Morphological Anomalies, Asymmetries and Scars of Road Killed Dolichophis Caspius (Serpentes, Colubridae) from Romania

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Morphological Anomalies, Asymmetries and Scars of Road Killed Dolichophis Caspius (Serpentes, Colubridae) from Romania Herpetozoa 33: 77–85 (2020) DOI 10.3897/herpetozoa.33.e51338 Dead snakes and their stories: morphological anomalies, asymmetries and scars of road killed Dolichophis caspius (Serpentes, Colubridae) from Romania George-Adelin Ile1, Alexandra-Roxana-Maria Maier1, Achim-Mircea Cadar1, Severus-Daniel Covaciu-Marcov1, Sára Ferenți1 1 University of Oradea, Faculty of Informatics and Sciences, Department of Biology; 1, Universității, Oradea 410087, Romania http://zoobank.org/87D6BBEA-AD05-4B5C-A60E-E2724DE941DA Corresponding author: Severus-Daniel Covaciu-Marcov ([email protected]) Academic editor: Günter Gollmann ♦ Received 20 February 2020 ♦ Accepted 2 April 2020 ♦ Published 14 May 2020 Abstract We analysed several morphological characters of 84 road-killed D. caspius individuals from different areas of southern Romania. Most presented asymmetries in the total number of temporal scales, the temporal row and the periocular and labial scales. Almost a quarter of snakes had scars, located especially on the head and tail; many individuals had multiple injuries. The lowest rate of individ- uals with scars was found in the area with the least anthropogenic impact (Danube Gorge). This finding suggests that, in other areas in Romania, the species is threatened and lives in less optimal conditions. The number of individuals with asymmetries and scars differed according to the populated region, sex or size class. Most of the individuals were killed in August, due to the large number of road-killed juveniles. Key Words asymmetry traits, conservation, environment, morphology, road mortality Introduction be employed as study material for feeding ecology (Dry- gala and Zoller 2013; Kolenda et al. 2019), phylogeog- As in many other species, snakes are in decline (Winne raphy (Grill et al. 2009; Horcajada et al. 2018), temporal et al. 2007; Reading et al. 2010; Graitson et al. 2019; trends in populations (Meek 2020) and faunistic studies Reading and Jofré 2020). One of the major threats for (Gonzáles-Gallina et al. 2016; Teodor et al. 2019). snakes is mortality from road traffic when making a road In Romania, the Caspian Whipsnake, Dolichophis crossing (Ciesiołkiewicz et al. 2006; Meek 2009, 2015; caspius Gmelin, 1789 is situated at the northern limit of Lutterschmidt et al. 2019). This factor affects not only its distribution range (Sillero et al. 2014). The species the common species (Borczyk 2004; Ciesiołkiewicz et al. is frequently found dead on roads, not only in Romania 2006), but also species of conservation interest (Rosen (Covaciu-Marcov and David 2010; Covaciu-Marcov et and Lowe 1994), endemic species (Santhoshkumar et al. al. 2012b; Sahlean et al. 2019), but in other regions (Tok 2016) or those situated at the limit of their range (Co- et al. 2011). It is a large species (Fuhn and Vancea 1961) vaciu-Marcov et al. 2012a). Road traffic does not only and, hence, corpses are easily noticeable from mov- impact snakes, but also other animals (Ashley and Rob- ing vehicles (Covaciu-Marcov et al. 2012b). In the last inson 1996; Glista et al. 2007; Baxter-Gilbert et al. 2015; two decades, we collected numerous D. caspius corpses Ciolan et al. 2017). The high number of mortalities from on different roads in Romania and accumulated a large different animal groups has permitted road mortalities to database. Thus, we used road-killed D. caspius to anal- Copyright George-Adelin Ile et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 78 George-Adelin Ile et al.: Morphological traits of road killed D. caspius from Romania yse various parameters of external morphology, such as scribed slightly differently by Fuhn and Vancea (1961) asymmetries, morphological anomalies or scars. In addi- and Kotenko et al. (1986) in D. caspius. In the temporal tion, we examined specimens for information on distribu- region, we considered two parameters: number of scales tion-dependent risk of mortality. connected to the parietal scale and the total number of Studies on asymmetry in reptiles are relatively new, scales situated between the parietal plate and the upper geographically biased and focus mainly on lizards and labials (Fuhn and Vancea 1961). We considered temporal less on snakes (Laia et al. 2015), although more recent scales as those that had more than 50% of their surface studies have appeared in literature (Brown et al. 2017; inside the temporal zone (delimited by the imaginary Löwenborg and Hagman 2017). In order to remedy this line drawn between the posterior corner of the parietal deficiency, studies on this topic are necessary, the more so scale and the posterior margin of the last upper labial because asymmetry seems to measure developmental sta- scale (Fig. 1A)). The temporal row was treated as in bility in stressful conditions (Laia et al. 2015). The main Brown et al. (2017). All scales around the eye (suboc- objectives were (1) to obtain meristic and metric data on ular, preocular, supraocular and postocular) were treat- morphology and compare these with existing data, (2) to ed as perioculars, as applied previously (Bellaagh et al. analyse asymmetries, anomalies and scars on the studied 2010). The scales around the mouth (upper labials and individuals and (3) to examine for inter-regional differ- lower labials) were treated as labials. The asymmetry ences in sex and size. was calculated as absolute value (|R-L|; R-right side, L-left side), a frequently-used parameter in asymmetry indices (Palmer 1994). The number of individuals with Methods asymmetry or multiple asymmetry, regardless of the trait of occurrence, was reported as a percent from data sub- We examined 84 D. caspius individuals, from almost all sets (sex, origin, size), similar to some asymmetry indi- over the territory occupied by this species in Romania, ces suggested by Palmer (1994), but separately for each except from the small area it populates in southern Mol- trait. We noted anomalies of abnormal scale division or dova (Sahlean et al. 2019). All snakes were found dead, union and presence of scars. These were divided into killed mostly by cars on roads or sometimes by local peo- scars on the head, body and tail (Frank and Dudás 2019). ple (Covaciu-Marcov and David 2010; Covaciu-Marcov Tail integrity was also examined. Measurements were et al. 2012b). Most were identified from a moving car at performed only when carcasses were in good condition. low speed. Some of the specimens had been preserved 20 Severely damaged individuals were analysed within the years previously, but most were collected between 2018 limits of possibilities. and 2019. For all snakes, we had information on the local- Using linear regression, we estimated the correla- ity, region and date of collection, except for two, in which tion between: size class and frequency of individuals we know only the geographic origin. They are deposited in with scars, size class and number of scars from each the scientific collection of the Department of Biology, Fac- size class, respectively, seasonal frequency and average ulty of Informatics and Sciences, University of Oradea. size of individuals. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to Using the abundance of road-killed individuals, we es- estimate the differences between the number of ventral timated road mortality frequency with respect to period and subcaudal scales and their ratio (V/Scd) between the of the year. We calculated the frequency of occurrence two sexes; the number of ventral and subcaudal scales in each season according to size. We examined several and their ratio (V/Scd) between males and females from morphological traits, size (measured from head to tail), different categories (origin, size); number of individuals sex, head scalation, number of ventral and subcaudal with scars and number of scars on individuals accord- scales, as well as the presence/absence of anomalies or ing to the three subsets (sex, origin and size). The One- scars. Sex was determined by dissection, after the meth- way ANOVA test was used to estimate the differences od described by Pesantes (1994). Body-length was mea- amongst asymmetries (|R-L|) of the four traits over the sured with a ruler, an action made difficult by the reduced three data subsets (sex, origin and size). The Kolmogor- flexibility of snakes due to long-term preservation. The ov-Smirnov test was used to estimate data distribution snakes were divided into four size classes: 25–60 cm, before calculating asymmetry. In order to detect direc- 60–100 cm, 100–130 cm and 130–160 cm. Snakes were tional asymmetry, we used a one-sample t-test on signed divided into three groups, according to their geographical (R-L) differences between the right and left side of each origin, which were Dobruja, the Danube meadow and the trait. Calculations were made using the free PAST soft- Danube Gorge. Dobruja is situated south of the Danube, ware (Hammer et al. 2001). the other two regions lie north of the Danube. The Dan- ube meadow and the most part of Dobruja are lowland areas, with high anthropogenic disturbance and intensive Results agriculture. The Danube Gorge is a mostly natural low mountain area. The number and average size of snakes by month is pre- For head scalation, we examined all the bilateral fea- sented in Fig. 1. Strong negative correlation was observed tures (Fuhn and Vancea 1961). Temporal scales were de- between the number of individuals in each month and herpetozoa.pensoft.net Herpetozoa 33: 77–85 (2020) 79 Most of the corpses were in good condition, but in damaged corpses, only limited data were possible to ob- tain. The average number and range of ventral plates, subcaudal plates and the ratio between them (V/Scd) is presented in Table 1.
Recommended publications
  • Fossil Lizards and Snakes from Ano Metochi – a Diverse Squamate Fauna from the Latest Miocene of Northern Greece
    Published in "Historical Biology 29(6): 730–742, 2017" which should be cited to refer to this work. Fossil lizards and snakes from Ano Metochi – a diverse squamate fauna from the latest Miocene of northern Greece Georgios L. Georgalisa,b, Andrea Villab and Massimo Delfinob,c aDepartment of Geosciences, University of Fribourg/Freiburg, Fribourg, Switzerland; bDipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Torino, Torino, Italy; cInstitut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, Barcelona, Spain ABSTRACT We here describe a new squamate fauna from the late Miocene (Messinian, MN 13) of Ano Metochi, northern Greece. The lizard fauna of Ano Metochi is here shown to be rather diverse, consisting of lacertids, anguids, and potential cordylids, while snakes are also abundant, consisting of scolecophidians, natricines and at KEYWORDS least two different colubrines. If our identification is correct, the Ano Metochi cordylids are the first ones Squamata; Miocene; identified from Greece and they are also the youngest representatives of this group in Europe. A previously extinction; taxonomy; described scincoid from the adjacent locality of Maramena is here tentatively also referred to cordylids, biogeography strengthening a long term survival of this group until at least the latest Miocene. The scolecophidian from Ano Metochi cannot be attributed with certainty to either typhlopids or leptotyphlopids, which still inhabit the Mediterranean region. The find nevertheless adds further to the poor fossil record of these snakes. Comparison of the Ano Metochi herpetofauna with that of the adjacent locality of Maramena reveals similarities, but also striking differences among their squamate compositions. Introduction Materials and methods Fossil squamate faunas from the southeastern edges of Europe All specimens described herein belong to the collection of the are not well studied, despite the fact that they could play a pivotal UU.
    [Show full text]
  • Khalladi-Bpp Anexes-Arabic.Pdf
    Khalladi Windfarm and Power Line Projects Biodiversity Protection Plan, July 2015 107 Khalladi Windfarm and Power Line Projects Biodiversity Protection Plan, July 2015 108 Khalladi Windfarm and Power Line Projects Biodiversity Protection Plan, July 2015 109 Khalladi Windfarm and Power Line Projects Biodiversity Protection Plan, July 2015 110 Khalladi Windfarm and Power Line Projects Biodiversity Protection Plan, July 2015 111 Khalladi Windfarm and Power Line Projects Biodiversity Protection Plan, July 2015 112 Khalladi Windfarm and Power Line Projects Biodiversity Protection Plan, July 2015 113 The IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria are intended to be an easily and widely understood system for classifying species at high risk of global extinction. The IUCN Red List is categorized in the following Categories: • Extinct (EX): A taxon is Extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died. A taxon is presumed Extinct when exhaustive surveys in known and/or expected habitat, at appropriate times (diurnal, seasonal, annual), throughout its historic range have failed to record an individual. Surveys should be over a time frame appropriate to the taxon’s life cycle and life form. Khalladi Windfarm and Power Line Projects 114 Biodiversity Protection Plan, July 2015 • Extinct in the Wild (EW): A taxon is Extinct in the Wild when it is known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalized population (or populations) well outside the past range. A taxon is presumed Extinct in the Wild when exhaustive surveys in known and/or expected habitat, at appropriate times (diurnal, seasonal, annual), throughout its historic range have failed to record an individual.
    [Show full text]
  • B I R D W a T C H I N G •
    18 . F UENTE DE PIEDRA - CAMPILLOS STAGE18 E S N O 158 BIRDWATCHING • GR-249 Great Path of Malaga F UENTE DE PIEDRA - CAMPILLOS 18 . STAGE 18 Fuente de Piedra - Campillos L O C A T I O N he José Antonio Valverde Visitor´s Centre at the TReserva Natural de la Laguna de Fuente de Piedra is the starting point of Stage 18. Taking the direction south around the taken up mainly by olive trees and grain. eastern side of the salt water lagoon This type of environment will continue to you will be walking through farmland the end of this stage and it determines until the end of this stage in Campillos the species of birds which can be seen village. The 15, 7 km of Stage 18 will here. You will be crossing a stream and allow you to discover this wetland well then walking along the two lakes which known at national level in Spain, and will make your Stage 18 bird list fill cultivated farmland which creates a up with highly desirable species. The steppe-like environment. combination of wetland and steppe creates very valuable habitats with DESCRIPTION a rare composition of taxa unique at European level. ABOUT THE BIRDLIFE: Stage 18 begins at the northern tip HIGHLIGHTED SPECIES of the lagoon where you take direction Neither the length, diffi culty level or south through agricultural environment, elevation gain of this stage is particularly DID YOU KNOW? ecilio Garcia de la Leña, in Conversation 9th of “Historical Conversations of Malaga” published by Cristóbal Medina Conde (1726-1798) and entitled «About Animal Kingdom of Malaga and some Places in its Bishopric», Ccomments: «…In some lagoons, along sea shores and river banks some large and beautiful birds breed, called Flamingos and Phoenicopteros according to the ancients...», after a description of the bird´s anatomy he adds: «The Romans appreciated the bird greatly, especially its tongue which was served as an exquisite dish…».
    [Show full text]
  • An Exploration of Anxiety and Depression Among Adolescents and Adults in Bulgaria
    DOCTORAL THESIS An exploration of anxiety and depression among adolescents and adults in Bulgaria Tsocheva, Ivelina Award date: 2015 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 27. Sep. 2021 AN EXPLORATION OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION AMONG ADOLESCENTS AND ADULTS IN BULGARIA By Ivelina Tsocheva, BSc, PGDip Psychology Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD Department of Psychology University of Roehampton 2015 2 ABSTRACT Anxiety and depression are among the most prevalent psychological disorders affecting a large number of people across different cultures. At present, these conditions have not been examined among the general population of Bulgaria. This thesis is a large-scale project involving Bulgarian adolescents aged 13-17 and Bulgarian adults aged 35-58. The main aims are: 1/ to investigate the prevalence and correlates of anxiety and depression in Bulgarian adolescents and adults because this population has been under- researched on these topics 2/ to assess mental health literacy about depression in these two groups.
    [Show full text]
  • Tail Breakage and Predatory Pressure Upon Two Invasive Snakes (Serpentes: Colubridae) at Two Islands in the Western Mediterranean
    Canadian Journal of Zoology Tail breakage and predatory pressure upon two invasive snakes (Serpentes: Colubridae) at two islands in the Western Mediterranean Journal: Canadian Journal of Zoology Manuscript ID cjz-2020-0261.R2 Manuscript Type: Article Date Submitted by the 17-Jan-2021 Author: Complete List of Authors: Febrer-Serra, Maria; University of the Balearic Islands Lassnig, Nil; University of the Balearic Islands Colomar, Victor; Consorci per a la Recuperació de la Fauna de les Illes Balears Draft Sureda Gomila, Antoni; University of the Balearic Islands; Carlos III Health Institute, CIBEROBC Pinya Fernández, Samuel; University of the Balearic Islands, Biology Is your manuscript invited for consideration in a Special Not applicable (regular submission) Issue?: Zamenis scalaris, Hemorrhois hippocrepis, invasive snakes, predatory Keyword: pressure, Balearic Islands, frequency of tail breakage © The Author(s) or their Institution(s) Page 1 of 34 Canadian Journal of Zoology 1 Tail breakage and predatory pressure upon two invasive snakes (Serpentes: 2 Colubridae) at two islands in the Western Mediterranean 3 4 M. Febrer-Serra, N. Lassnig, V. Colomar, A. Sureda, S. Pinya* 5 6 M. Febrer-Serra. Interdisciplinary Ecology Group. University of the Balearic Islands, 7 Ctra. Valldemossa km 7.5, 07122 Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain. E-mail address: 8 [email protected]. 9 N. Lassnig. Interdisciplinary Ecology Group. University of the Balearic Islands, Ctra. 10 Valldemossa km 7.5, 07122 Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain. E-mail address: 11 [email protected]. 12 V. Colomar. Consortium for the RecoveryDraft of Fauna of the Balearic Islands (COFIB). 13 Government of the Balearic Islands, Spain.
    [Show full text]
  • An Unusual Juvenile Coloration of the Whip Snake Dolichophis Jugularis (Linnaeus, 1758) Observed in Southwestern Anatolia, Turkey
    Herpetology Notes, volume 8: 531-533 (2015) (published online on 19 October 2015) An unusual juvenile coloration of the whip snake Dolichophis jugularis (Linnaeus, 1758) observed in Southwestern Anatolia, Turkey Bayram Göçmen1, Zoltán T. Nagy2, Kerim Çiçek1,* and Bahadır Akman1 The Large whip snake, Dolicophis jugularis m). The coloration of this juvenile specimen resembles (Linnaeus, 1758) is widely distributed in Greece, that of adults (Fig. 1B–D). This was the only juvenile including some Aegean islands, as well as throughout specimen with such unusual coloration, although the the Levant (Başoğlu and Baran, 1977; Leviton et al., study area was thoroughly searched. We observed 1992; Budak and Göçmen, 2008; Amr and Disi, 2011). three other juveniles with the aforementioned typical The distribution of the species in Turkey extends from pattern. One of them [ZMHRU 2012/51] was caught at Izmir in the West to the Mediterranean region in the Kızılseki Village (37°16’ N, 30°45’ E, elevation 400 m) southern, southeastern and eastern Anatolia (Başoğlu and presents the known juvenile pattern (Fig. 1A). and Baran, 1977; Budak and Göçmen, 2005; Göçmen In the juvenile specimen with adult coloration caught et al., 2013). at Kocaaliler Village, the dorsal and upper dorsolateral Dolicophis jugularis is a large colubrid snake that can areas of the head are black, whereas the color below reach 2.5 m in total length (Budak and Göçmen, 2008; the eye and along the jawline is white (Fig. 1B). On Amr and Disi, 2011). Its adult coloration is usually both sides of the head, there are white spots on rostral, uniform, the dorsum is bright black, and the top of supralabials, preoculars, postoculars, and temporals, the head is almost black with scattered red coloration.
    [Show full text]
  • Terrestrial Ecology
    Chapter 11: Terrestrial Ecology URS-EIA-REP-202375 Table of Contents 11 Terrestrial Ecology ................................................................................... 11-1 11.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 11-1 11.2 Scoping ............................................................................................................ 11-1 11.2.1 ENVIID ................................................................................................ 11-2 11.2.2 Analysis of Alternatives ......................................................................... 11-2 11.3 Spatial Boundaries and Temporal Boundaries ...................................................... 11-2 11.3.1 Spatial Boundaries ................................................................................ 11-2 11.3.2 Temporal Boundaries ............................................................................ 11-3 11.4 Baseline Data .................................................................................................... 11-7 11.4.1 Standards for Baseline Evaluation .......................................................... 11-7 11.4.2 Data Gaps ............................................................................................ 11-8 11.4.3 Primary Data / Baseline Surveys ............................................................ 11-8 11.4.3.1 Habitats and Flora ........................................................................ 11-9 11.4.3.2 Birds
    [Show full text]
  • Cleaning the Linnean Stable of Names for Grass Snakes (Natrix Astreptophora, N
    70 (4): 621– 665 © Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, 2020. 2020 The Fifth Labour of Heracles: Cleaning the Linnean stable of names for grass snakes (Natrix astreptophora, N. helvetica, N. natrix sensu stricto) Uwe Fritz 1 & Josef Friedrich Schmidtler 2 1 Museum of Zoology, Senckenberg Dresden, A. B. Meyer Building, 01109 Dresden, Germany; [email protected] — 2 Liebenstein- straße 9A, 81243 Munchen, Germany; [email protected] Submitted July 29, 2020. Accepted October 29, 2020. Published online at www.senckenberg.de/vertebrate-zoology on November 12, 2020. Published in print Q4/2020. Editor in charge: Ralf Britz Abstract We scrutinize scientifc names erected for or referred to Natrix astreptophora (Seoane, 1884), Natrix helvetica (Lacepède, 1789), and Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758). As far as possible, we provide synonymies for the individual subspecies of each species, identify each name with one of the mtDNA lineages or nuclear genomic clusters within these taxa, and clarify the whereabouts of type material. In addi­ tion, we feature homonyms and names erroneously identifed with grass snakes. For Natrix astreptophora (Seoane, 1884), we recognize a second subspecies from North Africa under the name Natrix astreptophora algerica (Hecht, 1930). The nominotypical subspecies occurs in the European part of the distribution range (Iberian Peninsula, adjacent France). Within Natrix helvetica (Lacepède, 1789), we recognize four subspecies. The nominotypical subspecies occurs in the northern distribution range, Natrix helvetica sicula (Cuvier, 1829) in Sicily, mainland Italy and adjacent regions, Natrix helvetica cetti Gené, 1839 on Sardinia, and Natrix helvetica corsa (Hecht, 1930) on Corsica. However, the validity of the latter subspecies is questionable.
    [Show full text]
  • Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP)
    Midia Gas Development Project Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP) Black Sea Oil & Gas SRL Document Number: MGD-E-EERM-EN-REP4-003-D1 Rev Date Description Author Checked By Approved By D01 15/04/2019 Issued for Approval Peter Andy Coates Alistair Fulton Wright/Catriona (ERM) (ERM) Munro (ERM) [Double click to insert signature] [Double click to insert signature] Peter Wright John Ward Principal Consultant Senior Consultant [Double click to insert signature] [Double click to insert signature] Josie Preece Andy Coates Consultant Technical Director ERM Romania 145 Calea Victoriei 8th floor Victoria Center Sector 1 010072 Bucharest Romania © Copyright 2019 by ERM Worldwide Group Ltd and / or its affiliates (“ERM”). All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the prior written permission of ERM Page 2 of 52 Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 5 1.1. Background ................................................................................................................ 5 1.2 Purpose of Report ....................................................................................................... 5 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................ 5 3. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK AND PROJECT STANDARDS ........................................ 7 3.1 Romanian Legislative Framework ...............................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Contents Herpetological Journal
    British Herpetological Society Herpetological Journal Volume 31, Number 3, 2021 Contents Full papers Killing them softly: a review on snake translocation and an Australian case study 118-131 Jari Cornelis, Tom Parkin & Philip W. Bateman Potential distribution of the endemic Short-tailed ground agama Calotes minor (Hardwicke & Gray, 132-141 1827) in drylands of the Indian sub-continent Ashish Kumar Jangid, Gandla Chethan Kumar, Chandra Prakash Singh & Monika Böhm Repeated use of high risk nesting areas in the European whip snake, Hierophis viridiflavus 142-150 Xavier Bonnet, Jean-Marie Ballouard, Gopal Billy & Roger Meek The Herpetological Journal is published quarterly by Reproductive characteristics, diet composition and fat reserves of nose-horned vipers (Vipera 151-161 the British Herpetological Society and is issued free to ammodytes) members. Articles are listed in Current Awareness in Marko Anđelković, Sonja Nikolić & Ljiljana Tomović Biological Sciences, Current Contents, Science Citation Index and Zoological Record. Applications to purchase New evidence for distinctiveness of the island-endemic Príncipe giant tree frog (Arthroleptidae: 162-169 copies and/or for details of membership should be made Leptopelis palmatus) to the Hon. Secretary, British Herpetological Society, The Kyle E. Jaynes, Edward A. Myers, Robert C. Drewes & Rayna C. Bell Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, NW1 4RY, UK. Instructions to authors are printed inside the Description of the tadpole of Cruziohyla calcarifer (Boulenger, 1902) (Amphibia, Anura, 170-176 back cover. All contributions should be addressed to the Phyllomedusidae) Scientific Editor. Andrew R. Gray, Konstantin Taupp, Loic Denès, Franziska Elsner-Gearing & David Bewick A new species of Bent-toed gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827) from the Garo 177-196 Hills, Meghalaya State, north-east India, and discussion of morphological variation for C.
    [Show full text]
  • Return of the Steppe Eagle to Nesting in the Stavropol Kray, Russia ВОЗВРАЩЕНИЕ СТЕПНОГО ОРЛА НА ГНЕЗДОВАНИЕ В СТАВРОПОЛЬСКИЙ КРАЙ, РОССИЯ Malovichko L.V
    264 Ïåðíàòûå õèùíèêè è èõ îõðàíà 2019, 39 Кðàòêèå сîîбùåíèя Return of the Steppe Eagle to Nesting in the Stavropol Kray, Russia ВОЗВРАЩЕНИЕ СТЕПНОГО ОРЛА НА ГНЕЗДОВАНИЕ В СТАВРОПОЛЬСКИЙ КРАЙ, РОССИЯ Malovichko L.V. (Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, Moscow, Russia) Grinko A.G. (JSC “Samotlorneftepromchim”, Stavropol Kray, Velichaevskoe vill., Russia) Slynko D.V. (Directorate of protected areas of the Stavropol Kray, Stavropol, Russia) Маловичко Л.В. (Российский государственный аграрный университет – МСХА имени К.А. Тимирязева, Москва, Россия) Гринько А.Г. (АО «Самотлорнефтепромхим», Ставропольский край, с. Величаевское, Россия) Слынько Д.В. (Государственное казенное учреждение «Дирекция особо охраняемых природных территорий Ставропольского края», Ставрополь, Россия) DOI: 10.19074/1814-8654-2019-39-264-271 Контакт: Численность степного орла (Aquila ni- The Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis) popu- Любовь Васильевна palensis) в настоящее время значитель- lation is now significantly reduced within its Маловичко д.б.н., проф. но сократилась в пределах всего ареала whole range (Karyakin, 2011). The Steppe Кафедра зоологии (Карякин, 2011). Этот вид внесён в Крас- Eagle is included in the IUCN Red List as En- Факультета зоотехнии и ный список МСОП со статусом «исче- dangered (EN) (BirdLife International, 2017), биологии, зающий вид» (Endangered, EN) (BirdLife in the Red Data Books of the Russian Federa- Российский государ- ственный аграрный International, 2017), Красные книги РФ (Га- tion (Galushin, 2001) and the Stavropol Kray университет – МСХА лушин, 2001) и Ставропольского края как as a rare species (Ilyukh, Khokhlov, 2013). имени К.А. Тимирязева редкий вид (Ильюх, Хохлов, 2013). The Steppe Eagle nests in steppes and 127434, Россия, Степной орёл гнездится в степях и полу- semi-deserts, avoiding vast deserts.
    [Show full text]
  • Late Cretaceous) of Morocco : Palaeobiological and Behavioral Implications Remi Allemand
    Endocranial microtomographic study of marine reptiles (Plesiosauria and Mosasauroidea) from the Turonian (Late Cretaceous) of Morocco : palaeobiological and behavioral implications Remi Allemand To cite this version: Remi Allemand. Endocranial microtomographic study of marine reptiles (Plesiosauria and Mosasauroidea) from the Turonian (Late Cretaceous) of Morocco : palaeobiological and behavioral implications. Paleontology. Museum national d’histoire naturelle - MNHN PARIS, 2017. English. NNT : 2017MNHN0015. tel-02375321 HAL Id: tel-02375321 https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-02375321 Submitted on 22 Nov 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. MUSEUM NATIONAL D’HISTOIRE NATURELLE Ecole Doctorale Sciences de la Nature et de l’Homme – ED 227 Année 2017 N° attribué par la bibliothèque |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_| THESE Pour obtenir le grade de DOCTEUR DU MUSEUM NATIONAL D’HISTOIRE NATURELLE Spécialité : Paléontologie Présentée et soutenue publiquement par Rémi ALLEMAND Le 21 novembre 2017 Etude microtomographique de l’endocrâne de reptiles marins (Plesiosauria et Mosasauroidea) du Turonien (Crétacé supérieur) du Maroc : implications paléobiologiques et comportementales Sous la direction de : Mme BARDET Nathalie, Directrice de Recherche CNRS et les co-directions de : Mme VINCENT Peggy, Chargée de Recherche CNRS et Mme HOUSSAYE Alexandra, Chargée de Recherche CNRS Composition du jury : M.
    [Show full text]