Qi, Yunming Mo, YING-YONG Wang
The recognition for the floating frogs’ genus Occidozyga is in controversy for decades, and the species diversity of these frogs has recently been considered to be underestimated. In southeastern China, two floating frog species are currently recorded, namely Occidozyga lima and Occidozyga martensii. However, their current taxonomic statuses are unresolved after a series of recent taxonomic revisions. In this work, we perform morphological examinations and phylogenetic analyses on these two recorded floating frogs from southeastern China, to clarify their current taxonomic placements. The population previously recorded as Occidozyga lima should be re-assigned to the nomenclature Occidozyga obscura comb. nov., and the population previously recorded as Occidozyga martensii should be an undescribed species which is erected as Occidozyga lingnanica sp. nov. in this work.
{"title":"Taxonomic clarifications on the floating frogs (Anura: Dicroglossidae: Occidozyga sensu lato) in southeastern China","authors":"Zhi-Tong Lyu, Jian Wang, Zhao-Chi Zeng, L. Luo, Yanwu Zhang, Chungang Guo, Jin-Long Ren, Shuo Qi, Yunming Mo, YING-YONG Wang","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e80019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e80019","url":null,"abstract":"The recognition for the floating frogs’ genus Occidozyga is in controversy for decades, and the species diversity of these frogs has recently been considered to be underestimated. In southeastern China, two floating frog species are currently recorded, namely Occidozyga lima and Occidozyga martensii. However, their current taxonomic statuses are unresolved after a series of recent taxonomic revisions. In this work, we perform morphological examinations and phylogenetic analyses on these two recorded floating frogs from southeastern China, to clarify their current taxonomic placements. The population previously recorded as Occidozyga lima should be re-assigned to the nomenclature Occidozyga obscura comb. nov., and the population previously recorded as Occidozyga martensii should be an undescribed species which is erected as Occidozyga lingnanica sp. nov. in this work.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45585583","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. J. Babot, G. Rougier, D. Garcia-Lopez, S. Bertelli, C. Herrera, M. V. Deraco, N. Giannini
We present a detailed description of the anatomy of the dentary and lower teeth of a new specimen of Callistoe vincei, a large carnivorous metatherian from the Eocene (?Ypresian) of northwestern Argentina. The recently collected specimen is a young adult represented by a partial right dentary with the canine, p1, roots of p3, and very well-preserved m1 to m4. The description includes a comparison with the holotype specimen, a much older individual, and other closely related large sparassodonts (e.g., Arminiheringia). The analysis of this new material allowed identifying plesiomorphic molar features in Callistoe, such as the presence of a reduced metaconid on the m3 and a tricuspated, basined talonid on m1–m3. We also described the mesowear facets in the lower dentition, showing that the self-sharpening facet typically present in extinct and extant placental and some marsupial carnivorous forms, was absent in Callistoe. The presence of a short-term cutting edge in the trigonid related to the thinness of the enamel layer, and the associated tooth wear susceptibility, were likely compensated by a dental mechanism (overeruption) to maintain occlusal contact among antagonist teeth. This process could explain the marked extrusion of the tooth roots observed in Callistoe as well as in other large closely related members of the group.
{"title":"New mandibular remains of Callistoe (Metatheria, Sparassodonta) reveal unexpected anatomical, functional, and evolutionary aspects of this carnivorous genus","authors":"M. J. Babot, G. Rougier, D. Garcia-Lopez, S. Bertelli, C. Herrera, M. V. Deraco, N. Giannini","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e82709","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e82709","url":null,"abstract":"We present a detailed description of the anatomy of the dentary and lower teeth of a new specimen of Callistoe vincei, a large carnivorous metatherian from the Eocene (?Ypresian) of northwestern Argentina. The recently collected specimen is a young adult represented by a partial right dentary with the canine, p1, roots of p3, and very well-preserved m1 to m4. The description includes a comparison with the holotype specimen, a much older individual, and other closely related large sparassodonts (e.g., Arminiheringia). The analysis of this new material allowed identifying plesiomorphic molar features in Callistoe, such as the presence of a reduced metaconid on the m3 and a tricuspated, basined talonid on m1–m3. We also described the mesowear facets in the lower dentition, showing that the self-sharpening facet typically present in extinct and extant placental and some marsupial carnivorous forms, was absent in Callistoe. The presence of a short-term cutting edge in the trigonid related to the thinness of the enamel layer, and the associated tooth wear susceptibility, were likely compensated by a dental mechanism (overeruption) to maintain occlusal contact among antagonist teeth. This process could explain the marked extrusion of the tooth roots observed in Callistoe as well as in other large closely related members of the group.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49612511","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}
S. Nummela, Gabriel Aguirre-Fernández, Kathleen K. Smith, M. Sánchez-Villagra
We studied the mass growth trajectories of middle ear ossicles and tympanic membrane and oval window area in 19 specimens of postnatal ages 30–180 days of the gray short-tailed opossum Monodelphis domestica. We weighed the skull mass and the mass of the three middle ear ossicles with appropriate balances. Using a binocular microscope provided with a grid, we measured the length of malleus and incus, as well as the longest axis and the one perpendicular to it on both the tympanic membrane and the stapes footplate. The size variation was studied with least squares regression analyses between various measurements. The incus and stapes change little in mass after 40 days of postnatal life, while the malleus does, reaching maximum mass at around 100 PND (postnatal days). This modularity in growth trajectory is in contrast with the shared evolutionary origin of malleus and incus from branchial arch 1. The maturation of the middle – and as indicated by previous work, that of the inner ear – is coupled with the improvement of hearing sensitivity at low and high frequencies after the initial onset of hearing at 29 PND.
{"title":"Growth pattern of the middle ear in the gray short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica","authors":"S. Nummela, Gabriel Aguirre-Fernández, Kathleen K. Smith, M. Sánchez-Villagra","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e83544","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e83544","url":null,"abstract":"We studied the mass growth trajectories of middle ear ossicles and tympanic membrane and oval window area in 19 specimens of postnatal ages 30–180 days of the gray short-tailed opossum Monodelphis domestica. We weighed the skull mass and the mass of the three middle ear ossicles with appropriate balances. Using a binocular microscope provided with a grid, we measured the length of malleus and incus, as well as the longest axis and the one perpendicular to it on both the tympanic membrane and the stapes footplate. The size variation was studied with least squares regression analyses between various measurements. The incus and stapes change little in mass after 40 days of postnatal life, while the malleus does, reaching maximum mass at around 100 PND (postnatal days). This modularity in growth trajectory is in contrast with the shared evolutionary origin of malleus and incus from branchial arch 1. The maturation of the middle – and as indicated by previous work, that of the inner ear – is coupled with the improvement of hearing sensitivity at low and high frequencies after the initial onset of hearing at 29 PND.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-06-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48678243","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}
The taxonomic status of the North American and Eurasian populations of northern goshawk A. gentilis has been called into question by recent molecular studies, indicating the need for additional taxonomic study. Vocalisations have long played an important role in diagnosing potentially reproductively isolated groups of birds. The chattering-type call of A. gentilis plays a role in advertisement and pair-contact, making this a suitable basis for taxonomic study of vocalisations. The data set consisted of recordings of the calls of 75 individuals of the Eurasian gentilis-group of A. gentilis, 37 of the North American atricapillus-group of A. gentilis and, for comparison, seven of Henst’s goshawk A. henstii. The three groups showed non-overlapping variation in the duration of call-notes and also showed several other highly significant differences. Discriminant Function Analysis resulted in 100% correct classification of recordings into the three groups. It is here argued that the new bioacoustic data, in combination with previous evidence of morphological, mitochondrial DNA and genomic DNA differences between Eurasian and North American A. gentilis, suggests that two species are best recognised: northern goshawk A. gentilis and American goshawk A. atricapillus. A. gentilis / A. atricapillus add to a growing list of Holarctic temperate zone taxa that have recently been recognised as separate species based on a deep phylogeographic split between Eurasian and North American populations in combination with differences in other characters. This is the first quantitative taxonomic study of vocalisations in Accipitridae.
最近的分子研究对北苍鹰在北美和欧亚种群的分类地位提出了质疑，表明需要进一步的分类研究。长期以来，叫声在诊断潜在的生殖隔离鸟类群体方面一直发挥着重要作用。真草的啁啾式叫声具有广告和配对接触的作用，为发声的分类研究提供了合适的依据。该数据集包括75只欧亚金翅鸟群、37只北美金翅鸟群和7只亨斯特苍鹰的叫声记录。这三组在呼叫音符的持续时间上表现出不重叠的变化，并且还表现出其他一些高度显著的差异。判别函数分析结果100%正确地将录音分类为三组。本文认为，新的生物声学数据，结合欧亚苍鹰和北美苍鹰之间形态、线粒体DNA和基因组DNA差异的先前证据，表明两个物种最容易被识别:北方苍鹰A. gentilis和美洲苍鹰A. atricapillus。a . gentilis / a . atricapillus加入了越来越多的全北极温带分类群，这些分类群最近被认为是独立的物种，这是基于欧亚和北美种群之间的深层系统地理分裂以及其他特征的差异。这是对棘螨科鸣叫的首次定量分类学研究。
{"title":"The taxonomic status of Palearctic and Nearctic populations of northern goshawk Accipiter gentilis (Aves, Accipitridae): New evidence from vocalisations","authors":"G. Sangster","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e85419","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e85419","url":null,"abstract":"The taxonomic status of the North American and Eurasian populations of northern goshawk A. gentilis has been called into question by recent molecular studies, indicating the need for additional taxonomic study. Vocalisations have long played an important role in diagnosing potentially reproductively isolated groups of birds. The chattering-type call of A. gentilis plays a role in advertisement and pair-contact, making this a suitable basis for taxonomic study of vocalisations. The data set consisted of recordings of the calls of 75 individuals of the Eurasian gentilis-group of A. gentilis, 37 of the North American atricapillus-group of A. gentilis and, for comparison, seven of Henst’s goshawk A. henstii. The three groups showed non-overlapping variation in the duration of call-notes and also showed several other highly significant differences. Discriminant Function Analysis resulted in 100% correct classification of recordings into the three groups. It is here argued that the new bioacoustic data, in combination with previous evidence of morphological, mitochondrial DNA and genomic DNA differences between Eurasian and North American A. gentilis, suggests that two species are best recognised: northern goshawk A. gentilis and American goshawk A. atricapillus. A. gentilis / A. atricapillus add to a growing list of Holarctic temperate zone taxa that have recently been recognised as separate species based on a deep phylogeographic split between Eurasian and North American populations in combination with differences in other characters. This is the first quantitative taxonomic study of vocalisations in Accipitridae.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46968722","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. Sankar, Ingg Thong Law, Ing Sind Law, Rasu Shivaram, R. Abraham, K. Chan
The genus Micryletta, also known as paddy frogs, ranges across much of south, east, and southeast Asia. Due to their relatively broad distribution and overall morphological similarities, many species have gone undetected until recently, largely owing to the use of molecular data. Consequently, the species diversity within this genus has quadrupled in just three years from three species prior to 2018, to 12 species in 2021, indicating that the systematics of this genus is still poorly understood. As such, we assembled the most comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Micryletta hitherto including novel sequences from a previously unsampled population from Singapore to assess the species diversity within this genus. In particular, we investigate the population from Singapore whose specific identity remains in question due to the lack of voucher specimens and genetic material. Our results show that the Singapore population represents a strongly supported and distinct lineage that is most closely related to M. inornata sensu stricto from Sumatra, Indonesia. Morphological and species delimitation analyses corroborate its distinction as a new species, which we describe herein as M. subaraji sp. nov. This and recent new taxon discoveries in Singapore demonstrate that the biodiversity of the highly urbanized island-state is still far from being fully realized and underscores the need for continued systematic surveys and protection of remaining habitats.
水田蛙属，也被称为水田蛙，分布在南亚、东亚和东南亚的大部分地区。由于它们相对广泛的分布和整体形态的相似性，许多物种直到最近才被发现，这主要归功于分子数据的使用。因此，该属的物种多样性在短短三年内翻了两番，从2018年之前的3个物种增加到2021年的12个物种，这表明该属的系统分类学仍然知之甚少。因此，我们收集了迄今为止最全面的Micryletta分子系统发育，包括来自先前未采样的新加坡种群的新序列，以评估该属的物种多样性。特别是，我们调查了来自新加坡的人口，由于缺乏凭证标本和遗传物质，其具体身份仍然存在问题。我们的研究结果表明，新加坡种群代表了一个强有力的支持和独特的谱系，与印度尼西亚苏门答腊的M. inornata sensu stricto最密切相关。形态学和物种划分分析证实了它作为一个新物种的区别，我们将其描述为M. subaraji sp. 11 .这一发现和最近在新加坡发现的新分类群表明，高度城市化的岛国的生物多样性仍远未得到充分认识，并强调了继续系统调查和保护剩余栖息地的必要性。
{"title":"Morphology, phylogeny, and species delimitation of Micryletta (Anura: Microhylidae) reveals a new species from Singapore","authors":"A. Sankar, Ingg Thong Law, Ing Sind Law, Rasu Shivaram, R. Abraham, K. Chan","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e85020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e85020","url":null,"abstract":"The genus Micryletta, also known as paddy frogs, ranges across much of south, east, and southeast Asia. Due to their relatively broad distribution and overall morphological similarities, many species have gone undetected until recently, largely owing to the use of molecular data. Consequently, the species diversity within this genus has quadrupled in just three years from three species prior to 2018, to 12 species in 2021, indicating that the systematics of this genus is still poorly understood. As such, we assembled the most comprehensive molecular phylogeny of Micryletta hitherto including novel sequences from a previously unsampled population from Singapore to assess the species diversity within this genus. In particular, we investigate the population from Singapore whose specific identity remains in question due to the lack of voucher specimens and genetic material. Our results show that the Singapore population represents a strongly supported and distinct lineage that is most closely related to M. inornata sensu stricto from Sumatra, Indonesia. Morphological and species delimitation analyses corroborate its distinction as a new species, which we describe herein as M. subaraji sp. nov. This and recent new taxon discoveries in Singapore demonstrate that the biodiversity of the highly urbanized island-state is still far from being fully realized and underscores the need for continued systematic surveys and protection of remaining habitats.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47542855","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 new species of the genus Calamaria Boie, 1827, Calamaria arcanasp. nov., is described based on a single male specimen collected from Mt. Dadongshan, Guangdong, southern China. The new species can be distinguished from all known congeners by the significant genetic divergence in the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene fragment (p-distance ≥ 13.9%), and morphologically by the combination of the following characters: (1) ten modified maxillary teeth; (2) four supralabials, second and third supralabials entering orbit; (3) preocular present; (4) mental not touching anterior chin shields; (5) six scales and shields surrounding the paraparietal; (6) 170 ventral scales; (7) 22 paired subcaudals; (8) tail not gradually tapering, abruptly tapering at the tip; (9) dorsal scales reduced to five rows above last subcaudal at tail; (10) dorsum of body and tail brownish; (11) dark collar on nuchal region absent; (12) two outermost dorsal scale rows light yellow with upper margins partly dark pigmented; (13) ventral scales immaculate, without dark outermost corners and pigmentation anteriorly; and (14) absence of distinct dark longitudinal line or scattered spots on the underside of tail. Calamaria arcanasp. nov., represents the fifth species of the genus recorded in China. Following the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, we propose the new species to be listed as Data Deficient.
{"title":"A new species of Calamaria (Squamata: Colubridae) from Guangdong Province, southern China","authors":"Horace Yeung, M. Lau, Jianwei Yang","doi":"10.3897/vz.72.e84516","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.72.e84516","url":null,"abstract":"A new species of the genus Calamaria Boie, 1827, Calamaria arcanasp. nov., is described based on a single male specimen collected from Mt. Dadongshan, Guangdong, southern China. The new species can be distinguished from all known congeners by the significant genetic divergence in the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene fragment (p-distance ≥ 13.9%), and morphologically by the combination of the following characters: (1) ten modified maxillary teeth; (2) four supralabials, second and third supralabials entering orbit; (3) preocular present; (4) mental not touching anterior chin shields; (5) six scales and shields surrounding the paraparietal; (6) 170 ventral scales; (7) 22 paired subcaudals; (8) tail not gradually tapering, abruptly tapering at the tip; (9) dorsal scales reduced to five rows above last subcaudal at tail; (10) dorsum of body and tail brownish; (11) dark collar on nuchal region absent; (12) two outermost dorsal scale rows light yellow with upper margins partly dark pigmented; (13) ventral scales immaculate, without dark outermost corners and pigmentation anteriorly; and (14) absence of distinct dark longitudinal line or scattered spots on the underside of tail. Calamaria arcanasp. nov., represents the fifth species of the genus recorded in China. Following the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, we propose the new species to be listed as Data Deficient.","PeriodicalId":51290,"journal":{"name":"Vertebrate Zoology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2022-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70428420","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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