Javier Banda-Leal’s research while affiliated with Autonomous University of Nuevo León and other places

... Gerrhonotus farri and G. lazcanoi are each known by a single specimen, with accordingly limited information for each species (Bryson and Graham, 2010;Banda-Leal et al., 2017). A specimen from Nuevo León previously identified as G. lugoi (Montoya-Ferrer et al., 2021) may actually correspond to G. lazcanoi (personal communication, Uri Garcia-Vasquez), and it is anticipated that results will be published upon further study. Despite extensive field and laboratory investigations, information regarding the diet of these species remains scant. ...

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Notes on the Herpetofauna of Mexico 47: Observations on Feeding in Captivity by Pygmy Alligator Lizards, Gerrhonotus parvus Knight and Scudday, 1985 (Squamata: Anguidae)

... For G. parvus, there is more detailed information about its natural history (Bryson et al., 2003), as well as its, maximum size, litter size, sympatric herpetofauna, potential predators, and a very limited amount of information on its habitat and captive management (Banda-Leal et al., 2005;Banda-Leal et al., 2013, 2014aBanda-Leal, 2016;Banda-Leal et al., 2018;Hernández-Bocardo and Lazcano, 2018;Lazcano et al., 2018;Lazcano et al., 2019). We have also paid attention to its thermal ecology (Lazcano et al., 2022), and documented a malformation of a wild-caught specimen (Lazcano et al., 2017). ...

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Notes on the Herpetofauna of Mexico 47: Observations on Feeding in Captivity by Pygmy Alligator Lizards, Gerrhonotus parvus Knight and Scudday, 1985 (Squamata: Anguidae)

... Nowadays, studies focusing on sublethal effects that impair physiological processes are becoming more important, as this type of data can provide better insight into long-term effects that may not be evident in general toxicity studies that focus only on mortality as a single endpoint (e.g. Pham et al., 2017;Barriga-Vallejo et al., 2017). Pesticide exposure, as a common environmental stressor, increases oxidative stress in cells. ...

Reference:

Effects of alpha-cypermethrin and difenoconazole on survival, growth and biomarkers in European green toad tadpoles (Bufotes viridis, Laurenti 1768)

... Gerrhonotus farri and G. lazcanoi are each known by a single specimen, with accordingly limited information for each species (Bryson and Graham, 2010;Banda-Leal et al., 2017). A specimen from Nuevo León previously identified as G. lugoi (Montoya-Ferrer et al., 2021) may actually correspond to G. lazcanoi (personal communication, Uri Garcia-Vasquez), and it is anticipated that results will be published upon further study. ...

Reference:

Notes on the Herpetofauna of Mexico 47: Observations on Feeding in Captivity by Pygmy Alligator Lizards, Gerrhonotus parvus Knight and Scudday, 1985 (Squamata: Anguidae)

... The habitat in Cañon de Mireles is similar to that of Cañon de San Isidro but the specimen was found at an elevation of 900 m, the lowest recorded for this species. Banda-Leal et al. (2014a) later reported another specimen in a similar habitat, from Cañon de Reflexiones in the municipality of Santa Catarina, which lies northwest of Cañon de San Isidro. The species was thought to be endemic for the state of Nuevo León, but Banda documented the species for the state of Coahuila, a state bordering Nuevo León to the west. ...

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Notes on the Herpetofauna of Mexico 47: Observations on Feeding in Captivity by Pygmy Alligator Lizards, Gerrhonotus parvus Knight and Scudday, 1985 (Squamata: Anguidae)

... If Barlochersaurus is an adult, it would be the smallest known lizard of anguimorph affinities. Even if Barlochersaurus is a juvenile, it is substantially smaller than the neonates or hatchlings of the smallest living species of anguimorphs, including smaller species of Celestus (Henderson and Powell, 2009) and Gerrhonotus parvus (based on maximum egg dimensions of 13.57 3 7.36 mm [Banda-Leal et al., 2014]). ...

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An Enigmatic Miniaturized and Attenuate Whole Lizard from the Mid-Cretaceous Amber of Myanmar

... Finally, a similar pattern may explain the divergence and distribution of C. totonacus with respect to C. ornatus; the Totonacan Rattlesnake is endemic to Mexico, where it inhabits the coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent areas on the eastern versant of the SMOr, and has been reported from the states of Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Hidalgo, and Veracruz (Ramírez-Bautista et al. 2014;Farr et al. 2015;Ramos-Frías et al. 2015). Divergence between the ancestral populations of those lineages would take place in response to continuing isolation of the regional deserts throughout the late Miocene, early Pliocene and more recently, during glacial cycles of the Pleistocene (Alexander and Riddle 2005; Bryson et al. 2011c). ...

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A tale about vipers' tails: phylogeography of black-tailed rattlesnakes

... Los anfibios, pueden ser más vulnerables a los cambios en sus hábitats en comparación con el resto de los vertebrados, por 2 razones principales: poseen una piel delgada y porosa que es permeable al agua, y son organismos ectotermos, por lo que dependen de su entorno para conservar su temperatura (Duellman y Trueb, 1994). Por estos motivos, la evaluación del estado de salud de las poblaciones de anfibios es cada vez más común en estudios ecológicos en especies amenazadas o en declive (Barriga-Vallejo et al., 2015;Das y Mahapatra, 2014;Shutler y Marcogliese, 2011). Los perfiles de leucocitos han sido evaluados con mayor frecuencia porque proporcionan información sobre el estado inmunológico y permiten detectar cambios fisiológicos y patológicos tempranos en los individuos, sobretodo, estudios recientes han comenzado a incorporarlos como biomarcadores para evaluar la salud de los individuos y de su ambiente (Barni et al., 2007;Cabagna et al., 2005;Davis et al., 2010;Salinas et al., 2015Salinas et al., , 2019. ...

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Perfil de leucocitos como biomarcador hematológico en poblaciones de la salamandra de arroyo Ambystoma ordinarium

... The species was originally reported for the municipality of Galeana in a transition zone between pine forest (Pinus arizonica) and open gypsophyllous scrub at 1650 m above sea level. (Knight and Scudday 1985), and subsequently reported to the northwest from the type locality, in the municipality of Santiago in Cañón de San Isidro (Banda-Leal et al. 2002). This canyon is at 1600 m above sea level, runs east and west, and is characterized by steep limestone walls covered with Agave (Agave lechuguilla, A. bracteosa), sotols (Dasylirion sp.), and scrub oaks (Quercus sp.), and has intermittent pools of water. ...

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New records of Gerrhonotus parvus Knight & Scudday, 1985 (Squamata, Anguidae) in the state of Coahuila, México