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Introduction
Fabio Maria Guarino currently works at the Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II.
My current research activity concerns:
- study of the bone of amphibians, reptiles and mammals, with special reference to the structural and skeletochronological aspects.
- Palaeohistological studies of skeletal remains from archaeological sites, with particular reference to their degree of conservation
- Monitoring and conservation of the Italian herpetofauna
Project: Building a Future for Malagasy Amphibians
Current institution
Additional affiliations
November 1995 - present
Publications
Publications (204)
Even if amphibian extinction risks are high, their population dynamics are still poorly investigated. This is true for several Italian amphibian populations whose declines have been reported in a few studies focusing on a limited sample. This is the case of Rana italica, a species endemic to Italy whose ecology has been insufficiently explored so f...
Amphibians constitute a very good model to explore the historical aspects of species distributions due to their low dispersal capacity and low individual vagility. Bufonidae are one of the most speciose family of Anura, including taxa, such as Bufo bufo, widespread in Eurasian regions. We performed a karyological study with standard and sequential...
The knowledge of the life history traits of cetaceans, especially in the case of species that are difficult to observe in the wild, often benefits from the study of stranded individuals. The dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) is a vagrant cetacean species in the Mediterranean Sea, which is rarely sighted in water and occasionally is found stranded alon...
Satellite DNA (sat-DNA) was previously described as junk and selfish DNA in the cellular economy, without a clear functional role. However, during the last two decades, evidence has been accumulated about the roles of sat-DNA in different cellular functions and its probable involvement in tumorigenesis and adaptation to environmental changes. In mo...
Bottom left: The Tenerife lizard (Gallotia galloti) lives from sea-level until the top of a volcanic cone (in the background) 3,700 metres high in the island of Tenerife, Spain; photograph by Rodrigo Megía-Palma; pp. 2042–2056.
The studies conducted over the last five years, thanks to the cooperation between ARPAC (Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of Campania) and research entities in Campania and elsewhere, which are still ongoing, have updated the list of cetacean species observed in Campania, with new reports such as the Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus),...
In the Mediterranean basin 24 species of cetaceans are known: 11 are regular and live, breed and feed and 13 are irregular, rare or accidental. These species are common in all the oceans (cosmopolitan species) and therefore none of them is endemic. In the coastal waters of the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, five of the 24 Medite...
Aim
Physiological and metabolic performance are key mediators of the functional response of species to environmental change. Few environments offer such a multifaceted array of stressors as high‐altitude habitats, which differ markedly in temperature, water availability, UV radiation and oxygen pressure compared to low‐altitude habitats. Species th...
Simple Summary
The Asian common toad Duttaphrynus melanostictus represents a serious threat to the biodiversity of Madagascar, where it was introduced in around 2010. Here, we study some traits of its life history, including its body size, age structure, and age at sexual maturity based on individuals sampled at different sites of Toamasina, on the...
Simple Summary
We implemented a molecular and phylogenetic analysis and a comparative karyological investigation with standard and chromosome banding methods on different taxa of the endemic Malagasy velvet geckos of the genus Blaesodactylus. We present the description of the karyotype of three different taxa and a characterization of the chromosom...
Evolutionary shifts in chromosome compositions (karyotypes) are major drivers of lineage and genomic diversification. Fusion of ancestral chromosomes is one hypothesized mechanism for the evolutionary reduction of the total chromosome number; a frequently implied karyotypic shift. Empirical tests of this hypothesis require model systems with variab...
Simple Summary
Polyploidization, or whole-genome duplication (WGD), represents a dramatic event in evolution. Although its occurrence is much rarer in animals than in plants, distinct WGDs characterize the stem lineages of vertebrates and teleosts. In tetrapods, true polyploids have been described in all major groups and include a wide range of gen...
Despite the growing interest in the evolutionary cytogenetics of squamates, chromosomal data are lacking for most taxa. We performed a preliminary molecular taxonomic analysis and a comparative cytogenetic study on Hemorrhois hippocrepis and Malpolon monspessulanus. We used a combination of standard karyotyping, Chromomycin A 3 /Methyl green staini...
Transposable elements (TEs) constitute a considerable fraction of eukaryote genomes representing a major source of genetic variability. We describe two DNA sequences isolated in the lizard Zootoca vivipara, here named Zv516 and Zv817. Both sequences are single-copy nuclear sequences, including a truncation of two transposable elements (TEs), SINE S...
Simple Summary
Several life-history traits of Mediterranean sperm whales are little explored. We present new original data on the relationships between age and body length and age at maturity of individuals stranded along the Italian coast. We found that Mediterranean male sperm whales attain sexual maturity at 10 years and for the same body length...
Because of their peculiar genomic and chromosomal characteristics, reptiles are extraordinary model organisms to study karyotype and sex chromosome evolution, but despite the growing interest in their evolutionary cytoge-netics, only a small fraction of species have a known karyotype. We performed a comparative cytogenetic analysis on Elaphe quatuo...
We investigate the change in Bidder's organ size in the invasive Asian common toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) across the year.
Simple Summary
The geckos of the genus Uroplatus include peculiar endemic species to Madagascar. Even though they have been the subject of several morphological and molecular studies, karyological analyses have been performed only on U. phantasticus, leaving the chromosomal diversity of the genus completely unexplored. In this study, we performed a...
The fin whale Balaenoptera physalus is a large rorqual species occurring worldwide, mainly in temperate and subpolar zones. In contrast to many baleen whales, not all the fin whale populations show the same model of migration. In fact, migratory behaviours of this latter species range from long seasonal migration between high and low latitudes to a...
We performed a molecular and cytogenetic analysis on different Mantellinae species and revised the available chromosomal data on this group to provide an updated assessment of its karyological diversity and evolution. Using a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA, we performed a molecular taxonomic identification of the samples that were used for...
Atti IX Congresso Nazionale della Societas Herpetologica Italica (Bari - Conversano, 26-30 settembre 2012). Pineta, Conversano (BA): 262-265. ISBN 9 78-88-908-7160-3
Simple Summary
The superfamily Helicoidea is a large and diverse group of Eupulmonata. The superfamily has been the subject of several molecular and phylogenetic studies which greatly improved our knowledge on the evolutionary relationships and historical biogeography of many families. In contrast, the available karyological information on Helicoid...
Lizards represent unique model organisms in the study of sex determination and sex chromosome evolution. Among tetrapods, they are characterized by an unparalleled diversity of sex determination systems, including temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) and genetic sex determination (GSD) under either male or female heterogamety. Sex chromoso...
Here we report the results of a longitudinal field study (2002-2018) aimed at monitoring the presence and the breeding activity of the Italian Green Toad, Bufotes balearicus, within the area of the administrative boundaries of Naples. We identified breeding sites in five sub-areas (Bagnoli-ex sito industriale, Mostra d'Oltremare, Parco del Poggio,...
Simple Summary
The Lycian salamanders of the genus Lyciasalamandra are characterized by a debated taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships. They have been the subject of various molecular and phylogenetic analyses, but their chromosomal diversity is completely unknown. We here present a comparative cytogenetic analysis on five out of the seven descr...
The land snail taxon Helix straminea Briganti, 1825 has been reintroduced as a valid species in 2014. We provide here a comprehensive account of its taxonomy, distribution, anatomy, phylogeny and karyology in Italy. An overview of the historical views on the validity of the species is presented and faunistic data are reviewed and implemented with n...
The knowledge of demographic traits such as longevity, growth rates and age at sexual maturity is crucial for understanding the structure of a population in its natural environment and implementing appropriate strategies for its management and conservation. Based on counts of growth layer groups in sections of decalcified teeth using the paraffin t...
The genus Matoatoa includes two Malagasy endemic species, M. brevipes and M. spannringi. Due to their cryptic behaviour, the two species are known only from a handful of specimens and have been included in few molecular studies. Here we carried out a molecular barcoding analysis using a fragment of the mitochondrial NADH dehy-drogenase subunit 2 (N...
Information on demographic and life-history traits of endangered vertebrate species, such as sea turtles, is crucial for planning management and conservation actions. We applied skeletochronology of phalanges to estimate the age of loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta , found dead stranded along the beaches of Campania (western Mediterranean) from 2...
The data presented in this paper stand as supplementary information of the associated article " Karyological characterization of the common chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) provides insights on the evolution and diversification of sex chromosomes in Chamaeleonidae" [1].This work provides (i) raw experimental data on the karyology of the common cham...
Chameleons display high karyological diversity in chromosome number (from 2n = 20 to 62), morphology, heterochromatin distribution and location of specific chromosomal markers, making them unique study models in evolutionary cytogenetics. However, most available cytogenetic data are limited to the description of the chromosome number and morphology...
Background: Endemic fluorosis induced by high concentrations of fluoride in groundwater and soils is a major health problem in several countries, particularly in volcanic areas.
Aim: To evaluate the occurrence of dental fluorosis resulting from exposure to high levels of environmental fluoride in 79 AD Herculaneum and close Vesuvius towns.
Subjects...
We characterized the body size (as snout-vent length), age, sexual size dimorphism, and growth rate in a population of one of the larger riparian frog from Madagascar (Mantidactylus grandidieri) from a rainforest patch close to Vevembe, SE Madagascar. We identified a significant female-biased sexual size dimorphism. Age was estimated using phalange...
The common lizard (Zootoca vivipara) displays characteristic cytogenetic, reproductive, molecular, and biogeographic variability. This species comprises oviparous and viviparous populations with disjunct distribution and sex chromosome polymorphisms, from simple ZZ/ZW to complex Z1Z1Z2Z2/Z1Z2W systems with different morphologies of the W chromosome...
Polyploidy is exceptional in mammals and rare in reptiles. Unscheduled polyploidy often leads to cell disorders
and cancer through genomic rearrangements that can be difficult to trace and is particularly poorly studied in non-model vertebrates. In the present paper, using a combination of banding and Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) tech...
In this work, we performed a biogeographic analysis with Bayesian binary MCMC (BBM) statistical dispersal-vicariance analysis (S-DIVA) and species distribution models (SDM) on three phylogenetically closely related Mediterranean whipsnakes (Hierophis gemonensis, H. carbonarius, H. viridiflavus), to investigate the pathways of their geographical div...
Data on the age at sexual maturity and longevity of some mantellid species of the genera Boophis, Gephyromantis, and Mantidactylus that inhabit the low altitude rainforest of Masoala (northeastern Madagascar) are presented. Counts of lines of arrested growth (LAGs) were used to calculate longevity in these species; these data contribute to assessme...
Except for polyploidy, parthenogenesis and hybridogenesis, the role of chromosome rearrangements in speciation is still highly debated. This paper highlights an unusual karyotype diversification and a putative case of chromosomal speciation in the endemic Malagasy tomato frogs.The tomato frogs include Dyscophus insularis as well as the sister speci...
In thermally damaged archaeological bones the quantity, quality, and amplifiability of DNA are very much reliant on both the extent of heating and the environmental conditions of the burial context. In this study we tested the possibility of extracting and amplifying ancient DNA from human bone remains of Herculaneum victims of the 79 AD eruption o...
We report a new record of the Dwarf Sperm Whale Kogia sima (Owen, 1866) (Cetacea
Kogiidae) in the Mediterranean Sea, following the stranding of a dead female of this species
occurred on 4th February 2017. The specimen was found at the Trentova seaside near Agropoli
(Salerno Province, Southern Italy) within the area of the Cilento, Vallo di Diano an...
The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009;...
This plot is not part of the published stance but derives from it. The plot shows the number of authors by geographic region (courtesy of Dr. Diego Astua).
The stranding of a suckling calf of Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) on the
coast near Salerno (Campania, Southern Italy) is reported. The molecular analysis of a partial
sequence of the mitochondrial DNA control region shows that the animal bore a haplotype identical
to haplotype Ba169 considered as typical of individuals from North...
Anatomia comparata: alla ricerca dell’antenato comune. L’obiettivo fondamentale dello studio anatomico comparativo è la ricostruzione della filogenesi, dei caratteri informativi di un’ascendenza comune e questa nuova opera editoriale si pone come base per acquisire le conoscenze sulla morfologia descrittiva e funzionale e per valutare i principali...
In this study, the authors tested the usefulness of postpygal caudal vertebrae and osteoderms for the assessment of individual age in the limbless lizard Anguis veronensis Pollini, 1818, employing the skeletochronological method. The results showed that osteoderm-based skeletochronology was unreliable, since within any specimen examined the number...
We performed a phylogenetic analysis using nuclear (RAG-1, RAG-2) and mitochondrial (16S)
markers, a statistical Bayesian reconstruction of ancestral distribution areas and a karyological
analysis on most Malagasy species of the gekkonid genus Lygodactylus. The phylogenetic analysis
largely confirms major basal branching pattern of previous molecul...
Blindsnakes are poorly studied reptiles from the karyological point of view since chromosomal data are only known for eight out of more than 420 species. The present paper shows the results of a karyological study conducted by means of standard and banding staining (Ag-NOR-banding and C-banding plus CMA and DAPI fluorochromomes) on three typhlopid...
Due to their particular phylogenetic position and biological characteristics, squamate reptiles and, in particular, snakes are becoming an increasingly important model for fields such as evolutionary biology, molecular ecology and adaptation. Recently, during a study to analyze the evolutionary history of European whip
snakes, we found a LINE1 (L1)...
We studied population size and age structure of the sand lizard Lacerta agilis Linnaeus 1758, from northwest Italian Alps. Twenty-nine (9 males, 15 females, 5 juveniles) and 19 (8 males, 5 females, 6 juveniles) lizards were captured in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Adult population size, estimated by capture-markrecapture, was 54 individuals in 2011...
Karyological studies continue to clarify the evolutionary history of many taxa. We report here on the first chromosome survey of the frog Pseudhymenochirus merlini (Pipidae) in comparison with the related species Hymenochirus boettgeri.
In addition to the 2n = 20 regular (A) chromosomes (eight metacentric and two subtelocentric pairs), H. boettgeri...
We used a multidisciplinary approach to infer the taxonomy and historical biogeography of Hierophis viridiflavus and H. gemonensis, performing molecular analyses of mitochondrial (16S, Cyt-b, ND4) and nuclear markers (PRLR), a landmark-based morphometric study and a cytogenetic analysis. Our data distinguished three main groups in the studied speci...
Here we communicate the finding of an adult of Ocellated Skink, Chalcides ocellatus in the ex Royal Park of Portici, near Naples, Italy. This finding is of particular interest because this species has been no longer reported in Portici for about twenty years, the only site so far documented in mainland Italy, where it was introduced from the mid-ei...
Data on mean longevity and age structure of Rana italica are very scanty. Skeletochronological data comparisons with other European brown frogs showed that life span of R. italica is similar to those of other congeneric species. In this study we report the age structure of a population of R. italica from Central Italy with a new record of species m...
We applied skeletochronological methodology to assess the age and growth in one of the largest living anurans, the mountain chicken Leptodactylus fallax. We analysed bone cross-sections obtained from wild animals found dead after a chytrid outbreak in Montserrat in 2009, and from captive individuals which are part of a breeding program at Jersey Zo...
In this first cytogenetic survey on the lamprophiid snake subfamily Pseudoxyrhophiinae, we studied the karyology of ten snake species belonging to seven genera from Madagascar (Compsophis, Leioheterodon, Liophidium, Lycodryas, Madagascarophis, Phisalixella and Thamnosophis) using standard and banding methods. Our results show a wide range of differ...
Lepidosaurs are frequently described as having highly kinetic skulls, and different forms of cranial kinesis have been described as being characteristic of their radiation. The model of amphikinesis proposed by Frazzetta, J Morphol 1962; 111:287-319, which was long considered a synapomorphy of the large suborder Sauria, is now much debated given it...
A karyological analysis on six Italian populations the slow worm (Anguis veronensis Pollini, 1818) was performed and their genetic differentiation at the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene fragment from a Spanish sample has been assessed. The Italian populations were karyologically uniform, all showing 2n=44 elements, of which 20 were macrochromosomes and...
Ovarian tissue cryopreservation is a promising technique for fertility preservation in young female cancer patients and efforts have been made to improve its effectiveness. During cooling and thawing, sodium ions significantly contribute to the 'solute effect' that plays a major role in disrupting cell membranes. Choline ions, which do not cross th...
Riassunto. Aspetti cariologici di alcune popolazioni italiane di orbettino, Anguis fragilis (Squamata: Anguidae). Sono stati studiati vari individui di tre popolazioni italiane di Anguis fragilis mediante metodi di colorazione standard dei cromosomi. Tutti gli individui studiati mostrano un cariotipo di 2n=44 elementi (20 macro-e 24 microcromosomi)...
Age structure and growth in the Moroccan spadefoot toad, Pelobates varaldii were estimated by skeletochronology
and reported for the first time for a population living in NW Morocco. Snout vent length and body mass did not significantly
differ between the sexes, although females appeared larger and heavier than males. Age ranged 2-7 years in males...
Assessment of ligaments and tendons calcification and ankylosis in the postcranial skeleton of specimens aged 1 to 52-years-old. 91.8% of the individuals show ossification processes in at least one of the long or flat bones (femur, tibia, clavicle, pelvis), with clavicle the most involved bone (88.2%). Ankylosis, mainly detectable in spine, foot to...
Occurrence of osteophytosis and spondyloarthritis in spine joints of specimens aged ≥15-years-old. Osteophytic lesions (moderate+severe+ankylosis) increase towards lumbar joints (17.5% cervical, 26.5% thoracic, 38.8% lumbar), with 27.6% overall occurrence. Spondyloarthritic lesions (moderate+severe+ankylosis) occur in 18.5% of the joints, with lumb...
The study of ancient skeletal pathologies can be adopted as a key tool in assessing and tracing several diseases from past to present times. Skeletal fluorosis, a chronic metabolic bone and joint disease causing excessive ossification and joint ankylosis, has been only rarely considered in differential diagnoses of palaeopathological lesions. Even...
The ecological status of 203 amphibian aquatic breeding sites, selected from the national database of the Societas Herpetologica Italica (SHI), was surveyed in the period 2008-2009 to assess their ecological status. Sites were randomly extracted, after stratification by the three biogeographical regions present in Italy, besides Sardinia and Sicily...
The false tomato frog, Dyscophus guineti, is an endemic species of eastern Madagascar, typically found in open and swampy areas of mid-elevation forests. We measured 62 females and 70 males from a population from Marovato, next to Brickaville. Snout-vent length of the individuals ranged from 37.7 +/- 112.4 mm in females and 37.7 +/- 90.7 mm in male...
Skeletochronology has been successfully used to age temperate amphibians,
enabling comparisons of longevity and the age at sexual maturity. To
date, however, there have been few similar studies conducted using this
technique in tropical amphibians. Here we present data on age structure
and age at maturity for nine species of Malagasy Mantella frogs...
Longevity and age at sexual maturity were estimated in two anurans from the arid Isalo Massif (southern-central Madagascar), the blue-legged frog (Mantella expectata) and the rainbow frog (Scaphiophryne gottlebei). Phalanges from 69 individuals of M. expectata and 38 individuals of S. gottlebei were analyzed, using the skeletochronological method,...
Many small vertebrates on islands grow larger, mature later, lay smaller clutches/litters, and are less sexually dimorphic and aggressive than their mainland relatives. This set of observations is referred to as the 'Island Syndrome'. The syndrome is linked to high population density on islands. We predicted that when population density is low and/...
Supplementary materials. The additional data file contains illustrative material, methodological details about field work, shape analysis, LAG analysis, and genetic analyses.
The evaluation of mortality of pyroclastic surges and flows (PDCs) produced by explosive eruptions is a major goal in risk assessment and mitigation, particularly in distal reaches of flows that are often heavily urbanized. Pompeii and the nearby archaeological sites preserve the most complete set of evidence of the 79 AD catastrophic eruption reco...
We studied growth and longevity of Lacerta agilis from a sample (34 adults and 2 small-sized juveniles) of a population living at high altitude in north-western Italy using skeletochronological method. Snout vent length (SVL) mean of males did not significantly differ from that of females although the latter were in average bigger
(SVL ± SD, males:...
The present paper reports data on distribution, demographic parameters, ecological preferences and conservation status of Bombina variegata variegata and B. v. pacbypus from the Italian peninsula. Owing to the wide distribution, we selected as a sample the following regions as sample regions: Lombardy, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Abruzzi, Latium...
The limbs of the three-toed skink Chalcides chalcides are reduced to such a degree that the three digits are too small for skeletochronology. This study, performed on animals collected near Isernia (central Italy), describes the structure of the caudal vertebrae, which are often naturally lost due to autotomy, in order to determine whether they can...
The present paper shows the results of chromosome banding and rDNA-FISH study performed on several specimens of different populations of Patella caerulea, Patella
rustica and Patella
ulyssiponensis. The taxonomic attribution of specimens was ascertained by the molecular phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. P. caerulea and P. ru...