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Friday, December 18th, 2020

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    9:57a
    [Herpetology • 2020] Leptodeira misinawui • A New Species of Cat-eyed Snake (Serpentes: Dipsadinae: Leptodeirini) from the Andes of southern Ecuador


    Leptodeira misinawui
    Torres-Carvajal, Sánchez-Nivicela, Posse, Celi & Koch, 2020


    Abstract
    Leptodeira is one of the most widespread and taxonomically problematic snake taxa in the Americas. Here we describe a new species of Leptodeira from the Andes of southern Ecuador based on morphological and molecular data. The new species is geographically close and morphologically similar to L. ornata and L. larcorum, from which it can be distinguished by having smaller dorsal body blotches, a longer tail, and shorter spines on the hemipenial body. The shortest genetic distances between the new species and its congeners are 0.02 (16S), 0.05 (cytb), and 0.18 (ND4). The new species is restricted to the Jubones River Basin in southern Ecuador, an area of endemism for other reptile species. Our phylogenetic analysis based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data also supports recognition of the names L. larcorum (restricted to Peru) for “L. septentrionalis larcorum”, and L. ornata for populations of “L. s. ornata” from central and eastern Panama, western Colombia, and western Ecuador. However, some samples of “L. s. ornata” from Panama and Costa Rica, as well as the new species described herein, are not included within or more closely related to L. ornata, which is sister to the clade (L. bakeri, L. ashmeadii).
     
    Keywords: Serpentes, Andes, color pattern, hemipenial morphology; Leptodeira ornata; Leptodeira larcorum, Leptodeira septentrionalis, molecular phylogeny




    Omar Torres-Carvajal, Juan Carlos Sánchez-Nivicela, Valentina Posse, Elvis Celi and Claudia Koch. 2020. A New Species of Cat-eyed Snake (Serpentes: Dipsadinae: Leptodeirini) from the Andes of southern Ecuador. Zootaxa. 4895(3); 357–380. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4895.3.3  

        

    10:08a
    [Ichthyology • 2020] Catfishes of the Genus Sperata (Pisces: Bagridae) in India


     Sperata in India

    in Kumar, Charan, Krishnaprasoon & Basheer, 2020. 

    Abstract
    DNA barcode data of the South Asian bagrid catfish genus Sperata indicate the presence of at least five species in the Indian subcontinent. Those results, which are supported by morphological data, show a marked increase in species diversity from the recent taxonomic and fishery literature, although each of the five species had been previously named. Two species are restricted to rivers of peninsular India south of the Godavari: Sperata aorides from the Cauvery river basin and S. seenghala from the Krishna river basin. Most literature records of S. seenghala from the Ganges‐Brahmaputra‐Meghna river basins likely refer to S. lamarrii, a species which appears to also be present in the Indus river basin. Some genetic data reported as S. seenghala from the Ganges‐Brahmaputra‐Meghna river basins refer to S. aorella. S. aor is widespread in the Ganges‐Brahmaputra‐Surma river basins in India and Bangladesh, extending southwards to the Godavari river.

    Keywords: Cauvery, fisheries, Ganges, ichthyology, Krishna, taxonomy, zoogeography



      


    Sperata aorides (Jerdon)

    Sperata lamarrii (Valenciennes)

    Sperata seenghala (Sykes)

    Sperata aor (Hamilton)

    Sperata aorella (Blyth)



    CONCLUSION: 
    The results of our investigation suggest there are at least five valid species of Sperata in the Indian subcontinent. S. aorides is endemic to the Cauvery river basin and S. seenghala is probably endemic to the Krishna river basin. Records of S. seenghala from the Ganges‐Brahmaputra‐Meghna river basins likely refer to S. lamarrii, a species which appears to also be present in the Indus river basin. Additionally, some reports of S. seenghala from the Ganges‐Brahmaputra‐Meghna river basins definitely refer to S. aorella. Neither S. lamarrii nor S. aor appear to be present in peninsular India south of the Godavari, and investigations into reports of S. aor and S. seenghala from river basins removed from their original descriptions may yield additional species. Proper taxonomic identification of species within the genus is critical given the importance of this genus to fisheries and attempts to introduce them to aquaculture.

     
    Rahul Girish Kumar, Ravi Charan, Nadumury Pradeep Krishnaprasoon and Valaparambil Saidumohammad Basheer. 2020. Catfishes of the Genus Sperata (Pisces: Bagridae) in India. 
    Journal of Fish Biology. DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14590  

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