With the Bromeliad Aechmea Huebneri 0274 and APVV-15-0134

188 North-Western Journal of Zoology 2019, vol.15 (2) - Correspondence: Notes

Acknowledgements. We would like to thank Monika Onderová and Association of Hemidactylus palaichthus Jana Fričová for their help in field. The handling of small mammals complies with the laws of the Slovak Republic (No. 2971108/06). Kluge, 1969 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) This work was supported by the grants VEGA 1/0084/18, APVV-14- with the bromeliad Aechmea huebneri 0274 and APVV-15-0134. Our thanks also go to the anonymous referees for their valuable comments on the manuscript and to David The Antilles leaf-toed gecko Hemidactylus palaichthus Kluge, McLean for revising the English language. 1969 is a South American member of the African-Atlantic

References clade of the Hemidactylus geckos (Carranza & Arnold 2006). Čanády, A., Mošanský L., Stanko M. (2009): First knowledge of winter ecology It is distributed throughout islands of St. Lucia and Monos, of the mound-building mouse (Mus spicilegus Petényi, 1882) from Slovakia Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suri- Acta Zoologica Bulgarica 61: 79-86. nam and northern Brazil (Hoogmoed 1973, Staton & Dixon Csanády, A., Stanko, M., Mošanský, L. (2019): Are there differences in the morphology of communal mounds of overwintering mound-building mice 1977, Vanzolini 1978, Rivero-Blanco & Dixon 1979, Powell (Mus spicilegus Petényi, 1882) in Slovakia? Acta Zoologica Academiae 1990). Records for this species indicate that it reaches its Scientiarum Hungaricae 65: 167–180. southernmost distribution in the central Brazilian Amazonia Grulich, I. (1959): The importance of burrowing activities of the common mole (Talpa europaea) in Czechoslovakia. Práce Brněnské základny Československé (lower parts of the rivers Rio Negro, Purus and Madeira; akademie věd 21: 157–212. [in Czech with German summary] Avila-Pires 1995, Ribeiro-Júnior 2015). According to Kluge Hoff G., Frye F.L., Jacobson E.R. (1984): Diseases of amphibians and reptiles. (1969), H. palaichthus has been reported in apparently an- Plenum, New York. 784 pp. Hölzl, M., Hoi, H., Darolová, A., Krištofík, J. (2011): Insulation capacity of thropically undisturbed environments such as fences of littermounds built by Mus spicilegus: physical and thermal characteristics of farms, walls and posts inside villages, scrubby second building material and the role of mound size. Ethology, Ecology and growth and isolated vegetation (palms, logs) in areas of pas- Evolution 23: 49-59. Kwet, A. (2009): European reptile and amphibian guide. New Holland ture (Cunha 1981, Vanzoline 1978). O’Shea (1989) and Vitt & publishers. Kosmos Verlags – GmbH & Co. KG. Stutgard. 252 pp. Zani (1998) recorded the species in transitional forests be- Polley, L. (2005): Navigating parasite webs and parasite flow: emerging and re- tween lowland forests and open savannas. Ecological data emerging parasitic zoonoses of wildlife origin. International Journal for summarized by Rivero-Blanco & Dixon (1979), Avila-Pires parasitology 35: 1279-1294. Reiterová, K., Antolová, D., Zaleśny, G., Stanko, M., Špilovská, S., Mošanský, L. (1995) and Ribeiro-Júnior (2015) report that the species (2013): Small rodents—permanent reservoirs of toxocarosis in different commonly inhabits semi-open to open habitats (dry zones), habitats of Slovakia. Helminthologia 50: 20-26. including disturbed and perianthropic areas. It was also Regosin, J.V., Windmiller, B.S., Reed, J.M. (2003): Influence of abundance of small-mammal burrows and conspecifics on the density and distribution of found on dwellings and other buildings (Staton & Dixon spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) in terrestrial habitats. Canadian 1977). In addition, Kluge (1969) and Avila-Pires (1995) re- Journal of Zoology 81: 596–605. ported that H. palaichthus is partially sympatric with the Roznik, E.A., Johnson, S.A. (2009): Burrow use and survival of newly metamorphosed gopher frogs (Rana capito). Journal of Herpetology 43: 431– Tropical house gecko H. mabouia (Moreau de Jonnès, 1818), 438. which is introduced in Brazil and widely distributed Searcy, C.A., Gabbai-Saldate, E., Shaffer, H.B. (2013): Microhabitat use and throughout anthropogenic habitats (Carranza & Arnold migration distance of an endangered grassland amphibian. Biological Conservation 158: 80–87. 2006, Rödder et al. 2008, Ribeiro-Júnior 2015), but also found Strube, C., Heuer, L., Janecek, E. (2013): Toxocara spp. infections in paratenic in natural areas away from dwellings (Vanzoline 1978, Sousa hosts. Veterinary parasitology 193: 375-389. & Freire 2010). Still, information about the habitat and natu- Szenczi, P., Bánszegi, O., Dúcs, A., Gedeon, C. I., Markó, G., Németh, I. & V. ral history of H. palaichthus remains limited. Altbäcker, V. (2011): Morphology and function of communal mounds of overwintering mound-building mice (Mus spicilegus). Journal of Mammalogy 92: 852-860. During short-term herpetological surveys at the Rio Negro Sustain- Szenczi, P., Kopcsó, D., Bánszegi, O., Altbäcker, V. (2012): The contribution of able Development Reserve (Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sus- the vegetable material layer to the insulation capacities and water proofing tentável do Rio Negro; Fig. 1) carried out in 2017–2018, a population of artificial Mus spicilegus mounds. Mammalian Biology-Zeitschrift für of H. palaichthus (Fig. 2A) associated with the bromeliad Aechmea Säugetierkunde 77: 327-331. huebneri (Fig. 3A) was detected in a relatively undisturbed white- Šustek, Z., Stanko, M. (2012): Beetles (Insecta Coleoptera) in the nests of mound-building mouse Mus spicilegus in four orographic units in Slovakia. sand forest habitats (Fig. 3B). This population occurs at the southern Muzeul Olteniei Craiova. Oltenia. Studii şi comunicări. Ştiinţele Naturii 28: 66-78.

Key words: Mound-building mouse, hibernation, Slovakia,

Article No.: e197501 Received: 14. May 2019 / Accepted: 26. June 2019 Available online: 30. June 2019 / Printed: December 2019

Alexander CSANÁDY1*, Michal STANKO2,3 and Ladislav MOŠANSKÝ2

1. University of Prešov, Faculty of Humanities and Natural Sciences, Department of Biology, 17 novembra 1, 080 01 Prešov, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 2. Institute of Parasitology, Slovak Academy of Science, SK-040 01 Košice, Slovakia E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 3. Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Science, SK-040 01 Košice, Slovakia. * Corresponding author, A. Csanady, E-mail: [email protected] Figure 1. Capture locations (stars) of Hemidactylus palaichthus in Rio

Negro Sustainable Development Reserve, northern Brazil. North-Western Journal of Zoology 2019, vol.15 (2) - Correspondence: Notes 189

Figure 3. Habitat of Hemidactylus palaichthus at the study area. A - Aechmea huebneri growth. B - General aspect of the campina eco-

region. Figure 2. Species of geckos registered in bromeliad rosettes in the study area. A - Adult female Hemidactylus palaichthus specimen collected from the rosette of Aechmea huebneri. B - Adult male Gona- APL 22259, (SVL = 48.7 and 48.2 mm, respectively), ca. 84 todes humeralis in a rosette of an epiphytic bromeliad at a tall terra km W of Manaus (3.05392 S, 60.75458 W, 60 m a.s.l.), 15 Sep- firme forest. tember 2018; (ii) three adult females, APL 22268-22270, (SVL = 60.7, 61.2, 51.4 mm, respectively). An additional uncol-

lected adult was observed ca. 81 km W of Manaus (3.04791 S, margin of the species’ known range, where practically no data are available. These findings are reported herein, in order to contribute 60.72994 W, 54 m a.s.l.), on 16 September 2018. All geckos to knowledge on the biology of this poorly studied gecko species. were found during the night between 20:00 and 22:30 h. The The Rio Negro Sustainable Development Reserve (RNSDR) is five females were active inside the rosettes of the large indi- part of the Lower Rio Negro Mosaic, a mixture of protected areas of vidual terrestrial or epiphytic bromeliad Aechmea huebneri high bio- and socio-cultural diversity. The RNSDR was created in (each bromeliad contained a single female). The two remain- 2008 by law 3.355 and has a total area of 103.086 ha. It lies west of the ing individuals were observed on the sandy ground near the confluence of the Rio Negro with the Solimões River, in the munici- same bromeliad species. Bromeliad inspection (approxi- palities of Manacapuru, Iranduba and Novo Airão, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil. The RNSDR protects the following ecoregions: mately 50 bromeliads) revealed that most bromeliads con- igapós (flooded blackwater forests), tall dense terra firme forests (un- tained apparently viable H. palaichthus eggs, as well as shell flooded forests), campinarana (open low forests) and campina (open fragments of previously hatched eggs. Eggs were deposited low forests with the predominance of shrubs and grasslands). The in pairs or individually between the leaves in the basal part latter two ecoregions are also known as the Amazonian Caatinga of the bromeliad rosettes. and represent open low forests on infertile sandy soil (white sands) The field investigations carried out indicate that A. hueb- where sunlight can reach the ground. They form patches scattered neri in the campina ecoregion represents an important habitat across the landscape and isolated by a dense forest matrix (e.g. Ad- for H. palaichthus in the RNSDR. This gecko was not found eney et al. 2016, Ferreira et al. 2018). either in campinaranas or in the tall dense terra firme forests A total of seven H. palaichthus individuals in two isolated during multiple visits to the area. A thorough inspection of campina “islands” were observed in the RNSDR in Septem- terrestrial and epiphytic bromeliads (genera Aechmea, ber 2018. Six voucher specimens were deposited at the her- Guzmania, Tilandsia) revealed that Gonatodes humeralis petological collection of the Laboratório de Ecologia de (Guichenot, 1855) (Fig. 2B) is the only gecko that occasion- Populações, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia ally occupies bromeliad rosettes in the latter ecoregions. It (Amazonas, Brazil), with an abbreviation of APL. Specimen appears that open drier campina habitats are more suitable data are as follows: (i) an adult male (snout-vent length, SVL for the ecological requirements of H. palaichthus than a moist = 45.6 mm), APL 22258, and two adult females, APL 22257, closed forest. Therefore, campina “islands” can serve as natu- 190 North-Western Journal of Zoology 2019, vol.15 (2) - Correspondence: Notes ral habitats, enabling this gecko to occur in the central Brazil- References Adeney, J.M., Christensen, N.L., Vicentini A., Cohn-Haft, M. (2016): White-sand ian Amazonia area. ecosystems in Amazonia. Biotropica 48: 7-23. Hemidactylus palaichthus probably profits from the asso- Araújo, V.A., Melo, S.K., Araújo, A.P.A., Gomes, M.L.M., Carneiro, M.A.A. ciation with A. huebneri in several ways: (i) the large rosettes (2007): Relationship between invertebrate fauna and bromeliad size. with firm thorny leaves provide shady shelters and protec- Brazilian Journal of Microbiology 67(4): 611-617. Ávila-Pires, T.C.S. (1995): Lizards of Brazilian Amazonia (Reptilia: Squamata). tion from larger predators, (ii) the deep leaf axils provide Zoologische Verhandelingen Leiden 299: 1-706. appropriate places for oviposition and egg incubation, (iii) Borges, S.H., Cornelius, C., Moreira, M., Ribas, C.C., Cohn-Haft, M., the phytotelmata between the leaves maintain freshwater Capurucho, J.M.G., Vargas, C., Almeida, R. (2016a): Bird communities in Amazonian white-sand vegetation patches: effects of landscape and adequate humidity in an otherwise open sunny land- configuration and biogeographic context. Biotropica 48: 121-131. scape, (iv) the presence of diverse groups of arthropods and Borges, S.H., Cornelius, C., Ribas, C., Almeida, R., Guilherme, E., Aleixo, A., others invertebrates associated with the bromeliad rosettes Dantas, S., Santos, M.P.D., Moreira, M. (2016b): What is the avifauna of Amazonian white-sand vegetation. Bird Conservation International 26: 192- ensure sufficient trophic resources; for examples of organ- 204. isms associated with bromeliads, see Araújo et al. (2007), Buosi, P.R.B., Cabral, A.F., Utz, L.R.P., Vieira, L.C.G., Velho, L.F.M. (2015): Frank & Lounibos (2009), Montero et al. (2010), Céréghino et Effects of seasonality and dispersal on the ciliate community inhabiting bromeliad phytotelmata in riparian vegetation of a large tropical river. The al. (2011), Dézerald et al. (2014) and Buosi et al. (2015). Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 62(6): 737-749. Different examples of gecko-bromeliad associations have Capurucho, J.M.G., Cornelius, C., Borges, S.H., Cohn-Haft, M., Aleixo, A., been reported for New World gecko species, including seven Metzger, J.P., Ribas, C.C. (2013): Combining phylogeography and landscape Brazilian taxa: Coleodactylus elizae Gonçalves et al., 2012; genetics of Xenopipo atronitens (Aves: Pipridae), a white sand campina specialist, to understand Pleistocene landscape evolution in Amazonia. Gymnodactylus darwini (Gray, 1845); G. geckoides Spix, 1825; Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 110: 60-76. H. agrius Vanzolini, 1978; H. brasilianus (Amaral, 1935), H. Carranza, S., Arnold, E.N. (2006): Systematics, biogeography, and evolution of mabouia and Phyllopezus lutzae (Loveridge, 1941); for exam- Hemidactylus geckos (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) elucidated using mitochondrial DNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 38: 531-545. ples, see Santos et al. (2003) and Silva-Jorge et al. (2014). A Céréghino, R., Leroy, C., Carrias, J.F., Pelozuelo, L., Ségura, C., Bosc, C., Dejean, close association between H. agrius, the closest relative of H. A., Corbara, B. Ant-plant mutualisms promote functional diversity in palaichthus (see Carranza & Arnold 2006), and the rupicolous phytotelm communities. Functional Ecology 25(5): 954-963. Cohn-Haft, M., Santos, M.A., Fernandes, A.M., Ribas, C. (2013): A new species bromeliad Encholirium spectabile in the semiarid northeastern of Cyanocorax jay from savannas of the central Amazon. In: del Hoyo, J., area of Brazil appears to be the most interesting case, where Elliot, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D. (eds.), Handbook of the Birds of the World. the gecko profits from the association in similar ways as we Special Volume. New Species and Global Index, Lynx Ediciones, Barcelona, Spain: 306-310. describe here. Cunha, O.R. (1981): Lacertílios da Amazônia VII. Lagartos da região norte do Santos et al. (2003) and Silva-Jorge et al. (2014) pointed Território Federal de Roraima, Brasil (Lacertílios, Gekkonidae, Iguanidae, out the important role of the bromeliads in the conservation Scincidae e Teiidae). Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Zoologia of H. brasilianus and H. agrius in semiarid habitats. Thus, it is 107: 1-25. Dézerald, O., Talaga, S., Leroy, C., Carrias, J.F., Corbara, B., Dejean, A., similarly concluded herein that natural campina habitats con- Céréghino, R. (2014): Environmental determinants of macroinvertebrate taining the large bromeliad growths substantially contribute diversity in small water bodies: insights from tank-bromeliads. to the high biodiversity of the central Brazilian Amazonia Hydrobiologia 723(1): 77-86. Ferreira, M., Fernandes, A.M., Aleixo, A., Antonelli, A., Olsson, U., Bates, J.M., (Prance & Schubart 1978, Capurucho et al. 2013, Cohn-Haft Cracraft, J., Ribas, C.C. (2018): Evidence for mtDNA capture in the jacamar et al. 2013, Borges et al. 2016a, 2016b, Ferreira et al. 2018). Galbula leucogastra/chalcothorax species-complex and insights on the Therefore, the importance of the RNSDR for the conserva- evolution of white-sand ecosystems in the Amazon basin. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 129: 149-157. tion of the local biodiversity is indisputable (detailed de- Frank, J.H., Lounibos, L.P. (2009): Insects and allies associated with bromeliads: scriptions of Rapid Assessment for Long Duration Ecological a review. Terrestrial Arthropod Reviews 1(2): 125-153. Projects - RAPELD sampling unit in the RNSDR and its eco- Hoogmoed, M.S. (1973): Notes of the herpetofauna of Surinam IV. The lizards and amphisbaenians of Surinam. Biogeographica 4: 1-419. logical importance are available at Kluge, A.G. (1969): The evolution and geographic origin of the New World https://ppbio.inpa.gov.br/en/sites/RDS_Rio_Negro). This Hemidactylus mabouia-brookii complex (Gekkonidae, Sauria). Miscellaneous note presents new information on H. palaichthus habitat use Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan: 1-78. in Amazonian environments located at the southern border Montero, G., Feruglio, C., Barberis, I.M. (2010): The phytotelmata and foliage macrofauna assemblages of a bromeliad species in different habitats and of its range, in order to aid future ecological studies on seasons. Insect Conservation and Diversity 3(2): 92-102. Hemidactylus. In addition, it should provide support for con- O’Shea, M. (1989): The herpetofauna of Ilha de Maracá, state of Roraima, servation and management efforts through the reported spe- northern Brazil. pp.51-72. In: J. Coote (ed.), Reptiles, Proceedings of the 1988 U. K. Herpetological Societies, Symposium on captive breeding, British cies-habitat association of this poorly known gecko species. Herpetological Society, London. Powell, R. (1990): Hemidactylus palaichthus. Catalogue of American amphibians Acknowledgement. We thank Maria Jaqueline Monte de Andrade, and reptiles. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles 468: 1. Aaron Bauer and Yurii Kornilev for providing helpful corrections Prance, G.T., Schubart, H.O.R. (1978). Notes on the vegetation of Amazonia I. A preliminary note on the origin of the open white sand campinas of the lower and suggestions that improved our manuscript. We are grateful to Rio Negro. Brittonia 30: 60-63. Francisco Farroñay for bromeliads identification. A.S. Ferreira Ribeiro-Júnior, M.A. (2015): Catalogue of distribution of lizards (Reptilia: thanks the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Squamata) from the Brazilian Amazonia. II. Gekkonidae, Phyllodactylidae, Tecnológico/CNPQ for a scholarship. M. Ferrão received a postdoc Sphaerodactylidae. Zootaxa 3981: 1-55. fellowship CNPq (PDJ process 154325/2018-0). J. Moravec was Rivero-Blanco, C., Dixon, J.R. (1979): Origin and distribution of the financially supported by the Czech Republic Ministry of Culture herpetofauna of the dry lowland regions of northern South America, p. 281- 298. In Duellman, William E. (ed.). The South American herpetofauna: its (DKRVO 2019–2023/6.VI.a, National Museum Prague, 00023272). origin, evolution, and dispersal. Museum of Natural History, University of Specimens were collected under collection permit # 13777 provided Kansas, Monograph (7): l-485. by Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Rödder, D., Solé, M., Böhme, W. (2008): Predicting the potential distributions of Renováveis (IBAMA). two alien invasive Housegeckos (Gekkonidae: Hemidactylus frenatus, Hemidactylus mabouia). North-Western Journal of Zoology 4: 236-246. North-Western Journal of Zoology 2019, vol.15 (2) - Correspondence: Notes 191

Santos, R.L., Almeida, M.G., Nunes, J.V. (2003): Water-holding bromeliads as a keystone resource for a gecko (Briba brasiliana Amaral 1935; Sauria, Gekkonidae) in restinga habitats in northeastern Brazil. Journal of the Bromeliad Society 53: 84-88. Silva-Jorge, J., Santos, R.L., de Almeida, E.A., Freire, E.M.X. (2014): First record of Hemidactylus agrius (Squamata, Gekkonidae) in thickets of Encholirium spectabile (Bromeliaceae) in the Brazilian semi-arid. Biota Amazônia 4: 176- 179. Sousa, P.A.G., Freire, E.M.X. (2010): Communal nests of Hemidactylus mabouia (Moreau de Jonnès, 1818) (Squamata: Gekkonidae) in a remnant of Atlantic Forest in northeastern Brazil. Biotemas 23: 231-234. Staton, M.A, Dixon, J.R. (1977): The herpetofauna of the central Llanos of Venezuela: noteworthy records, a tentative checklist and ecological notes. Journal of Herpetology 11(1): 17-24. Vanzolini, P.E. (1978): On South American Hemidactylus (Sauria, Gekkonidae). Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia 31: 307-343. Vitt, L.J., Zani, P.A. (1998): Ecological relationships among sympatric lizards in a transitional forest in the northern Amazon of Brazil. Journal of Tropical Ecology 14: 63-86.

Key words: habitat use, association with bromeliads, gecko, Amazon, Brazil..

Article No.: e197502 Received: 18. March 2019 / Accepted: 04. April 2019 Available online: 10. April 2019 / Printed: December 2019

Anthony Santana FERREIRA1*, Jiří MORAVEC2, Miquéias FERRÃO1, and Albertina Pimentel LIMA3

1. Graduate Program in Ecology, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. 2. Department of Zoology, National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic 3. Biodiversity Coordination, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. *Corresponding author, A.S. ferreira, E-mail: [email protected]

A new record of Pseudopus apodus (Squamata: Anguidae) from central mainland Greece

The range of the European glass lizard, Pseudopus apodus (Pallas, 1775), spreads from the Balkans in the Eastern Medi- terranean through further eastern regions, such as the Mid- dle East (e.g. coastal Turkey, Anatolia, Levant), Crimea, the Caucasus, northern Iran and Central Asia (Obst 1981, Sin- daco & Jeremcenko 2008, Jandzik et al. 2017). The European range mostly covers the coastal parts of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece, including some islands of the Adriatic, Ionian and Aegean Seas and Northern Macedonia (Chondropoulos 1986, Vala- kos et al. 2008, Sillero et al. 2014, Stejirovski et al. 2014, Uhrin et al. 2016, Mizsei et al. 2017). The Greek range of the species is known to cover almost the entire country, with some gaps in the mountainous regions, such as in the Pindus range or in central Peloponnese (cf. Chondropoulos 1986, Gasc et al. 1997). However, we have to stress out that exact distribu- tional data from the inner mainland are scarce as in the case of most species of the Greek herpetofauna (e.g., Pafilis & Maragou 2013, Christopoulos et al. 2019). Based on later available data, the Greek range of the species was indeed narrowed down to the coastal areas in the west (Epirus, western central Greece, Peloponnese) and east (Thessaly, Macedonia, Thrace) parts of the country, with no occurrence data from the central parts of the mainland (Valakos et al.