Baird's tapir density in high elevation forests of the Talamanca region of Costa Rica

Lecidea hercynica Hauck & Schmull is described as a new species from Germany. It is characterized by a poorly developed or bullate to verrucose, areolate thallus on whitened spots of the substratum, numerous plane to yellowish brown to black, convex apothecia with a persistent margin, Micarea type-like asci, and by the presence of atranorin and protocetraric acid. It does not belong to Lecidea s. str., but is provisionally placed in Lecidea s. lat. until a taxonomic treatment of the whole group has been carried out. Lecidea hercynica is widespread in high-elevation forests of Picea abies in the Harz Mountains, where it grows preferably on decorticated wood in open situations.

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Revision of the Venezuelan spider genus Stenosfemuraia González-Sponga, with new generic and specific synonymies (Araneae, Pholcidae)

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4341.4.3 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4341 (4) ◽

pp. 495

Author(s):

BERNHARD A. HUBER ◽

QUINTIN C. ARIAS

Keyword(s):

Type Species ◽

High Elevation ◽

High Elevation Forests

The Venezuelan genus Stenosfemuraia González-Sponga, 1998 is revised, with redescriptions of its three named species: S. parva González-Sponga, 1998 (type species); S. cuadrata González-Sponga, 2005; and S. pilosa (González-Sponga, 2005) n. comb. The latter species was originally described as Codazziella pilosa, and six years later again as Chichiriviche costanero González-Sponga, 2011 (n. syn.). The monotypic genera Codazziella González-Sponga, 2005 and Chichiriviche González-Sponga, 2011 are thus newly synonymized with Stenosfemuraia. The genus appears restricted to the Cordillera de la Costa region where the spiders occupy near-ground microhabitats in medium to high elevation forests.

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Distribution of Lactarius in the High-Elevation Forests of the Southern Appalachians

Mycologia ◽

10.2307/3793380 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 78 (1) ◽

pp. 80

Author(s):

Gerald F. Bills

Keyword(s):

High Elevation ◽

Southern Appalachians ◽

High Elevation Forests

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Environmental correlates of herpetofaunal diversity in Costa Rica

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467410000222 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 26 (5) ◽

pp. 521-531 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

David Laurencio ◽

Lee A. Fitzgerald

Keyword(s):

Costa Rica ◽

Species Diversity ◽

Beta Diversity ◽

Geographic Distance ◽

Alpha Diversity ◽

High Elevation ◽

Diversity Patterns ◽

Regional Diversity ◽

Environmental Correlates ◽

High Elevation Site

Abstract:Disentangling local and historical factors that determine species diversity patterns at multiple spatial scales is fundamental to elucidating processes that govern ecological communities. Here we investigated how environmental correlates may influence diversity at local and regional scales. Primarily utilizing published species lists, amphibian and reptile alpha and beta diversity were assessed at 17 well-surveyed sites distributed among ecoregions throughout Costa Rica. The degree to which regional species diversity patterns were related to environmental variables and geographic distance was determined using Canonical Correspondence Analysis and Mantel tests. Amphibian alpha diversity was highest in lowland Pacific sites (mean = 43.3 species) and lowest at the high elevation site (9 species). Reptile alpha diversity values were high for both lowland Atlantic (mean = 69.5 species) and lowland Pacific (mean = 67 species) sites and lowest for the high elevation site (8 species). We found high species turnover between local sites and ecoregions, demonstrating the importance of beta diversity in the determination of regional diversity. For both amphibians and reptiles, beta diversity was highest between the high-elevation site and all others, and lowest among lowland sites within the same ecoregion. The effect of geographic distance on beta diversity was minor. Ecologically significant climatic variables related to rain, temperature, sunshine and insolation were found to be important determinants of local and regional diversity for both amphibians and reptiles in Costa Rica.

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Description of two new species of Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Western Ghats of Kerala, India

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4459.1.3 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4459 (1) ◽

pp. 85 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

VIVEK PHILIP CYRIAC ◽

ALEX JOHNY ◽

P. K. UMESH ◽

MUHAMED JAFER PALOT

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Western Ghats ◽

Morphological Characters ◽

High Elevation ◽

High Mountain ◽

Mountain Ranges ◽

Two New Species ◽

Southern Western Ghats ◽

High Elevation Forests ◽

The Western Ghats

Two new species of geckos of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 are described from the southern Western Ghats of Kerala. Both species are medium to large sized Cnemaspis and can be differentiated from all other Indian congeners by a suite of distinct morphological characters. Both species are found in the high elevation forests of the two major massifs— Anaimalai Hills and Agasthyamalai Hills and are presently known to have very restricted distributional ranges. The discovery of these novel species highlights the understudied diversity of reptiles in the high mountain ranges of the Western Ghats.

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