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Wednesday, September 30th, 2015
| Time | Event | ||||
| 5:55a | [Paleontology • 2015] Mosaiceratops azumai • A Psittacosaurid-like Basal Neoceratopsian from the Upper Cretaceous of central China and Its Implications for Basal Ceratopsian Evolution
Abstract Psittacosauridae (parrot-beaked dinosaurs) represents the first major radiation of ceratopsians (horned dinosaurs). However, psittacosaurids are divergent from the general morphology found in other ceratopsians, and this has resulted in their uncertain systematic position among ceratopsians. Here we describe a new basal neoceratopsian dinosaur, Mosaiceratops azumai gen. et sp. nov. based on a partial semi-articulated skeleton recovered from the Upper Cretaceous Xiaguan Formation of Neixiang County, Henan Province, China. Although our phylogenetic analysis supports this taxon as the most basal neoceratopsian, Mosaiceratops exhibits many features previously considered unique to the Psittacosauridae among the basal Ceratopsia. These include a relatively highly positioned external naris, a proportionally large premaxilla, the nasal extending ventral to the external naris, slender postorbital and temporal bars, a large notch between the basal tubera, and the edentulous premaxilla. Thus, the discovery of Mosaiceratops reduces the morphological disparity between the Psittacosauridae and other basal ceratopsians. Character optimization suggests that basal neoceratopsians have re-evolved premaxillary teeth; a major reversal previously unknown in any dinosaur clade. The new specimen also highlights the mosaic nature of evolution among early ceratopsians and supports the phylogenetic hypothesis that the Psittacosauridae is a relatively derived clade, rather than the most basal group of the Ceratopsia.  Systematic palaeontology Dinosauria Owen, 1842 Ornithischia Seeley, 1887 Ceratopsia Marsh, 1890 Neoceratopsia Sereno, 1986 Mosaiceratops azumai gen. et sp. nov. Etymology: The generic name Mosaiceratops (“mosaic ceratopsian”) is a contraction of the Latin terms “mosaicus” and “ceratops” in reference to the specimen’s unique (mosaic) combination of characters that were previously considered diagnostic of basal ceratopsians, psittacosaurids, or basal neoceratopsians. The specific name honors Dr. Yoichi Azuma from Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, who co-organized and participated in several dinosaur expeditions in China. One of those expeditions led to the discovery of the basal neoceratopsian Archaeoceratops. 
Locality and horizon: Upper Cretaceous (lower-middle Turonian—middle Campanian), Xiaguan Formation, Neixiang County, Henan Province, China. Wenjie Zheng, Xingsheng Jin and Xing Xu. 2015. A Psittacosaurid-like Basal Neoceratopsian from the Upper Cretaceous of central China and Its Implications for Basal Ceratopsian Eevolution. Scientific Reports. 5, 14190. doi: 10.1038/srep14190 | ||||
| 12:36p | [Herpetology • 2015] Muhtarophis gen. nov. • Molecular Phylogeny and Micro CT-Scanning Revealed Extreme Cryptic Biodiversity in Kukri Snake, A New Genus for Rhynchocalamus barani (Serpentes: Colubridae)
Application of taxonomy exclusively based on external morphology, molecular phylogeny and noninvasive anatomical investigation using micro CT scanning together is effective in resolving systematic problems, such as cryptic species. The external morphology, skull osteology and molecular phylogeny of Baran’s black-headed dwarf snake, Rhynchocalamus barani, and a subspecies of the Palestine kukri snake, Rhynchocalamus melanocephalus, were examined. Considerable osteological and molecular differences indicate that the genus Rhynchocalamus is paraphyletic. As a result, Baran’s black-headed dwarf snake should be referred to a monotypic genus, Muhtarophis gen. nov. Based on morphology and molecular data, R. satunini, previously known as a subspecies of R. melanocephalus, should be assigned the rank of species. Keywords: Muhtarophis gen. nov.; Rhynchocalamus melanocephalus; Rhynchocalamus satunini; Colubridae; Turkey.  Muhtarophis gen. nov. Type species. Rhynchocalamus barani Olgun, Avcý, Ilgaz, Üzüm et Yýlmaz, 2007. Muhtarophis barani (Olgun, Avcý, Ilgaz, Üzüm et Yýlmaz, 2007); Rhynchocalamus barani Olgun, Avcý, Ilgaz, Üzüm et Yýlmaz, 2007; Rhynchocalamus barani — Avcý, Üzüm, Ilgaz et Olgun, 2009; Rhynchocalamus barani — Gruber, 2009; Rhynchocalamus barani — Baran, Ilgaz, Avcý, Kumlutaþ et Olgun, 2012. Derivatio nominis. The new genus is named after Prof. Dr. Muhtar Baþoðlu, the first Turkish herpetologist, together with ophis, i.e., snake; the gender is masculine. Etymology. The new species is in dedication to Prof. Dr. İbrahim BARAN of the University of Dokuz Eylül, İzmir, to acknowledge his prolific and uninterrupted contribution to the herpetology of the Turkey. Distribution. Muhtarophis gen. nov. is endemic to Turkey. It is only recorded in Hatay Province, Turkey.  Aziz Avcý, Çetin Ilgaz, Mahdi Rajabizadeh, Can Yýlmaz, Nazan Üzüm, Dominique Adriaens, Yusuf Kumlutaþ and Kurtuluþ Olgun. 2015. Molecular Phylogeny and Micro CT-Scanning Revealed Extreme Cryptic Biodiversity in Kukri Snake, Muhtarophis gen. nov., a New Genus for Rhynchocalamus barani (Serpentes: Colubridae). Russian Journal of Herpetology. 22(3); 159 – 174 Aziz Avcı, Nazan Üzüm, Çetin Ilgaz and Kurtuluş Olgun. 2009. A new finding of Rhynchocalamus barani, Baran’s black-headed dwarf snake (Reptilia, Colubridae), in the Mediterranean region of Turkey widens its distribution range. Acta Herpetologica. 4(2): 177-182. Olgun, K., Avcı, A., Ilgaz, Ç., Üzüm, N. and Yılmaz, C. 2007. A new species of Rhynchocalamus (Reptilia: Serpentes: Colubridae) from Turkey. Zootaxa. 1399: 57-68. | ||||
| 1:29p | [Herpetology • 2015] Hydrophylax bahuvistara • A New Species of Fungoid Frog (Amphibia: Ranidae) from peninsular India
Abstract Hydrophylax bahuvistara, a new species of fungoid frog, is described from peninsular India. It can be separated from its congeners based on a combination of characters including wider head, outline of snout in dorsal view truncated, finger and toe tips without lateroventral groove, foot moderately webbed, metatarsals of 4th and 5th toes closely set, outer metatarsal tubercle small, foot length less than or equal to half of snout vent length, dorsal parts of shank without glandular folds and sparse horny spinules, and heels touch each other when the legs are folded at right angles to the body. Genetically, H. bahuvistara forms a monophyletic group with H. malabaricus as a sister clade separated by a raw distance of 4.0 to 4.5% in the 16s rRNA gene. Morphometrically, H. bahuvistara forms a significantly different cluster from H. malabaricus and H. gracilis in Discriminant Analysis. Keywords: Anura, molecular taxonomy, multivariate analysis, taxonomy. Taxonomy Hydrophylax bahuvistara sp. nov. (Images 1–4) urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3CD3CD5B-FAC5-4 Hylarana malabarica haplogroup 1: Biju et al. (2014) Common name: Wide-spread Fungoid Frog. Etymology: The species is named bahuvistara (Sanskrit: ‘bahu’ = wide, ‘vistara’ = spread) owing to its wide distribution in peninsular India. Distribution: Type material of the species comes from a wide distribution in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra and eastern Maharashtra, however, based on genetic data available in Kurabayashi et al. (2005), Biju et al. (2014) and Hasan et al. (2014) and localities for additional material from this study and distributional data for Hydrophylax malabarica Haplogroup 1 from Biju et al. (2014), the species is widespread in peninsular India distributed in Maharashra, Karnataka, Goa and Madhya Pradesh (Table 3; Fig. 4).
Habitat, ecology and natural history: Hydrophylax bahuvistara sp. nov. is usually found near human habitation and in agricultural fields. It is also found on the forest floor and near ephemeral or permanent water bodies, but mainly during breeding season. The eggs are laid in shallow water in the paddy fields or on the banks of small ponds or lakes. Calling behavior of an adult male is shown in movie clip (Appendix C). Adults usually gather in large numbers at potential breeding habitats. A loud chorus of calling males is heard at such places (Appendix D). The loud chorus is audible form a distance of up to a kilometer on quiet nights. Occasionally, smaller groups of adult males are also seen calling from the periphery of temporary rain water pools. Anand D. Padhye, Anushree Jadhav, Nikhil Modak, P.O. Nameer and Neelesh Dahanukar. 2015. Hydrophylax bahuvistara, A New Species of Fungoid Frog (Amphibia: Ranidae) from peninsular India. Journal of Threatened Taxa. 7(11); 7744–7760. DOI: 10.11609/JoTT.o4252.7744-60 | ||||
| 3:53p | [Herpetology • 2015] Hemidactylus yajurvedi • A New Rock Dwelling Hemidactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Chhattisgarh, east-central India
Abstract A distinct new species of gecko of the genus Hemidactylus is described from the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh State, east-central India. This large-sized (SVL average 81.33±13.40 to at least 98.0 mm) Hemidactylus is characterized by a dorsum with small granules, intermixed with 10–12 rows of irregularly arranged, slightly larger, rounded, weakly-keeled tubercles at midbody; 10–12 and 13–15 subdigital lamellae on the first and fourth digits, respectively, of both manus and pes; a single enlarged postcloacal tubercle on either side of the tail; 10–12 femoral pores on each thigh separated by 5–8 poreless scales; 12–14 supralabials and 10–12 infralabials. Keywords: Reptilia, Hemidactylus yajurvedi sp. nov., H. aaronbaueri, cryptic species, Chhattisgarh, India   B.H.C.K. Murthy, A. M. Bauer, Aparna Lajmi, Ishan Agarwal and Varad Giri. 2015. A New Rock Dwelling Hemidactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Chhattisgarh, India. Zootaxa. 4021(2): 334–350. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4021.2.5 | ||||
| 4:37p | [Herpetology • 2015] Japalura vela • A New Species of Japalura (Squamata: Agamidae) from upper Lancang (Mekong) Valley of Eastern Tibet, China
ABSTRACT A new species of the agamid genus Japalura is described based on 15 specimens from the upper Lancang (Mekong) Valley of eastern Tibet, PR China. Populations of the new species, Japalura vela sp. nov., were previously recognized as J. flaviceps. The new species is morphologically most similar to J. batangensis, J. micangshanensis, J. variegata, and J. zhaoermii, but is distinguished from the four species and all remaining congeners by the following combination of morphological characters: 1) small adult size (SVL 56–69 mm in males, 59–66 mm in females); 2) ratio of tail TAL/SVL 1.85–2.06; 3) ratio of hind limb HLL/SVL 0.72–0.81; 4) T4S 24 or 25; 5) concealed tympanum; 6) transverse gular fold present; 7) gular pouch present; 8) axillary fold present; 9) a pronounced, continuous, sail-like vertebral crest along length of body in males; 10) ground dorsal coloration black in males; 11) distinct gray transverse streaks on dorsal surface of head; 12) black radiated streaks around eyes; 13) distinct, black vermiculate stripes on ventral surface of head in both sexes; 14) a strongly jagged dorsolateral stripe from neck to base of tail on each side of vertebral crest in males; and 15) absence of gular spots in both sexes. General distribution patterns of the genus in the Hengduan Mountains region are also discussed. Keywords: distribution, Hengduan Mountains, Japalura, J. flaviceps, species complex  Japalura vela sp. nov. Wang, Jiang, Che (Figures 1–6) Synonymies: Japalura yunnanensis Vogt, 1924: 338 Japalura flaviceps Hu et al., 1987: 112 Japalura flaviceps Pope, 1935: 467 Japalura flaviceps Zhao and Jiang, 1977: 293 –298 Japalura flaviceps Zhao et al., 1999: 111–115 Japalura flaviceps Li et al., 2010: 115 Japalura sp. A Manthey et al., 2012 Distribution and Ecology: The new species is currently known only from the type locality (Figures 7–8), but it may be found in valleys of adjacent reaches along Lancang Rivers. As a terrestrial species, individuals were observed commonly in rocky areas or steppe-shrub habitat along the arid river valley (Figure 7). Adult males usually basked on high rocks, while adult females and juveniles stayed lower in the rock piles, suggesting possible niche partitioning among different age-groups and between different sexes. Males are territorial, in which the territory holder will perform vertical head-nodding movements and display gular pouch toward the invader, and physical contacts (biting and chasing) will happen if the invader refuses to leave. No territorial behaviors were seen among females or juveniles. Possible predations may come from snakes (Chinese Beauty Snake, Orthriophis taeniurus, KIZ013803, was collected from the same locality) and large birds ( Corvus sp., also commonly observed at this locality). Etymology: The Latin word vela means “sail”, which describes the shape of the pronounced and continuous vertebral crest as the diagnostic morphology of the males of the new species. Hence according to the Latin name, we suggest Sail Moutain Lizards or Sail Japalura as its English common name, and Fan Bei Pan Xi (帆背攀蜥 ) as its Chinese common name. Kai Wang, Ke Jiang, Gang Pan, Mian Hou, Cameron D. Siler and Jing Che. 2015. A New Species of Japalura (Squamata: Sauria: Agamidae) from upper Lancang (Mekong) Valley of Eastern Tibet, China. ASIAN HERPETOLOGICAL RESEARCH. 6(3):159-168. |
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