Mh 3-3 Title Pages.Pdf
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Xenosaurus Tzacualtipantecus. the Zacualtipán Knob-Scaled Lizard Is Endemic to the Sierra Madre Oriental of Eastern Mexico
Xenosaurus tzacualtipantecus. The Zacualtipán knob-scaled lizard is endemic to the Sierra Madre Oriental of eastern Mexico. This medium-large lizard (female holotype measures 188 mm in total length) is known only from the vicinity of the type locality in eastern Hidalgo, at an elevation of 1,900 m in pine-oak forest, and a nearby locality at 2,000 m in northern Veracruz (Woolrich- Piña and Smith 2012). Xenosaurus tzacualtipantecus is thought to belong to the northern clade of the genus, which also contains X. newmanorum and X. platyceps (Bhullar 2011). As with its congeners, X. tzacualtipantecus is an inhabitant of crevices in limestone rocks. This species consumes beetles and lepidopteran larvae and gives birth to living young. The habitat of this lizard in the vicinity of the type locality is being deforested, and people in nearby towns have created an open garbage dump in this area. We determined its EVS as 17, in the middle of the high vulnerability category (see text for explanation), and its status by the IUCN and SEMAR- NAT presently are undetermined. This newly described endemic species is one of nine known species in the monogeneric family Xenosauridae, which is endemic to northern Mesoamerica (Mexico from Tamaulipas to Chiapas and into the montane portions of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala). All but one of these nine species is endemic to Mexico. Photo by Christian Berriozabal-Islas. Amphib. Reptile Conserv. | http://redlist-ARC.org 01 June 2013 | Volume 7 | Number 1 | e61 Copyright: © 2013 Wilson et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Com- mons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, which permits unrestricted use for non-com- Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 7(1): 1–47. -
Gunther the Tropical Moccasin
38 I Litteratura Serpentium, 1993, Vol. 13, Nr. 2 AGKISTRODON BILINEATUS - GUNTHER THE TROPICAL MOCCASIN By: Peet Smetsers, Langvennen Zuid 18, 5061 NR Oisterwijk, The Netherlands. Contents: Introduction - The species - Distribution and habitat - Venom toxicity and behaviour - Own experiences - References. * * * INTRODUCTION For over a year I have been in possession of a male and a female tropical moccasin (Agkistrodon bilineatus). During this period these snakes have become, next to my horned vipers (Cerastes cerastes karlhartli), my favourite animals. Therefore I offer the following for further consideration. THE SPECIES Agkistrodon bilineatus bilineatus belongs to the family of pitvipers, the Crotalidae. They are in possession of a heat sensitive organ both openings of which are found just under the eyes. Apart from Agkistrodon bilineatus bilineatus there are three other subspecies: Agkistrodon bilineatus taylori,Agkistrodon bilineatus nisseolus andAgkistrodon bilineatus howardgloydi. These subspecies deviate in colour and distribution area from the nominate subspecies. The tropical moccasin is a sturdy venomous snake with a broad triangular head that is clearly distinct from the neck. On both sides of the head runs a bright white stripe which goes from the tip of the nose over the eye to the neck. Also from the tip of the nose ( on both sides) runs a second similar stripe parallel to the upper jaw, this terminates again in the neck region (hence bilineatus = with two stripes). The colour of the juveniles deviates from that of the adult animals. The pattern in juveniles consists of alternating light and dark brown bands ( several centimeters wide), each band is highlighted by a row of white scales. -
A New Subspecies of the Pit Viper, Agkistrodon Bilineatus
PROC. BIOL. SOC. WASH. 97(1), 1984, pp. 135-141 A NEW SUBSPECIES OF THE PIT VIPER, AGKISTRODON BILINEAT US (REPTILIA: VIPERIDAE) FROM CENTRAL AMERICA Roger Conant Abstract. -A new subspecies ofthe cantil, Agkistrodon bilineatus howardgloydi, is reported from Costa Rica, H onduras, and Nicaragua. This snake is known locally as the castellana, and is distinguished from other subspecies of A. bilineatus by severa} pattem characteristics of the head and body and by a low number of ventral scales. During the preparation of a monograph (Gloyd and Conant) on the pit vipers, subfamily Crotalinae, of the genus Agkistrodon (sensu lato), I assembled virtually all the known rnuseum specimens of A. bilineatus from Central America. By comparison ofthese with numerous examples ofthe severa! subspecies indigenous to Middle America, the following facts emerged: (1) A. b. russeolus Gloyd occurs in disjunct subhumid areas of northern Belize, as suggested by Hoevers and Henderson (1974), H enderson and H oevers (J 975), and Henderson (1 978); (2) the range of the nominate subspecies, A. b. bilineatus Günther, extends south eastward from southern Sonora, Mexico, through the Pacific coasta l plain and versants of the adjacent mountains, and terminates in El Salvador; and (3) a distinct form, a specimen of which Cruz, et al. (1979), and Wilson and Meyer (1982) were unable to assign to any of the described taxa, occurs in Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua. This last forrn merits taxonomic recognition. Agkistrodon bilineatus howardgloydi, new subspecies Spanish name: Castellana Fig. 1 Holotype. -American Museum of Natural History (AMNH 125525), totallength 746 mm, male, collected by Louis W. -
Climate Change and Evolution of the New World Pitviper Genus
Journal of Biogeography (J. Biogeogr.) (2009) 36, 1164–1180 ORIGINAL Climate change and evolution of the New ARTICLE World pitviper genus Agkistrodon (Viperidae) Michael E. Douglas1*, Marlis R. Douglas1, Gordon W. Schuett2 and Louis W. Porras3 1Illinois Natural History Survey, Institute for ABSTRACT Natural Resource Sustainability, University of Aim We derived phylogenies, phylogeographies, and population demographies Illinois, Champaign, IL, 2Department of Biology and Center for Behavioral for two North American pitvipers, Agkistrodon contortrix (Linnaeus, 1766) and Neuroscience, Georgia State University, A. piscivorus (Lace´pe`de, 1789) (Viperidae: Crotalinae), as a mechanism to Atlanta, GA and 37705 Wyatt Earp Avenue, evaluate the impact of rapid climatic change on these taxa. Eagle Mountain, UT, USA Location Midwestern and eastern North America. Methods We reconstructed maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) relationships based on 846 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) ATPase 8 and ATPase 6 genes sequenced over 178 individuals. We quantified range expansions, demographic histories, divergence dates and potential size differences among clades since their last period of rapid expansion. We used the Shimodaira–Hasegawa (SH) test to compare our ML tree against three biogeographical hypotheses. Results A significant SH test supported diversification of A. contortrix from northeastern Mexico into midwestern–eastern North America, where its trajectory was sundered by two vicariant events. The first (c. 5.1 Ma) segregated clades at 3.1% sequence divergence (SD) along a continental east–west moisture gradient. The second (c. 1.4 Ma) segregated clades at 2.4% SD along the Mississippi River, coincident with the formation of the modern Ohio River as a major meltwater tributary. -
Porthidium Dunni (Hartweg and Oliver, 1938)
Porthidium dunni (Hartweg and Oliver, 1938). Dunn’s Hognosed Pitviper is a “priority two species” that has been assessed Environmental Vulnerability Score of 16 (see the following article). This pitviper is found primarily at low elevations along the foothills of the Sierra Madre del Sur physiographic region and the coastal plain of the Planicie Costera del Pacífico and Planicie Costera de Tehuantepec physiographic regions (Mata-Silva et al., 2015b) in southern Oaxaca and extreme western Chiapas, Mexico. This individual was found ca. 3.6 km NNW of La Soledad, Municipio de Villa de Tututepec de Melchor Ocampo, Oaxaca. ' © Vicente Mata-Silva 543 www.mesoamericanherpetology.com www.eaglemountainpublishing.com The endemic herpetofauna of Mexico: organisms of global significance in severe peril JERRY D. JOHNSON1, LARRY DAVID WILSON2, VICENTE MATA-SILVA1, ELÍ GARCÍA-PADILLA3, AND DOMINIC L. DESANTIS1 1Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968-0500, United States. E-mail: [email protected], and [email protected], and [email protected] 2Centro Zamorano de Biodiversidad, Escuela Agrícola Panamericana Zamorano, Departamento de Francisco Morazán, Honduras. E-mail: [email protected] 3Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca 68023, Mexico. E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT: Life on Earth exists due to the interactions among the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and litho- sphere. Humans, however, have created and are faced with the consequences of an interrelated set of problems that impact all of these spheres, including the biosphere. The decline in the diversity of life is a problem of global dimensions resulting from a sixth mass extinction episode created by humans. -
Download Vol. 9, No. 3
BULLETIN OF THE FLOIRIDA STATE MUSEUM BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Volume 9 Number 3 NEW AND NOTEWORTHY AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES FROM BRITISH HONDURAS Wilfred T. Neill 6 1 UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA Gainesville 1965 Numbers of the) BULLETIN OF THE FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM are pub- lished at irregular intervals.. Volumes, contain about 800 pages ard aft not nec- essarily completed in' any dne calendar year. WALTER AUFFENBERG, Managing Editor OLIVER L. AUSTIN, JR., Editor Consultants for this issue: John M. Legler Jay M. Savage Communications concerning·purchase of exchange of the publication and all man« uscripts should be addressed to the Managing Editor of the Bulletin„ Florida State Museum, Seagle Building, Gainesville, Florida. Published 9 April 1965 Price for 'this issue, *70 NEW AND NOTEWORTHY AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES FROM BRITISH HONDURAS WILFRED T. NEILL 1 SYNOPSiS. Syrrhophus leprus .cholorum new subspecies, Fic#nia ·publia toolli- sohni new subspecies, and Kinosternon mopanum new species are described. Eleutherodactylus stantoni, Micrurus a#inis alienus, Bothrops atfox asper, and Crocodylus *noret~ti barnumbrowni are reduedd to synonymy. Anolis sagrei mavensis is removedfrom synonymy. ' Mabutja brachypoda is recognized. Ameiua undulata hartwegi and A. u. gaigeae interdigitate rather than intergrade. Eleutherodacfylus r..Iugulosus, 'Hula picta, Anolis nannodes, Cori,tophanes hernandesii, Sibon n. nebulata, Mic,urus nigrocinctus diuaricatus, Bothrops nasu- tus, and Kinosternon acutum are added to the British Honduras herpetofaunallist. Phrynohyas modesta, Anolis intermedius, Scaphiodontophis annulatus carpicinctus, Bothrops vucatanitus,- and Staurott/pus satuini are deleted from the list. New records are present~d for species whose existence in British Honduras was either recently discovered or inadequately documented: Rhinophrvnus dorsalis, Lepto- dactylus labiatis, Hyla microcephala martini, Phrunoht/as spilomma, Eumeces schwaftzei, Clelia clelia, Elaphe flavirufa pardalina. -
Morphological Evolution in Relationship to Sidewinding, Arboreality and Precipitation in Snakes of the Family Viperidae
applyparastyle “fig//caption/p[1]” parastyle “FigCapt” Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2021, 132, 328–345. With 3 figures. Morphological evolution in relationship to sidewinding, arboreality and precipitation in snakes of the family Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/132/2/328/6062387 by Technical Services - Serials user on 03 February 2021 Viperidae JESSICA L. TINGLE1,*, and THEODORE GARLAND JR1 1Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA Received 30 October 2020; revised 18 November 2020; accepted for publication 21 November 2020 Compared with other squamates, snakes have received relatively little ecomorphological investigation. We examined morphometric and meristic characters of vipers, in which both sidewinding locomotion and arboreality have evolved multiple times. We used phylogenetic comparative methods that account for intraspecific variation (measurement error models) to determine how morphology varied in relationship to body size, sidewinding, arboreality and mean annual precipitation (which we chose over other climate variables through model comparison). Some traits scaled isometrically; however, head dimensions were negatively allometric. Although we expected sidewinding specialists to have different body proportions and more vertebrae than non-sidewinding species, they did not differ significantly for any trait after correction for multiple comparisons. This result suggests that the mechanisms enabling sidewinding involve musculoskeletal morphology and/or motor control, that viper morphology is inherently conducive to sidewinding (‘pre-adapted’) or that behaviour has evolved faster than morphology. With body size as a covariate, arboreal vipers had long tails, narrow bodies and lateral compression, consistent with previous findings for other arboreal snakes, plus reduced posterior body tapering. -
Isolation and Characterization of Bradykinin Potentiating Peptides
Munawar et al. Proteome Science (2016) 14:1 DOI 10.1186/s12953-016-0090-0 RESEARCH Open Access Isolation and characterization of Bradykinin potentiating peptides from Agkistrodon bilineatus venom Aisha Munawar1*, Anum Zahid1, Amr Negm2, Ahmed Akrem3, Patrick Spencer4 and Christian Betzel5,6,7 Abstract Background: Snake venom is a source of many pharmacologically important molecules. Agkistrodon bilineatus commonly known as Cantil, is spread over Central America particularly in Mexico and Costa Rica. From the venom of Agkistrodon bilineatus we have isolated and characterised six hypotensive peptides, and two bradykinin inhibitor peptides. The IC-50 value of four synthesized peptides was studied, towards angiotensin converting enzyme, in order to study the structure-function relationship of these peptides. Results: The purification of the peptides was carried out by size exclusion chromatography, followed by reverse phase chromatography. Sequences of all peptides were determined applying MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. These hypotensive peptides bear homology to bradykinin potentiating peptides and venom vasodilator peptide. The peptide with m/z 1355.53 (M + H)+1, and the corresponding sequence ZQWAQGRAPHPP, we identified for the first time. A precursor protein containing a fragment of this peptide was reported at genome level, (Uniprot ID P68515), in Bothrops insularis venom gland. These proline rich hypotensive peptides or bradykinin potentiating peptides are usually present in the venom of Crotalinae, and exhibit specificity in binding to the C domain of somatic angiotensin converting enzyme. Four of these hypotensive peptides, were selected and synthesized to obtain the required quantity to study their IC50 values in complex with the angiotensin converting enzyme. -
The Fractal Structure of the Ventral Scales in Legless Reptiles
The fractal structure of the ventral scales in legless reptiles H A Abdel-Aal1 M El Mansori2 1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 19144. E-mail: [email protected] 2Mechanics, Surfaces and Materials Processing Laboratory (MSMP), Arts et Métiers ParisTech, 2 cours des Arts et Métiers, 13617, Aix-en-Provence, France Abstract. Surface constructs in snakes reflect desirable design traits for technical surface engineering. Their micro-textural patterns, however, do not lend themselves easily to unified analysis due to species-specific variations in surface geometry and topology. Fractal description is useful in this context since it accentuates the correspondence between patterns especially when responding to tribological phenomena. In this work we examine the surface construction of 14 snake species, representing five families, and evaluate the fractal dimension for each of the skins (both the dorsal and ventral sides) using three different computational algorithms. Our results indicate first that all of the examined species share a common fractal dimension (with a very small variation between species in the order 4-5%). This finding implies that despite the different micro-geometry of texture among species, the skin as a unit responds in a similar manner to many interfacial influences. Introduction In the natural world, emphasis on micro-texture arises in response to the severe demands on efficiency, economy of effort, and on survival. In legless locomotion, not only the reptile has to economize its effort when moving, but also it has to utilize friction (dynamic or static) to generate tractions, balance motion, and to initiate propulsion [1-7]. -
Why Rattle, Snake?
Why Rattle, Snake? *Published in NC Naturalist May, 2017* “This is the weirdest trip to the zoo, ever,” I think to myself. I’m in a back room of the Fort Worth Zoo, surrounded by stacks upon stacks of white Rubbermaid containers, each containing some flavor of dangerous snake—little drawers of poison. Beside me, a man again presents one of these snakes with the fuzzy head of a decapitated teddy bear, mounted on a long pair of tongs. He opens and closes the bear’s “mouth” using the trigger on the device, doing his best impression of a hungry snake predator. But the snake in front of us, Agkistrodon taylori, for whom I drove halfway across the country, still refuses to vibrate its tail. I’m here to study the evolution of the rattlesnake rattle. But A. taylori isn’t a rattlesnake—it’s a rare species of Mexican cantil viper closely related to rattlesnakes. I’m here to film its defensive behavior because to understand rattlesnake evolution, you must first understand rattlesnakes’ closest relatives. He Has a Bell Rattlesnakes are a diverse group of thick-bodied snakes within the viper family. There are 36 species, all of which live in the Americas. North Carolina is home to three of these species—the timber, eastern diamondback, and pygmy rattlesnake. All rattlesnakes are venomous, and all but one carry with them a sound-producing instrument on their tail called a rattle (the Santa Catalina Island rattlesnake has subsequently lost its rattle). The structure is such a unique trait that it has attached itself to the name for these animals in nearly every language that has encountered it: rattlesnake to English speakers, bellsnake in Spanish (“serpiente de cascabel”), and “he has a bell” in Cherokee (“utsa’nätï”). -
The Evolution of the Rattlesnake Rattle
vol. 188, no. 4 the american naturalist october 2016 Natural History Note Behavioral Plasticity and the Origins of Novelty: The Evolution of the Rattlesnake Rattle Bradley C. Allf,* Paul A. P. Durst, and David W. Pfennig† Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599 Submitted January 27, 2016; Accepted May 17, 2016; Electronically published July 28, 2016 Online enhancements: video, supplementary tables. Dryad data: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c36k6. abstract: Environmentally induced behavior (behavioral plasticity) ger morphological novelty (Mayr 1959; Gottlieb 1992; West- has long been hypothesized to promote the origins of novel morpholog- Eberhard 2003; Moczek et al. 2011; Levis and Pfennig 2016). ical traits, but this idea remains controversial. One context in which this For example, a change in foraging behavior could expose di- hypothesis can be evaluated is animal communication, where behavior verse morphological variants (underlain by existing cryptic and morphology are often linked. Here, we examined the evolution of genetic variation) to novel selection pressures, such that indi- one of nature’s most spectacular communication signals: the rattlesnake viduals possessing any morphological feature that enhanced fi — rattle. We speci cally evaluated whether rattlesnake rattling behavior resource acquisition would be favored, thereby promoting and, hence, the rattle—originated from a simple behavior: vibrating the the feature’s spread (Price et al. 2003). In this way, behavioral tail when threatened. By reconstructing the ancestral state of defensive — — tail vibration, we show that this behavior is nearly ubiquitous in the plasticity can precede and instigate morphological evo- Viperidae (the family that includes rattlesnakes) and widespread in the lution. -
Amphibians and Reptiles of the State of Hidalgo, Mexico
Denison University Denison Digital Commons Denison Faculty Publications 2015 Amphibians and reptiles of the state of Hidalgo, Mexico J. A. Lemos-Espinal Geoffrey R. Smith Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.denison.edu/facultypubs Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Lemos-Espinal, J., & Smith, G. (2015). Amphibians and reptiles of the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. Check List. doi:10.15560/11.3.1642 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Denison Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Denison Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Denison Digital Commons. 11 3 1642 the journal of biodiversity data April 2015 Check List LISTS OF SPECIES Check List 11(3): 1642, April 2015 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15560/11.3.1642 ISSN 1809-127X © 2015 Check List and Authors Amphibians and reptiles of the state of Hidalgo, Mexico Julio A. Lemos-Espinal1* and Geoffrey R. Smith2 1 Laboratorio de Ecología-UBIPRO, FES Iztacala UNAM. Avenida los Barrios 1, Los Reyes Iztacala, Tlalnepantla, edo. de México, Mexico - 54090 2 Department of Biology, Denison University, Granville, OH, USA 43023 * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract: We compiled a checklist of the amphibians crops. At higher elevations in the provinces of Sierra and reptiles of the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. The Madre Oriental and the Transvolcanic Belt, there are herpetofauna of Hidalgo consists of a total of 175 conifer forests of pine (Pinus spp.), oak (Quercus spp.), species: 54 amphibians (14 salamanders and 40 and Mexican Fir (Abies religiosa (Kunth) Schlechtendahl anurans); and 121 reptiles (one crocodile, five turtles, 36 and Chamisso, 1830), among other species.