Andrew Kathriner’s research while affiliated with Villanova University and other places

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Publications (9)


Figure 1 Map of Timor-Leste and its position in the Lesser Sunda Islands. Numbered localities are listed in Table 1. 
Figure 2 Sample habitat types surveyed in Timor-Leste during 2011–13. Localities are listed numerically (see Table 1). (A) Rocky shore at Cristo Rei Protected Area on the outskirts of Dili (Locality 2). The part of this habitat along the tidal and splash zones is a habitat of Cryptoblepharus cf. schlegelianus and Laticauda colubrina , whereas in the wooded area at higher elevation, sun skinks ( Eutropis cf. multifasciata ) and Timor monitors ( Varanus timorensis ) have been observed. (B) Montane habitat at Maganuto (Locality 11). This area has stands of tall bamboo in boulder-strewn areas, intermixed with a grassy meadow and a montane forest on the upper slopes. Whereas we found the forest to be unproductive in our search, the bamboo yielded Hemidactylus cf. garnotii , and in the grassy meadow we found a Polypedates cf. leucomystax under a flat rock some distance away from any vegetation. (C) The banana plantation at the confluence of the Bemos and Comoro Rivers (Locality 6; photo taken towards Aileu District) turned out to be an unexpectedly important site at which one of only two recent specimens of Cylindrophis cf. boulengeri was found. Other species recorded in this area include Duttaphrynus melanostictus , Fejervarya sp., Polypedates cf. leucomystax , sun skinks ( Eutropis cf. multifasciata ), and house geckos (e.g., Hemidactylus frenatus ). (D) Disturbed forest at Fiuren (Locality 9). Overtly a nice patch of forest with an expansive growth of large trees, this area is beset by domestic pigs that scour the leaf litter and the root matter for food. We located P. cf. leucomystax and several gecko taxa ( Cyrtodactylus , Gekko , Gehyra , Hemidactylus ) in this area. (E) View of the mountains above our survey area near Baguia (Locality 25). A promising habitat with extreme topography, this is the only area in Timor-Leste where we have found individuals of Hemiphyllodactylus cf. typus . (F) The Mainina sinkhole (Locality 29) in Nino Konis Santana National Park. This locality is the only outflow of Lake Ira Lalaro, the largest lake in Timor-Leste. The area is seasonally inaccessible due to variations in the lake’s water level, and it lies right at the foot of the steep-sided Paitxau Mountains karst formation. (G) The road passing through tropical wet forest in the Nancuro Protected Area (Locality 20). On either side of this road is dense, mixed coastal forest that includes some large trees. The ground is partially inundated after rains. This has been a very productive collection locality with a high diversity of herpetofauna, including Kaloula , Cyrtodactylus , Sphenomorphus , Dendrelaphis , Stegonotus , and Trimeresurus . (H) Dry coastal forest on Jaco Island (Locality 30). Even though this corallogenic island appears to be very dry, we have found species that we have more commonly encountered in moist habitats elsewhere in Timor-Leste, including Cyrtodactylus , Eremiascincus , and Sphenomorphus . Photos (A), (C), and (E)–(H) by Hinrich Kaiser, (B) and (D) by Mark O’Shea. (Continued on facing page). 
Figure 2 Continued . 
Figure 3 Duttaphrynus melanostictus found in a streamside refugium along the Comoro River (Locality 1). This specimen was not vouchered. Photo by Mark O’Shea. 
Figure 4 A female rice-paddy frog (genus Fejervarya ) from active, inundated rice paddies near Baguia (Locality 25; USNM 580467). Photo by Mark O’Shea. 

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Herpetological Diversity of Timor-Leste: Updates and a Review of Species Distributions
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July 2015

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6,510 Reads

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31 Citations

Asian Herpetological Research

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Andrew Kathriner

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We report the results of five herpetological surveys during 2011–2013 that included visits to all districts of Timor-Leste (Aileu, Ainaro, Baucau, Bobonaro, Dili, Covalima, Ermera, Lautém, Liquiça, Manatuto, Manufahi, Viqueque) except the Oecusse exclave. Our fieldwork culminated in the discovery of one putative new frog species (genus Kaloula), at least five putative new lizard species (genera Cyrtodactylus, Cryptoblepharus, and Sphenomorphus), and two putative new snake species (genera Stegonotus and Indotyphlops). In addition, we present new distribution records of amphibians and reptiles for 11 of the country’s 12 contiguous districts, along with additional natural history data. Results from our surveys increase the number of amphibian and reptiles known to occur in Timor-Leste from 22 species before our surveys began to over 60, including over 20 as yet undescribed species.

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Hiding in plain sight: A new species of bent-toed gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) from West Timor, collected by Malcolm Smith in 1924

December 2014

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1,908 Reads

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21 Citations

Zootaxa

We describe a new species of bent-toed gecko from a single specimen initially collected in 1924 by Malcolm Smith on Timor Island in the Lesser Sunda Archipelago of Indonesia. Cyrtodactylus celatus sp. nov. is distinguished from all other congeners by the following combination of characters: small adult size; without spinose tubercles on the ventrolateral body fold and along the lateral margin of the tail; 16 longitudinal rows of tubercles at midbody; 42 ventral scales between the ventrolateral folds at midbody; no transversely enlarged, median subcaudal scales; 17 subdigital lamellae (seven basal + ten distal) under the fourth toe; no abrupt transition between postfemoral and ventral femoral scale series. The specimen is the earliest confirmed record of the genus Cyrtodactylus for Timor, and it is the first putatively endemic gecko species described from this island.


Re-examination of Hemidactylus tenkatei van Lidth de Jeude, 1895: Populations from Timor provide insight into the taxonomy of the H. brookii Gray, 1845 complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae)

November 2014

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1,029 Reads

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18 Citations

Zootaxa

Recent herpetofaunal investigations in Timor-Leste revealed populations similar to Hemidactylus brookii Gray, 1845 in four of 13 districts. In order to properly identify these populations, we examined their relationships to other H. brookiicomplex populations, notably those from nearby Roti Island, Indonesia (to which the name H. tenkatei van Lidth de Jeude, 1895 has been applied) and topotypic Bornean samples. We evaluated both meristic and mensural data from a set of specimens that included the type material of H. brookii and H. tenkatei, and we generated nuclear (RAG1) and mitochondrial (ND2) DNA sequence data for Timor-Leste specimens and a topotypical Bornean specimen presumed to represent H. brookii sensu stricto. Morphologically, Timorese geckos are clearly distinct from H. brookii and identical to H. tenkatei. Our molecular data show that the Bornean specimen thought to be H. brookii is genetically congruent with Timor-Leste specimens, and this specimen is therefore identified as H. tenkatei. Our data also reveal that the Burmese species H. subtriedroides Annandale, 1905 is distinct from both H. tenkatei and H. brookii. While the current data do not allow us to determine with certainty whether H. tenkatei is the oldest available name for these widespread forms, it is the only name that can be reliably applied at this time.



Figure 1. Participants in the ‘Fantastic Voyage’ of a Brahminy blindsnake ( Ramphotyphlops braminus ) through the digestive system of a Common Asian toad ( Duttaphrynus melanostictus ) in Timor-Leste. (A) In this image taken immediately after the discovery of the toad, ca. 40% of the blindsnake is still inside the toad. There were no visible signs of discomfort on the part of the toad. (B) After it completely emerged from the toad, the blindsnake did not move noticeably, but physiological functions (blood flow, heartbeat) could be observed. The body of the snake showed a constriction where the toad’s cloacal muscles had most recently held it. (C) Relative dimensions of toad and blindsnake shown to illustrate that the blindsnake was considerable longer than the toad in body length. 
'Fantastic Voyage': A live blindsnake (Ramphotyphlops braminus) journeys through the gastrointestinal system of a toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus)

October 2013

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19,164 Reads

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16 Citations

Herpetology Notes

Abstract. We report an unusual predator-prey interaction between the Common Asian toad, Duttaphrynus melanostictus, and the Brahminy blindsnake, Ramphotyphlops braminus, as observed in Manufahi District, Timor-Leste. The live blindsnake was found emerging headfirst from the cloaca of the toad, with about one-third of its body length still inside. This interaction may indicate that indiscriminate foraging by invasive toads could endanger small vertebrate prey, while it appears that the physiology and habits of blindsnakes may allow them on occasion to elude predation in an unexpected manner.


First Report on the Herpetofauna of Ataúro Island, Timor- Leste

August 2013

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2,975 Reads

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21 Citations

We describe for the first time the terrestrial herpetofauna of Ataúro Island, Timor-Leste, a small mountainous island in the Inner Banda Arc of the Lesser Sunda Archipelago. The island supports a fauna of ten lizard species in three families (Gekkonidae, n = 5; Scincidae, n = 4; Varanidae, n = 1) and four snake species in three families (Colubridae, n = 3; Typhlopidae, n = 1; Viperidae, n = 1). In addition to a set of lizards (e.g., Cryptoblepharus, Eutropis, Gehyra, Gekko, Hemidactylus, Lamprolepis) and snakes (e.g., Lycodon, Ramphotyphlops, Trimeresurus) typical for the Lesser Sunda Islands, there appear to be undescribed endemic species of Cyrtodactylus, Eremiascincus, and Varanus on Ataúro. Our surveys to date have not revealed the presence of any amphibians, turtles, or crocodiles.


Figure 3. The chain-link enclosure in Aileu, Timor-Leste, in which a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) has been kept for a decade or more. Co-authors CS and DT, and the residences in the background, demonstrate the precarious situation of having a large crocodile in the centre of town. Photo by H. Kaiser. 
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Conservation education in a post-conflict country: five herpetological case studies in Timor-Leste

June 2013

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521 Reads

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6 Citations

Salamandra

As part of an on-going survey of herpetofaunal diversity in Timor-Leste, we documented our observations regarding encounters between local human inhabitants and their reptilian neighbours. Our interest in environmental and conservation education led to the detailed contemplation of five case studies involving reticulated pythons (Python reticulatus), a saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), a monitor lizard (Varanus cf. salvator), and Chinese pond turtles (Mauremys reevesii). In each case, we initiated a conversation about the captive animals in order to identify their social, religious, or cultural significance, which allowed us to place the captive existence of the animals into their proper context. While the rationale for keeping reptiles captive has some roots in animist beliefs, most often ownership of a 'pet' relates to social status. There does not appear to be a serious problem with the exploitation of any one of these species as a diminishing resource, but the casual relationship with wildlife has led to the endangerment of humans in the past and could facilitate initiatives designed to turn a profit from wild-caught reptiles in the future. We here detail five instances of captive reptile ownership and present implications for conservation, case-by-case resolutions, and recommendations for how in such situations public education efforts may be key to developing a deeper, pro-environment stance on the part of the human population in Timor-Leste. © 2013 Deutsche Gesellschaft für Herpetologie und Terrarienkunde e.V. (DGHT).


First Update to Herpetofaunal Records from Timor-Leste

June 2012

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985 Reads

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22 Citations

Asian Herpetological Research

Abstract Herpetological surveys of locations in six districts of Timor-Leste (Dili, Baucau, Ermera, Liquiça, Manatuto, Viqueque) during 2010 led to the discovery of a new, high-altitude species of Cryptoblepharus from Ermera District, a new country record (Hemidactylus cf. tenkatei), and the recording of two previously unvouchered species (Python r. reticulatus and Liasis m. mackloti). In this article, we summarize these new records and present numerous new district records for Timor-Leste and four records for road-killed snakes seen in West Timor (Indonesia). With the addition of the results from our 2009 survey, the update presented herein increases the confirmed number of amphibian and reptile species for Timor-Leste to 47.


First Report on the Herpetofauna of the Oecusse District, an Exclave of Timor-Leste

January 2012

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1,167 Reads

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31 Citations

Herpetology Notes

During July 2010 we conducted what appears to be the first herpetofaunal survey in the Oecusse District, Timor-Leste. The amphibian fauna was characterized by the presence of rice paddy frogs (genus Fejervarya) and treefrogs (Polypedates cf. leucomystax), but the recently introduced Asian toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus) was found to occur in large numbers in the paddy fields near the district's main town, Pante Macassar. The observed lizard fauna was more diverse, with four species of geckos (Hemidactylus frenatus, H. cf. tenkatei, Gekko gecko, Cyrtodactylus sp.) and three species of skinks (Carlia sp., Eutropis cf. multifasciata, Lamprolepis cf. smaragdina). We confirmed two species of snakes (Broghammerus reticulatus, Laticauda colubrina) and present anecdotal evidence of two others. With the exception of Cyrtodactylus, which most likely represents an undescribed species, the herpetofauna of Oecusse District identified so far appears to be a less diverse subset of species found in the other twelve, contiguous districts of mainland Timor-Leste.

Citations (9)


... Six individuals observed on the building walls and were tail clipped for genetic analysis and released. This record extends the range westward across the Mississippi River and is 9.1 km northwest of the East Baton Rouge Parish records from the convenience store above.This species was first recorded in the United States from the New Orleans area in 2012(Heckard et al. 2013). Since its original detection in Orleans Parish, this species has now been documented in seven additional parishes in Louisiana: Jefferson and St. John the Baptist Parishes(Borgardt 2015(Borgardt , 2016, St. Tammany Parish (Glorioso 2016), Tangipahoa Parish (Erdmann 2017), Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parishes (McClure 2019; Pellecchia et al. 2019), and St. Charles Parish ...

Reference:

New amphibian and reptile parish records from Louisiana, USA
First record of Hemidactylus parvimaculatus Deraniyagala, 1953 from the United States
  • Citing Article
  • December 2013

Reptiles & Amphibians

... collection and natural history: On 10 August 2014, during the tenth and final phase of a 6-year project surveying the herpetofauna of Timor-Leste (Kaiser et al. 2011O'Shea et al. 2012O'Shea et al. , 2015Sanchez et al. 2012), the expedition team was granted special access to PNLIA to investigate stories of Macklot's water pythons (Liasis m. mackloti Duméril and Bibron, 1844) and other snakes that were periodically found around the containers and buildings that constitute the airport fuel depot (Figs. 7A, 7C-7E). ...

Herpetological Diversity of Timor-Leste: Updates and a Review of Species Distributions

Asian Herpetological Research

... Where relevant we noted the following characters: presence of tubercles on the dorsal surfaces of the brachium (upper arm), antebrachium (forearm) and thigh; presence of enlarged precloacofemoral scales, and extent to which these formed a continuous series; and presence of transversely enlarged median subcaudals. We follow Kathriner et al. (2014) and Mecke et al. (2016) in describing the morphology of precloacal depressions. Sex was determined as male if (1) preserved specimens showed enlarged hemipenial pockets, and confirmed by (2) viewing the hemipenes via a small lateral incision made at the base of the tail. ...

Hiding in plain sight: A new species of bent-toed gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) from West Timor, collected by Malcolm Smith in 1924

Zootaxa

... This species is found in Baluchistan, southern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and westernmost parts of Sindh in Pakistan (Muhammad and Khan, 2004). H. brookii is regarded as a species complex (Kathriner et al., 2014;Lajmi et al., 2016) and commonly inhabits the bark of trees, logs, leaf litter, piles of dead branches, and other rubbish. The common Indus Valley house gecko H. flaviviridis is the most familiar house gecko throughout the subcontinent (Muhammad and Khan, 2004) and commensal with human habitations. ...

Re-examination of Hemidactylus tenkatei van Lidth de Jeude, 1895: Populations from Timor provide insight into the taxonomy of the H. brookii Gray, 1845 complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae)

Zootaxa

... Cyrtodactylus gordongekkoi is part of the sadleiri complex, of which C. sadleiri Wells & Wellington, 1985 is the earliest described species. The sadleiri complex also includes the Sunda shelf species C. petaniRiyanto et al., 2015, C. jatnai Amarasinghe et al., 2020, C. seribuatensis Youmans & Grismer, 2006, and C. batucolus Grismer et al., 2008 The true ranges of these southern Wallacean Cyrtodactylus species or species complexes are poorly understood, though recent surveys have expanded our knowledge of their range limits (Western Australian Museum surveys 1987-1993Kaiser et al., 2011Kaiser et al., , 2013Sanchez et al., 2012;McKay and Lilley, 2012;O'Shea et al., 2015;Reilly et al., 2020). Additionally, while some species of lizards in southern Wallacea recently dispersed throughout the archipelago, such as Gekko gecko and Eutropis multifasciata (Reilly et al., 2019b), other lizard taxa have been shown to be nearly as old as the islands themselves and represent undescribed species complexes (Blom et al., 2019;Reilly et al., 2022aReilly et al., , 2022c. ...

First Report on the Herpetofauna of Ataúro Island, Timor- Leste

... A fundamental step in this process is to prepare conservation action plans, which brings together the needed actions for a given species or group of species (Fuller et al., 2003;IUCN/SSC, 2008). The main actions included in these plans are basic research to fill knowledge gaps (e.g., gathering information on life history traits to determine vital rates; e.g., Grimm et al., 2014;Meiri, 2018), population modeling (e.g., using vital rates to estimate time to extinction; e.g., Mazaris et al., 2005;Grimsley et al., 2017), population monitoring (e.g., to detect further declines; e.g., Burton and Rivera-Milán, 2014;Thapa et al., 2018), population and/or habitat management (e.g., to increase population growth; Corbett and Tamarind, 1979;Brito et al., 1999), translocation of individuals (e.g., reintroductions; Daltry et al., 2017;Wang et al., 2011), detection of priority areas to create PAs (see above), control and/or monitoring of invasive species (e.g., eradication of invasive predators; Jones et al., 2016;Hu et al., 2019), education programs (e.g., awareness workshops; Kaiser et al., 2013;Morrison et al., 2007), legislation and enforcement (e.g., trade prohibition; Mansergh et al., 1993;Fonseca et al., 2021), and ex-situ conservation (maintenance of captive populations in zoos; Odum and Reinert, 2015;Ziegler, 2015). A good example to illustrate the diversity of conservation actions that may compose an action plan is the plan for the EN Turks and Caicos Rock Iguana, Cyclura carinata (Havery et al., 2021). ...

Conservation education in a post-conflict country: five herpetological case studies in Timor-Leste

Salamandra

... collection and natural history: On 10 August 2014, during the tenth and final phase of a 6-year project surveying the herpetofauna of Timor-Leste (Kaiser et al. 2011O'Shea et al. 2012O'Shea et al. , 2015Sanchez et al. 2012), the expedition team was granted special access to PNLIA to investigate stories of Macklot's water pythons (Liasis m. mackloti Duméril and Bibron, 1844) and other snakes that were periodically found around the containers and buildings that constitute the airport fuel depot (Figs. 7A, 7C-7E). ...

First Report on the Herpetofauna of the Oecusse District, an Exclave of Timor-Leste

Herpetology Notes

... Consequently, I. braminus has now been colonized artificially and unintentionally in all continents except Antarctica 18,19 . Because I. braminus can be found globally, various studies regarding their osteology 20,21 , anatomy 22 , neurology 23 , and ethology 24,25 have been conducted worldwide. For these reasons, I. braminus has the potential to serve as a useful snake model organism and is a suitable species in which to investigate the emergence mechanism of parthenogenesis in vertebrates. ...

'Fantastic Voyage': A live blindsnake (Ramphotyphlops braminus) journeys through the gastrointestinal system of a toad (Duttaphrynus melanostictus)

Herpetology Notes

... Recent genetic studies revealed that a number of wide-ranging reptile and amphibian species from the region documented solely based on morphology (e.g. Kaiser et al. 2011;O'Shea et al. 2012) actually comprise multiple species with localised distributions (Reilly et al. 2019a(Reilly et al. , 2022a(Reilly et al. , 2022b(Reilly et al. , 2022c(Reilly et al. , 2023, suggesting that true herpetofaunal diversity of the region is underestimated. ...

First Update to Herpetofaunal Records from Timor-Leste

Asian Herpetological Research