Among the currently recognized species of Alopoglossus, the Amazonian Alopoglossus angulatus has the widest distribution. We here analyse variation in scutellation and morphometrics of A. angulatus by examining 785 specimens of Alopoglossus. We also analyse intra- and interspecific genetic structure and differentiation using two mitochondrial (Cytb and ND4) and two nuclear (SNCAIP and PRLR) genes from 97 samples. Both morphological and molecular analyses are based on specimens and samples from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru and Suriname. Our results reveal A. angulatus as a monophyletic group composed of eight independently evolved lineages: A angulatus as. plus three revalidated species plus two newly described species plus two putative species. We provide descriptions of all taxa, except for the putative species, including the first description of the neotype of A angulatus and redescriptions of resurrected junior synonyms. Illustrations, diagnoses and geographical distribution maps are provided. Gene and species trees are also provided. The two new taxa recognized in this paper, along with the revalidation of three taxa, increase the total number of known species of Alopoglossus from nine to 14.

Neotropical sipo snakes (Chironius) are large diurnal snakes with a long tail and big eyes that differ from other Neotropical snakes in having 10 or 12 dorsal scale rows at midbody. The 22 currently recognized species occur from Central America south to Uruguay and northeastern Argentina. Based on the largest geographical sampling to date including similar to 90% of all species, we analyzed one nuclear and three mitochondrial genes using phylogenetic methods to (1) test the monophyly of Chironius and some of its widely distributed species; (2) identify lineages that could represent undescribed species; and (3) reconstruct ancestral distributions. Our best hypothesis placed C. grandisquamis (Chocoan Rainforest) + C. challenger (Pantepui) as sister to all other species. Based on phylogeny and geographic distribution, we identified 14 subclades as putative species within Chironius fuscus, C. multiventris (including C. foveatus and C. laurenti), C. monticola, and C. exoletus. Under current taxonomy, these species show nearly twice as much genetic diversity as other species of Chironius for ND4. Biogeographical analyses using BioGeoBEARS suggest that current distribution patterns of Chironius species across South America resulted from multiple range expansions. The MRCA of the clade C. challenger + C. grandisquamis was most likely distributed over the Pantepui region, the Andes, and the Chocoan Rainforest, whereas the remaining lineages probably evolved from an Amazonian ancestor.

BackgroundThe white-naped squirrel, Simosciurus nebouxii (previously known as Sciurus stramineus), has recently been identified as an important natural host for Trypanosoma cruzi in Ecuador. The nests of this species have been reported as having high infestation rates with the triatomine vector Rhodnius ecuadoriensis. The present study aims to determine the levels of nest infestation with R. ecuadoriensis, the ecological variables that are influencing the nest site selection, and the relationship between R. ecuadoriensis infestation and trypanosome infection.ResultsThe study was carried out in transects in forest patches near two rural communities in southern Ecuador. We recorded ecological information of the trees that harbored squirrel nests and the trees within a 10 m radius. Manual examinations of each nest determined infestation with triatomines. We recorded 498 trees (n = 52 with nests and n = 446 without nests). Rhodnius ecuadoriensis was present in 59.5% of the nests and 60% presented infestation with nymphs (colonization). Moreover, we detected T. cruzi in 46% of the triatomines analyzed.ConclusionsWe observed that tree height influences nest site selection, which is consistent with previous observations of squirrel species. Factors such as the diameter at breast height and the interaction between tree height and tree species were not sufficient to explain squirrel nest presence or absence. However, the nest occupancy and tree richness around the nest were significant predictors of the abundance of triatomines. Nevertheless, the variables of colonization and infection were not significant, and the data observed could be expected because of chance alone (under the null hypothesis). This study ratifies the hypothesis that the ecological features of the forest patches around rural communities in southern Ecuador favor the presence of nesting areas for S. nebouxii and an increase of the chances of having triatomines that maintain T. cruzi populations circulating in areas near human dwellings. Additionally, these results highlight the importance of including ecological studies to understand the dynamics of T. cruzi transmission due to the existence of similar ecological and land use features along the distribution of the dry forest of southern Ecuador and northern Peru, which implies similar challenges for Chagas disease control.

We describe two new species of Anolis lizard that are sympatric on the Amazonian slopes of the Andes of southern Ecuador at elevations between 1440 and 1970m. The new species may be distinguished from other Anolis by external anatomy, mitochondrial divergence and dewlap colour. We estimate the phylogenetic positions of the new species using Bayesian analysis of DNA sequence data including all species of Dactyloa-clade Anolis for which DNA data are available. Anolis hyacintogularis sp. nov. is sister to Anolis calimae, whereas Anolis lososi sp. nov. is sister to Anolis williamsmittermeierorum, herein reported for Ecuador for the first time. Individuals of both new species were collected within a protected area in southern Ecuador, Podocarpus National Park, which suggests that at least some populations of these species are well protected.www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E55FA804-E3FD-4412-8FEB-5234E29E272D

We performed a systematic review of the genus Anadia in Ecuador to delimit species based on several lines of evidence: external morphology, hemipenes, coloration, DNA sequences and geographical distribution. We describe a new species, Anadia buenaventura sp. nov., which is distinguished from other species of Anadia by presenting a pattern of coloration with light dorsolateral bands and paravertebral rows of dark spots, as well as fewer scales around the body. We also present new data on the distribution of Anadia petersi Oftedal and a molecular phylogeny that suggests that Anadia rhombifera (Günther) is a complex of species that requires further taxonomic work that should include material from Colombia.

Nearly 50% of the diversity of the speciose Neotropical lizard clade Gymnophthalmidae is nested within the subclade Cercosaurinae. The taxonomy of Cercosaurinae lizards has been historically confusing because many diagnostic characters of those clades traditionally ranked as genera do not represent true diagnostic apomorphies. Even though molecular phylogenies of several 'genera' have been presented in the last few years, some of them remain poorly sampled (e.g., Anadia, Echinosaura, Potamites, Riama). In this paper we present a more comprehensive phylogeny of Cercosaurinae lizards with emphasis on Andean taxa from Ecuador and Peru, as well as a time-calibrated phylogeny with reconstruction of ancestral areas. Our analysis includes 52% of all recognized species of Cercosaurinae (67 species) and 1914 characters including three mitochondrial and one nuclear gene. We find that Anadia, Echinosaura, Euspondylus, Potamites, Proctoporus, and Riama are not monophyletic: the Tepuian Anadia mcdiarmidi is not sister to Andean species of Anadia; Echinosaura sulcarostrum is not included in the same clade formed by other species of Echinosaura and their more recent common ancestor; Teuchocercus is nested within Echinosaura; species of Euspondylus included in this study are nested within Proctoporus; Riama laudahnae is included in Proctoporus; and Potamites is paraphyletic and split in two separate clades, one of which we name Gelanesaurus, also a new genus-group name. Within Potamites, P. ecpleopus is paraphyletic, and P. strangulatus strangulatus and P. strangulatus trachodus are recognized as two distinct species. We also identify three unnamed clades (i.e., not nested within any of the recognized 'genera') from Andean populations in Ecuador and Peru. The estimated age of the clade Cercosaurinae (∼60Ma) corresponds to the early stages of the northern Andes. Even though the distribution of the most recent common ancestor of Cercosaurinae remains equivocal, our analysis shows that these lizards colonized and radiated along the northern Andes before reaching the central Andes in Peru. Finally, we present phylogenetic definitions for some of the recovered clades to promote a clear and precise classification of Cercosaurinae lizards.

The generalist parasite Trypanosoma cruzi has two phylogenetic lineages associated almost exclusively with bats—Trypanosoma cruzi Tcbat and the subspecies T. c. marinkellei. We present new information on the genetic variation, geographic distribution, host associations, and potential vectors of these lineages. We conducted field surveys of bats and triatomines in southern Ecuador, a country endemic for Chagas disease, and screened for trypanosomes by microscopy and PCR. We identified parasites at species and genotype levels through phylogenetic approaches based on 18S ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA) and cytochrome b (cytb) genes and conducted a comparison of nucleotide diversity of the cytb gene. We document for the first time T. cruzi Tcbat and T. c. marinkellei in Ecuador, expanding their distribution in South America to the western side of the Andes. In addition, we found the triatomines Cavernicola pilosa and Triatoma dispar sharing shelters with bats. The comparisons of nucleotide diversity revealed a higher diversity for T. c. marinkellei than any of the T. c. cruzi genotypes associated with Chagas disease. Findings from this study increased both the number of host species and known geographical ranges of both parasites and suggest potential vectors for these two trypanosomes associated with bats in rural areas of southern Ecuador. The higher nucleotide diversity of T. c. marinkellei supports a long evolutionary relationship between T. cruzi and bats, implying that bats are the original hosts of this important parasite.

Among Neotropical lizards, the geographically widespread gymnophthalmid Cercosaura as currently defined includes lowland and highland taxa from Panama to Argentina, with some species occurring in the northern Andes. In this study we analyze three mitochondrial (12S, 16S, ND4) and one nuclear (c-mos) gene using Bayesian methods to clarify the phylogenetic relationships among most species of Cercosaura based on a well-supported phylogenetic hypothesis that also includes a large sample of other taxa within Cercosaurini. The phylogenetic tree obtained in this paper shows that Cercosaura as currently defined is not monophyletic. Two species from the northern Andes (C. dicra and C. vertebralis) are nested within Pholidobolus, which has been formerly recognized as a major radiation along the Andes of Ecuador and Colombia. Therefore, Cercosaura has probably not diversified in the northern Andes, although the phylogenetic position of C. hypnoides from the Andes of Colombia remains unknown. Tree topology and genetic distances support both recognition of C. ocellata bassleri as a distinct species, C. bassleri, and recognition of C. argula and C. oshaughnessyi as two different species. In the interest of promoting clarity and precision regarding the names of clades of gymnophthalmid lizards, we propose a phylogenetic definition of Cercosaura.

We describe a new species of Pholidobolus lizard from the Amazonian slopes of the Andes of southern Ecuador. Among other characters, the new species differs from other species of Pholidobolus in having a distinct diagonal white stripe extending from the fourth genial scale to the fore limb. We present a phylogeny based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data as additional evidence supporting delimitation of the new species, which is sister to all other species of Pholidobolus. Our phylogeny further supports the south-to-north speciation hypothesis proposed for other lizard clades from the northern Andes.

We describe a new species of Alopoglossus from the Pacific slopes of the Andes in northern Ecuador based on morphological and molecular evidence. The new species differs most significantly from all other congeners in having a double longitudinal row of widened gular scales, lanceolate dorsal scales in transverse rows, 29-32 dorsal scales in a transverse row at midbody, and 4 longitudinal rows of ventrals at midbody. It is most similar in morphology to A. festae, the only species of Alopoglossus currently recognized in western Ecuador. We analyze the phylogenetic relationships among species of Alopoglossus based on the mitochondrial gene ND4. Cis-Andean [east of the Andes] and Trans-Andean [west of the Andes] species are nested in two separate clades, suggesting that the uplift of these mountains had an important effect in the diversification of Alopoglossus. In addition, we present an updated key to the species of Alopoglossus.

Herein we report the second record for Lonchophylla hesperia in Ecuador, and the first one since 1939. We captured an adult male in a mountainous dry valley at Comunidad San Jacinto, Catamayo Valley, Loja Province, southwestern Ecuador. The dominant landscape consists of agricultural lands, mainly of corn fields and pastures; while the natural forest is restricted to small patches. A description of the species’ shelter and a predictive distribution model in Peru and Ecuador are presented, indicating the areas between the two countries were the habitat is climatically suitable for its presence.