Content uploaded by José G. Martínez-Fonseca
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by José G. Martínez-Fonseca on Dec 09, 2019
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
Comments and updates to "Guía Ilustrada de Anfibios y Reptiles de Nicaragua" along with taxonomic and related suggestions associated with the herpetofauna of Nicaragua [REVISTA NICARAGUENSE DE BIODIVERSIDAD N°52, 1-45 Noviembre 2019 ]
Abstract and Figures
We comment on several geographic distribution statements and some taxonomic statements occurring in a recently published illustrated guide to the herpetofauna of Nicaragua. We also update the taxonomy of several species that have been published since work on that book was finished. In addition, we suggest resurrecting an available name for the northern populations of the Agalychnis callidryas species complex based on data not previously available, also make a documented and necessary type locality restriction for the toad Rhinella horribilis, and resurrect the genus Enuliophis from the synonymy of Enulius, where it was recently placed. Authors of some recent literature covering species that occur in Nicaragua have made some taxonomic decisions for which we also comment on. Finally, we add a list of species not currently known from Nicaragua, but seem likely to occur somewhere in that country.
Realizamos algunos comentarios en lo que respecta a la distribución geográfica y la taxonomía que aparece en la recientemente publicada Guía Ilustrada de Anfibios y Reptiles de Nicaragua. Además, actualizamos la taxonomía de varias especies que han sido publicadas desde la culminación de ese libro. Adicionalmente sugerimos resucitar un nombre disponible para las poblaciones más norteñas del complejo de especies de Agalychnis callidryas basados en datos no disponibles anteriormente, además de hacer una necesaria y documentada restricción de la localidad tipo del sapo Rhinella horribilis, y resucitar el género Enuliophis de la sinonimia de Enulius, donde ha sido ubicada recientemente. En publicaciones recientes, determinados autores que incluyen especies que ocurren en Nicaragua han tomado algunas decisiones taxonómicas sobre las cuales realizamos comentarios. Finalmente, agregamos una lista de especies que actualmente no se conocen de Nicaragua, pero que creemos puedan ocurrir en algún lugar del país.
Figures - uploaded by José G. Martínez-Fonseca
Author content
All figure content in this area was uploaded by José G. Martínez-Fonseca
Content may be subject to copyright.
The morphological reexamination of specimens previously identified as Laonice bahusiensis Söderström, 1920 from North European and Mediterranean collections, supported by the molecular analysis of freshly collected material, enabled the recognition of four different species in the region: the genuine L. bahusiensis, L. irinae n. sp. from North European waters, and L. grimaldii n. sp. and L. mediterranea n. sp. from the Mediterranean Sea. The morphology of these species is described and illustrated, and their distributions are clarified based on old and new materials. A key for their identification is also provided. The Bayesian analysis of the COI sequences (483 bp) showed that these four species form a clade, namely the L. bahusiensis species complex, morphologically characterized by the continuous dorsal crests on postbranchiate chaetigers in the adults. The genetic p-distances between the species of the complex ranged from 13.27% to 17.99%, while the intraspecific variability ranged from 0.6% to 1.57%. Together with the sister species Laonice cirrata (Sars, 1851), the L. bahusiensis complex formed the Laonice (Laonice) clade, which is morphologically characterized by the prostomium fused with the anterior peristomial margin. However, the monophyly of the L. bahusiensis complex, as well as that of the clade Laonice (Laonice), needs to be further supported through the analysis of a greater set of genes from a larger number of species.
We describe a new species of Epictia based on eight specimens from Nicaragua collected and housed in the collection of the Natural History Museum Vienna for more than a century. The species differs from the congeners by the combination of external morphological characters: midtail scale rows 10; supralabials two, anterior one large and in broad contact with supraocular; infralabials four; subcaudals 14-19; middorsal scale rows 250-267; supraocular scales present; frontal scale distinct; striped dorsal color pattern with more or less triangular dark blotches on each scale; small white blotch in anterior part of dorsal surface of rostral present in five out of six specimens (two further specimens are lacking their heads); terminal spine and adjacent scales white. Eidonomic species separation from other Epictia spp. is also supported by a few qualitative and quantitative differences in vertebrae count and morphology. The new species is putatively assigned to the Epictia phenops species group based on external morphological characters and distribution.
Only 2 lizard species of the 11 members of the genus Loxopholis Cope, 1869 are found in Central America, L. southi (Ruthven & Gaige, 1924) from Costa Rica to Colombia and L. rugiceps Cope, 1869 from Panama and Colombia. We report new country records for L. rugiceps from Honduras and Costa Rica. We collected 4 individuals of this species in Honduras in 2018 and 2 specimens in Costa Rica in 1997 and 2017. We discuss the distribution of L. rugiceps in Central America.
We report on the first records from Nicaragua of the invasive Brahminy Blindsnake, Indotyphlops braminus (Daudin, 1803), based on five juvenile specimens collected in under a two-month period at the same locality in the department of Managua. The present records correspond to the first snake species and sixth herpetofaunal species of exotic origin recorded in Nicaragua.
Firt record and distribution of the Guatemala Neckband Snake Scaphiodontophis annulatus in Nicaragua
Integrative taxonomy seeks to approach the complex topic of species diagnosis using independent, complementary lines of evidence. Despite their ubiquity throughout North and Central America, taxonomy of the American leopard frogs (Anura: Ranidae: Rana: subgenus Pantherana) remains largely unresolved, and this is arguably nowhere truer than in the Central American country of Honduras, where there are two nominal species, the taxonomy of which remains unresolved. Leopard frogs from several mountainous areas along the continental divide in Honduras have previously been considered putative hybrids between Rana brownorum and R. cf. forreri, as opposed to two alternate hypotheses: one that they represent a high-altitude eco-morph of a single widespread species that included both lowland forms, or a second that there is an undescribed highland species distinct from either of the recognized lowland forms. We examine this set of hypotheses using three independent lines of evidence. First, we used species distribution modelling to examine potential geographic isolation of the highland form and the two putative parental lowland species, and found strong ecological separation between the highland and lowland forms. Second, mitochondrial and nuclear DNA supports the distinction of the highland form from both putative parental species, with mtDNA data refuting the hypothesis that representatives of either species may represent a matrilineal founder. Morphologically, the highland form is significantly smaller than, and otherwise readily differentiated from, both R. brownorum and R. cf. forreri, as well as all other Rana found in Honduras and adjacent areas. As a result, we formally describe the highland leopard frog as a new species.
http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BE53F587-3618-4433-9651-E495808E5474
The presented work summarises new and existing phenotypic and phylogenetic information for the genus Cruziohyla. Data based on morphology and skin peptide profiling supports the identification of a separate new species. Specimens of Cruziohyla calcarifer (Boulenger, 1902) occurring in Ecuador, Colombia, two localities in Panama, and one in the south east Atlantic lowlands of Costa Rica, distinctly differ from those occurring along the Atlantic versant of Central America from Panama northwards through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, to Honduras. A new species—Cruziohyla sylviae sp. n.—(the type locality: Alto Colorado in Costa Rica)—is diagnosed and described using an integrated approach from morphological and molecular data. Phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences of the 16S rRNA gene confirms the new species having equal minimum 6.2% genetic divergence from both true C. calcarifer and Cruziohyla craspedopus.
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 Río Sico Tinto in the Agalta Valley. A second species, with a relatively high number of ventral scales, inhabits lowlands and foothills near the Río Ulúa drainage valley, from Lago de Yojoa, Cortés, to northwestern Atlántida. The third new species, with a relatively low number of ventral scales, inhabits the upper and middle drainage system in the vicinity of the Río Choluteca, from near Danlí, El Paraíso, to Tegucigalpa, Francisco Morazán. All three species can easily be distinguished morphologically from other members of the genus, and in particular from other members of the T. taeniata group.