WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNALTABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF REPTILES & IRCF REPTILES • VOL15, &NO AMPHIBIANS 4 • DEC 2008 189 • 22(1):29–31 • MAR 2015

IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS CONSERVATION AND NATURAL HISTORY

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FEATURE ARTICLES An. Chasing Observation Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: of Winter Breeding by On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...... Joshua M. Kapfer 190 . The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: ATwo Hypothetical Excursion Anurans ...... from BangladeshRobert W. Henderson 198

RESEARCH ARTICLESFaysal Ahmad and Shayer Mahmood Ibney Alam . The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ...... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 Department of Zoology, Jagannath University, Dhaka 1100, Bangladesh ([email protected]) . The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida ...... Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212 Photographs by the senior author. CONSERVATION ALERT . World’s Mammals in Crisis ...... 220 . More Than Mammals ...... 223 mphibians are ectotherms. The “Dow Jones that Index” reduce of Biodiversity activity ...... in extreme documenting breeding temperatures 225 and egg types of any Atemperatures, HUSBANDRYand many hibernate during the winter or species from Bangladesh are lacking. become inactive when. Captive conditions Care of the Central are Nettedunfavorable. Dragon ...... Little is Near Barlekha in ShannonMaulvibazar Plummer 226 District (24°38’21”N known about the rangePROFILE of temperatures that amphibians can 92°13’16”E) on 16 December 2012 at 1240 h, we observed tolerate and maintain. reproductiveKraig Adler: A Lifetime activity Promoting (Storey Herpetology and ...... Storey amplexus in two species Michael of L.amphibians, Treglia 234 the Red Narrow- 1986). In Bangladesh, the climate is sub-tropical, with a brief mouthed ( rubra; Fig. 1) and the Asian COMMENTARY winter that generally .beginsThe Turtles in Have November Been Watching and Me ...... continues until Common Toad (Duttaphrynus Eric Gangloff melanostictus 238 ; Fig. 2). The first February, peaking from mid-December to mid-January. Data author found the small pool of clear water by tracking the BOOK REVIEW . Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young ...... Robert Powell 243

 CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ...... 245  NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ...... 247  NEWBRIEFS ...... 248  EDITORIAL INFORMATION ...... 251  FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ...... 252

Front Cover. Shannon Plummer. Back Cover. Michael Kern Totat et velleseque audant mo Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia- ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as accullabo.

Fig. 1. Red Narrow-mouthed (Microhyla rubra) in amplexus with a raft of clustered eggs in the foreground.

Copyright © 2015. Faysal Ahmad. All rights reserved. 29 AHMAD AND ALAM IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 22(1):29–31 • MAR 2015

Fig. 2. Asian Common Toads (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) in amplexus with strings of eggs attributable to this species (note that single eggs in the vicinity of the toads are those of the Red Narrow-mouthed Frog. breeding calls of M. rubra. Due to the dry winter season, the turbed lowland habitats, from upper beaches and riverbanks flow of water was reduced in a channel of the Madhabkunda to human-dominated agricultural and urban areas (Mathew Waterfall, leaving a number of small pools along the main 1999; Van Dijk et al. 2004). Asian Common Toads breed in channel. The water in the pool was shallow (~7.5–120 cm) still and slow-flowing rivers and temporary and permanent and surrounded by bushes. Water temperature was 9 °C. ponds and pools (Van Dijk et al. 2004). Breeding depends Microhyla rubra (Mycrohylidae) has a wide distribution on rainfall and temperature. In areas with seasonal monsoon at lower elevation across Bangladesh and peninsular India to rains, breeding often peaks at the start of the wet season; Sri Lanka, rarely occurring above 500 m asl (Kirtisinghe 1957; where climate is more stable, breeding can occur throughout Padhye et al. 2004; Manamendra-Arachchi and Pethiyagoda the year (Jørgensen et al. 1986; Mathew 1999). 2006). The natural history and reproductive biology of many We observed 21 Red Narrow-mouthed Frogs and seven microhylid frogs are poorly known, and small body size, noctur- Asian Common Toads in the pool. We also found clus- nal habits, and cryptic coloration might be largely responsible tered egg clutches attributable to M. rubra (Fig. 1) and long (e.g., Wassersug 1980; Donnelly et al. 1990; Lehr et al. 2007). strings of eggs laid by D. melanostictus (Fig. 2). No published Red Narrow-mouthed Frogs are most frequently encountered records document winter inactivity or breeding of M. rubra in moist situations under logs, piles of rubble, haystacks, and in Bangladesh. However, D. melanostictus has been observed stones, and egg deposition occurs primarily in ephemeral pools seeking shelter and becoming inactive during the winter in in Sri Lanka (Bowatte and Meegaskumbura 2011). some areas of Bangladesh (pers. obs.). Consequently, breed- Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Bufonidae) occurs from ing during the winter dry season might be a local adaptation Pakistan to the Malay Peninsula. It has been recorded from attributable to the availability of water and not necessarily sea level to 1,800 m asl and is most frequently found in dis- applicable to most populations of either species in Bangladesh.

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vided moral support and Stephen Mahony and Christopher E. Smith provided important information.

Literature Cited Bowatte, G. and M. Meegaskumbura. 2011. Morphology and ecology of Microhyla rubra (Anura: ) tadpoles from Sri Lanka. Amphibian and Reptile Conservation 5:22–32. Donnelly, M.A., R.O. de Sa, and C. Guyer. 1990. Description of the tadpoles of Gastrophryne pictiventris and Nelsonophryne aterrima (Anura: Microhylidae), with a review of morphological variation in free-swimming microhylid larvae. American Museum Novitates 2976:1–19. Jørgensen, C.B., K. Shakuntala, and S. Vijayakumar. 1986. Body size, reproduc- tion and growth in a tropical toad, Bufo melanostictus, with a comparison of ovarian cycles in tropical and temperate zone anurans. Oikos 46:379–389. Kirtisinghe, P. 1957. The Amphibia of Ceylon. Privately published by the author, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Lehr, E., L. Trueb, P.J. Venegas, and E. Arbeláez. 2007. Descriptions of the tadpoles of two Neotropical microhylid frogs, Melanophryne carpish and Nelsonophryne aequatorialis (Anura: Microhylidae). Journal of Herpetology 41:581–589 Manamendra-Arachchi, K. and R. Pethiyagoda. 2006. Amphibians of Sri Lanka. Wildlife Heritage Trust, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Mathew, M. 1999. Studies on some Aspects of the Biology and Ecology of Common Indian Toad Bufo melanostictus Schneider (Class Amphibia; Order Anura). Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Mahatma Ghandi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India (www.mgutheses.org/page/?q=T%20 0581&search=&page=&rad=%23184). Padhye, A., A. de Silva, S. Dutta, T. Kumar Shrestha, K. Manamendra-Arachchi, and S. Bordoloi. 2004. Microhyla rubra. IUCN Red List of Threatened Fig. 3. Map of Maulvibazar District (Bangladesh) showing the approxi- Species. Version 2014.3 (www.iucnredlist.org). mate location of the site near Barlekha where two species of anurans were Storey, K.B. and J.M. Storey. 1986. Freeze tolerance and intolerance as strate- breeding in December 2012. gies of winter survival in terrestrially-hibernating amphibians. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology 83:613–617. Van Dijk, P.P., D. Iskandar, M. Wai Neng Lau, G. Huiqing, G. Baorong, L. Kuangyang, C. Wenhao, Y. Zhigang, B. Chan, S. Dutta, R. Inger, K. Acknowledgements Manamendra-Arachchi, and M. Sharif Khan. 2004. Duttaphrynus melanostictus. The authors are grateful to the Nature Study and Conservation IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3 (www.iucnredlist.org). Wassersug, R.J. 1980. Internal oral features of larvae from eight anuran fami- Club of the Department of Zoology, Jagannath University, lies: Functional, systematic, evolutionary and ecological considerations. Dhaka 1100. Kathleen Ninneman and Hector Hinojosa pro- Publications of the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas 68:1–146.

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