[Most Recent Entries] [Calendar View]
Sunday, February 20th, 2022
| Time | Event | ||||
| 2:36p | [Herpetology • 2022] Rena klauberi • A New Species of Blindsnake (Squamata: Leptotyphlopidae) from Jalisco, Mexico
Abstract A new snake species of the genus Rena is described from northern Jalisco, Mexico. The new species represents an isolated member of the R. dulcis group in the extreme southwest Mesa Central of the country. We redefine the R. dulcis and R. humilis groups within the genus Rena. The status of the other species allocated to these groups is discussed. Keywords: Blind snakes; Taxonomy; Nomenclature; Squamata; Serpentes
Rena klauberi new species. Diagnosis. A species of the R. dulcis group that differs from R. maxima, in having 10 rows of scales around the tail (vs. 12); from R. bressoni, R. myopica, and R. dissecta in having an undivided anterior supralabial (vs. divided); from R. dulcis in having nine scales on the dorsal surface with dark pigment (vs. seven); from R. humilis in having supraoculars (vs. absent); and by having 10 rows of scales around the tail (12 in R. humilis group members, except for R. h. segrega and R. h. tenuicula that have 10). Rena klauberi differs from all other Mexican Rena, except the holotype of R. d. iversoni, in having a darkly pigmented cloacal plate, while the remainder of the venter is immaculate. Distribution. Rena klauberi is known only from the type-locality (Fig. 4) in dry scrub forest. The holotype was found crawling just after sunset on a dirt path near the outer periphery of a riparian zone consisting of grasses, sedges, and scattered oak trees (Fig. 5). It is likely that this species may also occur in nearby southern Zacatecas, which possesses similar habitat. Several reptile species, apparently endemic to the area, have been reported for both southern Zacatecas and northern Jalisco (Ponce-Campos et al., 2001). Etymology. This species is named in honor of the late Laurence Monroe Klauber, in recognition of his valuable contributions to North American herpetology, and especially to our knowledge of the genus Leptotyphlops (= Rena) from North America. Oscar A. Flores-Villela, Eric N. Smith, Luis Canseco-Márquez and Jonathan A. Campbell. 2022. A New Species of Blindsnake from Jalisco, Mexico (Squamata: Leptotyphlopidae) [Una especie nueva de serpiente agujilla de Jalisco, México (Squamata: Leptotyphlopidae)] Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad. 93: e933933. doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2022.93.3  Resumen: Una especie nueva de serpiente perteneciente al género Rena se describe del norte de Jalisco, México. La nueva especie representa un miembro aislado del grupo de R. dulcis, en el extremo suroeste de la Mesa Central del país. Redefinimos los grupos R. dulcis y R. humilis dentro del género Rena. Se discute el status de otras especies dentro de estos grupos. Palabras clave: Agujillas; Taxonomía; Nomenclatura; Squamata; Serpientes | ||||
| 2:53p | [Herpetology • 2022] Synapturanus danta • A Needle in A Haystack: Integrative Taxonomy reveals the Existence of A New Small Species of Fossorial Frog (Anura, Microhylidae) from the vast lower Putumayo Basin, Peru
Abstract We describe a new species of microhylid frog of the genus Synapturanus from the lower Putumayo basin in Loreto, Perú. Specimens inhabited the soils of stunted pole forests growing on peat. The new species is distinguished from other species of Synapturanus through morphology, genetics, and acoustic characteristics. This species differs from most nominal congeners by having a head flat in lateral view (vs convex in the rest of species), a characteristic only shared by S. rabus and S. salseri. The new species can be distinguished from S. rabus and S. salseri by a combination of morphological characters and by having an advertisement call with a note length of 0.05–0.06 seconds (vs 0.03 seconds in S. rabus) and a dominant frequency ranging from 1.73 to 1.81 kHz (vs 1.10–1.47 kHz in S. salseri). Principal component analyses of 12 morphological characters and three acoustic variables further support differences between the new species and its described and undescribed congeners. Key Words: Acoustic, genetic, Loreto, morphology, peatland
 Synapturanus danta sp. nov. Definition and diagnosis: (1) A small-sized Synapturanus (SVL of 17.6–17.9 mm in adult males, females unknown); (2) head dorsally flat in lateral view; (3) eyes small, slightly larger than half the size of the eye-naris distance; (4) fingertips tapering without discs; (5) subarticular tubercles not visible on fingers; (6) thenar tubercle indistinct, palmar tubercle distinct; (7) fingers with preaxial and postaxial fringes (except preaxially on Finger IV), strongly visible on Fingers II and III pre and post axially; (8) toe tips slightly expanded in toes II and III; (9) inner metatarsal tubercle indistinct, outer metatarsal tubercle indistinct; (10) dorsal color pattern chocolate brown without spots or blotches, a stripe along the canthus rostralis and upper eyelid only present in juveniles; (11) throat and ventral surface of limbs cinnamon brown or pinkish brown, chest and belly cyan white; (12) call consisting of a tonal note 0.054–0.063 seconds in length with a slight downward frequency modulation (delta 0–94 Hz) and a dominant frequency at 1.73–1.81 kHz (Table 3). ... Etymology: The specific epithet is a noun in apposition and refers to the Amazon Tapir (Tapirus terrestris), a large mammal locally known as “Danta”. During our expedition, the first time that local people and other researchers in the team spotted one of these frogs, they called it “Rana Danta”, because its head profile reminded them of the head of the Amazon Tapir. Germán Chávez, Michelle E. Thompson, David A. Sánchez, Juan Carlos Chávez-Arribasplata and Alessandro Catenazzi. 2022. A Needle in A Haystack: Integrative Taxonomy reveals the Existence of A New Small Species of Fossorial Frog (Anura, Microhylidae, Synapturanus) from the vast lower Putumayo Basin, Peru. Evolutionary Systematics 6(1): 9-20. DOI: 10.3897/evolsyst.6.80281 | ||||
| 3:03p | [Ichthyology • 2022] Scomberoides pelagicus • A New Species of Queenfish (Carangiformes: Carangidae) from Indian Seas
Aim: The study was carried out to ascertain whether morphotype of Scomberoides commersonnianus (Talang queenfish) existing along the Indian coast is a new species or not. Methodology: Talang queenfish and the morphotype were tested for their uniqueness using systematic and molecular tools. The morphometric and meristic details including otolith morphometry were analysed and compared for taxonomic divergence and Cytochrome Oxidase I and Cytochrome b gene sequences for quantifying genetic divergences. Results: The systematic analysis indicated significant morphometric differences between both. The otolith morphometry and phylogeny also confirmed the divergence between them, and qualified the morphotype as an independent species status and named Scomberoides pelagicus sp. nov. Interpretation: The new species is distinct by deep ovate body, concave dorsal head profile, anal fin origin anterior to second dorsal fin and pelvic to pectoral fin, helical arrangement of body scale and stout and less numerous gill rakers on the first gill arch. The phylogeny as on Cytochrome b and Cytochrome-Oxidase 1 sequences are very distinct, with 11.2% and 2.0% divergence respectively. Their known distributional range are peninsular region of Indian coast, Malaysian region of the South China Sea and Manila Bay, Philippines. Key words: Deep bodied queenfish, Genetic divergence, Otolith morphometry, Phylogeny, Scomberoides pelagicus, Talang queenfish  Scomberoides pelagicus sp. nov. Abdussamad, Retheesh and Gopalakrishnan E.M. Abdussamad, A. Gopalakrishnan, K.G. Mini, S. Sukumaran, P.R. Divya, T.B. Retheesh, A.A. Muhammed, N.V. Dipti, A.R. Akhil, T. Thomas and K.D. Jacob. 2022. Description of A New Species of Queenfish, Scomberoides pelagicus from Indian Seas. Journal of Environmental Biology. 43(1);105-114. DOI: 10.22438/jeb/43/1/MRN-1975  | ||||
| 3:03p | [Botany • 2022] Staurogyne arunachalensis (Acanthaceae) • A New Species from Arunachal Pradesh, India
Abstract Staurogyne arunachalensis R.Kr. Singh, D. Borah & Yama (Acanthaceae), a new species from the Eastern Himalayan state Arunachal Pradesh, India, is described and illustrated. It resembles S. argentea in having a very short stem, basally clustered leaves and in lacking a staminode, but differs from it by its longer peduncle and rachis; smaller, linear-subulate, 1-nerved, non-aristate bracts; smaller, acute, non-aristate bracteoles; smaller, 1-nerved, acute, non-aristate calyx; and longer, pubescent, pinkish-red corolla.     Lod Yama, Dipankar Borah and Rajeev Kumar Singh. 2022. Staurogyne arunachalensis (Acanthaceae), A New Species from Arunachal Pradesh, India. Annales Botanici Fennici. 59:47-51.  |
| << Previous Day |
2022/02/20 [Calendar] |
Next Day >> |