1
|
Karunarathna S, Ukuwela KDB, De Silva A, Bauer AM, Madawala M, Poyarkov NA, Botejue M, Gabadage D, Grismer LL, Gorin VA. A phylogenetic and taxonomic assessment of the Cnemaspis alwisi group (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) in Sri Lanka with a description of two new species from isolated misty-mountains. VERTEBRATE ZOOLOGY 2023. [DOI: 10.3897/vz.73.e90979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Abstract
Sri Lanka is a local hotspot for Cnemaspis day geckos with 40 currently known species with 100% endemism. In this paper, we evaluate the phylogenetic relationships of Cnemaspis species belonging to the alwisi group of the podihuna clade and describe two additional new species of Cnemaspis from Sri Lanka; one from Galgiriya mountain, Kurunegala District, and another from Ethagala mountain, Ampara District. These new species were recorded from granite caves within forested areas in isolated mountains in the dry bioclimatic zone (point-endemics). Both new species are microhabitat specialists with narrow niches limited to humid, cool, canopy-shaded granite caves and old buildings associated with granite caves, where they are camouflaged by their cryptic morphology and body colouration. Furthermore, both species prefer narrow (~ 6–12 mm), long (~ 120–450 mm) and deep (~ 80–260 mm) crevices as refugia. The regions in which these habitats are located receive relatively low annual rainfall (1,000–1,500 mm). These new species are medium in size (28.5–36.8 mmSVL) and can be differentiated from all other Sri Lankan Cnemaspis by the presence of clearly enlarged, subhexagonal subcaudal scales and the absence of precloacal pores in males. Both species described here are categorised herein as Critically Endangered (CR) under the IUCN Red List criteria. The major threats for these new species are habitat loss due to expansion of commercial-scale agriculture, illicit forest encroachments, and forest fires. Therefore, we recommend that relevant authorities take immediate conservation action to ensure the protection of these forest areas with their buffer zones in the near future.
Collapse
|
2
|
Davis HR, Nashriq I, Woytek KS, Wikramanayake SA, Bauer AM, Karin BR, Brennan IG, Iskandar DT, Das I. Genomic analysis of Bornean geckos (Gekkonidae:
Cyrtodactylus
) reveals need for updated taxonomy. ZOOL SCR 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/zsc.12575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Hayden R. Davis
- Department of Biology Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture University of Washington Seattle Washington USA
| | - Izneil Nashriq
- Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation University of Malaysia Sarawak Kota Samarahan Malaysia
| | - Kyra S. Woytek
- Department of Biology Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture University of Washington Seattle Washington USA
| | | | - Aaron M. Bauer
- Department of Biology Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stewardship Villanova University Villanova Pennsylvania USA
| | - Benjamin R. Karin
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology University of California Berkeley Berkeley California USA
| | - Ian G. Brennan
- Department of Ecology and Evolution Australian National University Canberra Australian Capital Territory Australia
| | - Djoko T. Iskandar
- Life Sciences and Technology Institut Teknologi Bandung Bandung Indonesia
- The Indonesian Academy of Sciences Basic Sciences Commission Jakarta Indonesia
| | - Indraneil Das
- Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation University of Malaysia Sarawak Kota Samarahan Malaysia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Mirza ZA, Gnaneswar C. Description of a new species of leopard geckos, Eublepharis Gray, 1827 from Eastern Ghats, India with notes on Eublepharis hardwickii Gray, 1827. EVOLUTIONARY SYSTEMATICS 2022. [DOI: 10.3897/evolsyst.6.83290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A recent molecular phylogenetic study of the genus Eublepharis Gray, 1827 revealed the presence of a genetically divergent lineage sister to Eublepharis hardwickii Gray, 1827. We re-assessed the taxonomy of Eublepharis hardwickii based on museum material in light of the molecular phylogenetic study and the results support the recognization of two species distributed on either sides of the Brahmani River. A redescription of E. hardwickii is presented based on the holotype and additional museum material along-with the description of a new species, Eublepharis pictussp. nov. from Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The presence of yet another distinct lineage in such close geographical proximity in the northern Eastern Ghats highlights the significance of these relic forests and advocates the need for conservation prioritization.
Collapse
|
4
|
Mirza ZA, Bhosale HS, Thackeray T, Phansalkar P, Sawant M, Gowande GG, Patel H. A new species of bent-toed geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 from western Arunachal Pradesh, India. HERPETOZOA 2022. [DOI: 10.3897/herpetozoa.35.e80610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A new species of bent-toed geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus is described from western Arunachal Pradesh. The new species is a member of the Indo-Burma clade and is embedded within the “peguensis” group, a relationship deduced contingent on a partial fragment of mitochondrial NADH subunit 2 gene. Cyrtodactylus kamengensissp. nov. is morphologically similar to C. himalayicus from which it differs in bearing a distinct ventrolateral fold and 6–8 basal lamellae on digit IV of pes. Genetically, the new species is sister to the Indian lineage of the “peguensis” group containing C. bhupathyi and C. gubernatoris. The Indian lineage of the “peguensis” group diverged from its Burmese relatives during the mid-Oligocene likely followed by the beginning of the Himalayan uplift, highlighting the role of the Himalayas in the diversification of biota.
Collapse
|
5
|
Riyanto A, Faz FH, Amarasinghe AT, Munir M, Fitriana YS, Hamidy A, Kusrini MD, Oliver PM. A New Bent-Toed Gecko of the Cyrtodactylus marmoratus Group (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) from Obi Island, Indonesia. HERPETOLOGICA 2022. [DOI: 10.1655/herpetologica-d-21-00028.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Awal Riyanto
- Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (MZB), Research Center for Biology, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Raya Jakarta Bogor Km. 46 Cibinong, 16911 Jawa Barat, Indonesia
| | - Fata H. Faz
- Faculty of Forestry, Bogor Agricultural University, Darmaga Campus, West Java, Indonesia
| | - A.A. Thasun Amarasinghe
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Indonesia, Kampus UI, 16424 Depok, Indonesia
| | - Misbahul Munir
- Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Yoshida Nihonmatsu-cho, Sakyo-ku, 606-8501 Kyoto, Japan
| | - Yuli S. Fitriana
- Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (MZB), Research Center for Biology, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Raya Jakarta Bogor Km. 46 Cibinong, 16911 Jawa Barat, Indonesia
| | - Amir Hamidy
- Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (MZB), Research Center for Biology, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Jl. Raya Jakarta Bogor Km. 46 Cibinong, 16911 Jawa Barat, Indonesia
| | - Mirza D. Kusrini
- Faculty of Forestry, Bogor Agricultural University, Darmaga Campus, West Java, Indonesia
| | - Paul M. Oliver
- Queensland Museum, Department of Biological and Geological Sciences, South Brisbane, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Mahony S, Kamei RG. A new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Manipur State, northeast India, with a critical review highlighting extensive errors in literature covering bent-toed geckos of the Indo-Burma region. J NAT HIST 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2021.1994667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Mahony
- School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Liu S, Rao D. A new species of Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from southwestern Yunnan, China. Zookeys 2022; 1084:83-100. [PMID: 35233166 PMCID: PMC8813870 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1084.72868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
A new species of the Cyrtodactyluschauquangensis species group is described based on four specimens collected from the karst formations of Menglian County, Puer City, Yunnan Province, China. The new species can be separated from all other congeners by having a unique combination of morphological characters: a medium-sized body; ventrolateral folds present with interspersed small tubercles; seven precloacal pores in a continuous series in males, absent in females; enlarged femoral scales and femoral pores absent; two postcloacal tubercles on each side; and one or two rows of enlarged subcaudals. Genetically, the new species most closely related to C.wayakonei and the uncorrected sequence divergences of the ND2 gene and its flanking tRNAs between the new species and investigated congeners range from 7.2% to 18.4%.
Collapse
|
8
|
Poyarkov NA, Nguyen TV, Pawangkhanant P, Yushchenko PV, Brakels P, Nguyen LH, Nguyen HN, Suwannapoom C, Orlov N, Vogel G. An integrative taxonomic revision of slug-eating snakes (Squamata: Pareidae: Pareineae) reveals unprecedented diversity in Indochina. PeerJ 2022; 10:e12713. [PMID: 35047234 PMCID: PMC8757378 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Slug-eating snakes of the subfamily Pareinae are an insufficiently studied group of snakes specialized in feeding on terrestrial mollusks. Currently Pareinae encompass three genera with 34 species distributed across the Oriental biogeographic region. Despite the recent significant progress in understanding of Pareinae diversity, the subfamily remains taxonomically challenging. Here we present an updated phylogeny of the subfamily with a comprehensive taxon sampling including 30 currently recognized Pareinae species and several previously unknown candidate species and lineages. Phylogenetic analyses of mtDNA and nuDNA data supported the monophyly of the three genera Asthenodipsas, Aplopeltura, and Pareas. Within both Asthenodipsas and Pareas our analyses recovered deep differentiation with each genus being represented by two morphologically diagnosable clades, which we treat as subgenera. We further apply an integrative taxonomic approach, including analyses of molecular and morphological data, along with examination of available type materials, to address the longstanding taxonomic questions of the subgenus Pareas, and reveal the high level of hidden diversity of these snakes in Indochina. We restrict the distribution of P. carinatus to southern Southeast Asia, and recognize two subspecies within it, including one new subspecies proposed for the populations from Thailand and Myanmar. We further revalidate P. berdmorei, synonymize P. menglaensis with P. berdmorei, and recognize three subspecies within this taxon, including the new subspecies erected for the populations from Laos and Vietnam. Furthermore, we describe two new species of Pareas from Vietnam: one belonging to the P. carinatus group from southern Vietnam, and a new member of the P. nuchalis group from the central Vietnam. We provide new data on P. temporalis, and report on a significant range extension for P. nuchalis. Our phylogeny, along with molecular clock and ancestral area analyses, reveal a complex diversification pattern of Pareinae involving a high degree of sympatry of widespread and endemic species. Our analyses support the "upstream" colonization hypothesis and, thus, the Pareinae appears to have originated in Sundaland during the middle Eocene and then colonized mainland Asia in early Oligocene. Sundaland and Eastern Indochina appear to have played the key roles as the centers of Pareinae diversification. Our results reveal that both vicariance and dispersal are responsible for current distribution patterns of Pareinae, with tectonic movements, orogeny and paleoclimatic shifts being the probable drivers of diversification. Our study brings the total number of Pareidae species to 41 and further highlights the importance of comprehensive taxonomic revisions not only for the better understanding of biodiversity and its evolution, but also for the elaboration of adequate conservation actions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nikolay A. Poyarkov
- Laboratory of Tropical Ecology, Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center, Hanoi, Vietnam,Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Tan Van Nguyen
- Department of Species Conservation, Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, Ninh Binh, Vietnam
| | - Parinya Pawangkhanant
- Division of Fishery, School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Phayao, Phayao, Thailand
| | - Platon V. Yushchenko
- Faculty of Biology, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Linh Hoang Nguyen
- Department of Zoology, Southern Institute of Ecology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Hung Ngoc Nguyen
- Department of Zoology, Southern Institute of Ecology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Chatmongkon Suwannapoom
- Division of Fishery, School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Phayao, Phayao, Thailand
| | - Nikolai Orlov
- Department of Herpetology, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Gernot Vogel
- Society for Southeast Asian Herpetology, Heidelberg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Karstic Landscapes Are Foci of Species Diversity in the World’s Third-Largest Vertebrate Genus Cyrtodactylus Gray, 1827 (Reptilia: Squamata; Gekkonidae). DIVERSITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/d13050183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Karstic landscapes are immense reservoirs of biodiversity and range-restricted endemism. Nowhere is this more evident than in the world’s third-largest vertebrate genus Cyrtodactylus (Gekkonidae) which contains well over 300 species. A stochastic character mapping analysis of 10 different habitat preferences across a phylogeny containing 344 described and undescribed species recovered a karst habitat preference occurring in 25.0% of the species, whereas that of the other eight specific habitat preferences occurred in only 0.2–11.0% of the species. The tenth category—general habitat preference—occurred in 38.7% of the species and was the ancestral habitat preference for Cyrtodactylus and the ultimate origin of all other habitat preferences. This study echoes the results of a previous study illustrating that karstic landscapes are generators of species diversity within Cyrtodactylus and not simply “imperiled arks of biodiversity” serving as refugia for relics. Unfortunately, the immense financial returns of mineral extraction to developing nations largely outweighs concerns for biodiversity conservation, leaving approximately 99% of karstic landscapes with no legal protection. This study continues to underscore the urgent need for their appropriate management and conservation. Additionally, this analysis supports the monophyly of the recently proposed 31 species groups and adds one additional species group.
Collapse
|