All_Short_Notes:SHORT_NOTE.qxd 12.02.2019 14:43 Seite 17

SHORT NOTE HERPETOZOA 31 (3/4) Wien, 28. Februar 2019 SHORT NOTE 235

In the Saratov Trans-Volga region, the demy of Sciences), pp. IV, 350. [In Russian]. RED maximum abundance indices of V. r. renar - BOOK OF THE SARATOV REGION : M USHROOMS . L IcHENS . PLANTS . A NIMALS [Красная Книга саратовсКой обла - di (up to 11 individuals/ha) are typical for сти : г рибы . л ишайниКи . р астения . Ж ивотные ] areas with mixed grass-shrub vegetation (2006): Saratov (Publishing house of the chamber of near open-water reservoirs (estuaries, commerce and Industry of the Saratov region), pp. canals, and storage reservoirs) and in the 528. SHLyAKHTIN , G. V. & GOLIKOVA , V. L. (1986): A technique of field surveys of and floodplains of the Bolshoy and Malyi Uzen ecology. Saratov (Saratov University Press), pp. 78. [In rivers in the extreme south of the Alex- Russian]. SHLyAKHTIN , G. V. & T ABAcHISHIN , V. G. & androvo-Gaiskiy district. A somewhat ZAVIALOV , E. V. (2006): восточная степная гадюка – lower abundance was noted in the north of Vipera (Pelias ) renardi (cHRISTOPH , 1861) [Steppe Viper – Vipera (Pelias ) renardi (cHRISTOPH , 1861)]; the Alexandrovo-Gaiskiy district and in the pp. 371-372. In: Красная Книга саратовсКой обла - east of the districts Dergachevskiy, Perely- сти : г рибы . л ишайниКи . р астения . Ж ивотные [RED ubskiy and Ozinskiy. For example, in the BOOK OF THE SARATOV REGION : M USHROOMS . L IcHENS . second third (ten-day period) of May 2006 – PLANTS . A NIMALS ]. Saratov (Publishing house of the chamber of commerce and Industry of the Saratov 2011, on plots of mixed-grass steppe with region). yERMOKHIN , M. V. & TABAcHISHIN , V. G. & shrub thickets in the Kharlamov Sad natural IVANOV , G. A. (2017): Phenological changes in the win - boundary (the floodplain of the Bolshoy tering of Pelobates fuscus (Pelobatidae, Amphibia) in Uzen river in the vicinity of the village of the climate transformation conditions in the northern Lower Volga Region.- Biology Bulletin, Moskva; 44 Monakhovo, Alexandrovo-Gaiskiy district), (10): 1215-1227 . ZAVIALOV , E. V. & TABAcHISHIN , V. the numbers of the specimens varied from G. & SHLyAKHTIN , G. V. & K AyBELEVA , E. I. & M OSO- 0.8 (2007) to 3.2 (2010) individuals/ha. LOVA , E. yU. & T ABAcHISHINA , I. E. & y AKUSHEV , N. Thus, the available data indicates that N. (2006): cataloging of zoological collections. Issue. 2. Stock collections in the monitoring system of her - V. r. renardi currently has a wide but patchy petofauna. Saratov (Saratov University Press), pp. 96. distribution in the vast territory of the [In Russian]. Saratov region. Given a gradual increase in KEy WORDS: Reptilia: : Serpentes: the average annual temperatures and some - Viperidae; Vipera renardi , ecology, distribution, what stabilized humidity conditions within Saratov region, Russia, Russian Federation the study area, an increase in the SUBMITTED: April 28, 2018 abundance and a slow expansion of the AUTHORS: Vasily G. TABAcHISHIN (corre- sponding author < [email protected] >) 1) & range boundaries in the region can be ex- 2) pected in the coming years. However, due Mikhail V. yERMOKHIN < [email protected] > to the limited distribution of the species, it is 1) A. N. Severtsov Institute for Ecology and Evolution RAS, Saratov branch 24, Rabochaya str., suggested to keep V. r. renardi included in Saratov 410028, Russian Federation. the next (third) edition of the Red Book of 2) Saratov State University, 33 Astrakhanskaya the Saratov region ( RED BOOK OF THE SARA- str., Saratov 410012, Russian Federation. TOV REGION : M USHROOMS . L IcHENS . P LANTS . 2006). REFERENcES: ANANjEVA , N. B. & ORLOV , N. L. & KHALIKOV , R. G. & DAREVSKy , I. S. & RyABOV , S. considerations on the A. & BARABANOV , A. V. (2004): colored atlas of the of North Eurasia (Taxonomic diversity, distri - reproduction of olfersii bution, conservation status). Sankt-Peterburg (Zoolo- IcHTENSTEIN gical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences), (L , 1823), pp. 232. [in Russian]. KOLOMyTS , E. G. (2008): Local in Roraima, mechanisms of global changes in the natural eco- systems. Moskva (Nauka), pp. 427. [In Russian]. KU- BANTSEV , B. S. & KOLIAKIN , N. N. (1989): Distribution The Philodryas currently com - and abundance of reptiles in northern districts of the prises 23 species widely distributed in South Lower-Volga region.- Abstracts; pp. 280-281. All-Union America’s ( UETZ 2017) arid and tropical re - Meeting on mapping and counting of wild animals. Ufa gions ( THOMAS 1976; M ARqUES et al. 2001; [In Russian]. LEVITSKAyA , N. G. & SHATALOVA , O. V. & IVANOVA , G. F. (2009): Review of average and ex- GIRAUDO 2001; UETZ 2017). Philodryas ol - treme characteristics of the Saratov Region climate in fersii (LIcHTENSTEIN , 1823) , Lichtenstein’s the second half of the XXth – beginning of XXIst cen - Green Racer or boiubu in indigenous lan - tury.- Agrarian Reporter of South-East, Saratov; 1: 30- guages, has the widest distribution among 33. [In Russian, English summary]. NIKOLSKy , A. M. (1916): Fauna of Russia and adjacent countries. the members of this genus. It occurs in var - Reptilia. Vol. II. Ophidia. Petrograd (Imperial Aca- ious ecoregions throughout Brazil, colom- All_Short_Notes:SHORT_NOTE.qxd 12.02.2019 14:43 Seite 18

236 SHORT NOTE HERPETOZOA 31 (3/4) Wien, 28. Februar 2019 SHORT NOTE

bia, French Guiana, Guyana and Venezuela al observations). This phenomenon is like - (UETZ 2017) and is characterized by mainly ly due to the largely constant tropical rain semi-arboreal habits ( VANZOLINI et al. 1980; and temperature conditions prevailing, DE LEMA 1994; F RANçA 2006; B ERNARDE which favor a wide variety and availability 2012, 2014). Nonetheless, the knowledge of food ( DIXON & S OINI 1976; D UELLMAN about its reproductive biology is insuffi - 197 8). cient. The reproductive cycle was re ported REFERENcES: BARBO , F. E. & M ARqUES , O. to last around nine months, with oviposition A. V. & S AWAyA , R. j. (2011): Diversity, natural histo - in captivity, from September to December, ry, and distribution of in the municipality of São Paulo.- South American journal of Herpetology 6 (3): and size between two and 16 eggs 135-160. BARBOSA , R. I. (1997): Distribuição das chu - (FOWLER et al. 1998). According to the avail - vas em Roraima; pp. 325-335. In: BARBOSA , R. I. & able information, vitellogenic follicles were FERREIRA , E. j. G. & c ASTELLóN , E. G. (Eds.): Homem, ambiente e ecologia no Estado de Roraima. Manaus identified between September and january, (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - INPA). and a female contained seven eggs in No- BERNARDE , P. S. (2012): Serpentes peçonhentas e aci - vember ( BARBO et al. 2011). DOURADO DE dentes ofídicos no Acre. curitiba (Anolis Books Edi- MESqUITA (2013) recorded females with tora), pp. 112. BERNARDE , P. S. (2014): Serpentes vitellogenic follicles throughout the year, peçonhentas e acidentes ofídicos no Brasil. São Paulo (Anolis Books Editora), pp. 223. DE LEMA , T. (1994): however, the presence of eggs and oviposi - Lista comentada de répteis ocorrentes no Rio Grande tion was restricted to the period from No- do Sul, Brasil.- comunicações do Museu de ciências e vember to january. Likewise, mating be - Tecnologia da Pontifícia Universidade católica do Rio haviors were recorded in june in Northeast Grande do Sul , Porto Alegre; (Série Zoologia) 7: 41- 150. DIXON , j. R. & S OINI , P. (1975): The reptiles of Brazil (ceará), suggesting its reproduction the upper Amazon Basin, Iquitos region, Peru. Part I. occurring throughout the year in this area and amphisbaenians.- con tributions in biology (DOURADO DE MESqUITA et al. 2012). and geology / Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee; 4: 1-58. DOURADO DE MESqUITA , P. c. M. & c UNHA On june 6, 2017, the authors collect - PASSOS , D. & M OTA RODRIGUES , j. F. (2012): Philo- ed an adult female P. olfersii (snout-vent- dryas olfersii (Squamata, Serpentes, Dipsadidae): length 724 mm, tail length 263 mm) in the Nocturnal mating behavior.- Herpetologia Brasileira, Brazilian state of Roraima, municipality of WWW online jounal available at < https://issuu.com/ herpetologiabrasileirasbh >; 1 (1): 41-42. DOURADO DE cantá, highway BR–401, km 16 (2.849217° MESqUITA , P. c. M. & S á-P OLIDORO , G. L. & Z ANINI N, 60.579700° W). On the following day at cEcHIN , S. (2013): Reproductive biology of Philodryas 15:25 h, the laid seven eggs in cap - olfersii (Ser pentes, Dipsadidae) in a subtropical region tivity. The eggs were kept in a plastic box of Brazil.- Herpetological journal, London; 23 (1): 39- 44. DUELLMAN , W. E. (197 8): The biology of an equa - filled with vermiculite at temperatures of torial herpetofauna in Amazonian Ecuador.- University 25 – 32 °c (average 27,5 °c) and humidi - of Kansas, Museum of Natural History, Miscellaneous fied daily. After 64 days, the offspring Publication, Lawrence; 65: 1-352. FOWLER , I. R. & began to hatch, which took up to two days SALOMãO , M. G. & j ORDãO , R. S. (1998): A description of the female reproductive cycle in four species from per individual. The small litter size of the neotropical colubrid snake Philodryas (, seven (average snout-vent-length 250 mm) Xenodontinae).- The Snake, Nittagun; 28: 71-78. can be related to the small size of the FRANçA , F. G. R. & M ESqUITA , D. O. & c OLLI , G. R. female. (2006): A cheklist of snakes from Amazonian savannas in Brazil, housed in the coleção Herpetológica da The present observations from Rora- Universidade de Brasília, with new distribution ima regarding the dates of oviposition, in records.- Occasional Papers / Sam Noble Oklahoma the beginning of june and eclosion in the Museum of Natural History, Norman; 17: 1-13. beginning of August at the end of the rainy GIRAUDO , A. R. (1999). New records of snakes from .- Herpetological Review, New york; 30, season, differ from those reported by 179-181. MARqUES , O. A. V. & E TEROVIc , A. & E NDO , FOWLER et al. (1998). According to BARBO- W. (2001): Seasonal activity of snakes in the Atlantic SA (1997) in the State of Roraima the sea - forest in southeastern Brazil.- Amphibia-Reptilia, sonality is represented by a dry season and a Leiden; 22: 103-111. THOMAS , R. A. (1976). A revision of the South American colubrid snake genus rainy season occurring between May and Philodryas WAGLER , 1830. PhD Thesis, Texas A&M the end of August. The new data could sug - University, Aggieland; pp. 378. UETZ , P. (2011): The gest that in Roraima the reproductive cycle . WWW database available at < http:// of P. olfersii is not subjected to seasonality, www.reptile- database.org/ > [last accessed: October 2018]. VANZOLINI , P. E. & RAMOS -c OSTA , A. M. M. & since neonates and juveniles are found prac - VITT , L. j. (1980): Répteis das caatingas. Rio de tically throughout the year (authors person - janeiro (Academia Brasileira de ciências), pp. 161. All_Short_Notes:SHORT_NOTE.qxd 12.02.2019 14:43 Seite 19

SHORT NOTE HERPETOZOA 31 (3/4) Wien, 28. Februar 2019 SHORT NOTE 237

KEy WORDS: Reptilia: Squamata: Serpentes: epiphytic orchid Myrmecophila tibicinis colubridae; Philodryas olfersii ; reproduction, Rora- OLFE ima, Brazil R , 1917, as refuge sites. In central America, it is common for many amphib - SUBMITTED: March 15, 2018 ians to associate with epiphytic Bromeliads AUTHORS: Anderson Maciel ROcHA (cor- responding author < [email protected] >) 1) & (DUNN 1937). However, to the best of the Patrik F. VIANA 2, 3) authors’ knowledge there have been no pre - 1) Faculdade cathedral de Ensino Superior, Fa- viously published observations associating culdade cathedral, Laboratório de Zoologia Aplicada anurans to microhabitats created by epiphyt - de Vertebrados Terrestres e Aquáticos, Avenida Luís ic Orchidaceae. canuto chaves, 293, caçari, cEP 69307-655, Boa Vista, RR, Brasil. On February 27, 2018, at 17:25 h, the 2) Laboratory of Genetics, Instituto authors retrieved four large orchids that Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - campus II, Av. were felled from a mature mango tree ( Man- André Araújo, 2936, 69080-971 Manaus, AM, Brazil. gifera sp .). The orchids ( M. tibicinis ) had 3) Institute for Applied Ecology, University of canberra, canberra 2616, Australia . previously grown on multiple large limbs ca. 5 – 8 m above ground, yet were felled owing to expansion and development of the road to Pumpkin Hill, which was previous - ly reported to have negative impacts on the The orchid native biodiversity ( BROWN et al. 2017). Myrmecophila tibicinis as a refuge Whilst collecting the orchids with the inten - for Scinax staufferi (c OPE , 1865), tion to reattach them to suitable sites, the on Isla de Utila, Honduras authors encountered at least eight individu - als of S. staufferi (Fig 1.) emerging simulta - neously from within the distinct tubular Scinax staufferi (c OPE , 1865), Stauf- fer’s Long-nosed Treefrog, is widely dis - pseudobulbs of M. tibicinis. Five of these tributed from Mexico to costa Rica. On the individuals were successfully captured to Honduran Isla de Utila it was detected in prevent further disruption whilst moving the orchids, also providing the opportunity to 2005 ( MccRANIE et al . 2005). This frog species is classified as Least concern by the measure and gain basic morphological in - IUcN Red List of Threatened Species, yet is formation on S. staufferi from Isla de Utila. noted to have severely fragmented popula - The Snout-vent-length of the captured indi - tions throughout its range ( SANTOS -B AR- viduals ranged from 14-17 mm, whilst the RERA et al . 2010). On Utila, the species has body mass was between 0.3 – 0.5 g, consis - been observed within various types, tent with reports of mainland populations including broad-leaf forest, neo-tropical (KöHLER 2011). At ca. 20:00 h, the individ - savanna, freshwater swamp forest, grass - uals were released back on the orchids, land and some disturbed vegetated which had been reattached to trees at the alongside temporary freshwater bodies. Kanahau Utila Research and conservation More than two-thirds of Utila’s surface is Facility (16.119383° N, 86.884989° W, covered by swamp forests and mangroves, WGS84 datum). Opportunistic weekly sur - predominantly consisting of vegetation tol - veys of the relocation site were conducted erant to the influence of brackish or salt from March until November 2018. These water ( FIcKERT & G RUNINGER 2010). Due regular visits consistently found individuals to the relative lack of permanent freshwater of S. staufferi active at night on the leaves of on the island, it previously remained un - orchids until late September. known where S. staufferi resides during the Myrmecophila tibicinis is an epiphyt - dry season. Presumably, the reproductive ic species which occurs in low nutrient and cycle of this species on Utila is limited to open canopy habitats distributed from the one distinct rainy season, which lasts southern Mexico through most of central from approximately October to january America ( DRESSLER 1981). On Utila, this (PASAcHNIK et al. 2012). orchid is relatively common and well dis - The present note documents the first tributed throughout broad-leaf, mangrove observations of S. staufferi utilizing the and swamp forest habitats (pers. observ.).