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  • A Molecular Phylogeny of Equatorial African Lacertidae, with the Description of a New Genus and Species from Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
    Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 163, 913–942. With 7 figures A molecular phylogeny of Equatorial African Lacertidae, with the description of a new genus and species from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo ELI GREENBAUM1*, CESAR O. VILLANUEVA1, CHIFUNDERA KUSAMBA2, MWENEBATU M. ARISTOTE3 and WILLIAM R. BRANCH4,5 1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, El Paso, TX 79968, USA 2Laboratoire d’Herpétologie, Département de Biologie, Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles, Lwiro, République Démocratique du Congo 3Institut Superieur d’Ecologie pour la Conservation de la Nature, Katana Campus, Sud Kivu, République Démocratique du Congo 4Bayworld, P.O. Box 13147, Humewood 6013, South Africa 5Research Associate, Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa Received 25 July 2010; revised 21 November 2010; accepted for publication 18 January 2011 Currently, four species of the lacertid lizard genus Adolfus are known from Central and East Africa. We sequenced up to 2825 bp of two mitochondrial [16S and cytochrome b (cyt b)] and two nuclear [(c-mos (oocyte maturation factor) and RAG1 (recombination activating gene 1)] genes from 41 samples of Adolfus (representing every species), two species each of Gastropholis and Holaspis, and in separate analyses combined these data with GenBank sequences of all other Eremiadini genera and four Lacertini outgroups. Data from DNA sequences were analysed with maximum parsimony (PAUP), maximum-likelihood (RAxML) and Bayesian inference (MrBayes) criteria. Results demonstrated that Adolfus is not monophyletic: Adolfus africanus (type species), Adolfus alleni, and Adolfus jacksoni are sister taxa, whereas Adolfus vauereselli and a new species from the Itombwe Plateau of Democratic Republic of the Congo are in a separate lineage.
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  • Preliminary Analysis of Correlated Evolution of Morphology and Ecological Diversification in Lacertid Lizards
    Butll. Soc. Cat. Herp., 19 (2011) Preliminary analysis of correlated evolution of morphology and ecological diversification in lacertid lizards Fèlix Amat Orriols Àrea d'Herpetologia, Museu de Granollers-Ciències Naturals. Francesc Macià 51. 08402 Granollers. Catalonia. Spain. [email protected] Resum S'ha investigat la diversitat morfològica en 129 espècies de lacèrtids i la seva relació amb l'ecologia, per mitjà de mètodes comparatius, utilitzant set variables morfomètriques. La mida corporal és la variable més important, determinant un gradient entre espècies de petita i gran mida independentment evolucionades al llarg de la filogènia dels lacèrtids. Aquesta variable està forta i positivament correlacionada amb les altres, emmascarant els patrons de diversitat morfològica. Anàlisis multivariants en les variables ajustades a la mida corporal mostren una covariació negativa entre les mides relatives de la cua i les extremitats. Remarcablement, les espècies arborícoles i semiarborícoles (Takydromus i el clade africà equatorial) han aparegut dues vegades independentment durant l'evolució dels lacèrtids i es caracteritzen per cues extremadament llargues i extremitats anteriors relativament llargues en comparació a les posteriors. El llangardaix arborícola i planador Holaspis, amb la seva cua curta, constitueix l’única excepció. Un altre cas de convergència ha estat trobat en algunes espècies que es mouen dins de vegetació densa o herba (Tropidosaura, Lacerta agilis, Takydromus amurensis o Zootoca) que presenten cues llargues i extremitats curtes. Al contrari, les especies que viuen en deserts, estepes o matollars amb escassa vegetació aïllada dins grans espais oberts han desenvolupat extremitats posteriors llargues i anteriors curtes per tal d'assolir elevades velocitats i maniobrabilitat. Aquest és el cas especialment de Acanthodactylus i Eremias Abstract Morphologic diversity was studied in 129 species of lacertid lizards and their relationship with ecology by means of comparative analysis on seven linear morphometric measurements.
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  • Naming the Extrasolar Planets
    Naming the extrasolar planets W. Lyra Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, K¨onigstuhl 17, 69177, Heidelberg, Germany [email protected] Abstract and OGLE-TR-182 b, which does not help educators convey the message that these planets are quite similar to Jupiter. Extrasolar planets are not named and are referred to only In stark contrast, the sentence“planet Apollo is a gas giant by their assigned scientific designation. The reason given like Jupiter” is heavily - yet invisibly - coated with Coper- by the IAU to not name the planets is that it is consid- nicanism. ered impractical as planets are expected to be common. I One reason given by the IAU for not considering naming advance some reasons as to why this logic is flawed, and sug- the extrasolar planets is that it is a task deemed impractical. gest names for the 403 extrasolar planet candidates known One source is quoted as having said “if planets are found to as of Oct 2009. The names follow a scheme of association occur very frequently in the Universe, a system of individual with the constellation that the host star pertains to, and names for planets might well rapidly be found equally im- therefore are mostly drawn from Roman-Greek mythology. practicable as it is for stars, as planet discoveries progress.” Other mythologies may also be used given that a suitable 1. This leads to a second argument. It is indeed impractical association is established. to name all stars. But some stars are named nonetheless. In fact, all other classes of astronomical bodies are named.
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  • Johannes Hevelius' Atlas of Constellations, Based on a Lifetime's
    Johannes Hevelius’ atlas of constellations, based on a lifetime’s researches from this private observatory, was the finest of its time, and one of the few ever to be produced by a practicing astronomer rather than a cartographer. Hevelius, Johannes. Prodromus astronomiæ: exhibens fundamenta, quæ tam ad novum planè & correctiorem stellarum fixarum catalogum construendum, quàm ad omnium planetarum tabulas corrigendas omnimodè spectant … quibus additus est uter[que] catalogus stellarum fixarum… . Gedani : Typis Johannis-Zachariæ Stolli, 1690. 18 3/4 inches (400 mm), [20], 350, [2] pp. Johannes Hevelius’ (1611–1687) atlas of constellations was the finest of its time, and one of the few ever to be produced by a practicing astronomer rather than a cartographer., the Stellaburgum in his native Danzig (Gdansk), the work was published posthumously with an introduction by the author’s widow. It consists of three texts: a technological and methodological Prodromus Astronomiae (Spreads 19–103), the Catalogus Stellarum Fixarum, a catalogue of 1564 stars, arranged alphabetically by constellation, subdivided by stellar magnitude (Spreads 103–208), and the Firmamentum Sobiescianum (Spreads 5–17), named for his royal patron—Kepler had commemorated the Emperor Rudolf II in similar style in the title of Tabulae Rudolphinae. Its accompanying atlas of 54 double- page plates (Spreads 209–314) and 2 large folding planispheres depicting the northern and southern skies (Spreads 314 and 316). These engravings are the glory of the book, wonderful specimens of the Michelangelo approach to the night sky a Sistine ceiling of constellations. In producing his atlas, Hevelius, whose portrait appears at Spread 30, had the enormous advantage of having himself discovered more than 600 new stars from which to draw in devising a dozen new constellations.
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  • A Collection of Curricula for the STARLAB Greek Mythology Cylinder
    A Collection of Curricula for the STARLAB Greek Mythology Cylinder Including: A Look at the Greek Mythology Cylinder Three Activities: Constellation Creations, Create a Myth, I'm Getting Dizzy by Gary D. Kratzer ©2008 by Science First/STARLAB, 95 Botsford Place, Buffalo, NY 14216. www.starlab.com. All rights reserved. Curriculum Guide Contents A Look at the Greek Mythology Cylinder ...................3 Leo, the Lion .....................................................9 Introduction ......................................................3 Lepus, the Hare .................................................9 Andromeda ......................................................3 Libra, the Scales ................................................9 Aquarius ..........................................................3 Lyra, the Lyre ...................................................10 Aquila, the Eagle ..............................................3 Ophuichus, Serpent Holder ..............................10 Aries, the Ram ..................................................3 Orion, the Hunter ............................................10 Auriga .............................................................4 Pegasus, the Winged Horse..............................11 Bootes ..............................................................4 Perseus, the Champion .....................................11 Cancer, the Crab ..............................................4 Phoenix ..........................................................11 Canis Major, the Big Dog
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  • A Phylogeny of the European Lizard Genus Algyroides (Reptilia: Lacertidae) Based on DNA Sequences, with Comments on the Evolution of the Group
    J. Zool., Lond. (1999) 249,49±60 # 1999 The Zoological Society of London Printed in the United Kingdom A phylogeny of the European lizard genus Algyroides (Reptilia: Lacertidae) based on DNA sequences, with comments on the evolution of the group D. James Harris, E. Nicholas Arnold* and Richard H. Thomas Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, U.K. (Accepted 19 November 1998) Abstract The four species of Algyroides Bibron & Bory, 1833 form part of the relatively plesiomorphic Palaearctic clade of lacertids comprising Lacerta and its allies. An estimate of phylogeny based on DNA sequence from parts of the 12S and 16S rRNA mitochondrial genes con®rms the monophyly of the genus already suggested by several morphological features. The molecular data also indicates that relationships within the clade are: (A. nigropunctatus (A. moreoticus (A. ®tzingeri, A. marchi))); this agrees with an estimate of phylogeny based on morphology that assumes the taxon ancestral to Alygroides was relatively robust in body form, and not strongly adapted to using crevices. Initial morphological evolution within Algyroides appears to involve adaptation to crypsis in woodland habitats. The most plesiomorphic form (A. nigropunctatus) is likely to have originally climbed extensively on tree boles and branches and there may have been two subsequent independent shifts to increased use of litter and vegetation matrices with related anatomical changes (A. moreoticus, A. ®tzingeri), and one to increased use of crevices (A. marchi). Some members of Algyroides are strikingly similar in super®cial morphology to particular species of the equatorial African genus Adolfus. This resemblance results from a combination of many shared primitive features plus a few independently acquired derived ones that are likely to give performance advantage in the relatively similar structural niches that these forms occupy.
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  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration Th Ixae Mpacs Ixae Th I
    National Aeronautics and Space Administration S pacM e aIX th i This collection of activities is based on a weekly series of space science problems distributed to thousands of teachers during the 2012- 2013 school year. They were intended for students looking for additional challenges in the math and physical science curriculum in grades 5 through 12. The problems were created to be authentic glimpses of modern science and engineering issues, often involving actual research data. The problems were designed to be ‘one-pagers’ with a Teacher’s Guide and Answer Key as a second page. This compact form was deemed very popular by participating teachers. For more weekly classroom activities about astronomy and space visit the NASA website, http://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov Add your email address to our mailing list by contacting Dr. Sten Odenwald at [email protected] Front and back cover credits: Front) Grail Gravity Map of the Moon -Grail NASA/ARC/MIT; Dawn Chorus - RBSP/APL/NASA; Erupting Prominence - SDO/NASA; Location of Curiosity - Curiosity/JPL./NASA; Chelyabinsk Meteor - WWW; LL Pegasi Spiral - NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Back) U Camalopardalis (Courtesy ESA/Hubble, NASA and H. Olofsson (Onsala Space Observatory) Interior Illustrations: All images are courtesy NASA and specific missions as stated on each page, except for the following: 20) Chelyabinsk Meteor and classroom (chelyabinsk.ru); 32) diffraction figure (Wikipedia); 39) Planet accretion (Alan Brandon, Nature magazine, May 2011); 44) Beatrix Mine (J.D. Myers, University of Wyoming); 53) Mars interior (Uncredited ,TopNews.in); 89) Earth Atmosphere (NOAA); 90, 91) Lonely Cloud (Henriette, The Cloud Appreciation Society, 2005); 101, 103) House covered in snow (The Author); This booklet was created through an education grant NNH06ZDA001N- EPO from NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
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  • Chapter Vi Report of Divisions, Commissions, and Working
    CHAPTER VI REPORT OF DIVISIONS, COMMISSIONS, AND WORKING GROUPS Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.42, on 24 Sep 2021 at 09:23:58, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0251107X00011937 DIVISION I FUNDAMENTAL ASTRONOMY Division I provides a focus for astronomers studying a wide range of problems related to fundamental physical phenomena such as time, the intertial reference frame, positions and proper motions of celestial objects, and precise dynamical computation of the motions of bodies in stellar or planetary systems in the Universe. PRESIDENT: P. Kenneth Seidelmann U.S. Naval Observatory, 3450 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington, DC 20392-5100, US Tel. + 1 202 762 1441 Fax. +1 202 762 1516 E-mail: [email protected] BOARD E.M. Standish President Commission 4 C. Froeschle President Commisison 7 H. Schwan President Commisison 8 D.D. McCarthy President Commisison 19 E. Schilbach President Commisison 24 T. Fukushima President Commisison 31 J. Kovalevsky Past President Division I PARTICIPATING COMMISSIONS: COMMISSION 4 EPHEMERIDES COMMISSION 7 CELESTIAL MECHANICS AND DYNAMICAL ASTRONOMY COMMISSION 8 POSITIONAL ASTRONOMY COMMISSION 19 ROTATION OF THE EARTH COMMISSION 24 PHOTOGRAPHIC ASTROMETRY COMMISSION 31 TIME Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.42, on 24 Sep 2021 at 09:23:58, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0251107X00011937 COMMISSION 4: EPHEMERIDES President: H. Kinoshita Secretary: C.Y. Hohenkerk Commission 4 held one business meeting.
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  • Systematics of Collared Snakes and Burrowing Asps (Aparallactinae
    University of Texas at El Paso DigitalCommons@UTEP Open Access Theses & Dissertations 2017-01-01 Systematics Of Collared Snakes And Burrowing Asps (aparallactinae And Atractaspidinae) (squamata: Lamprophiidae) Francisco Portillo University of Texas at El Paso, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd Part of the Zoology Commons Recommended Citation Portillo, Francisco, "Systematics Of Collared Snakes And Burrowing Asps (aparallactinae And Atractaspidinae) (squamata: Lamprophiidae)" (2017). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 731. https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd/731 This is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UTEP. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UTEP. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SYSTEMATICS OF COLLARED SNAKES AND BURROWING ASPS (APARALLACTINAE AND ATRACTASPIDINAE) (SQUAMATA: LAMPROPHIIDAE) FRANCISCO PORTILLO, BS, MS Doctoral Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology APPROVED: Eli Greenbaum, Ph.D., Chair Carl Lieb, Ph.D. Michael Moody, Ph.D. Richard Langford, Ph.D. Charles H. Ambler, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School Copyright © by Francisco Portillo 2017 SYSTEMATICS OF COLLARED SNAKES AND BURROWING ASPS (APARALLACTINAE AND ATRACTASPIDINAE) (SQUAMATA: LAMPROPHIIDAE) by FRANCISCO PORTILLO, BS, MS DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at El Paso in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Biological Sciences THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO May 2017 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I would like to thank my family for their love and support throughout my life. I am very grateful to my lovely wife, who has been extremely supportive, motivational, and patient, as I have progressed through graduate school.
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  • A Rain Forest Lizard with Disjunct Distribution?
    New country records of Adolfus africanus – a rain forest lizard with disjunct distribution? New country records of Adolfus africanus (Sauria: Lacertidae) – a rain forest lizard with disjunct distribution? JÖRN KÖHLER, PHILIPP WAGNER, STEFANIE VISSER & WOLFGANG BÖHME Abstract The lacertid lizard Adolfus africanus is recorded from Kakamega Forest, western Kenya, and Imatong Mountains, southern Sudan. Both localities represent first country records for the species. Kakamega Forest constitutes the easternmost locality for A. africanus which was also recorded from Cameroon. The known distribution of this rain forest species is reviewed and discussed in a biogeographical context. Key words: Reptilia: Sauria: Lacertidae: Adolfus africanus; Kenya; Sudan; first records; distribution; biogeography. Introduction In sub-Saharan Africa lacertid lizards are represented by 12 genera. Currently, four valid species are recognised in the genus Adolfus. Adolfus alleni (BARBOUR, 1914) is a mountain endemic known only from high moor lands of Mt. Kenya, Aberdares, the Cherangani Hills and Mt. Elgon in Kenya and adjoining Uganda. In comparison, Adolfus jacksoni (BOULENGER, 1899) and A. vauereselli (TORNIER, 1902) both have a wider distribution, although their range is restricted to mid-elevations in East Africa and the easternmost Republic of the Congo. Whereas A. jacksoni seems to be most tolerant to human disturbance, A. vauereselli is considered a forest species (ARNOLD 1989, SPAWLS et al. 2002). Thus the distribution for the three species mentioned is predominantly East African. A remarkable exception is Adolfus africanus (BOULENGER, 1906), described from the northern shore of Lake Victoria, Entebbe, Uganda, and also known from the countries of Rwanda, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Cameroon (e.
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  • A Survey of Amphibians and Reptiles in the Foothills of Mount Kupe, Cameroon
    Official journal website: Amphibian & Reptile Conservation amphibian-reptile-conservation.org 10(2) [Special Section]: 37–67 (e131). A survey of amphibians and reptiles in the foothills of Mount Kupe, Cameroon 1,2Daniel M. Portik, 3,4Gregory F.M. Jongsma, 3Marcel T. Kouete, 3Lauren A. Scheinberg, 3Brian Freiermuth, 5,6Walter P. Tapondjou, and 3,4David C. Blackburn 1Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, California 94720, USA 2Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, 501 S. Nedderman Drive, Box 19498, Arlington, Texas 76019-0498, USA 3California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California 94118, USA 4Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, USA 5Laboratory of Zoology, Faculty of Science. University of Yaoundé, PO Box 812 Yaoundé, Cameroon, AFRICA 6Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 1450 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA Abstract.—We performed surveys at several lower elevation sites surrounding Mt. Kupe, a mountain at the southern edge of the Cameroonian Highlands. This work resulted in the sampling of 48 species, including 38 amphibian and 10 reptile species. By combining our data with prior survey results from higher elevation zones, we produce a checklist of 108 species for the greater Mt. Kupe region including 72 frog species, 21 lizard species, and 15 species of snakes. Our work adds 30 species of frogs at lower elevations, many of which are associated with breeding in pools or ponds that are absent from the slopes of Mt. Kupe. We provide taxonomic accounts, including museum specimen data and associated molecular data, for all species encountered.
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  • Download Download
    Research article Evaluating the quantitative and qualitative contribution of zoos and aquaria to peer-reviewed science Julia Kögler1*, Isabel Barbosa Pacheco2, Paul Wilhelm Dierkes2 1Verband der Zoologischen Gärten (VdZ) e.V., Bundespressehaus (Büro 4109), Schiffbauerdamm 40, 10117 Berlin, Germany 2Bioscience Education and Zoo Biology, Goethe-University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany *Correspondence: Julia Kögler, [email protected] JZAR Research article Research JZAR Keywords: biodiversity, ex-situ, in-situ, Abstract conservation, research impact, research The EU Council Directive relating to the keeping of wild animals in zoos, as well as major global and productivity, science communication regional zoo associations, calls upon zoos and aquaria to support biodiversity conservation and research. However, assessments of the scientific contribution of zoos remain scarce to date. This paper, Article history: therefore, evaluates for the first time the quantitative research productivity of the 71 members of the Received: 04 Jun 2019 Association of Zoological Gardens (Verband der Zoologischen Gärten, VdZ) and analyses aspects of its Accepted: 10 Feb 2020 qualitative outcome. Between 2008 and 2018, VdZ members produced or contributed to 1,058 peer- Published online: 30 Apr 2020 reviewed and mostly ISI Web of Science (WoS)-listed publications, with productivity rates increasing over time. They did so either as (co-)authors or by supporting external research teams with access to animals, data or biological samples deriving from their respective ex-situ animal collections. The publications resulted in 8,991 citations appearing in 284 mostly not zoo-related journals. These findings, plus the large range of subject areas and animal species focused on, suggest a broad audience group reached.
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