The Andes of southern Peru contain a biodiversity with high degree of endemism due to itspeculiar geography and bioclimate. In this work a new endemic species of the genus Liolaemusis described which would be restricted to an altitude between 3870–4100 m s.n.m., in theSalado river basin of the district and province of Espinar, department of Cusco. This speciesis characterized by the unique combination of morphological characters and the color patternthat distinguish it from the rest of the species of the genus Liolaemus, mainly within of L. ortiziclade of the L. montanus group, where the new species is located according to our phylogenetichypothesis based on morphological evidence presented in this study.
Based on detailed examination of the literature, visits to collections and the field, correspondencewith specialists and curators, study of detailed photography of living and preserved specimens,and statistical analysis of meristic data, I propose a number of taxonomic and nomenclaturalchanges for species of the Liolaemus montanus group from the Andes of Bolivia, southern Peru,northern Chile and northwestern Argentina. Liolaemus signifer (Dumeril & Bibron 1837) is designateda nomen dubium and Liolaemus multiformis (Cope 1875) and Liolaemus lenzi Boettger1891 are revalidated. Liolaemus variabilis Pellegrin 1909 and Liolaemus bolivianus Pellegrin1909 are placed in the synonymy of L. lenzi. Liolaemus pleopholis Laurent 1998 is considereda species inquirenda allied with L. lenzi. Liolaemus annectens Boulenger 1901 is considered avalid species and Liolaemus tropidonotus Boulenger 1902 is considered a junior synonym of L.multiformis. Liolaemus pantherinus Pellegrin 1909 is recognized as a valid species that includesL. annectens orientalis Muller 1924 and L. multiformis simonsii—Burt & Burt 1931 are includedin its synonymy. Liolaemus islugensis Ortiz & Marquet 1987 is removed from the synonymy ofL. pantherinus and is placed in the synonymy of L. schmidti (Marx 1960). Liolaemus erguetaeLaurent 1995 and L. molinai Valladares et al. 2002 are placed in the synonymy of L. erroneus(Nunez & Yanez 1984 “1983–1994”).
In the Argentinean Gran Chaco, numerous investigations have dealt with the diversity of vertebrates, including herps. As for the parasitofauna of these organisms, some groups, such as amphibians, have been more studied; however, from a biogeographic perspective, most of these studies were carried out in a different area, the Humid Chaco. The goal of this work is to present the nematofauna found in six species of amphibians, namely Rhinella diptycha , Chacophrys pierottii , Ceratophrys cranwelli , Scinax nasicus , Leptodactylus bufonius , and Odontophrynus lavillai , collected in different locations within the Dry Chaco, in the department of Matacos, Formosa, Argentina. In a total of 34 amphibians analyzed, we found 1,526 nematode parasites (total prevalence: 61.7%; total mean intensity: 72.6±90.3; total mean abundance: 46.2±79.7), belonging to 9 taxa: adults of Rhabdias sp., Oswaldocruzia sp., O. subauricularis , Schulzia travassossi , Aplectana hylambatis , Cosmocerca podicipinus , Oxyascaris caudacutus , Schrankiana formosula , and larvae of Physaloptera sp. These nematodes were collected from the lungs, small intestine, large intestine, gastric mucosa, and gallbladder of hosts. This work is the first record of helminths from C. pierottii and O. lavillai and the first record of nematodes from Ce. cranwelli throughout its geographical range. The species Oswaldocruzia subauricularis (Molineidae) and Schrankiana formosula (Atractidae) are recorded for the first time in Argentinean amphibians. Thus, we expand the knowledge of the biological diversity of helminth parasites of amphibians; this information, integrated into future and more comprehensive studies, will allow us to understand the factors that influence the patterns of host and geographic distribution, in an area with such extreme characteristics as the Dry Chaco.
In the present investigation we broaden the geographical distribution of the endemic saurianof the Peruvian desert Liolaemus nazca. Its distribution is extended in approximately 45 kmfrom its type locality (Lomas of the San Fernando National Reserve), reporting it for the firsttime for the department of Arequipa. Also, its distribution of occurrence is widened to otherundocumented localities in San Juan de Marcona (Nasca, Ica) and Lomas (Caraveli, Arequipa)in Peru. These new records, added to those already known, allow us to characterize their habitatsand analyze their state of conservation. These data highlight the importance and ecologicalvalue of the ‘lomas’ of Marcona, a site of interest in the conservation and protection of thebiodiversity it refuge.
Liolaemus loboi Abdala, 2003 is a rare liolaemid lizard originally described from the borderbetween Neuquen and Rio Negro Provinces in Patagonia Argentina. Only a few specimens ofthis species exist in museums, and all are from the type locality near Bariloche. Here, we presenttwo new records that result in a significant extension of the known distribution of the species.In addition, we comment on the habitat of Liolaemus loboi, its phylogenetic relationships, andselected aspects of its natural history.
In this work, we report the amphibian fauna composition of a natural protected area locatednear Esperanza city, Province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It opened to the public in 2015, with yetno baseline inventory of amphibian species. Additionally, we evaluated the presence of the amphibianparasitic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). We carried out eleven samplingsfrom October 2015 to March 2016 in three environmental units: native forest, exotic forest,and floodplain grasslands. The sampling methods we used were live pit-fall traps with driftfences, auditory encounters, and visual encounters. Sixteen species belonging to 9 genera and4 families were recorded. October was the month with the highest specific richness. Bd-specificreal-time Taqman qPCR made on skin swabs made on 11 species were all negative. Even small,the amphibian species identified in the protected area represent ca. 30% of the anurans alreadyreported for Santa Fe, and 9% of the Argentinean batracofauna.
Liolaemus represents the most diverse group of saurians in South America. The species ofthis genus, inhabit different ecosystems characterized by their endemism, whose taxonomicknowledge increased from 1837 to date, mainly in Argentina and Chile, while in the PlurinationalState of Bolivia (Bolivia) the taxonomic and phylogenetic knowledge of the genus began to haverelevance from 2002 to date, properly guiding the real wealth that the country has. However, inBolivia, studies of population density, diet and reproduction began to be reported in the 1980s,studies of potential distribution began in 2007 and those related to thermal ecology began in2015. There is no doubt that taxonomic studies are strengthening the knowledge of the genusin Bolivia, which allows a precise understanding of the areas of endemism, important for biogeographicanalysis or modeling studies of potential distribution of species, thus prioritizingtheir conservation status. The lack of a comparative and taxonomic review of the specimensdeposited in scientific collections and the lack of information in areas where no prospectingwas carried out throughout the distribution of the genus in Bolivia, prolonged for a long timethe description of species that are waiting to be formally reported to the scientific communityand society, and then face studies in different disciplines. This work presents an update of thegenus Liolaemus richness in Bolivia, emphasizing the main works and advances in the lasteighteen years.
Taxonomic lists are important tools for understanding biodiversity and they provide informationat different scales about the species distributed within a region; as such, they allow us tounderstand the identities of the species that compose a given supra-specific taxon. While listsof the species of the genus Liolaemus have been published over the past few decades, providingtaxonomic and systematic information, these lists are now outdated and the number of validspecies within the genus has fluctuated rapidly over time and many taxonomic changes havegone unregistered. Although there are alternative means to consult this information, thesesources have suffered from a number of involuntary errors as well as some arbitrary omissionsor inclusions that have affected the dynamics of species inventories. In this work, we presentthe most complete taxonomic enumeration of the species of Liolaemus to date, including theavailable names for all of the valid and invalid species associated with these taxonomic changes.We recognize a total of 283 valid species in Liolaemus, along with another 65 invalid names.Fifteen taxa are recognized as species inquirenda, eight as nomina dubia, and two as nomina nuda.We hope that the careful review of each case and the exhaustive literature review will make thiswork a primary reference on South America's most speciose lizard genus.
Feeding ecology of a particular species is associated to population dynamics and contributes for the understanding of natural history and trophic interactions in ecosystems. We investigated changes in the feeding habits of 16 populations belonging to five cnemidophorine species (being four bisexual and one unisexual) along approximately 4000 km of the Brazilian eastern coast. Fieldwork was carried out in 15 areas of restinga habitats along approximately 4000 km of the Brazilian eastern coast. For each cnemidophorine population, the composition of the diet was based on the number, volume (mm 3 ) and frequency of each prey category.The arthropods were categorized in the taxonomic level of Order or Family (e.g.Formicidae). Cnemidophorine populations/species studied were mainly carnivorous and had, in general, a diet consisting predominantly of larvae and/or termites, with few consumptions of plant material. The availability of termites in the restinga habitats was not a determinant factor in the increase of termite consumption by these lizards. However, differences in diet composition among populations partially resulted from differential consumption of termites, leading to the formation of two distinct groups depending on higher or lesser consumption of termites. Some populations had onthonegetic variation, but males and females of different populations/species tended to have similar diet composition. The head width size of lizard affected significantly the volume and the length of the largest prey ingested in 60% (3/5) of the species studied, indicating that adults tend to consume larger food items than juveniles.The high level of importance of termites and larvae in almost all populations/species probably contributed to the low intra-and interspecific differences in food habit. The diet of cnemidophorine species studied in restinga habitats, in general, tend to be similar to that found to other cnemidophorines, regardless its geographic distribution. Invertebrates were the predominant prey on cnemidophorines diet, but predation on vertebrates was also reported.
Os lagartos Ameivula ocellifera e Tropidurus hispidus sao especies simpatricas na regiao do semiarido brasileiro. Apesar de serem consideradas modelos interessantes para estudos ecologicos, pouco se conhece sobre aspectos basicos de sua biologia, tais como parâmetros hematologicos. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar a contagem diferencial de leucocitos e descrever a morfometria dos eritrocitos e leucocitos nessas duas especies de lagartos, com enfase no hemoparasitismo por protozoarios intracelulares. Para tanto, 30 especimes (15 A. ocellifera e 15 T. hispidus ) foram utilizados para analise. Apos confeccao das lâminas, foi realizada a contagem diferencial de 100 leucocitos por lâmina. Alem disso, 20 eritrocitos e 15 leucocitos totais foram fotografados por lâmina para as analises morfometricas. As medidas foram aferidas para os parâmetros area, perimetro, eixos maximo e minimo, com as formulas da elipse utilizadas para area e perimetro. As diferencas interespecificas e intraespecificas (lagartos parasitados e nao parasitados) foram testadas para os parâmetros morfometricos dos eritrocitos, nucleo dos eritrocitos e leucocitos. A contagem diferencial mostrou que heterofilo foi o tipo celular predominante para ambas as especies de lagartos, enquanto basofilo foi o menos abundante para A. ocellifera e eosinofilo para T. hispidus . Quanto as medidas dos leucocitos, apenas o monocito diferiu significativamente entre as especies, maior em A. ocellifera , e intraespecificamente apenas para o parâmetro eixo minimo, maior em T. hispidus parasitado. Os eritrocitos diferiram interespecificamente quanto ao tamanho da celula e do nucleo, maiores em T. hispidus . Dentre os hemoparasitos, encontrados apenas em T. hispidus , Plasmodium sp. causou alteracoes mais discretas no eritrocito, enquanto Hepatozoon sp. causou macrocitose acentuada e hipocromia nessas celulas. De um modo geral, nao parece haver relacao entre a contagem diferencial de leucocitos e o hemoparasitismo.
La conservacion de la biodiversidad del monte y la estepa Patagonica ha recibido escasa atencion en comparacion con otros biomas. Para poder avanzar en acciones especificas de conservacion es importante proporcionar una base solida acerca de la biodiversidad de la zona. Para esto, es fundamental resolver multiples desafios taxonomicos, entre los cuales se incluye la descripcion de nuevas especies. Esta resolucion taxonomica es crucial para poder categorizar el estado de conservacion de los taxones estudiados. En este trabajo se describe y categoriza formalmente una nueva especie del genero Liolaemus . La misma fue hallada en areas aridas y hostiles de la region fitogeografica del monte, en la Provincia de Rio Negro, Argentina. Para su descripcion, se utilizaron caracteres de morfologia externa, morfometria, patron de coloracion y folidosis. Ademas, se presenta una hipotesis filogenetica basada en caracteres morfologicos, que recupera un clado conformado por la nueva especie, L. donosobarrosi y L. tirantii como grupo monofiletico, manteniendo las mismas relaciones de parentesco en la mayoria de los analisis realizados. La categoria de conservacion de la nueva especie se hizo en base al indice SUMIN modificado, utilizado por la Asociacion Herpetologica Argentina, dando como resultado la categoria de especie Vulnerable. La poblacion de esta nueva especie es muy escasa y a pesar de haber realizado una busqueda exhaustiva durante anos, el numero de ejemplares registrados es extremadamente bajo.
Two new species of lizards of the genus Liolaemus are presented for Peru, L. chungara and L. pleopholis.Both species were previously described for northern Chile, relatively close to the borderwith Peru. The range of distribution for L. chungara is extended by around 100 kilometers andfor L. pleopholis by around 170 kilometers. Both species were collected in high Andean environments,and their morphological characteristics agree with those of the species assigned here.
Os lagartos Squamata Tropiduros torquatus e Salvator merianae sao onivoros com diferentes dietas e estrategias forrageiras, ou que requerem respostas fisiologicas adequadas das celulas enteroendocrinas, uma vez que controlamos os eventos digestivos, a renovacao epitelial gastrointestinal, o metabolismo e a ingestao alimentar. Alem disso, pretendemos reduzir a distribuicao e frequencia de celulas endocrinas em nenhum ou nao tratamento digestivo de duas especies de lagartos. Cinco individuos de cada especie foram coletados, sacrificados e os orgaos digestivos removidos. Os cortes histologicos sao submersos utilizando as tecnicas de Grimelius para celulas argirofilicas e Masson-Fontana para celulas argentafin. Ambas as celulas endocrinas foram encontradas como um revestimento e um epitelio glandular, piramidal, oval, arredondado ou alongado. Celulas do forame argirofilico observadas em ambas as especies, predominantemente fora do estomago e esofago semicranial. Regiao pilorica de T. torquatus . O predominio de celulas endocrinas para o estomago pode estar relacionado, por exemplo, a uma maior permanencia de dois alimentos nesse orgao, do lado ou do lado oposto ao esofago. Devido a ausencia de celulas prata na porcao cerebral do intestino delgado e intrigante, e possivel revelar um maior controle neural sobre certas funcoes secretomotoras que circundam esse segmento. Concluimos que as variacoes interespecificas e inter-regionais na distribuicao e frequencia das celulas podem refletir as funcoes e mecanismos regulatorios de cada orgao, levando em consideracao tambem as oscilacoes do estado alimentar e nutricional de dois animais na natureza.
The gecko Lepidodactylus lugubris is native to southwest Pacific but is widely introduced into the neotropics. In Brazil, its known distribution was limited to the city of Belem in the Amazon. This work presents three new records of the species for the states of Para and Bahia. Records from Para were made in Capitao Poco and in Marajo island, while the third one was in Salvador, Bahia. We believe these records represent independent colonizations, with specimens arriving in Capitao Poco in auto-vehicles coming from Belem, while colonizations of Salvador and Breves may have occurred by ships. Introductions of L. lugubris were described as accidental or due to pet trade, so the latter alternative cannot be discarded. It seems likely that L. lugubris has already spread to other states and biomes across the north and northeast of Brazil, but its occurrence is yet to be documented in these regions.
In this paper, information is added and comments are made about two recently describedPeruvian species of Liolaemus from the montanus group: L. balagueri and L. qalaywa. WhenL. balagueri was described, differences from L. nazca was based on a phylogenetic analysis of asingle mitochondrial locus, but without including phenotypic diagnostic traits that might differentiatedthem. On the other hand, L. qalaywa description was based upon specimens fromApurimac department and intraspecific variation in meristic traits were missing. In this study,we added a molecular and morphological analyses between L. balagueri and L. nazca, supportingmore rigorously the separation between these two taxa. In addition, the geographic rangeof L. qalaywa is extended to Cusco department (southwestern Peru), intraspecific variation ofmorphological characteristics and geographic information up to 79 specimens are included,and the conservation issues of this species is commented.
The reptilian tongue has morphological and functional variations according to the feeding mechanisms and habitat of the species. This study aimed to understand the morphofunctional characteristics of the tongue of the lizard Salvator merianae , through anatomical, histological and scanning electron microscopy analyses. This experiment used five adult animals, which were collected in the municipality of Vicosa, Minas Gerais, from Brasil. The tongue of S. merianae was protractile and bifid, important to detect odors and locate prey, strongly muscular and with keratinized and pigmented stratified epithelium for protection. Mucous secretion was present as an important tool for lubrication and protection in view of the protrability of the tongue and the great presence of bacteria. Morphological specificities of the S. merianae tongue reflect its direct participation in feeding, with squamiform papillae for food apprehension. Taste buds were not found, which excludes the tongue participation in the taste.
Snakebite accidents are a neglected tropical disease worldwide recognized, and in Costa Rica the snakes Bothrops asper and Crotalus simus causes more than the 60% of the snakebite accidents reported. To fight this neglected disease, institutions need to establish and keep a venomous snake collection in order to extract the venom and produce the antivenom. The welfare of the snakes in captivity must be guaranteed, specially to old animals with defective venom production, which is the case of the Clodomiro Picado Institute. A surgical removal of the main venom gland was performed in five animals of B . asper and C . simus with none or low venom production, and the hematological parameters and plasma proteins were analyzed pre-surgery and for 90 days post-surgery. As result of the surgical procedure, the animals did not show anemia post-surgery, a heterophilia was found in respond to the invasive method, a relative monocytosis and lymphopenia at day one to three was also found, meaning that the surgical removal of the main venom gland is a safe procedure and did not affect the snake’s health. Additionally, the electrophoretic determination of the albumin:globulin ratio, is a good test to assess the body health condition in the snakes studied. Finally, the relative monocytosis and lymphopenia seems to be directly linked to a continuously handling of the snakes during consecutive days. with monocytes playing a key role in a stress respond, therefore, these relative monocytosis and lymphopenia values should be considered in the interpretation of stress leukogram reports.
Defensive behavior is an important mechanism for any animal survival, and understand their’s strategy improve our knowledge about prey-predator relationship. Herein, based on field observation, we describe a sequence of behaviors displayed by the dusky mud snake Pseudoeryx plicatilis from the Pantanal floodplains. The individual displayed five different defensive behaviors, and no sequence pattern was recognized. Two of them were new for the species, and although some of those defensive strategies have already been reported for other Hydropsini snakes, we found some differences in such behaviors displayed by P. plicatilis . The new repertory described here may suggest distinct prey-predator interactions from other water snakes within the tribe.
Se presentan dos nuevos registros de esta elusiva serpiente en Paraguay, de la cual no se conoce practicamente nada. Es por eso que consideramos de suma importancia estos registros departamentales para comprender mejor su distribucion.
The coloration pattern in wild animals is an important characteristic for survival as well as forintra and interspecific communication, being aberrant colorations rarely observed in vertebrates.Axanthism is the lack of yellow pigmentation, and considered an infrequent anomaly, for whichcases have been described in amphibians. We describe herein a case in the frog Pithecopusgonzagai, a species characterized by predominantly arboreal habits and widely distributed innortheastern Brazil. This is the first report of an axanthic adult specimen of P. gonzagai, foundin the municipality of Juazeiro do Norte, Ceara, Brazil.
