scholarly journals Will there be a second extinction? Molecular identification of multiple alien water frogs (Pelophylax ridibundus sensu lato) in Tuscany, Central Italy, reveals genetic pollution within a unique hybridogenetic system

2020 ◽  
pp. 147-158
Author(s):  
Giacomo Bruni
Keyword(s):  
Central Italy ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Sampling Effort ◽  
Actual Distribution ◽  
Pelophylax Ridibundus ◽  
Genetic Pollution ◽  
Water Frogs ◽  
Distribution And Ecology

The introduction of alien water frogs is perhaps one of the most underestimated herpetological conservation issues in Europe. The identification of distinct species is highly challenging at the phenotypic level, and artificial syntopy between various taxa and lineages may lead to diverse outcomes, including hybridisation and local extinction. In central Italy the native synklepton of Pelophylax bergeri (the parental taxon) and P. kl. (klepton) hispanicus (the hybridogenetic hybrid, which clonally transmits the genome of an extinct ridibundus-like taxon) is present. Until recently, data regarding the presence of alien water frogs in central Italy was scarce, and no alien taxa have been reported for Tuscany. In this study, four distinct non-native Pelophylax lineages have been identified via molecular analysis in the Cecina and Arno river basins and ascribed to the Marsh frog group (P. ridibundus sensu lato). Alien Pelophylax ridibundus, P. kurtmuelleri, and P. cf. bedriagae sensu stricto currently appear to be widespread in the Cecina basin. Furthermore, evidence of hybridisation with autochthonous taxa has been suggested by genetic analyses in four out of eight sampling localities. With a view to evaluate urgent conservation strategies, a greater sampling effort is required to assess the actual distribution and ecology of the alien lineages, and further research is necessary to measure their impact on the native hybridogenetic system of the central-southern Italian pool frogs.

Mitochondrial phylogeny and taxonomic revision of Italian and Slovenian fluvio-lacustrine barbels, Barbus sp. (Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae)

BMC Zoology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Rossi ◽  
Federico Plazzi ◽  
Gianluca Zuffi ◽  
Andrea Marchi ◽  
Salvatore De Bonis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Taxonomic Revision ◽  
Nuclear Data ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Zoological Nomenclature ◽  
Conservation Policies ◽  
D Loop ◽  
Cyprinid Fishes ◽  
Northern Croatia ◽  
And Control

Abstract Background Barbels are ray finned cyprinid fishes of the Old-World with partially unresolved, intricate taxonomy. Within the Barbus sensu lato paraphyletic assemblage, Barbus sensu stricto is a monophyletic tetraploid lineage of Europe, northern Africa and Middle East, including two monophyletic sibling genera: Barbus and Luciobarbus. Italy, Slovenia and northern Croatia are natively inhabited by several entities of the genus Barbus, whose relationships and taxonomic ranks are still unclear. Aim of the present work is to focus on phylogeography of Italian and Slovenian barbels, with an appraisal of their current taxonomy. Results One hundred fifty specimens were collected in 78 sampling sites from 33 main watersheds, widely distributed along Italian and Slovenian ichthyogeographic districts. We amplified two mitochondrial markers, cytochrome b (cytb) and control region (D-loop), to infer a robust phylogeny for our sample and investigate on species delimitation. Our results strongly indicate all Italian and Adriatic Slovenian fluvio-lacustrine barbels to be comprised into at least three distinct species. We provide a proposal of taxonomic revision and a list of synonymies for two of them and a new description under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature rules for the third one. Conclusions If nuclear data will confirm our findings, at least three specific entities should be acknowledged across our sampling area. Namely, the three species are (i) Barbus plebejus, in the Padano-Venetian district; (ii) Barbus tyberinus, in the Tuscany-Latium district; (iii) Barbus oscensis Rossi & Plazzi sp. nov., in the Tyrrhenian and southernmost-Adriatic parts of Apulia-Campania district. Finally, we briefly discuss the implications of such a taxonomic scenario on conservation policies.

scholarly journals Endoparasitic helminths of water frog complex in Poland: do differences exist between the parental species Pelophylax ridibundus and Pelophylax lessonae, and their natural hybrid Pelophylax esculentus?

2011 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Popiołek ◽  
B. Rozenblut-Kościsty ◽  
M. Kot ◽  
W. Nosal ◽  
M. Ogielska
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Parental Species ◽  
Helminth Species ◽  
Natural Hybrid ◽  
Intensity Of Infection ◽  
Water Frog ◽  
Pelophylax Ridibundus ◽  
Water Frogs ◽  
Pelophylax Esculentus ◽  
Cosmocerca Ornata

AbstractParasitic fauna of water frogs was mainly studied in the second half of the 20th century. However, these studies were done without differentiation into species and hybrids and pooled the 3 taxa as “water frogs” or “green frogs”. The aim of this study was to make an inventory of helminth species as well as their prevalence and intensity of infection in the two parental species (Pelophylax ridibundus and P. lessonae) and the hybrid (P. esculentus) of water frogs from 3 big populations composed of hundreds or thousands of individuals inhabited natural and seminatural landscapes in Poland. Eight helminth species were found: Polystoma integerrimum, Diplodiscus subclavatus, Opisthoglyphe ranae, Gorgodera cygnoides, Haematoloechus variegatus, Oswaldocruzia filiformis, Cosmocerca ornata and Acanthocephalus ranae. The results were compared with data from other, polish and European studies. Additionally we compared the level of infection among water frog taxa.

scholarly journals A NEW SPECIES OF THE Pareas hamptoni COMPLEX (SQUAMATA, SERPENTES, PAREIDAE) FROM THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE

2020 ◽  
pp. 174-193
Author(s):  
Li Ding ◽  
Zening Chen ◽  
Chatmongkon Suwannapoom ◽  
Tan Van Nguyen ◽  
Nikolay A. Poyarkov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Yunnan Province ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Lower Number ◽  
Actual Distribution ◽  
Golden Triangle ◽  
Morphological And Molecular Data

An investigation of the taxonomic status of Pareas hamptoni (Hampton's Slug snake) based on morphological and molecular data revealed a new distinct species from the Golden Triangle region (comprising parts of southern China, and adjacent Laos and Thailand). The new species is shown to be a sister species to P. hamptoni but can be separated from the latter by having 3–5 dorsal scale rows at midbody slightly keeled (vs 5–9 scales strongly keeled); a lower number of ventrals, 170–188 (vs 185–195); and a lower number of subcaudals, 67–91 (vs 91–99). The new species is currently known from northwestern Thailand, northern Laos, and the southern part of Yunnan Province in China at elevations of 1,160–2,280 m a.s.l. We suggest that the new species to be considered of Least Concern (LC) in the IUCN‘s Red List categories. Problems of taxonomy and actual distribution of the P. hamptoni complex are briefly discussed; our results show P. hamptoni is now reliably known only from Myanmar and Vietnam, but its occurrence in Yunnan Province of China is likely.

scholarly journals A Systematic Analysis of the Alpine Saxifrage Complex (Saxifragaceae) in the Canadian Arctic Islands Using Morphology and Chloroplast DNA Data

2004 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Healy ◽  
Lynn J. Gillespie
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Variability ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Sympatric Species ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Morphological Data ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Site Analysis

The Saxifraga nivalis complex displays significant ecological, morphological and cytological variation. Most European studies suggest that the S. nivalis complex comprises two distinct species: Saxifraga nivalis sensu stricto and Saxifraga tenuis. However, the presence of intermediate morphotypes, inconsistencies in chromosomal counts and variability in morphological keys and descriptions have led to different taxonomic interpretations of the complex in North America. This study investigated the systematics of Canadian Arctic Island members of this complex from 157 specimens using 23 morphological characters. Principal component analysis of the morphological data revealed two adjacent clusters, corresponding to the two taxa and consistent with a close morphological similarity and the presence of hybrids. A preliminary restriction site analysis of five non-coding regions of the chloroplast genome, trnH-trnK, trnT-trnF, trnF-trnV, trnV-rbcL and rbcL-ORF106, was conducted using 21 restriction endonucleases. This analysis indicated a length difference between the trnT-trnF region of S. nivalis and that of S. tenuis, but no difference in restriction sites for any of the assayed regions. These results confirm that in the Canadian Arctic, the S. nivalis complex consists of two closely related, largely sympatric species, with notable morphological variability, and possible hybrids.

scholarly journals Amphibians of varzea environments and floating meadows of the oxbow lakes of the Middle Purus River, Amazonas, Brazil

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Werther Pereira Ramalho ◽  
Murilo Sousa Andrade ◽  
Lucicléia Railene Assis de Matos ◽  
Lisandro Juno Soares Vieira
Keyword(s):  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Oxbow Lakes ◽  
Historical Knowledge ◽  
Amphibian Species ◽  
The Family ◽  
Data Deficient ◽  
Distribution And Ecology ◽  
Amazonas State ◽  
Rare Endemic ◽  
Amazonian Lowlands

Despite the historical knowledge on amphibians of the Purus River basin, basic information on assemblages is fragmented, with gaps in knowledge existing at various scales, which limits conservation strategies. This study provides information on the composition, richness and abundance of the amphibian fauna in varzea environments and floating meadows of the oxbow lakes of the Middle Purus River between the Boca do Acre and Pauiní municipalities, Amazonas, Brazil. We sampled six oxbow lakes using forty-seven 200-meter transects, distributed among the "floating meadows," "high varzea" and "low varzea," from April to January 2014. We recorded 59 species, with the family Hylidae being predominant. This amphibian fauna represents approximately 19% of the species known for the Amazon, 28% for Amazonas State and 45% of the species recorded so far in the Purus River, increasing the richness of the basin to 132 species. Eight species were considered rare, and 29 are endemic to the Amazon. This study adds to the knowledge on the amphibian species of the Amazonian lowlands, including the expansion of known distributions, as well as increases the knowledge of several species that are locally rare, endemic and/or that are data deficient regarding distribution and ecology.

Redescription of Orthoprotella mayeri K.H. Barnard, 1916 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidae) from Cape Province, South Africa and description of O. berentsae sp. nov. from New South Wales, Australia

Zootaxa ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 1632 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-48
Author(s):  
ICHIRO TAKEUCHI ◽  
JAMES K. LOWRY
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
South Wales

Close examination of Orthoprotella mayeri K.H. Barnard, 1916 (sensu lato) which has been recorded from South Africa and New South Wales, Australia, revealed that there are two distinct species from Cape Province, South Africa and New South Wales, Australia, respectively. The present paper provides a redescription of O. mayeri K.H. Barnard, 1916 (sensu stricto) from South Africa and a description of O. berentsae sp. nov. from New South Wales, Australia. The two species can be identified based on the morphology of antenna 2, pereonites 6 and 7, and the uropods, although characteristic body somites of both species resemble other species.

A morphological study of variation in Tyrophagus (Acarina), with particular reference to populations infesting cheese

1961 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phyllis L. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Close Association ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Linear Measurement ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Plant Materials ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Ecological Zones ◽  
Distribution And Ecology ◽  
The Many

The difficulty of deciding the systematic status of variations within and between populations of Tyrophagus is considered in relation to the wide distribution of the genus and the many materials it infests.Variation within populations of what was thought to be one species infesting cheese is explained by the isolation of three closely similar forms which it is difficult, if not impossible, to separate by measurement alone. Frequency distributions overlap slightly for four linear measurement ratios on which separation is attempted, but differences between them are emphasised by differences in minute structural characters and they are therefore accepted as distinct species, identified as longior (Gervais, 1844), palmarum Oudemans, 1924, and putrescentiae (Schrank, 1781).Variation between populations attacking plant materials and other stored products in addition to cheese is accounted for to some extent by the recognition of three further Tyrophagus species, oudemansi Robertson, 1959, brevicrinatus Robertson, 1959, and tropicus Robertson, 1959.Within the species recognised, significant differences are recorded in dorsal hair characters and body proportions between populations on cheese produced in different geographical areas, and also between cheese populations and those infesting other materials, and these differences are thought to be at a racial level.T. longior, T. palmarum and T. putrescentiae are found to be distributed around the world, but as cheese pests they occupy somewhat different, although overlapping, geographical zones, since longior is a temperate-to-cool form, palmarum a temperate form and putrescentiae a subtropical or tropical form. The three are also found to occupy different, but overlapping ecological zones, making possible their association in mixed populations.Confusion in ecological data previously published on Tyrophagus is thought to be attributable in part to similarities in the morphology, geographical distribution and ecology of its species, and to their close association.

scholarly journals Molecular Characterization of the Fusarium graminearum Species Complex in Japan

2008 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Suga ◽  
G. W. Karugia ◽  
T. Ward ◽  
L. R. Gale ◽  
K. Tomimura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fusarium Graminearum ◽  
Species Complex ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Rflp Markers ◽  
Differential Distribution ◽  
The North ◽  
Pcr Rflp ◽  
Fusarium Graminearum Species Complex

Members of the Fusarium graminearum species complex are important cereal pathogens worldwide and belong to one of at least nine phylogenetically distinct species. We examined 298 strains of the F. graminearum species complex collected from wheat or barley in Japan to determine the species and trichothecene chemotype. Phylogenetic analyses and species-diagnostic polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLPs) revealed the presence and differential distribution of F. graminearum sensu stricto (s. str.) and F. asiaticum in Japan. F. graminearum s. str. is predominant in the north, especially in the Hokkaido area, while F. asiaticum is predominant in southern regions. In the Tohoku area, these species co-occurred. Trichothecene chemotyping of all strains by multiplex PCR revealed significantly different chemotype compositions of these species. All 50 strains of F. graminearum s. str. were of a 15- or 3-acetyl deoxynivalenol type, while 173 (70%) out of 246 strains of F. asiaticum were of a nivalenol type. The possibility of gene flow between the two species was investigated by use of 15 PCR-RFLP markers developed in this study. However, no obvious hybrids were detected from 98 strains examined, including strains collected from regions where both species co-occur.

scholarly journals Use of habitats by non-volant small mammals in Cerrado in Central Brazil

2012 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 893-902 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Santos-Filho ◽  
F. Frieiro-Costa ◽  
ÁRA. Ignácio ◽  
MNF. Silva
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Sensu Stricto ◽  
Monodelphis Domestica ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Gallery Forest ◽  
Central Brazil ◽  
Small Mammal Community ◽  
Forested Areas

Non-volant small mammals are organisms capable of yielding precise information on richness, abundance and species composition variations related to the use of habitats. The aim of this research was to compare these variations in Cerrado sensu stricto, Palm Forest, Gallery Forest and Rocky Field. From May 1999 to February 2000, we surveyed non-volant small mammals (hence small mammals) in Serra das Araras Ecological Station. We captured 218 individuals and recaptured 62 individuals, belonging to 21 taxa, 13 rodents and eight marsupials, in a total of 13200 trap-nights. Capture success was 1.7%. We observed higher richness of small mammals in forested areas (Gallery Forest and Palm Forest) than in open areas (Rocky Field and Cerrado sensu stricto). The Palm Forest had the highest richness of marsupials, possibly due to the quality of a specific niche. The Rocky Field had the smallest richness, but with very high abundance of few species, mainly Thrichomys pachyurus and Monodelphis domestica. Forest habitats had similar species composition. The open habitats, Cerrado sensu stricto and Rocky Field, had a distinct species composition between them, and also when compared to forested areas. Different species are exclusive or showed preference for specific habitats. The protection of horizontally heterogeneous biomes, such as Cerrado, has a fundamental importance to the maintenance of the regional diversity of the small mammal community of Central Brazil.

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