Phylogeography and Systematics of the Mesalina Olivieri Species Complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Phylogeography and Systematics of the Mesalina Olivieri Species Complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa Phylogeography and systematics of the Mesalina olivieri species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa Cristian Pizzigalli Master in Biodiversity, Genetics and Evolution Department of Biology of the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto 2019 Orientador José Carlos Alcobia Rogado de Brito, Principal Researcher, CIBIO- InBIO/FCUP Co-orientador Guillermo Velo-Antón, Auxiliary Researcher, CIBIO-InBIO Fernando Martínez-Freiría Post-Doctoral Researcher, CIBIO-InBIO FCUP 1 Phylogeography and systematics of the Mesalina olivieri species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa 2 FCUP 2 Phylogeography and systematics of the Mesalina olivieri species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa Todas as correções determinadas pelo júri, e só essas, foram efetuadas. O Presidente do Júri, Porto, ______/______/_________ FCUP 3 Phylogeography and systematics of the Mesalina olivieri species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa 4 FCUP 4 Phylogeography and systematics of the Mesalina olivieri species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa To my parents FCUP 5 Phylogeography and systematics of the Mesalina olivieri species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa 6 FCUP 6 Phylogeography and systematics of the Mesalina olivieri species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa 1 Acknowledgments/Agradecimentos 2 I would like to thank BIODESERTS group members for their assistance during fieldwork 3 and the CTM technical staff that patiently thought me everything I know about lab work. My 4 main supervisor José Carlos Brito that gave me the possibility to work on this stimulating 5 thesis and helped me until the end of it. My co-supervisors Guillermo Velo-Antón that 6 helped me during the lab work and the genetic analysis. Pierre-André Crochet and 7 Philippe Geniez for the warm hospitality at the CERN in Montpellier and for their 8 availability in transmitting me useful knowledges. Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou and Fernando 9 Martínez-Freiría that introduced me to CIBIO and to the University of Porto and without 10 whom I wouldn’t never come to Portugal. Andres Pagan, Inês Dinis de Freitas, Silvia 11 Chemello, Orlando Gallo that helped me when I was lost and together with my flatmates 12 Luca, Clara, Aina and Fulvio supported me during this journey. 13 I would also love to thank my parents, my sister Maddalena, my uncle and aunt Giuseppe 14 and Cecilia, my friends Alberto, Dario, Francesco and Roberto for the love and support 15 they gave me that always made me feel home. Thank you. 16 This work was funded by National Geographic Society (CRE 7629-04/8412-08), Mohamed 17 bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (11052709, 11052707, 11052499), Fundacão para 18 a Ciência e a Tecnologia (PTDC/BIA-BEC/099934/2008 and PTDC/ BIA-BIC/2903/2012), 19 FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors - 20 COMPETE (FCOMP-01- 0124-FEDER-008917/028276), and by AGRIGEN–NORTE-01- 21 0145-FEDER-000007, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme 22 (NORTE2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the 23 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). F.M.F., G.V.A. and J.C.B. were supported 24 by FCT (FCT-DL57, IF/01425/2014, and FCT-DL57, respectively). Capture permits were 25 issued by the Haut Comissaire aux Eaux et Forets (278/2012 and 26 20/2013/HCEFLCD/DLCDPN/DPRN/CFF) and Ministére de l’Environnement et du 27 Développement Durable of Mauritania (460/MDE/PNBA). Logistic support for fieldwork 28 was given by Pedro Santos Lda (Trimble GPS), Off Road Power Shop, P.N. Banc d’Arguin 29 (Mauritania), Association Nature Initiative (Morocco), and Université des Sciences, de 30 Technologie et de Médecine de Nouakchott. 31 FCUP 7 Phylogeography and systematics of the Mesalina olivieri species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa 32 8 FCUP 8 Phylogeography and systematics of the Mesalina olivieri species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa 33 INDEX 34 ACKNOWLEGMENTS/AGRADECIMENTOS .............................................................................................. 6 35 INDEX ...................................................................................................................................................... 8 36 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................. 10 37 KEYWORDS ............................................................................................................................................ 10 38 RESUMO ................................................................................................................................................ 12 39 PALAVRAS-CHAVE ................................................................................................................................. 12 40 LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................................... 14 41 LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................... 16 42 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................................... 18 43 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 20 44 1.1 GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY DECLINE ......................................................................................................................... 20 45 1.2 INTEGRATIVE TAXONOMY ................................................................................................................................. 21 46 1.3 BIOGEOGRAPHY OF NORTH AFRICA ................................................................................................................... 24 47 1.4 THE LIZARDS OF GENUS MESALINA .................................................................................................................... 26 48 1.5 OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................................................ 28 49 1.6 REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................................... 30 50 2. PHYLOGEOGRAPHY AND SYSTEMATICS OF THE MESALINA OLIVIERI SPECIES COMPLEX 51 (SQUAMATA: LACERTIDAE) FROM NORTH-WEST AFRICA WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES 52 AND SUBSPECIES ................................................................................................................................... 39 53 2.1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 39 54 2.2. MATERIALS AND METHODS .............................................................................................................................. 41 55 2.2.1 Sampling and study area ................................................................................................................................ 41 56 2.2.2. Genetic analyses ................................................................................................................................................ 41 57 2.2.2.1 DNA extraction and amplification ............................................................................................................... 41 58 2.2.2.2 Phylogenetic analyses and haplotype networks ......................................................................................... 43 59 2.2.2.3. Species-tree ............................................................................................................................................... 44 60 2.2.2.4. Time of divergence .................................................................................................................................... 45 FCUP 9 Phylogeography and systematics of the Mesalina olivieri species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) from North-West Africa 61 2.2.2.5. Genetic distances ....................................................................................................................................... 45 62 2.2.2.6. Historical demography ............................................................................................................................... 45 63 2.2.3 Morphological analyses .......................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 64 2.2.3.1 Morphological dataset .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 65 2.2.3.2 Morphological variation .................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 66 2.2.4 Distribution modelling of the new species ............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 67 2.3. RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................................ 46 68 2.3.1 Phylogenetic analyses ......................................................................................................................................... 49 69 2.3.2
Recommended publications
  • A Review of Southern Iraq Herpetofauna
    Vol. 3 (1): 61-71, 2019 A Review of Southern Iraq Herpetofauna Nadir A. Salman Mazaya University College, Dhi Qar, Iraq *Corresponding author: [email protected] Abstract: The present review discussed the species diversity of herpetofauna in southern Iraq due to their scientific and national interests. The review includes a historical record for the herpetofaunal studies in Iraq since the earlier investigations of the 1920s and 1950s along with the more recent taxonomic trials in the following years. It appeared that, little is known about Iraqi herpetofauna, and no comprehensive checklist has been done for these species. So far, 96 species of reptiles and amphibians have been recorded from Iraq, but only a relatively small proportion of them occur in the southern marshes. The marshes act as key habitat for globally endangered species and as a potential for as yet unexplored amphibian and reptile diversity. Despite the lack of precise localities, the tree frog Hyla savignyi, the marsh frog Pelophylax ridibunda and the green toad Bufo viridis are found in the marshes. Common reptiles in the marshes include the Caspian terrapin (Clemmys caspia), the soft-shell turtle (Trionyx euphraticus), the Euphrates softshell turtle (Rafetus euphraticus), geckos of the genus Hemidactylus, two species of skinks (Trachylepis aurata and Mabuya vittata) and a variety of snakes of the genus Coluber, the spotted sand boa (Eryx jaculus), tessellated water snake (Natrix tessellata) and Gray's desert racer (Coluber ventromaculatus). More recently, a new record for the keeled gecko, Cyrtopodion scabrum and the saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus sochureki) was reported. The IUCN Red List includes six terrestrial and six aquatic amphibian species.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • Geographic Variation in Mesalina Watsonana ‌(Sauria: Lacertidae) Along a Latitudinal Cline on the Iranian Plateau
    SALAMANDRA 49(3) 171–176 30 October 2013 CorrespondenceISSN 0036–3375 Correspondence Geographic variation in Mesalina watsonana (Sauria: Lacertidae) along a latitudinal cline on the Iranian Plateau Seyyed Saeed Hosseinian Yousefkhani 1, Eskandar Rastegar-Pouyani 1, 2 & Nasrullah Rastegar-Pouyani 1 1) Iranian Plateau Herpetology Research Group (IPHRG), Faculty of Science, Razi University, 6714967346 Kermanshah, Iran 2) Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran Corresponding author: Seyyed Saeed Hosseinian Yousefkhani, email: [email protected] Manuscript received: 23 January 2013 Iran is geologically structured by several major mountain We also examined the extent of sexual dimorphism as ranges, plateaus and basins, including the Zagros and El- evident in the 28 metric and meristic characters examined burz Mountains, the Central Plateau, and the Eastern between the 39 adult males (15 Zagros; 10 South; 14 East) Highlands (Berberian & King 1981). Mesalina watson­ and 21 adult females (Tab. 3) by means of statistical analy- ana (Stoliczka, 1872) is one of the 14 species of the genus sis. The analyses were run using ANOVA and with SPSS Mesalina Gray, 1838 and has a wide distribution range in 16.0 for a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, NW India and some parts of on the correlation matrix of seven characters to identify Turkmenistan (Anderson 1999, Rastegar-Pouyani et al. groups that were possibly clustered. While 21 of the char- 2007, Khan 2006). It is well known that size and morpho- acter states examined proved to show no significant varia- logical adaptations of a species are closely linked to its habi- tion between the two latitudinal zones, the seven that had tat selection, determine its capability of colonising an area, P-values of < 0.05 (Tab.
    [Show full text]
  • Literature Cited in Lizards Natural History Database
    Literature Cited in Lizards Natural History database Abdala, C. S., A. S. Quinteros, and R. E. Espinoza. 2008. Two new species of Liolaemus (Iguania: Liolaemidae) from the puna of northwestern Argentina. Herpetologica 64:458-471. Abdala, C. S., D. Baldo, R. A. Juárez, and R. E. Espinoza. 2016. The first parthenogenetic pleurodont Iguanian: a new all-female Liolaemus (Squamata: Liolaemidae) from western Argentina. Copeia 104:487-497. Abdala, C. S., J. C. Acosta, M. R. Cabrera, H. J. Villaviciencio, and J. Marinero. 2009. A new Andean Liolaemus of the L. montanus series (Squamata: Iguania: Liolaemidae) from western Argentina. South American Journal of Herpetology 4:91-102. Abdala, C. S., J. L. Acosta, J. C. Acosta, B. B. Alvarez, F. Arias, L. J. Avila, . S. M. Zalba. 2012. Categorización del estado de conservación de las lagartijas y anfisbenas de la República Argentina. Cuadernos de Herpetologia 26 (Suppl. 1):215-248. Abell, A. J. 1999. Male-female spacing patterns in the lizard, Sceloporus virgatus. Amphibia-Reptilia 20:185-194. Abts, M. L. 1987. Environment and variation in life history traits of the Chuckwalla, Sauromalus obesus. Ecological Monographs 57:215-232. Achaval, F., and A. Olmos. 2003. Anfibios y reptiles del Uruguay. Montevideo, Uruguay: Facultad de Ciencias. Achaval, F., and A. Olmos. 2007. Anfibio y reptiles del Uruguay, 3rd edn. Montevideo, Uruguay: Serie Fauna 1. Ackermann, T. 2006. Schreibers Glatkopfleguan Leiocephalus schreibersii. Munich, Germany: Natur und Tier. Ackley, J. W., P. J. Muelleman, R. E. Carter, R. W. Henderson, and R. Powell. 2009. A rapid assessment of herpetofaunal diversity in variously altered habitats on Dominica.
    [Show full text]
  • The Reptiles of the Socotra Archipelago with Special Remarks on the Slender Blind Snakes (Leptotyphlopidae: Leptotyphlops)
    M. Vences, J. Köhler, T. Ziegler, W. Böhme (eds): Herpetologia Bonnensis II. Proceedings of the 13th Congress of the Societas Europaea Herpetologica. pp. 125-128 (2006) The reptiles of the Socotra archipelago with special remarks on the slender blind snakes (Leptotyphlopidae: Leptotyphlops) Herbert Rösler1, Wolfgang Wranik2 Abstract. We provide a list of the reptiles of the Socotra archipelago with comments on the respective number of taxa and the percentage of endemicity. Special attention is layed on the Socotran species of Leptotyphlops, the morphological variability of which is addressed in some detail. Introduction diverse are the reptiles on the main island Socotra (26 The Socotra archipelago is part of the Republic of species and forms). Endemism is 65,4%. Six species Yemen and situated in the north-western part of the occur on Samha and four species on Darsa. Five Indian Ocean. It covers a land area of about 3800 km² of the recorded species on Samha from the genera and comprises the main island Socotra (3600 km²), Abd Haemodracon, Hemidactylus, Trachylepis, Mesalina al Kuri (162 km²), Samha (45 km²), Darsa (10 km²) and and Hemerophis are also known from Socotra. Endemic some guano-covered rocks (Jazirat Sabuniyah, Ka’l to Samha and Darsa is only a species of the genus Fir’awn). Pristurus. However, the knowledge on the reptiles of Though the data are based on fi fteen visits to the these two smaller islands is still incomplete, and in case archipelago between 1982 and 2005, two expeditions on of Darsa it is unknown, if the genus Hemidactylus is which the authors went together (3.11.1997-12.11.1997 present or not.
    [Show full text]
  • Catalogue of the African Sand Lizards (Reptilia: Sauria: Eremiainae: Lampi'eremias, Pseuderemias, Taenieremias, Mesalina, Meroles) *
    ©Österreichische Gesellschaft für Herpetologie e.V., Wien, Austria, download unter www.biologiezentrum.at 119 HERPETOZOA 1 (3/4): 119-132 ÜBERSETZUNG/TRANSLATION Wien, 25. Februar 1989 Catalogue of the African Sand Lizards (Reptilia: Sauria: Eremiainae: Lampi'eremias, Pseuderemias, Taenieremias, Mesalina, Meroles) * Katalog der afrikanischen Wüstenrenner (Reptilia: Sauria: Eremiainae: Lampreremias, Pseuderemias, Taenieremias, Mesalina, Meroles) ** NIKOLAI N. SZCZERBAK KEYWORDS: Lacertidae, Eremiainae, Lampreremias, Pseuderemias, Taenieremias, Mesalina, Meroles, Africa INTRODUCTION A systematic revision of the genus Eremias published in a preceding paper (SZCZERBAK 1971) showed that this arbitrarily formed cluster of preliminary nature is doubtlessly of polyphyletic origin. The author consi- dered the African centre of speciation to be autonomous. Thus, only the representatives of the Asiatic species were ranked with the genus Eremias • The present paper of N. N. SZCZERBAK was originally published in Russian as "Katalog afrikanskih Jascurok" by the Academy of Sciences, Institute of Zoology, Museum of Zoology, USSR, Kiev (83 pp., 30 maps) in 1975. Lists of synonyms, bibliography, maps and table of contents - all being parts of the original paper - have not been included in this translation which was carried out with the consent of the author by R. GÜNTHER (Berlin) and H. GRIL- LITSCH (Vienna). The English summary was taken over as provided in the original version. As a SHORT NOTE in this issue of HERPETOZOA subsequent to the translation comments and updated addenda by W. MAYER are provided indicated by [aa* bb* etc.] in the text. •* Das Original der vorliegenden Arbeit von N. N. SZCZERBAK ist bereits 1975 als "Katalog afrikanskih Jascurok" von der Akademie der Wissenschaften, Institut für Zoologie, Museum für Zoologie, USSR, Kiev (83 pp., 30 Karten) in russischer Sprache veröffentlicht worden.
    [Show full text]
  • An Etymological Review of the Lizards of Iran: Families Lacertidae, Scincidae, Uromastycidae, Varanidae
    International Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances 3(5): 322-329, 2011 ISSN: 2041-2908 © Maxwell Scientific Organization, 2011 Submitted: July 28, 2011 Accepted: September 25, 2011 Published: October 15, 2011 An Etymological Review of the Lizards of Iran: Families Lacertidae, Scincidae, Uromastycidae, Varanidae 1Peyman Mikaili and 2Jalal Shayegh 1Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran 2Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary, Shabestar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shabestar, Iran Abstract: The etymology of the reptiles, especially the lizards of Iran has not been completely presented in other published works. Iran is a very active geographic area for any animals, and more especially for lizards, due to its wide range deserts and ecology. We have attempted to ascertain, as much as possible, the construction of the Latin binomials of all Iranian lizard species. We believe that a review of these names is instructive, not only in codifying many aspects of the biology of the lizards, but in presenting a historical overview of collectors and taxonomic work in Iran and Middle East region. We have listed all recorded lizards of Iran according to the order of the scientific names in the book of Anderson, The Lizards of Iran. All lizard species and types have been grouped under their proper Families, and then they have been alphabetically ordered based on their scientific binominal nomenclature. We also examined numerous published works in addition to those included in the original papers presenting each binomial. Key words: Etymology, genera, iran, lizards, Middle East, species, taxonomy. INTRODUCTION comprising the fauna of Iran, including Field guide to the reptiles of Iran, (Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Amphibians and Reptiles of the Mediterranean Basin
    Chapter 9 Amphibians and Reptiles of the Mediterranean Basin Kerim Çiçek and Oğzukan Cumhuriyet Kerim Çiçek and Oğzukan Cumhuriyet Additional information is available at the end of the chapter Additional information is available at the end of the chapter http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.70357 Abstract The Mediterranean basin is one of the most geologically, biologically, and culturally complex region and the only case of a large sea surrounded by three continents. The chapter is focused on a diversity of Mediterranean amphibians and reptiles, discussing major threats to the species and its conservation status. There are 117 amphibians, of which 80 (68%) are endemic and 398 reptiles, of which 216 (54%) are endemic distributed throughout the Basin. While the species diversity increases in the north and west for amphibians, the reptile diversity increases from north to south and from west to east direction. Amphibians are almost twice as threatened (29%) as reptiles (14%). Habitat loss and degradation, pollution, invasive/alien species, unsustainable use, and persecution are major threats to the species. The important conservation actions should be directed to sustainable management measures and legal protection of endangered species and their habitats, all for the future of Mediterranean biodiversity. Keywords: amphibians, conservation, Mediterranean basin, reptiles, threatened species 1. Introduction The Mediterranean basin is one of the most geologically, biologically, and culturally complex region and the only case of a large sea surrounded by Europe, Asia and Africa. The Basin was shaped by the collision of the northward-moving African-Arabian continental plate with the Eurasian continental plate which occurred on a wide range of scales and time in the course of the past 250 mya [1].
    [Show full text]
  • Directional Asymmetry in Hindlimbs of Agamidae and Lacertidae (Reptilia: Lacertilia)
    BwlogicalJoumal of& Linnean So&& (2000), 69: 461481. With 3 figures @ doi:10.1006/bij1.1999.0366, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on lDrbL* Evolution and ecology of developmental processes and of the resulting morphology: directional asymmetry in hindlimbs of Agamidae and Lacertidae (Reptilia: Lacertilia) HERVE SELJGMA" Department of Evolution, systematics and Ecology, The Hebrew Univers-ig ofJmalem, 91 904Jmah, Israel Received 16 Febwv 1999; accepted for publication 27 March 1999 In this paper, the evolution and ecology of directional asymmetry (DA) during the de- velopmental trajectory (DT) is compared with that of its product, morphological DA (MDA). DT and MDA are calculated for two bilateral morphological scale characters of lizards, the number of subdigital lamellae beneath the fourth toe in 10 agamid and 28 lacertid taxa, and the number of rows of ventral scales in 12 lacertid taxa. MDA, the subtraction between left and right sides (classical measure of DA), is functional in adult animals. Results confirm the hypothesis that, in DT, the regression parameters a (constant) and b (regression slope) of counts on the right side with those on the left describe a developmental process. No phylogenetic or environmental effects were observed on a and b, but analyses considering both a and b together show non-random phyletic patterns. Independent analyses deduced the same ancestral DT in Agamidae and Lacertidae. In Lacertidae, distance between pairs of taxa in a+b (standardized values) correlates positively with the phylogenetic distance between taxa. Phyletic trends in MDA are indirect, and due to the link of MDA with a + b. The MDA of species is more dissimilar in sympatry than in allopatry.
    [Show full text]
  • Checklist of Amphibians and Reptiles of Morocco: a Taxonomic Update and Standard Arabic Names
    Herpetology Notes, volume 14: 1-14 (2021) (published online on 08 January 2021) Checklist of amphibians and reptiles of Morocco: A taxonomic update and standard Arabic names Abdellah Bouazza1,*, El Hassan El Mouden2, and Abdeslam Rihane3,4 Abstract. Morocco has one of the highest levels of biodiversity and endemism in the Western Palaearctic, which is mainly attributable to the country’s complex topographic and climatic patterns that favoured allopatric speciation. Taxonomic studies of Moroccan amphibians and reptiles have increased noticeably during the last few decades, including the recognition of new species and the revision of other taxa. In this study, we provide a taxonomically updated checklist and notes on nomenclatural changes based on studies published before April 2020. The updated checklist includes 130 extant species (i.e., 14 amphibians and 116 reptiles, including six sea turtles), increasing considerably the number of species compared to previous recent assessments. Arabic names of the species are also provided as a response to the demands of many Moroccan naturalists. Keywords. North Africa, Morocco, Herpetofauna, Species list, Nomenclature Introduction mya) led to a major faunal exchange (e.g., Blain et al., 2013; Mendes et al., 2017) and the climatic events that Morocco has one of the most varied herpetofauna occurred since Miocene and during Plio-Pleistocene in the Western Palearctic and the highest diversities (i.e., shift from tropical to arid environments) promoted of endemism and European relict species among allopatric speciation (e.g., Escoriza et al., 2006; Salvi North African reptiles (Bons and Geniez, 1996; et al., 2018). Pleguezuelos et al., 2010; del Mármol et al., 2019).
    [Show full text]
  • The Terrestrial Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians of the Uae – Species List and Status Report
    THE TERRESTRIAL MAMMALS, REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS OF THE UAE – SPECIES LIST AND STATUS REPORT January 2005 TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH CENTRE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH & WILDLIFE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY P.O. Box 45553 Abu Dhabi DOCUMENT ISSUE SHEET Project Number: 03-31-0001 Project Title: Abu Dhabi Baseline Survey Name Signature Date Drew, C.R. Al Dhaheri, S.S. Prepared by: Barcelo, I. Tourenq, C. Submitted by: Drew, C.R. Approved by: Newby, J. Authorized for Issue by: Issue Status: Final Recommended Circulation: Internal and external File Reference Number: 03-31-0001/WSM/TP007 Drew, C.R.// Al Dhaheri, S.S.// Barcelo, I.// Tourenq, C.//Al Team Members Hemeri, A.A. DOCUMENT REVISION SHEET Revision No. Date Affected Date of By pages Change V2.1 30/11/03 All 29/11/03 CRD020 V2.2 18/9/04 6 18/9/04 CRD020 V2.3 24/10/04 4 & 5 24/10/04 CRD020 V2.4 24/11/04 4, 7, 14 27/11/04 CRD020 V2.5 08/01/05 1,4,11,15,16 08/01/05 CJT207 Table of Contents Table of Contents ________________________________________________________________________________ 3 Part 1 The Mammals of The UAE____________________________________________________________________ 4 1. Carnivores (Order Carnivora) ______________________________________________________________ 5 a. Cats (Family Felidae)___________________________________________________________________ 5 b. Dogs (Family Canidae) __________________________________________________________________ 5 c. Hyaenas (Family Hyaenidae) _____________________________________________________________ 5 d. Weasels (Family Mustelidae) _____________________________________________________________
    [Show full text]
  • An Updated and Annotated List of Indian Lizards (Reptilia: Sauria) Based on a Review of Distribution Records and Checklists of Indian Reptiles
    JoTT REVIEW 2(3): 725-738 An updated and annotated list of Indian lizards (Reptilia: Sauria) based on a review of distribution records and checklists of Indian reptiles P. Dilip Venugopal Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, 4124 Plant Sciences Building, College Park, MD 20742-4454, USA Email: [email protected] Date of publication (online): 26 March 2010 Abstract: Over the past two decades many checklists of reptiles of India and adjacent Date of publication (print): 26 March 2010 countries have been published. These publications have furthered the growth of ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print) knowledge on systematics, distribution and biogeography of Indian reptiles, and the field Editor: Aaron Bauer of herpetology in India in general. However, the reporting format of most such checklists of Indian reptiles does not provide a basis for direct verification of the information presented. Manuscript details: As a result, mistakes in the inclusion and omission of species have been perpetuated Ms # o2083 and the exact number of reptile species reported from India still remains unclear. A Received 21 October 2008 Final received 31 December 2009 verification of the current listings based on distributional records and review of published Finally accepted 14 February 2010 checklists revealed that 199 species of lizards (Reptilia: Sauria) are currently validly reported on the basis of distributional records within the boundaries of India. Seventeen Citation: Venugopal, P.D. (2010). An updated other lizard species have erroneously been included in earlier checklists of Indian reptiles. and annotated list of Indian lizards (Reptilia: Omissions of species by these checklists have been even more numerous than Souria) based on a review of distribution records and checklists of Indian reptiles.
    [Show full text]