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Amphibians in Zootaxa: 20 Years Documenting the Global Diversity of Frogs, Salamanders, and Caecilians
Zootaxa 4979 (1): 057–069 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/ Review ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2021 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4979.1.9 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:972DCE44-4345-42E8-A3BC-9B8FD7F61E88 Amphibians in Zootaxa: 20 years documenting the global diversity of frogs, salamanders, and caecilians MAURICIO RIVERA-CORREA1*+, DIEGO BALDO2*+, FLORENCIA VERA CANDIOTI3, VICTOR GOYANNES DILL ORRICO4, DAVID C. BLACKBURN5, SANTIAGO CASTROVIEJO-FISHER6, KIN ONN CHAN7, PRISCILLA GAMBALE8, DAVID J. GOWER9, EVAN S.H. QUAH10, JODI J. L. ROWLEY11, EVAN TWOMEY12 & MIGUEL VENCES13 1Grupo Herpetológico de Antioquia - GHA and Semillero de Investigación en Biodiversidad - BIO, Universidad de Antioquia, Antioquia, Colombia [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5033-5480 2Laboratorio de Genética Evolutiva, Instituto de Biología Subtropical (CONICET-UNaM), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Químicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Misiones, Posadas, Misiones, Argentina [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2382-0872 3Unidad Ejecutora Lillo, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Fundación Miguel Lillo, 4000 San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina [email protected]; http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6133-9951 4Laboratório de Herpetologia Tropical, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Rodovia Jorge Amado Km 16 45662-900 Ilhéus, Bahia, Brasil [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4560-4006 5Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, 1659 Museum Road, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1810-9886 6Laboratório de Sistemática de Vertebrados, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Av. -
(Rhacophoridae, Pseudophilautus) in Sri Lanka
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 132 (2019) 14–24 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ympev Diversification of shrub frogs (Rhacophoridae, Pseudophilautus) in Sri Lanka T – Timing and geographic context ⁎ Madhava Meegaskumburaa,b,1, , Gayani Senevirathnec,1, Kelum Manamendra-Arachchid, ⁎ Rohan Pethiyagodae, James Hankenf, Christopher J. Schneiderg, a College of Forestry, Guangxi Key Lab for Forest Ecology and Conservation, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, PR China b Department of Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka c Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA d Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, Colombo 07, Sri Lanka e Ichthyology Section, Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia f Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA g Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Pseudophilautus comprises an endemic diversification predominantly associated with the wet tropical regions ofSri Ancestral-area reconstruction Lanka that provides an opportunity to examine the effects of geography and historical climate change on diversi- Biogeography fication. Using a time-calibrated multi-gene phylogeny, we analyze the tempo of diversification in thecontextof Ecological opportunity past climate and geography to identify historical drivers of current patterns of diversity and distribution. Molecular Diversification dating suggests that the diversification was seeded by migration across a land-bridge connection from India duringa Molecular dating period of climatic cooling and drying, the Oi-1 glacial maximum around the Eocene-Oligocene boundary. Lineage- Speciation through-time plots suggest a gradual and constant rate of diversification, beginning in the Oligocene and extending through the late Miocene and early Pliocene with a slight burst in the Pleistocene. -
Tadpole Consumption Is a Direct Threat to the Endangered Purple Frog, Nasikabatrachus Sahyadrensis
SALAMANDRA 51(3) 252–258 30 October 2015 CorrespondenceISSN 0036–3375 Correspondence Tadpole consumption is a direct threat to the endangered purple frog, Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis Ashish Thomas & S. D. Biju Systematics Lab, Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, India Corresponding author: S. D. Biju, e-mail: [email protected] Manuscript received: 5 July 2014 Accepted: 30 December 2014 by Alexander Kupfer Amphibians across the world are suffering alarming popu- Southeast Asia have witnessed drastic population declines lation declines with nearly one third of the ca 7,300 species caused by overexploitation over the last couple of decades being threatened worldwide (Stuart et al. 2008, Wake & (Warkentin et al. 2008). Often, natural populations are Vredenburg 2008, IUCN 2014). Major factors attributed harvested without regard of the consequences or implica- to the decline include habitat destruction (Houlahan et tions of this practice on the dynamics or sustainability of al. 2000, Sodhi et al. 2008), chemical pollution (Ber ger the exploited populations (Getz & Haight 1989). When 1998), climate change (Adams 1999, Carpenter & Tur- the extent of exploitation is greater than the sustaining ca- ner 2000), diseases (McCallum 2007, Cushman 2006), pacity or turnover rate of a species, there is every possi- and invasive species (Boone & Bridges 2003). The West- bility that the species may become locally extinct, which ern Ghats of India, a global hotspot for amphibian diver- would subsequently have drastic ecological implications sity and endemism (Biju 2001, Biju & Bossuyt 2003), has in the particular region (Duffy 2002, Wright et al. 2006, more than 40% of its amphibian fauna threatened with ex- Carpenter et al. -
BOA2.1 Caecilian Biology and Natural History.Key
The Biology of Amphibians @ Agnes Scott College Mark Mandica Executive Director The Amphibian Foundation [email protected] 678 379 TOAD (8623) 2.1: Introduction to Caecilians Microcaecilia dermatophaga Synapomorphies of Lissamphibia There are more than 20 synapomorphies (shared characters) uniting the group Lissamphibia Synapomorphies of Lissamphibia Integumen is Glandular Synapomorphies of Lissamphibia Glandular Skin, with 2 main types of glands. Mucous Glands Aid in cutaneous respiration, reproduction, thermoregulation and defense. Granular Glands Secrete toxic and/or noxious compounds and aid in defense Synapomorphies of Lissamphibia Pedicellate Teeth crown (dentine, with enamel covering) gum line suture (fibrous connective tissue, where tooth can break off) basal element (dentine) Synapomorphies of Lissamphibia Sacral Vertebrae Sacral Vertebrae Connects pelvic girdle to The spine. Amphibians have no more than one sacral vertebrae (caecilians have none) Synapomorphies of Lissamphibia Amphicoelus Vertebrae Synapomorphies of Lissamphibia Opercular apparatus Unique to amphibians and Operculum part of the sound conducting mechanism Synapomorphies of Lissamphibia Fat Bodies Surrounding Gonads Fat Bodies Insulate gonads Evolution of Amphibians † † † † Actinopterygian Coelacanth, Tetrapodomorpha †Amniota *Gerobatrachus (Ray-fin Fishes) Lungfish (stem-tetrapods) (Reptiles, Mammals)Lepospondyls † (’frogomander’) Eocaecilia GymnophionaKaraurus Caudata Triadobatrachus Anura (including Apoda Urodela Prosalirus †) Salientia Batrachia Lissamphibia -
A New Species of the Genus Nasikabatrachus (Anura, Nasikabatrachidae) from the Eastern Slopes of the Western Ghats, India
Alytes, 2017, 34 (1¢4): 1¢19. A new species of the genus Nasikabatrachus (Anura, Nasikabatrachidae) from the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, India S. Jegath Janani1,2, Karthikeyan Vasudevan1, Elizabeth Prendini3, Sushil Kumar Dutta4, Ramesh K. Aggarwal1* 1Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB), Uppal Road, Tarnaka, Hyderabad, 500007, India. <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>. 2Current Address: 222A, 5th street, Annamalayar Colony, Sivakasi, 626123, India.<[email protected]>. 3Division of Vertebrate Zoology, Department of Herpetology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York NY 10024-5192, USA. <[email protected]>. 4Nature Environment and Wildlife Society (NEWS), Nature House, Gaudasahi, Angul, Odisha. <[email protected]>. * Corresponding Author. We describe a new species of the endemic frog genus Nasikabatrachus,from the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, in India. The new species is morphologically, acoustically and genetically distinct from N. sahyadrensis. Computed tomography scans of both species revealed diagnostic osteological differences, particularly in the vertebral column. Male advertisement call analysis also showed the two species to be distinct. A phenological difference in breeding season exists between the new species (which breeds during the northeast monsoon season; October to December), and its sister species (which breeds during the southwest monsoon; May to August). The new species shows 6 % genetic divergence (K2P) at mitochondrial 16S rRNA (1330 bp) partial gene from its congener, indicating clear differentiation within Nasikabatra- chus. Speciation within this fossorial lineage is hypothesized to have been caused by phenological shift in breeding during different monsoon seasons—the northeast monsoon in the new species versus southwest monsoon in N. -
Amphibiaweb's Illustrated Amphibians of the Earth
AmphibiaWeb's Illustrated Amphibians of the Earth Created and Illustrated by the 2020-2021 AmphibiaWeb URAP Team: Alice Drozd, Arjun Mehta, Ash Reining, Kira Wiesinger, and Ann T. Chang This introduction to amphibians was written by University of California, Berkeley AmphibiaWeb Undergraduate Research Apprentices for people who love amphibians. Thank you to the many AmphibiaWeb apprentices over the last 21 years for their efforts. Edited by members of the AmphibiaWeb Steering Committee CC BY-NC-SA 2 Dedicated in loving memory of David B. Wake Founding Director of AmphibiaWeb (8 June 1936 - 29 April 2021) Dave Wake was a dedicated amphibian biologist who mentored and educated countless people. With the launch of AmphibiaWeb in 2000, Dave sought to bring the conservation science and basic fact-based biology of all amphibians to a single place where everyone could access the information freely. Until his last day, David remained a tirelessly dedicated scientist and ally of the amphibians of the world. 3 Table of Contents What are Amphibians? Their Characteristics ...................................................................................... 7 Orders of Amphibians.................................................................................... 7 Where are Amphibians? Where are Amphibians? ............................................................................... 9 What are Bioregions? ..................................................................................10 Conservation of Amphibians Why Save Amphibians? ............................................................................. -
Morphological Evolution and Modularity of the Caecilian Skull Carla Bardua1,2* , Mark Wilkinson1, David J
Bardua et al. BMC Evolutionary Biology (2019) 19:30 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-018-1342-7 RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Morphological evolution and modularity of the caecilian skull Carla Bardua1,2* , Mark Wilkinson1, David J. Gower1, Emma Sherratt3 and Anjali Goswami1,2 Abstract Background: Caecilians (Gymnophiona) are the least speciose extant lissamphibian order, yet living forms capture approximately 250 million years of evolution since their earliest divergences. This long history is reflected in the broad range of skull morphologies exhibited by this largely fossorial, but developmentally diverse, clade. However, this diversity of form makes quantification of caecilian cranial morphology challenging, with highly variable presence or absence of many structures. Consequently, few studies have examined morphological evolution across caecilians. This extensive variation also raises the question of degree of conservation of cranial modules (semi-autonomous subsets of highly-integrated traits) within this clade, allowing us to assess the importance of modular organisation in shaping morphological evolution. We used an intensive surface geometric morphometric approach to quantify cranial morphological variation across all 32 extant caecilian genera. We defined 16 cranial regions using 53 landmarks and 687 curve and 729 surface sliding semilandmarks. With these unprecedented high-dimensional data, we analysed cranial shape and modularity across caecilians assessing phylogenetic, allometric and ecological influences on cranial evolution, as well as investigating the relationships among integration, evolutionary rate, and morphological disparity. Results: We found highest support for a ten-module model, with greater integration of the posterior skull. Phylogenetic signal was significant (Kmult =0.87,p < 0.01), but stronger in anterior modules, while allometric influences were also significant (R2 =0.16,p < 0.01), but stronger posteriorly. -
Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Ichthyophiidae) from Myanmar
Zootaxa 3785 (1): 045–058 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2014 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3785.1.4 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7EF35A95-5C75-4D16-8EE4-F84934A80C2A A new species of striped Ichthyophis Fitzinger, 1826 (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Ichthyophiidae) from Myanmar MARK WILKINSON1,5, BRONWEN PRESSWELL1,2, EMMA SHERRATT1,3, ANNA PAPADOPOULOU1,4 & DAVID J. GOWER1 1Department of Zoology!, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK 2Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin New Zealand 3Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford St., Cam- bridge, MA 02138, USA 4Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI 41809, USA 5Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] ! Currently the Department of Life Sciences Abstract A new species of striped ichthyophiid caecilian, Ichthyophis multicolor sp. nov., is described on the basis of morpholog- ical and molecular data from a sample of 14 specimens from Ayeyarwady Region, Myanmar. The new species resembles superficially the Indian I. tricolor Annandale, 1909 in having both a pale lateral stripe and an adjacent dark ventrolateral stripe contrasting with a paler venter. It differs from I. tricolor in having many more annuli, and in many details of cranial osteology, and molecular data indicate that it is more closely related to other Southeast Asian Ichthyophis than to those of South Asia. The caecilian fauna of Myanmar is exceptionally poorly known but is likely to include chikilids as well as multiple species of Ichthyophis. -
5. Amphibians Highest Endemic Group in Western Ghats
AMPHIBIANS: THE HIGHEST ENDEMIC GROUP IN WESTERN GHATS M Minsa, Setturu Bharath & T V Ramachandra Energy & Wetlands Research Group, CES TE 15, Indian Institute of Science WESTERN GHATS & AMPHIBIANS The Western Ghats is a mountain range of southwest India, considered as one of the 34 Global biodiversity hotspots and also one of the world's eight Hottest of Biodiversity Hotspots. It exhibits a great variety of vegetation comprising scrub jungles, grassland, dry and moist deciduous forests, and semi-and evergreen forests. This helps in the presence of an abundance of fauna and flora in this region. The Western Ghats montane rain forest is the home for a large number of endemic biota. Amphibians are ectothermic, tetrapod vertebrates of the Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Subphylum Vertebrata and class Amphibia. They can live in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Class Amphibia has three orders, Anura, Urodela, and Apoda. The diversified topography, geographic locations, humidity and high rainfall supports the survival of numerous amphibian species in Western Ghats. It is estimated that 6400 amphibian species are present in the world. Among that 4.4% is reported from India. STUDY AREA AMPHIBIANS IN WG 248 species & 11 families Western Ghats extending from 8° to 22° 26’ N Endemic 154 species Extinct 4 species and 72° 55’ to 78° 11’E. Critically Endangered 14 species It spread over an area of 1,64,280 sq.km Endangered 30 species Passes through the states of Gujarat,Maharashtra, Vulnerable 18 species Goa, Karnataka, Kerala & TamilNadu. Near threatened 7 species Altitude ranges from 0 to 2674 m Least concern 38 species Annual average rainfall is 2500 mm. -
The IUCN Amphibians Initiative: a Record of the 2001-2008 Amphibian Assessment Efforts for the IUCN Red List
The IUCN Amphibians Initiative: A record of the 2001-2008 amphibian assessment efforts for the IUCN Red List Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Amphibians on the IUCN Red List - Home Page ................................................................................ 5 Assessment process ......................................................................................................................... 6 Partners ................................................................................................................................................................. 6 The Central Coordinating Team ............................................................................................................................ 6 The IUCN/SSC – CI/CABS Biodiversity Assessment Unit........................................................................................ 6 An Introduction to Amphibians ................................................................................................................................. 7 Assessment methods ................................................................................................................................................ 7 1. Data Collection .................................................................................................................................................. 8 2. Data Review ................................................................................................................................................... -
Pseudophilautus Dilmah, a New Species of Shrub Frog (Amphibia: Anura: Rhacophoridae) from a Threatened Habitat
Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 April 2015 | 7(5): 7089–7110 Article Pseudophilautus dilmah, a new species of shrub frog (Amphibia: Anura: Rhacophoridae) from a threatened habitat Loolkandura in Sri Lanka ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) L.J. Mendis Wickramasinghe 1, Imesh Nuwan Bandara 2, Dulan Ranga Vidanapathirana 3, 4 5 6 Kamani H. Tennakoon , Sameera R. Samarakoon & Nethu Wickramasinghe OPEN ACCESS 1,2,3,6 Herpetological Foundation of Sri Lanka, 31/5, Alwis Town, Hendala, Wattala, Sri Lanka 2 Ellangàwa Unity Care for Community and Nature, Hapugoda, Ambathenna, Sri Lanka 4,5,6 Institute of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka 1 [email protected] (corresponding author), 2 [email protected], 3 [email protected], 4 [email protected], 5 [email protected], 6 [email protected] Abstract: A new species of shrub frog Pseudophilautus dilmah is described from the Central Hills of Sri Lanka. This unique species is distinguished from all the other congeners from a combination of characters; snout rounded in lateral aspect, bluntly pointed in dorsal and ventral aspect, canthus rostralis rounded, vomerine teeth, lingual papilla and nuptial pads absent, dermal fringe distinct on inside of fingers III and IV, small blunt tubercles on metacarpal and ulnar folds, toes basally webbed, interorbital area smooth, upper eyelid prominent tubercles present, anterior and posterior dorsum without horny spinules but tubercles present, upper part of flank weakly granular, supratympanic fold distinct, prominent small calcar present at the distal end of the tibia, throat granular, chest and belly coarsely granular. -
Discovery of a New Mating Position in Frogs 14 June 2016
Discovery of a new mating position in frogs 14 June 2016 her eggs, which are then fertilised by the sperm trickling down her back. Thus there is no contact between the sexes during egg laying and fertilisation. In other frogs, females usually lay eggs during the male-female embrace (amplexus) and males simultaneously release sperms that fertilize the eggs during this process. "This is a remarkable frog with an unprecedented reproductive behavior, which is unique for a number of reasons. This discovery is fundamental for understanding the evolutionary ecology and behavior in anuran amphibians" says Prof. SD Biju from University of Delhi, who led this study. The uniqueness of this frog does not end there. Females of the Bombay night frog call during breeding season. While males of all frogs call to attract mates, female calls are known to occur in only 25 species the worldwide. Fights between competing males are also a common occurrence among Bombay night frogs. When a male intrudes the territory of another male, a fight ensues until the intruder is forcefully made to leave. The research team also observed eggs of Bombay night frog being eaten by snake—the first documented observation of snakes eating frog eggs in India. The Bombay Night frogs in Dorsal straddle: A new amplexus mode in frogs. Credit: SD Biju Six mating positions (amplexus modes) are known among the almost 7,000 species of frogs and toads found worldwide. However, the Bombay night frog (Nyctibatrachus humayuni), which is endemic to the Western Ghats Biodiversity hotspot of India, mates differently. In a new study, scientists have described a new (seventh) mode of amplexus—now named as dorsal straddle.