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Friday, March 25th, 2016
| Time | Event | ||||||
| 10:21a | [Herpetology • 2016] Diplodactylus ameyi • A New Species of Gecko (Diplodactylus; Diplodactylidae) from Arid Inland Regions of eastern Australia
Abstract We describe a new species of small terrestrial gecko in the genus Diplodactylus from inland regions of western Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. Diplodactylus ameyi sp. nov. can be distinguished from its congeners in the Diplodactylus conspicillatus species-group by its relatively large size, bulbous tail which lacks an acute attenuated extension at tip, small first labial scale and comparatively robust head morphology (which includes a broadly rounded snout and no well-defined canthus rostralis). Related populations from eastern and central Queensland currently referred to D. platyurus include further deeply divergent lineages but additional material is required to resolve systematic boundaries in this region. Keywords: Reptilia, Diplodactylus ameyi sp. nov., Eromanga Basin, New South Wales, Queensland  Paul M. Oliver and Patrick J. Couper. 2016. A New Species of Gecko from Arid Inland Regions of eastern Australia (Diplodactylus; Diplodactylidae). Zootaxa. 4093(4) DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4093.4.4 | ||||||
| 10:21a | [Herpetology • 2014] Independent Transitions between Monsoonal and Arid Biomes Revealed by Systematic Revision of A Complex of Australian Geckos (Diplodactylus; Diplodactylidae)
Abstract How the widespread expansion and intensification of aridity through the Neogene has shaped the Austral biota is a major question in Antipodean biogeography. Lineages distributed across wide aridity gradients provide opportunities to examine the timing, frequency, and direction of transitions between arid and mesic regions. Here, we use molecular genetics and morphological data to investigate the systematics and biogeography of a nominal Australian gecko species (Diplodactylus conspicillatus sensu lato) with a wide distribution spanning most of the Australian Arid Zone (AAZ) and Monsoonal Tropics (AMT). Our data support a minimum of seven genetically distinct and morphologically diagnosable taxa; we thus redefine the type species, ressurrect three names from synonymy, and describe three new species. Our inferred phylogeny suggests the history and diversification of lineages in the AAZ and AMT are intimately linked, with evidence of multiple independent interchanges since the late Miocene. However, despite this shared history, related lineages in these two regions also show evidence of broadly contrasting intra-regional responses to aridification; vicarance and speciation in older and increasingly attenuated mesic regions, versus a more dynamic history including independent colonisations and recent range expansions in the younger AAZ. Diplodactylus barraganae Couper, P. Oliver & Pepper, 2014 Diplodactylus bilybara Couper, P. Oliver & Pepper, 2014 Diplodactylus custos Couper, P. Oliver & Pepper, 2014
Paul M. Oliver, Patrick J. Couper and Mitzy Pepper. 2014. Independent Transitions between Monsoonal and Arid Biomes Revealed by Systematic Revision of A Complex of Australian Geckos (Diplodactylus; Diplodactylidae). PLoS ONE. 10(4): e0126682. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111895  | ||||||
| 10:47a | [Herpetology • 2016] Tytthoscincus batupanggah & T. leproauricularis • Two New Species of Diminutive Leaf-Litter Skinks (Squamata: Scincidae: Tytthoscincus) from Gunung Penrissen, Sarawak, Malaysia (northern Borneo)  Abstract We describe two new species of skinks from Gunung Penrissen, Sarawak, Malaysia, in northern Borneo, Tytthoscincus batupanggah sp. nov. and T. leproauricularis sp. nov. Morphological and molecular analyses both corroborate the two new species as unique compared to all other Tytthoscincus and additional Sphenomorphus that are candidates for taxonomic placement in the genus Tytthoscincus. Despite their phenotypic similarity and sympatric distribution, a molecular analysis shows that the new species are not sister taxa and exhibit a deep genetic divergence between each of their respective sister taxa. We discuss how historical climatic and geographic processes may have led to the co-distribution of two relatively distantly related phenotypically similar species. In light of these discoveries, we also emphasize the importance of conserving primary montane tropical rainforest for maintaining species diversity. Keywords: Reptilia, Endemism, co-distribution, Sphenomorphus, Sundaland, Sunda Shelf, sympatric  Benjamin R. Karin, Indraneil Das and Aaron M. Bauer. 2016. Two New Species of Diminutive Leaf-Litter Skinks (Squamata: Scincidae: Tytthoscincus) from Gunung Penrissen, Sarawak, Malaysia (northern Borneo). Zootaxa. 4093(3) | ||||||
| 3:11p | [Botany • 2015] Paraboea maculata • A New Species of Paraboea (Gesneriaceae) from Thailand
ABSTRACT A new species, Paraboea maculata C.Puglisi, is described. It is compared to similar species and the habitat on granite rocks, unusual for the genus, is highlighted. Keywords. Gesneriaceae, Paraboea, Thailand Paraboea maculata C.Puglisi, sp. nov. Differs from other Paraboea species in the Paraboea martinii group, i.e. those with opposite leaves, campanulate corolla, twisted fruit and a terminal inflorescence, by the combination of a predominantly white and laterally compressed corolla, the purple spots at the base of the tube, the sticky glandular secretion on the bracts and calyx, and the winged petioles. – TYPE: Thailand, Chanthaburi, Khao Khitchakut, Khao Khitchakut National Park, Khao Phra Bhat, 12°50′14″N 102°10′3″E, 900 m, 27 August 2012, fr., Middleton, D.J., Karaket, P., Suddee, S. & Triboun, P. 5675 (holotype E; isotypes BK, BKF). (Fig. 1) C. Puglisi, S. Suddee, P. Triboun and D.J. Middleton. 2015. A New Species of Paraboea (Gesneriaceae) from Thailand. Gardens’ Bulletin Singapore. 67(1): 101–106. DOI: 10.3850/S2382581215000113 | ||||||
| 3:17p | [Botany • 2015] Paraboea chumphonensis, P. puglisiae & P. romklaoensis • Three New Species of Paraboea (Gesneriaceae) from Thailand  ABSTRACT Three new species of Paraboea, P. chumphonensis Triboun, P. puglisiae Triboun & D.J.Middleton, P. romklaoensis D.J.Middleton & Triboun, are described. Conservation assessments are proposed for each species. KEYWORDS: Paraboea; Chumphon; conservation; Kanchanaburi; limestone; Phitsanulok; taxonomy Pramote Triboun and David J. Middleton. 2015. Three New Species of Paraboea (Gesneriaceae) from Thailand. THAI FOR. BULL. (BOT.) 43: 18–23. | ||||||
| 3:21p | [Ichthyology • 2016] Tetrapod-like Pelvic Girdle in A Walking Cavefish, Cryptotora thamicola ปลาผีเสื้อถ้ำ
Abstract Fishes have adapted a number of different behaviors to move out of the water, but none have been described as being able to walk on land with a tetrapod-like gait. Here we show that the blind cavefish Cryptotora thamicola walks and climbs waterfalls with a salamander-like diagonal-couplets lateral sequence gait and has evolved a robust pelvic girdle that shares morphological features associated with terrestrial vertebrates. In all other fishes, the pelvic bones are suspended in a muscular sling or loosely attached to the pectoral girdle anteriorly. In contrast, the pelvic girdle of Cryptotora is a large, broad puboischiadic plate that is joined to the iliac process of a hypertrophied sacral rib; fusion of these bones in tetrapods creates an acetabulum. The vertebral column in the sacral area has large anterior and posterior zygapophyses, transverse processes, and broad neural spines, all of which are associated with terrestrial organisms. The diagonal-couplet lateral sequence gait was accomplished by rotation of the pectoral and pelvic girdles creating a standing wave of the axial body. These findings are significant because they represent the first example of behavioural and morphological adaptation in an extant fish that converges on the tetrapodal walking behaviour and morphology.
Brooke E. Flammang, Apinun Suvarnaraksha, Julie Markiewicz and Daphne Soares. 2016. Tetrapod-like Pelvic Girdle in A Walking Cavefish. Scientific Reports. 6, Article number: 23711. DOI: 10.1038/srep23711  |
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