Herpetological Review
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Herpetological Review Volume 39, Number 2 — June 2008 SSAR Officers (2008) HERPETOLOGICAL REVIEW President The Quarterly News-Journal of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles ROY MCDIARMID USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Editor National Museum of Natural History ROBERT W. HANSEN Washington, DC 20560, USA 16333 Deer Path Lane Clovis, California 93619-9735, USA President-elect [email protected] BRIAN CROTHER Department of Biological Sciences Southeastern Louisiana University Associate Editors Hammond, Louisiana 70402, USA ROBERT E. ESPINOZA CHRISTOPHER A. PHILLIPS DEANNA H. OLSON California State University, Northridge Illinois Natural History Survey USDA Forestry Science Lab Secretary MARION R. PREEST ROBERT N. REED MICHAEL S. GRACE R. BRENT THOMAS Joint Science Department USGS Fort Collins Science Center Florida Institute of Technology Emporia State University The Claremont Colleges Claremont, California 91711, USA EMILY N. TAYLOR GUNTHER KÖHLER MEREDITH J. MAHONEY California Polytechnic State University Forschungsinstitut und Illinois State Museum Naturmuseum Senckenberg Treasurer KIRSTEN E. NICHOLSON Section Editors Department of Biology, Brooks 217 Central Michigan University Book Reviews Current Research Current Research Mt. Pleasant, Michigan 48859, USA AARON M. BAUER JOSHUA M. HALE BEN LOWE e-mail: [email protected] Department of Biology Department of Sciences Department of Biology Villanova University MuseumVictoria, GPO Box 666 San Diego State University Publications Secretary Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA Melbourne, Victoria 3001, Australia San Diego, California 92182, USA BRECK BARTHOLOMEW [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] P.O. Box 58517 Geographic Distribution Geographic Distribution Geographic Distribution Salt Lake City, Utah 84158, USA ALAN M. RICHMOND INDRANEIL DAS JERRY D. JOHNSON e-mail: [email protected] Biology Department, Morrill IV South Institute of Biodiversity & Department of Biological Sciences University of Massachusetts Environmental Conservation The University of Texas at El Paso Immediate Past President 611 North Pleasant Street Universiti Malaysia Sarawak El Paso, Texas 79968, USA ROBIN M. ANDREWS Amherst, Massachusetts 01003-9297, USA 94300, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia [email protected] Department of Biology [email protected] [email protected] Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University Geographic Distribution Zoo View Herpetological Husbandry Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0406, USA GUSTAVO J. SCROCCHI JAMES B. MURPHY BRAD LOCK Instituto de Herpetología Department of Herpetology Department of Herpetology Fundación Miguel Lillo, Miguel Lillo 251 National Zoological Park Zoo Atlanta Directors 4000 Tucumán, Argentina 3001 Connecticut Ave., NW 800 Cherokee Ave., S.E. RAFE BROWN (2008) [email protected] Washington, D.C. 20008, USA Atlanta, Georgia 30315, USA MEREDITH MAHONEY (2008) [email protected] [email protected] JIM MCGUIRE (2008) RICHARD SHINE (2008) Natural History Notes Natural History Notes Natural History Notes PAUL CHIPPINDALE (2010) CHARLES W. PAINTER JAMES H. HARDING ANDREW T. HOLYCROSS TIFFANY DOAN (2010) New Mexico Dept. of Game & Fish MSU Museum School of Life Sciences TRAVIS LADUC (2010) P.O. Box 25112 Michigan State University Arizona State University STEPHEN RICHTER (2010) Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504, USA East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA Tempe, Arizona 85287-4701, USA [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] SSAR Editors Copy Editors Natural History Notes Journal of Herpetology BARBARA BANBURY MARC P. HAYES GEOFFREY R. SMITH, Editor RAUL DIAZ 2636 59th Avenue NW Department of Biology MICHAEL JORGENSEN Olympia, Washington 98502-3449, USA Denison University KYLE HESED [email protected] Granville, Ohio 43023, USA Contributions to Herpetology KRAIG ADLER, Editor SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES Department of Neurobiology & Behavior Cornell University www.ssarherps.org Ithaca, New York 14853, USA The Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, the largest international herpetological society, is a not-for-profit organization established to advance research, conservation, and education concerning Facsimile Reprints in Herpetology amphibians and reptiles. Founded in 1958, SSAR is widely recognized today as having the most diverse AARON M. BAUER, Editor society-sponsored program of services and publications for herpetologists. Membership is open to any- Department of Biology one with an interest in herpetology—professionals and serious amateurs alike—who wish to join with us Villanova University Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085, USA to advance the goals of the Society. All members of the SSAR are entitled to vote by mail ballot for Society officers, which allows overseas members to participate in determining the Society's activities; also, many international members attend Herpetological Circulars the annual meetings and serve on editorial boards and committees. JOHN J. MORIARTY, Editor 3261 Victoria Street ANNUAL DUES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS: Annual membership dues for the year 2008 in the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Shoreview, Minnesota 55126, USA Reptiles are as follows: REGULAR membership US$60 (Student $30)—includes Journal of Herpetology and Herpetologi- cal Review; PLENARY membership US$80 (Student $45)—includes JH, HR, and annual subscription to the Catalogue of Catalogue of American Amphibians American Amphibians and Reptiles; INSTITUTIONAL SUBSCRIPTION $115—includes JH and HR. Additional fee for and Reptiles airmail postage outside USA $35 for one year. Additional membership categories available on the SSAR webpage: http:// ANDREW H. PRICE, Editor www.ssarherps.org/pages/membership.html. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department All members and institutions receive the Society’s primary technical publication, the Journal of Herpetology, and its news- Austin, Texas 78744, USA journal, Herpetological Review; both are published four times per year. Members also receive pre-publication discounts on other Society publications, which are advertised in Herpetological Review. Herpetological Conservation To join SSAR or to renew your membership, please visit the secure online Allen Press website: ROBIN E. JUNG, Co-Editor USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center http://timssnet.allenpress.com/ECOMSSAR/timssnet/common/tnt_frontpage.cfm Laurel, Maryland 20708-4039, USA JOSEPH C. MITCHELL, Co-Editor Future Annual Meetings Department of Biology 2008 — Montreal, Canada, 23–28 July (with ASIH, HL) University of Richmond 2009 — Portland, Oregon, 22–27 July (with ASIH, HL) Richmond, Virginia 23173, USA 2010 — Providence, Rhode Island, 7–12 July (with ASIH, HL) 2011 — Minneapolis, Minnesota, 6–11 July (with ASIH, HL) About Our Cover: Zonosaurus maramaintso NEWSNOTES The remarkable herpetofauna of Mada- W. Frank Blair Eminent Naturalist Award gascar remains woefully underexplored. Many The W. Frank Blair Eminent Naturalist Award recognizes ex- species have long been cellence in a lifetime of commitment to outstanding study or con- known from single type servation of the flora or fauna of the southwestern United States, specimens collected Mexico, and Central America. For 2007, this award, which is spon- over 100 years ago. sored by the Southwestern Association of Naturalists (SWAN), However, a resurgence was given to two herpetologists well known to SSAR members: of exploratory interest over the last two decades has yielded new speci- mens of very poorly known species as well as numerous animals pre- viously undescribed. Among the former is Zonosaurus boettgeri, described by Steindachner in 1891 from a single specimen obtained on the island of Nosy Be near the north- western coast of Madagascar. Field work by Malagasy and Ameri- can herpetologists beginning in 1993 yielded additional specimens of Z. boettgeri, along with new information about its diet and ar- boreal habits (Raselimanana, Nussbaum, and Raxworthy 2006. PHOTO COURTESY OF KRAIG ADLER Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michi- PHOTO BY CARL J. FRANKLIN. gan, No. 739, 16 pp.). Exploration of the Antsalova region in west- Jonathan A. Campbell (University of Texas at Arlington; above ern Madagascar in late 1996 yielded a single specimen of a new left) and Ernest A. Liner (Houma, Louisiana; above right). The species—Z. maramaintso, which seems to be closely related to Z. awards were presented at the SWAN annual meeting in Memphis, boettgeri. Both species are strongly arboreal canopy specialists, Tennessee in April 2008. SSAR congratulates Jon and Ernie for restricted to low elevation primary forests. Likely predators in- this well-deserved recognition. clude Serpent Eagles, nocturnal lemurs, and arboreal snakes. Ap- parently rare—or at least rarely observed—Z. maramaintso is known only from an imprecise type locality and warrants conser- USGS National Amphibian Atlas vation attention. The cover image of Z. maramaintso was obtained by Bill Love The USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center has launched a at Olaf Pronk’s export compound in Antananarivo. A collector new website, the National Amphibian Atlas (http:// had found the 46 cm long lizard in the Plateau de Bemaraha south- www.pwrc.usgs.gov/naa). This website replaces the former west of the capital, an isolated region of mixed forest and karst website, ARMI National Atlas for Amphibian Distributions (http:/ limestone (“tsingy”) that /www.pwrc.usgs.gov/armiatlas). The National Amphibian Atlas was virtually unknown displays amphibian