
Eric Nelson SmithThe University of Texas at Arlington | UTA · Department of Biology
Eric Nelson Smith
Ph.D.
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Publications (271)
Sumatra is widely recognized as a land bridge for the dispersal of amphibians between mainland Asia and the rest of the Indonesian Archipelago. Currently, six species of Microhyla are recognized in Sumatra: M. gadjahmadai, M. nakkavaram, M. palmipes, M. sundaica, M. superciliaris, and M. sriwijaya. Pradana et al. (2017) identified some Microhyla sp...
Baram River Frog (Pulchrana baramica) is a ranid species distributed in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra and represents the sole species from the genus Pulchrana on Java Island. Cryptic species are commonly encountered within the amphibian group which can cause confusion in the identification process. Due to the broad distribution range of P. b...
The rough teiid or water cork lizard (Echinosaura horrida) is a small reptile from Colombia and Ecuador placed in a genus that contains eight species and well‐known phylogenetic relationships. Here we provide a detailed description and illustrations, bone by bone, of its skull, while we discussed its intraspecific variation by comparing high‐resolu...
The region of Borneo is very interesting in its diversity of gekkonid lizards of the genus Cyrtodactylus. Until now, it is known to harbor 14 described species. Herein, we described a new member of this genus from the adjacent island of Maratua. Cyrtodactylus tehetehe sp. nov. is named after the specialty of the traditional cuisine of the Derawan I...
We present a taxonomic review and systematic revision of the Eyelash Palm-Pitviper Bothriechis schlegelii (Berthold, 1846) based on examination of 400 museum specimens, a phylogeographic analysis of 818 locality records, and 80 individuals sampled for molecular characters. We find morphological and phylogenetic support for five new species of Bothr...
We review morphology of Sunda Shelf Gonocephalus with an emphasis on Sumatran and Javan species. At least 15 species and subspecies inhabit Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and adjacent smaller continental islands. Following analysis of external morphology, we provide a dichotomous key to Sunda Shelf Gonocephalus and resolve two taxonomi...
A new species of Dipsas Laurenti, 1768, from Central Panama is described based on molecular analyses, hemipenial morphology, and external characters. This is the sixth species of Dipsas to be described for the country; the snake has been suspected to exist since 1977 and has not been thoroughly studied until now. Additionally, morphological compara...
Rivers are known to act as biogeographic barriers in several strictly terrestrial taxa, while possibly serving as conduits of dispersal for freshwater-tolerant or -dependent species. However, the influence of river systems on genetic diversity depends on taxa-specific life history traits as well as other geographic factors. In amphibians, several s...
We describe Sceloporus huichol sp. nov., a new species of spiny lizard of the genus Sceloporus, that is found in the mountainous regions of Jalisco and Nayarit in western Mexico. The new species belongs to the torquatus species group and has previously been confused with Sceloporus melanogaster, from which it differs by its smaller size, head color...
We report the presence of new populations of arlequin toads belonging to Atelopus palma-tus and A. nepiozomus species in the provinces of Pastaza and Loja respectively. These new findings allow us to re-evaluated and verify the conservation status of these two species. The information herein reported is a contribution to the knownlodge of the genus...
We evaluated the taxonomic status of the genus Megophrys in Sumatra using molecular and morphological data. Mitochondrial phylogenetic inference and morphological data revealed two undescribed species, one in southern Sumatra-M. selatanensis sp. nov. and one in northern Sumatra-M. acehensis sp. nov. We also detected a potential cryptic species with...
A tiny new species of narrow-mouthed frog of the genus Microhyla is described from the island of Belitung and southeastern Sumatra, Indonesia. The most distinctive feature of the new frog is its diminutive adult size, snout-vent length ranging only from 12.3 to 15.8 mm in adult males. Phylogenetic analyses based a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S...
We describe a new species of gymnophthalmid lizard, Oreosaurus bisbali sp. nov., from the Turimiquire Massif in northeastern Venezuela. It is one of three reptile species known to be endemic to the region and the fifth species of Oreosaurus from Venezuela. It can be distinguished from all congeners by a combination of rectangular dorsal scales at m...
A new species of natricine snake of the genus Rhabdophis is described from Northeast India. Morphologically the new species is similar to Rhabdophis himalayanus but it can be distinguished from it by lacking a nuchal groove and nuchal glands, being relatively smaller, and having a distinct neck, ventral, and subcaudal coloration. In overall colorat...
Java is one of Indonesia’s most densely populated islands with many long-neglected environmental issues, including snake envenomation and biodiversity decline. In an effort to promote snake conservation and mitigate human-snake encounters, particularly those resulting in snakebite, we here provide information on the composition, distribution, and h...
We describe a new species of the Gonocephalus megalepis group and provide new morphological and distribution data for the three other species of the group. The combination of a wide gap between the nuchal and dorsal crests, distinctly heterogenous scales on the flanks, a gular crest, two large tubercular scales ventral to the tympanum, and 97–125 s...
Despite a considerable amount of research, the systematics of the ranid genus Huia have remained unresolved, mostly owing to insufficient sampling and morphological similarities. As currently circumscribed, Huia consists of five species, but multiple studies have consistently demonstrated that it is not a monophyletic genus. However, no study has a...
Lizards of the genus Dendragama are endemic to the highland cloud forests of Sumatra’s Barisan Mountain Range in western Indonesia, and recent studies have uncovered widespread diversity within the genus. Here, a suite of morphological characters and mitochondrial DNA are used to compare three geographically isolated populations of D. boulengeri fr...
The genus Oxybelis currently is composed of four taxa despite numerous studies suggesting and describing multiple taxa within the O. aeneus complex. Here, we utilize a multilocus molecular dataset (i.e., cyt b, ND4, 12S, 16S, cmos, PRLR, 3663 bp) to conduct phylogenetic analyses to assess the evolutionary history of Oxybelis. Our molecular analyses...
Cancer chiefly occurs in vertebrates. Rare in amphibians, and perhaps common in reptiles, various neoplasms and malignant cancers have been reported with erratic frequency by museums, paleontologists, veterinarians, and pet hobbyists. Unsurprisingly, most herpetofaunal diversity has never been systematically surveyed for the presence of neoplasms o...
The bent-toed geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus are the most speciose land vertebrates of Southeast Asia (about 300 species so far) and new species continue to be recognized at a rapid rate. Within the last decade three new species were described from Java, Indonesia, C. semiadii, C. petani, and C. klakahensis. The latter two are very similar, exce...
Catastrophic events, such as volcanic eruptions, can have profound impacts on the demographic histories of resident taxa. Due to its presumed effect on biodiversity, the Pleistocene eruption of super‐volcano Toba has received abundant attention. We test the effects of the Toba eruption on the diversification, genetic diversity, and demography of th...
Snakes are one of the most dangerous animals with over 40 species of venomous snakes found in Pakistan. One such group of snakes belongs to genus Echis is saw scaled viper (Echis carinatus). Molecular techniques have made it easy to elucidate phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary histories of different groups of organisms. This study is the f...
We review morphology and systematics of Phoxophrys using new specimens of previously rare species. In addition to external characters, we relied heavily on skull morphology visualized using computed tomography data of all currently recognized species in this genus. Phylogenetic analysis of ND4, 12S, and 16S mDNA sequences reveal that Ph. tuberculat...
New world coralsnakes of the genus Micrurus are a diverse radiation of highly venomous and brightly colored snakes that range from North Carolina to Argentina. Species in this group have played central roles in developing and testing hypotheses about the evolution of mimicry and aposematism. Despite their diversity and prominence as model systems,...
Pakistan has more than 40 species of venomous snakes. One of them, the Common Krait (Bungarus caeruleus), is responsible for most of the reported snake bites followed by Russel's Viper, Saw-scaled Viper, and Black Cobra. Molecular studies not only help in correctly identifying organisms but also in finding the phylogenetic relationships and diversi...
Catastrophic events, such as volcanic eruptions, can have profound impacts on the demographic histories of resident taxa. Due to its presumed effect on biodiversity, the Pleistocene eruption of super-volcano Toba has received abundant attention. We test the effects of the Toba eruption on the diversification, genetic diversity, and demography of th...
Using a combination of morphological and molecular data we recognize three new species of Puppet Toad, Sigalegalephrynus Smart, Sarker, Arifin, Harvey, Sidik, Hamidy, Kurniawan & Smith, a recently described genus endemic to the highland forests of Sumatra, Indonesia. Phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences recovered a monophyletic rela...
Background: Snakes are found on every continent in the world except Antarctica, and on smaller land masses. Being ecologically important, they also cause a large number of bites, leading to millions of deaths. Mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences are being used to identify, characterize, and infer genetic biodiversity among different snake spec...
We describe a new species of frog in the microhylid genus Micryletta Dubois, 1987 from Northeast India based on molecular and morphological evidence. The new species, formally described as Micryletta aishani sp. nov., is phenotypically distinct from other congeners by a suite of morphological characters such as brown to reddish-brown dorsum; dorsal...
Micryletta inornata (Boulenger 1890), the type species of the genus Micryletta, was originally described from the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Subsequently, this species has been widely reported from Sundaland (Sumatra and Malay Peninsula), Indo-China, Northeast India and South Andaman, up to southern China and Taiwan. However, since the origina...
During the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt history, geological events related to its formation have produced barriers for highland species, favoring isolation and population diversification. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic relationships between amphibian populations from the highlands of the Santiago River Basin in Jalisco and Nayarit,...
A new species of frog in the genus Microhyla is described from Sumatra, Indonesia based on molecular and morphological characters. This new species was previously confused with M. achatina, a Javan endemic. This new species is diagnosable from its congeners by possessing a medium size (SVL in adult males 18.20–21.32 mm, in adult females 20.37–25.51...
A new genus and species of colubroid snake is described from the isolated highlands of western Chiapas. This enigmatic little snake possesses a unique suite of characters that defies placing it in any known genus and clearly distinguishes it from all known genera. Several of the most unusual features include subcaudals undivided throughout the leng...
The tricarinate skink Scincus multifasciatus was described by Kuhl in 1820, without the subsequent designation of a type specimen or specific type locality. In 1930, Mertens assigned the type locality as Java, Indonesia, but still with no type specimen. Therefore, in order to
stabilize the name with a recognized type specimen, we designate a neotyp...
Cancer chiefly occurs in vertebrates. Rare in amphibians, and perhaps common in reptiles, various neoplasms and malignant cancers have been reported with erratic frequency by museums, paleontologists, veterinarians, and pet hobbyists. Unsurprisingly, most herpetofaunal diversity has never been systematically surveyed for the presence of neoplasms o...
Registramos por primera vez la culebra Coniophanes lateritius para el estado de Guerrero
Megophrys lancip sp. nov., from the Bukit Barisan mountain range of southwestern Sumatra, Indonesia, is described on the basis of molecular and morphological evidence. The new species is distinguished from its congeners in Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and the Philippines by having a medium-sized body, snout with an extremely pointed rostral appendage, a...
A new species of hylid frog is described from the southwestern edge of the Mexican Plateau from the states of Morelos and Mexico through Michoacán and Jalisco, reaching the Sierra Madre Occidental in Sinaloa and western Durango. The new species is part of the widespread Mexican hylid Sarcohyla bistincta (sensu amplo) complex, comprised of S. bistin...
Frogs of the genus Pelophryne are easily recognizable with their distinctive diminutive size and almost fully-webbed hands. However, morphologically they are difficult to differentiate to each other at the species level. Also, the taxonomic relationship of the genus Pelophryne has long been unresolved and debated. Particularly, two species, P. sign...
In this data article we present species trees based on coalescent species delimitation results for North American whipsnakes, as well as metadata pertaining to the article “The effect of missing data on coalescent species delimitation and a taxonomic revision of whipsnakes (Colubridae: Masticophis)” (MPE-2017-76-R1). Species trees were constructed...
Delimiting species is a crucial goal of integrative biology, and yet can be misled by homoplasy and high levels of morphological variation. The snake tribe Sonorini contains three genera that have long confounded taxonomists: Chilomeniscus, Chionactis and Sonora. Dynamic colour evolution in this group, including rampant geographic variation in colo...
The presence of an adhesive abdominal sucker (gastromyzophory) allows tadpoles of certain species of anurans to live in fast-flowing streams. Gastromyzophorous tadpoles are rare among anurans, known only in certain American bufonids and Asian ranids. To date, Huia sumatrana , which inhabits cascading streams, has been the only Sumatran ranid known...
With the use of a concordance and a mitochondrial tree-morphological character congruence approach, we show that recently discovered populations of Lophocalotes represent a new species. Like its only known congener, the new species occurs only on Sumatra in montane forests above 1000 m. The new species differs from L. ludekingi in having more gular...
A stable alpha taxonomy is essential to understanding evolutionary processes and achieving effective conservation aims. Taxonomy depends on the identification of independently evolving lineages, and the delimitation of these lineages based on multiple lines of evidence. Coalescent species delimitation within an integrative framework has increased t...
Geological and climatological processes can drive the synchronous diversification of co-distributed species. The islands of Sumatra and Java have experienced complex geological and climatological histories, including extensive sea-level changes and the formation of valleys between northern, central, and southern components of the Barisan Mountain R...
Aim
This study seeks to understand the geological and climatological processes that have promoted biodiversity on the Sunda Shelf in Southeast Asia. Using the parachuting frog genus Rhacophorus , we estimate divergence times and quantify the respective contributions of between and within‐island diversification to species richness and endemism.
Loc...
We describe a new species of coralsnake from northern Dinagat Island, southeastern Philippines. The discovery of this new speciescomes as a surprise because it is phenotypically distinct from all other Philippine coralsnakes and has a close phylogenetic affinity to the bluecoralsnakes of the Sunda Shelf. The new species is distinguished from all Ph...
The phylogenetic relationship among the major colubrid snakes, particularly those of the subfamily Colubrinae, has been the subject of much debate. Also, there was limited data on the molecular relationships of Sundaland colubrid snakes. This study aimed to examine the relationships among colubrid snakes from Sumatra and Java based on fragments of...
We conduct species delimitation of the widespread parachuting frog species Rhacophorus catamitus using samples from across the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. We use mitochondrial, genomic and morphological data, and find that R. catamitus is composed of three lineages corresponding to northern, central and southern lineages. Mitochondrial and genomi...
We discovered new populations of Dendragama at the northern and southern ends of Sumatra. High genetic distances and concordance of multiple, apparently independent diagnostic characters support our descriptions of these two populations as new species. We define new characters of the sublabial, tympanic, dorsal crest, and dorsolateral crest scales....
This paper is the first taxonomic treatment of Sumatran Philautus since the early 20th century. We redescribe P. cornutus and P. petersi from new specimens, restrict P. petersi to Great Natuna Island, and reinstate the name P. larutensis for the populations on Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sumatra. We then synonymize P. similis with P. larutensi...
We describe three new species of centipede-eating snakes in the Tantilla taeniata species group. These new species come from the vicinities of three river drainage valleys in Honduras. One of the new species has a narrow vertebral stripe and comes from foothills of Sierra de Botaderos and Sierra de Agalta, on both sides of the lower drainage of the...
The Greater Sunda region of South-east Asia supports a rich diversity of economically and ecologically important species. However, human pressures are reshaping contemporary biogeography across the region. Megafaunal distributional patterns have been particularly affected because of deforestation, poaching and human–wildlife conflict. Crocodilians...
Allopatric divergence following the formation of geographical features has been implicated as a major driver of evolutionary diversification. Widespread species complexes provide opportunities to examine allopatric divergence across varying degrees of isolation in both time and space. In North America, several geographical features may play such a...
We describe a new species of Pseudocalotes from montane forests of the central, western coast of Sumatra. The combination of 3 or 4 interoculabials, slightly enlarged and heavily keeled scales on the lower flanks, a white scapular spot, a relatively long fifth toe, bicarinate lamellae at the base of Toe III, absence of a postrictal modified scale,...
Meristic and molecular data provide evidence for an exceptional multi-chromatic defensive strategy in an Indian coralsnake, Calliophis bibroni from the state of Kerala. We propose a mimicry hypothesis involving a combination of an ontogenetic colour shift at maturity, from initial Müllerian mimicry with a subtropical Indian coralsnake Sinomicrurus...
We describe a new genus and two new species of toads from the Sumatran volcanoes Gunung Sorikmarapi and G. Kunyit, in the provinces of Sumatera Utara and Jambi, respectively. The new taxa can be distinguished from other genera, and each other, based on genetic differentiation, morphology, and advertisement call structure. We employ both nuclear and...
Sceloporus lizards depend on external heat to achieve their preferred temperature (Tse1 ) for performing physiological processes. Evidence both in the field and laboratory indicates that pregnant females of this genus select body temperatures (Tb ) lower than 34°C as higher temperatures may be lethal to embryos. Therefore, thermoregulation is cruci...