Fernando Ayala

Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador | PUCE · Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas

We provide a list of eleven taxa of endo and ecto parasites associated with nine species of anoles from Ecuador. The parasites, identified in the laboratory, are: nematodes of the family Ascarididae in Anolis dracula, A. trachyderma and A. scypheus; larvae of the genus Cochliomyia spp. (Calliphoridae) in Anolis parvauritus, and mite larvae of the f...

We describe a new species of Anolis lizard from the Pacific slopes of the Andes of southwestern Ecuador at elevations between 372–1,000 m. The new species belongs to the Dactyloa clade and may be distinguished from other Anolis by size, external anatomy, mitochondrial DNA divergence, and dewlap color. Based on phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial...

Air-based respiration limits the use of aquatic environments by ancestrally terrestrial animals. To overcome this challenge, diving arthropods have evolved to respire without resurfacing using air held between their cuticle and surrounding water.1, 2, 3, 4 Inspired by natural history observations in Haiti (unpublished data) and Costa Rica,⁵,⁶ we co...

A new species of Anolis lizard from the Andean slopes of southwestern Colombia and northwestern Ecuador, from between 1187 and 2353 m in elevation, is described. The new species can be distinguished from other Anolis in squamation, cranial osteology, hemipenial morphology, and nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. The new species is sister to Anolisaequat...

Adaptive radiation is a widely recognized pattern of evolution wherein substantial phenotypic change accompanies rapid speciation. Adaptive radiation may be triggered by environmental opportunities resulting from dispersal to new areas or via the evolution of traits, called key innovations, that allow for invasion of new niches. Species sampling is...

Anolis lizards (anoles) are textbook study organisms in evolution and ecology. Although several topics in evolutionary biology have been elucidated by the study of anoles, progress in some areas has been hampered by limited phylogenetic information on this group. Here we present a phylogenetic analysis of all 379 extant species of Anolis, with new...

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 1970 m. 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 Bayesi...

We report the first record of the invasive Brown Anole in South America based on nine specimens from Guayas, Ecuador.

The use of sexually selected characters in inter- and intra-sexual interactions has long been of interest to evolutionary biologists. Recently, a distinction between sexually selected traits as ornaments versus weapons has been advanced. We investigated the behaviour of an enigmatic lizard with a prominent sexually dimorphic trait in an effort to d...

We report the first record of the invasive Brown Anole, Anolis sagrei Duméril & Bibron, 1837, in South America based on nine specimens from Samborondón, Guayas province, Ecuador. We also present some information related to the current distribution in Ecuador, and its possible impacts on native lizard species.

We report the first record of the invasive Brown Anole, Anolis sagrei Duméril & Bibron, 1837, in South America based on nine specimens from Samborondón, Guayas province, Ecuador. We also present some information related to the current distribution in Ecuador, and its possible impacts on native lizard species.

Anolis biporcatus is a large green anole found in southern Mexico, Central America and northern South Amer-ica. We examined morphological, molecular, and ecological aspects of specimens from localities throughout the range of A. biporcatus and found evidence that warrants elevating A. biporcatus parvauritus to species status. A. parvauritus differs...

We describe a new species of Anolis from the Andes of northern Peru. This form is similar to species formerly assigned to the genus Phenacosaurus and to Ernest Williams' tigrinus series. That is, the new species possesses large smooth headscales, cryptic coloration, and short limbs and tail. We present new DNA and morphological data and perform a c...

We report the first records of Anolis ventrimaculatus for Ecuador based on twelve specimens from three localities: Chical (Provincia Carchi), El Cristal (Provincia Esmeraldas), and Lita (Provincia Imbabura). The locality in the Provincia Carchi lies approximately 16 km S from the nearest record (Ñambí, Department Nariño, Colombia). We also present...

We describe a new species of Anolis from the western slopes of the Andes of Ecuador, province of Bolívar. It is referred to (1) the aequatorialis series based on its moderate size and narrow toe lamellae, and (2) the eulaemus sub-group based on having a typical Anolis digit, in which the distal lamellae of phalanx III distinctly overlap the proxima...

Amphib. Reptile Conserv. | amphibian-reptile-conservation.org February 2014 | Volume 8 | Number 1 | e75 Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 8(1) [Special Sec]: 1–7. Rediscovery of Andinophryne olallai Hoogmoed, 1985 (Anura, Bufonidae), an enigmatic and endangered Andean toad Abstract.—We report the rediscovery of Andinophryne olallai, an endangered sp...

Until very recently, the horned anole of Ecuador, Anolis proboscis, was known from only six male specimens, the last collected in 1966. The species was rediscovered in 2005 and in subsequent years additional specimens have been collected in the general vicinity of the type locality. These include several females, which lack the conspicuous rostral...

Males of the three species of the Anolis laevis group, so-called proboscis anoles, display a remarkable appendage extending from the snout. All A. laevis group Anolis are poorly known and rarely collected. We redescribe Anolis proboscis based on the type specimen and male and female specimens we collected recently near the town of Mindo, Pichincha...

PHOLIDOBOLUS MONTIUM (Lagartija Minadora). PREDA-TION. Pholidobolus montium is a gymnopthalmid lizard known from interandean basins and valleys in northern and central Ecuador (Provincias Imbabura, Pichincha, Cotopaxi) and south-ern Colombia at elevations between 2000–3190 m. Here we provide the first report on natural predators of this species. On...

The anole lizard Anolis soinii was described from a single locality in northern Peru in 2008. We report the first records of A. soinii from southern Ecuador, Provincia Zamora-Chinchipe: Valladolid-Yangana road; Romerillos Alto; Estación Científica San Francisco; Zamora-Loja road; and Refugio de Vida Silvestre El Zarza. The Valladolid-Yangana road,...

We describe a new species of Anolis from the southeastern slopes of the Andes of Ecuador, province of Zamora-Chinchipe, Parque Nacional Podocarpus. It belongs to (1) the aequatorialis species-group by being of moderate to large size with narrow toe lamellae, and (2) the eulaemus sub-group by having a typical Anolis digit, in which the distal lamell...

We describe a new species of Anolis from the western slopes of the Andes in Ecuador, Provincias Cotopaxi and Pichincha. The new species fits into (1) the aequatorialis species group by being of moderate to large size with narrow toe lamellae and (2) the eulaemus subgroup by having a typical Anolis digit, in which the distal lamellae of phalanx II d...

We report the first record of A. heterodermus for Ecuador based on four specimens from Chilmá Bajo, province ofCarchi, ca. 120 km NE from the nearest record (departamento Putumayo, municipio de Santiago, Colombia) reported in theliterature. Two additional records for Ecuador are listed in the Herpnet database, from specimens deposited at the Carneg...