BULLETIN Chicago Herpetological Society
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
BULLETIN of the Chicago Herpetological Society Volume 53, Number 9 September 2018 BULLETIN OF THE CHICAGO HERPETOLOGICAL SOCIETY Volume 53, Number 9 September 2018 Miscellanea Herpetologica Gabonica XIV . Olivier S. G. Pauwels, Laila Bahaa-el-din, Jean-Louis Albert, Piero Carlino, Francesco Giannuzzi, Laurent Chirio, Jean-François Gillet, Eddy Poirier and Tariq Stévart 185 Notes on Reproduction of Little Mexican Toads, Anaxyrus kelloggi (Anura: Bufonidae), from Sinaloa, Mexico . .Stephen R. Goldberg 191 The Banana Industry: A Zoological Goldmine . R. Michael Burger 192 A Tiny Snake and a Lotta Bull . Roger A. Repp 195 What You Missed at the August Meeting: Frank Ziegler . .John Archer 199 Herpetology 2018......................................................... 202 Minutes of the CHS Board Meeting, August 17, 2018 . 203 News and Announcements: Midwest Herpetological Symposium . 203 Advertisements . 204 New CHS Members This Month . 204 Cover: Smith’s black-headed snake, Tantilla hobartsmithi, Pinal County, Arizona. Photograph by: R. C. Clark, Dancing Snake Nature Photography. STAFF Membership in the CHS includes a subscription to the monthly Bulletin. Annual dues are: Individual Membership, $25.00; Editor: Michael A. Dloogatch --- [email protected] Family Membership, $28.00; Sustaining Membership, $50.00; Copy editor: Joan Moore Contributing Membership, $100.00; Institutional Membership, $38.00. Remittance must be made in U.S. funds. Subscribers 2017 CHS Board of Directors outside the U.S. must add $12.00 for postage. Send membership dues or address changes to: Chicago Herpetological Society, President: Rich Crowley Membership Secretary, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago, IL 60614. Vice-president: Jessica Wadleigh Treasurer: John Archer Manuscripts published in the Bulletin of the Chicago Herpeto- Recording Secretary: Gail Oomens logical Society are not peer reviewed. Manuscripts and letters Media Secretary: Kim Klisiak concerning editorial business should be e-mailed to the editor, Membership Secretary: Mike Dloogatch [email protected]. Alternatively, they may be mailed Sergeant-at-arms: Mike Scott to: Chicago Herpetological Society, Publications Secretary, 2430 Members-at-large: Dan Bavirsha N. Cannon Drive, Chicago, IL 60614. Back issues are limited but Lawrence Huddleston are available from the Publications Secretary for $2.50 per issue Tom Mikosz postpaid. Zac Oomens Visit the CHS home page at <http://www.chicagoherp.org>. The Chicago Herpetological Society is a nonprofit organiza- The Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society (ISSN 0009-3564) is published monthly by the Chicago Herpeto- tion incorporated under the laws of the state of Illinois. Its logical Society, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago IL 60614. purposes are education, conservation and the advancement Periodicals postage paid at Chicago IL. Postmaster: Send of herpetology. Meetings are announced in this publication, address changes to: Chicago Herpetological Society, Mem- bership Secretary, 2430 N. Cannon Drive, Chicago IL 60614. and are normally held at 7:30 P.M., the last Wednesday of each month. Copyright © 2018 Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 53(9):185-190, 2018 Miscellanea Herpetologica Gabonica XIV Olivier S. G. Pauwels 1, Laila Bahaa-el-din 2, Jean-Louis Albert 3, Piero Carlino 4, Francesco Giannuzzi 4, Laurent Chirio 5, Jean-François Gillet 6, Eddy Poirier 7 and Tariq Stévart 8 Abstract We present new Gabonese locality records, ecological and morphological data or unpublished material for Kinixys erosa (Testudinidae), Osteolaemus tetraspis (Crocodylidae), Agama agama and A. lebretoni (Agamidae), Rhampholeon spectrum, Trioceros cristatus and T. owenii (Chamaeleonidae), Hemidactylus mabouia (Gekkonidae), Holaspis guentheri (Lacertidae), Trachylepis albilabris (Scincidae), Dipsadoboa viridis, Grayia caesar and G. ornata, and Rhamnophis aethiopissa aethiopissa (Colubridae), Boaedon olivaceus, Chamaelycus fasciatus (Lamprophiidae) and Bitis arietans (Viperidae). Two reptile species are newly recorded for Estuaire Province. One snake is added to the list for Ivindo National Park. We reject a first record of Trachylepis makolowodei from Gabon. We document a case of predation by Rhamnophis aethiopissa aethiopissa on Leptopelis aubryi (Anura: Arthroleptidae). Keywords Biodiversity, herpetofauna, Crocodylia, Squamata, Testudines, treefrog, protected areas, Gabon, Equatorial Africa. Introduction total number of ventrals), and at one head length before vent; subcaudal counts exclude the terminal pointed scale. Paired The series Miscellanea Herpetologica Gabonica was initi- meristic characters are given left/right. Abbreviations: Morphol- ated in 2008 (Pauwels and David, 2008) to fill knowledge gaps ogy: A = anal plate; AT = anterior temporals; DSR = number of on the reptiles of Gabon, following the synthesis published by dorsal scale rows; DTR = dorsal tubercle rows at midbody, Pauwels and Vande weghe (2008). After a volume XIII fully counted between the ventrolateral skin folds; IL = number of dedicated to long-preserved material in Belgian museums infralabials, followed in brackets by the number of IL in contact (Pauwels, Oger et al., 2018), the present volume focuses mainly with the first pair of sublinguals; K = keeled; Lor = number of on more recent material and field observations. LB’s herpeto- loreal scales; M = male; MSR = number of scale rows at mid- logical observation was made while setting up camera traps to body; PoO = number of postoculars; PreO = number of pre- record servals (Leptailurus serval) in a logging concession oculars; PV = number of preventrals; SC = number of sub- under the management of Precious Woods Gabon - Compagnie caudals; SL = supralabials, followed in brackets by the SL in Equatoriale des Bois (CEB). New data by TS were gathered contact with orbit; SubO = subocular; SVL = snout-vent length; during field surveys of orchids for the impact study of the TaL = tail length; U = unkeeled; VEN = number of ventral Kinguélé 2 dam. New data by EP were collected during an scales. Varia: Dept = Department; MSNS = Museo di Storia entomological survey in the frame of an environmental baseline naturale del Salento, Calimera, Italy; NP = National Park; Prov. study for a hydroelectric dam project at Ngoulmendjim in the = Province; RBINS = Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sci- Monts de Cristal [Crystal Mountains]. ences, Brussels, Belgium; RMCA = Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium. Material and Methods New photographic and voucher material was identified using Results the keys and morphological information provided by Pauwels Testudines and Vande weghe (2008). New voucher specimens were injected Testudinidae with 90% ethanol then preserved in 70% ethanol. Snake ventral Kinixys erosa (Schweigger, 1812) scales were counted according to the method of Dowling (1951). The whole carapace of an adult individual was found on 3 Febru- Snake dorsal scale rows were counted at one head length behind ary 2018 by JFG along a secondary logging road (0E49'07.6"S, head, at midbody (above the ventral corresponding to half of the 1. Département des Vertébrés Récents, Institut Royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique, Rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium. [email protected]; corresponding author 2. School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4000, South Africa. [email protected] 3. BP 5423, Libreville, Gabon. [email protected] 4. Museo di Storia naturale del Salento, Sp. Calimera-Borgagne km 1, 73021 Calimera, Italy. [email protected] 5. 14 rue des roses, 06130 Grasse, France. [email protected] 6. TERRA Teaching and Research Center, CARE “Forest is life,” Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, B-5030 Gembloux, Belgium. [email protected] 7. 484 chemin Hilaire, 97300 Cayenne, Guyane. [email protected] 8. Missouri Botanical Garden, Africa & Madagascar Department, PO Box 299, St. Louis, MO 63166-0299, USA. 185 Figure 1. Carapace of an adult Kinixys erosa in Mouloundou Depart- ment, Ogooué-Lolo Province, eastern Gabon. Photograph by J.-F. Gillet. Figure 2. Adult Osteolaemus tetraspis in Mouloundou Department, 13E18'54.2"E) in a dense, humid, evergreen forest dominated by Ogooué-Lolo Province, eastern Gabon. Photograph by J.-F. Gillet. Burseraceae (okoume and ozigo trees), Scyphocephalium (sorro) and Caesalpinioidae (Figure 1). This forest lies in Mouloundou On 25 February 2018 JLA photographed an adult male on the Dept, Ogooué-Lolo Prov. The carapace showed no sign of fence of a terrace in Nyonié (0E02'24.2"S, 9E20'29.2"E), Komo- predation by humans, and there is no reason to believe it did not Océan Dept, Estuaire Prov. (Figure 3). New dept record. Within die naturally. New locality record (Maran and Pauwels, 2005). Estuaire Prov., this anthropophilic lizard was previously re- ported only from Libreville and Komo-Mondah depts (Pauwels, Crocodylia Carlino et al., 2016). Crocodylidae Osteolaemus tetraspis Cope, 1861 Chamaeleonidae An adult individual was photographed by JFG on 31 January 2018 Trioceros cristatus (Stutchbury, 1837) in dense humid forest (0E49'30.7"S, 13E17'32.2"E, logging con- The labels of the adult male RMCA 2104 indicate as locality cession UFA 2 Okondja of Precious Woods - CEB), Mouloundou “Gabon: Lambarene”, “Ogooué River, 6 Sept. 1907", and as Dept, Ogooué-Lolo Prov. (Figure 2). New locality record collector “Bates (coll. Rosenberg), don de [gift from] M. (Pauwels and Vande weghe, 2008; Shirley and Austin, 2017). Torley” (Figure 4). It shows a well