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Saturday, July 23rd, 2022
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| 2:07a | [Herpetology • 2022] Amyda ornata jongli • A New Subspecies of the Asiatic Softshell Turtle Amyda ornata (Gray, 1861) (Testudines: Trionychidae) from Its northern Distribution Range
Abstract We describe a new subspecies of Amyda ornata (Gray, 1861) from the southeastern parts of Bangladesh (Chittagong hill tracts), adjacent regions of north-eastern India (Mizoram, Assam and Tripura) and Myanmar, based on morphological characteristics. The holotype comprises some skeletal elements held by the Natural History Museum of Vienna; the five paratypes consist of living specimens in the private collection of PP “Turtle Island” (a turtle conservation zoo in Graz, Austria). After the genetic identity had been determined in a previous investigation, the morphological description was carried out by examining living specimens and photo documents; and additionally, by evaluating the computed tomography of further living animals with exact location data. Amyda ornata jongli ssp. nov. differs from the other Amyda ornata subspecies mainly by its relatively compact and stout head in subadults and adults, its paler, greyish and less contrasting colouration missing distinct bright yellow pigments, ochre-coloured irises, and the existence of more distinct tubercles in the neck region and in the posterior section of the carapace than both other subspecies of Amyda ornata. The tubercles along the front of the carapace protrude clearly in subadult and adult specimens. This softshell turtle is heavily exploited within its limited distribution. Therefore, special comments on conservation aspects are given together with a final discussion on distribution and systematics. Key Words: Amyda ornata jongli ssp. nov., Bangladesh, conservation, distribution, India, morphology, Myanmar, Reptilia, Testudines, Trionychidae, systematics
Order: Testudines Batsch, 1788 Family: Trionychidae Gray, 1825 Subfamily: Trionychinae Gray, 1825 Genus: Amyda Schweigger in Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809 Species: Amyda ornata (Gray, 1861) Subspecies: Amyda ornata magnapapulae Hoser, 2021 nomen rejectum according to Turtle Taxonomy Working Group (TTWG, 2021). Amyda ornata jongli ssp. nov. Diagnosis on morphological base: The heads in subadults and adults are stout (see Figs 5, 7a), with a dome rising up steeply from the top of the proboscis to the top of the head, in the region of prefrontals and frontals (see Fig. 9). Compared to the two other subspecies of A. ornata, a broader distance between the eyes is seen in A. o. jongli (see Figs 3, 7b), although this relative distance varies depending on the ontogenetic stage of the specimen considered. Rather uniform pale and greyish colouration, carapace is olive greyish, bright yellow pigmentation missing (Fig. 6a–j). Yellow-greyish dots, and vermiculation on head and neck is faded and not distinctly marked, ochre-coloured irises, ring-shaped skin around eyes with indistinct light dots, no pronounced “zebra striped” pattern; carapace with (or sometimes without, but less common) distinct black strokes and blotches or irregular saddle-shaped dark colouration on carapace (see Fig. 9). Black pigmentation mostly in the form of square spots on the rear edge of the carapace and two or three stripes running sideways from the center line of the carapace (compare Fig. 6a–j of the paratypes). Distinct tubercles in nuchal and back region. Nuchal tubercles protrude in a round or pointed shape along the front edge of the carapace in subadult and adult specimens (Fig. 8). Juveniles with tubercles on carapace running concentric, not longitudinal. Plastron white (in juveniles) changing to yellowish-grey during growth, mottled with clouds of black pigments especially on the parts of underlying bony skeleton. Derivatio nominis: The subspecies name jongli (noun in apposition) refers to the special term of local fishermen in Bangladesh who call this softshell turtle “jongli” in Bengali, deriving from “jangala” in Sanskrit. It means wild and ferocious, as the animals are powerful and struggle when captured. Simultaneously it means also “…coming from rivers of jungle woodlands”. Rahman et al. (2015) mention also the name “Tui-lip”, used by the Mro tribe. Suggested common names: English: “Northern Asiatic softshell turtle”. German: “Nördliche Knorpel-Weichschildkröte”. Peter Praschag and Richard Gemel. 2022. A New Subspecies of the Asiatic Softshell Turtle Amyda ornata (Gray, 1861) from Its northern Distribution Range. Herpetozoa. 35: 81-93. DOI: 10.3897/herpetozoa.35.e86055 | ||||||
| 2:40a | [Herpetology • 2022] Pristimantis crepitaculus • Back from the Deaf: Integrative Taxonomy Revalidates An Earless and Mute Species, Hylodes grandoculis, and Confirms A New Species of Pristimantis (Anura: Strabomantidae) from the Eastern Guiana Shield
Abstract Many anuran species remain to be formally named and described in Amazonia, notably in the Guiana Shield, and particularly in megadiverse groups such as Pristimantis. Several species in the Guiana Shield region have been confused with Pristimantis marmoratus and P. ockendeni. Hylodes grandoculis, a taxon previously placed in the synonymy of P. marmoratus, may be available for one of these species. To disentangle this confusing situation, we examined the external morphology and osteology (via µ-CT scans) of the holotype of H. grandoculis, the holotype of Pristimantis marmoratus, and of recently collected material for which we also analyzed molecular, acoustic, and morphological variation. We concluded that some populations from Suriname and northern Pará, Brazil, are distinct from P. marmoratus and correspond to Pristimantis grandoculis. Other populations, from French Guiana, are closely related to P. grandoculis but their status remains ambiguous. Finally, some populations, from French Guiana and Amapá, Brazil, are conspicuously distinct from both P. marmoratus and P. grandoculis and are described herein as P. crepitaculus sp. nov. A third species, belonging to a “trans-amazon complex”, occurs in southern Suriname, Guyana, and Brazil and remains undescribed. Pristimantis grandoculis and related populations from French Guiana lack external tympanum, columella, pharyngeal ostia, vocal slits and do not vocalize. This represents a rare, perhaps unique, example of a deaf and mute species of frogs from the Amazonian lowlands. Keywords: Amazonia, Amphibia, Morphology, Tomography
Pristimantis crepitaculus sp. nov. Etymology. The specific epithet is a latinised adjective referring to the call structure of the new species, which sounds like a rattle (crepitaculum). Antoine Fouquet, Pedro Peloso, Rawien Jairam, Albertina P. Lima, Alexander T. Mônico, Raffael Ernst and Philippe J. R. Kok. 2022. Back from the Deaf: Integrative Taxonomy Revalidates An Earless and Mute Species, Hylodes grandoculis van Lidth de Jeude, 1904, and Confirms A New Species of Pristimantis Jiménez de la Espada, 1870 (Anura: Strabomantidae) from the Eastern Guiana Shield. Organisms Diversity & Evolution. DOI: 10.1007/s13127-022-00564-w | ||||||
| 1:27p | [Paleontology • 2022] Vertebrate Paleobiodiversity of the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) Angeac-Charente Lagerstätte (southwestern France): Implications for Continental Faunal Turnover at the J/K Boundary
This contribution describes the continental micro- and macrovertebrate fauna of Angeac-Charente (Berriasian, Early Cretaceous). The rich and diversified fauna includes at least 38 different vertebrate taxa from all major clades, and is represented by more than 50 000 specimens. The Angeac-Charente locality includes the most diverse earliest Cretaceous mixed continental bonebed and the only Lagerstätte known to date in the World, and it provides a good picture of a Purbeckian paleocommunity. It includes remarkable taxa such as a new ornithomimosaur, a large turiasaur, an helochelydrid turtle and numerous mammals. The vertebrate fauna of Angeac-Charente has beyond all a Purberckian character. Many exclusively European genera and species belong to families with an essentially Laurasian paleogeographic distribution. Some taxa nevertheless suggest dispersal events between Africa and Europe at the Jurassic/Cretaceous transition. The successive Charentese faunas of Chassiron (Tithonian), Cherves-de-Cognac (Berriasian) and Angeac-Charente improve our poor knowledge of the evolution of continental vertebrate faunas at the Jurassic/Cretaceous transition. Rather than reflecting an important faunal turnover between the Tithonian and the Berriasian, they record environmental changes related to the sea–level regression that characterizes the end of the Jurassic. KEYWORDS: Vertebrata, Dinosauria, Mammalia, Amphibia, Reptilia, Early Cretaceous, Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary, Berriasian, France, Lagerstätte, Faunal list
Ronan Allain, Romain Vullo, Lee Rozada, Jérémy Anquetin, Renaud Bourgeais, ... et al. 2022. Vertebrate Paleobiodiversity of the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) Angeac-Charente Lagerstätte (southwestern France): Implications for Continental Faunal Turnover at the J/K Boundary. Geodiversitas. 44 (25): 683-752. DOI: 10.5252/geodiversitas2022v44a25. geodiversitas.com/44/25  france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/nouvelle-a |
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