scholarly journals A solution to the enigma of the type locality of Telmatobius halli Noble, 1938 (Anura: Telmatobiidae), a lost frog for 85 years

Author(s):  
Claudio Correa

For 80 years, there were no sightings of the Andean amphibian Telmatobius halli due to the ambiguity with which its type locality was described (“warm spring near Ollagüe”, northern Chile). The type specimens were collected during the International High Altitude Expedition to Chile (IHAEC) of 1935, but they were later described in 1938. Recently, in 2018 and 2020, two studies independently reported the rediscovery of the species. Although in these studies live specimens were analyzed and bibliographic references were consulted, both reached different conclusions about its identity and distribution. The 2018 proposal identifies the populations of the Chijlla-Choja and Copaquire ravines (previously assigned to T. chusmisensis) as T. halli, whereas the 2020 proposal identifies the hot spring “Aguas Calientes”, located in the Carcote salt flat some 12 km SW of Ollagüe, as its type locality. The problem with these two proposals is that these populations are more phylogenetically related to other species than to each other, so they clearly do not belong to the same taxon. Although the last proposal is more in line with the geographic information of the description, it does not consider some bibliographic details and the transport limitations of the IHAEC. Here, based on a detailed analysis of the chronicles of the IHAEC and other bibliographic sources, I first refute the 2018 and 2020 proposals and then provide a solution: the type locality of T. halli is Miño, an abandoned mining camp located at the source of the Loa river

ZooKeys ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1060 ◽  
pp. 183-192
Author(s):  
Claudio Correa

For 80 years, there were no sightings of the Andean frog, Telmatobius halli, due to the ambiguity with which its type locality was described (“warm spring near Ollagüe”, northern Chile). The type specimens were collected during the International High Altitude Expedition to Chile (IHAEC) in 1935 and were subsequently described in 1938. In 2018 and 2020, two studies independently reported the rediscovery of the species, but they reached different conclusions about its identity and geographic distribution. In fact, the populations identified as T. halli in those studies are more phylogenetically related to other species than to each other, so they clearly do not belong to the same taxon. Although the study of 2020 is more in line with the geographic information of the description, it does not consider some bibliographic details and the transport limitations of the IHAEC. Here, based on a detailed analysis of the chronicles of the IHAEC and other bibliographic sources, I first refute the proposals of the 2018 and 2020 studies and then provide a possible solution. The combined information from the chronicles indicates that the type locality of T. halli is found at the sources of the Loa River, a different place from those identified in the two previous studies. By also incorporating geographic information of the time, I conclude that its true type locality is Miño, an abandoned mining camp located near the origin of the Loa River, where currently no populations of the genus have been described.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1473
Author(s):  
Ani Saghatelyan ◽  
Armine Margaryan ◽  
Hovik Panosyan ◽  
Nils-Kåre Birkeland

The microbial diversity of high-altitude geothermal springs has been recently assessed to explore their biotechnological potential. However, little is known regarding the microbiota of similar ecosystems located on the Armenian Highland. This review summarizes the known information on the microbiota of nine high-altitude mineralized geothermal springs (temperature range 25.8–70 °C and pH range 6.0–7.5) in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. All these geothermal springs are at altitudes ranging from 960–2090 m above sea level and are located on the Alpide (Alpine–Himalayan) orogenic belt, a seismically active region. A mixed-cation mixed-anion composition, with total mineralization of 0.5 mg/L, has been identified for these thermal springs. The taxonomic diversity of hot spring microbiomes has been examined using culture-independent approaches, including denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), 16S rRNA gene library construction, 454 pyrosequencing, and Illumina HiSeq. The bacterial phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, and Firmicutes are the predominant life forms in the studied springs. Archaea mainly include the phyla Euryarchaeota, Crenarchaeota, and Thaumarchaeota, and comprise less than 1% of the prokaryotic community. Comparison of microbial diversity in springs from Karvachar with that described for other terrestrial hot springs revealed that Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, and Deinococcus–Thermus are the common bacterial groups in terrestrial hot springs. Contemporaneously, specific bacterial and archaeal taxa were observed in different springs. Evaluation of the carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen metabolism in these hot spring communities has revealed diversity in terms of metabolic activity. Temperature seems to be an important factor in shaping the microbial communities of these springs. Overall, the diversity and richness of the microbiota are negatively affected by increasing temperature. Other abiotic factors, including pH, mineralization, and geological history, also impact the structure and function of the microbial community. More than 130 bacterial and archaeal strains (Bacillus, Geobacillus, Parageobacillus, Anoxybacillus, Paenibacillus, Brevibacillus Aeribacillus, Ureibacillus, Thermoactinomyces, Sporosarcina, Thermus, Rhodobacter, Thiospirillum, Thiocapsa, Rhodopseudomonas, Methylocaldum, Desulfomicrobium, Desulfovibrio, Treponema, Arcobacter, Nitropspira, and Methanoculleus) have been reported, some of which may be representative of novel species (sharing 91–97% sequence identity with their closest matches in GenBank) and producers of thermozymes and biomolecules with potential biotechnological applications. Whole-genome shotgun sequencing of T. scotoductus K1, as well as of the potentially new Treponema sp. J25 and Anoxybacillus sp. K1, were performed. Most of the phyla identified by 16S rRNA were also identified using metagenomic approaches. Detailed characterization of thermophilic isolates indicate the potential of the studied springs as a source of biotechnologically valuable microbes and biomolecules.


ZooKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 893 ◽  
pp. 21-50
Author(s):  
Sergio I. Salazar-Vallejo ◽  
Alexandra E. Rizzo ◽  
J. Ángel de León-González ◽  
Kalina M. Brauco

Sigambra grubii Müller, 1858 has been reported from many different coastal environments in Brazil and the Grand Caribbean. However, more than one species was thought to be included under this species group name. After the study of several subtle and consistent differences in specimens fitting the description S. grubii, a new Grand Caribbean species is herein recognized and described as S. hernandezisp. nov. Further, the study of other Sigambra specimens prompted the examination of type specimens of S. bassi (Hartman, 1947), and of S. wassi Pettibone, 1966 to clarify some morphological features, and three other new species are recognized and newly described: S. diazisp. nov. and S. ligneroisp. nov. from the southeastern Caribbean (Venezuela), and S. olivaisp. nov. from the northwestern Caribbean (México). Morphological features are also clarified for S. grubii by comparison with specimens from the type locality, Florianópolis, Brazil, and with type specimens of S. bassi from Florida (U.S.A.), and non-type specimens of S. wassi from Virginia (USA). A key to identify all species of Sigambra is also included.


Author(s):  
Ruo-Yu Liu

The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) has recently published the first results, including the discovery of 12 ultrahigh-energy gamma-ray sources (with emission above 100[Formula: see text]TeV) above [Formula: see text] confidence level and a detailed analysis of Crab Nebula. This contribution gives a brief introduction to the LHAASO experiment and its recent discoveries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (31) ◽  
pp. 18169-18171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay F. Storz ◽  
Marcial Quiroga-Carmona ◽  
Juan C. Opazo ◽  
Thomas Bowen ◽  
Matthew Farson ◽  
...  

Environmental limits of animal life are invariably revised when the animals themselves are investigated in their natural habitats. Here we report results of a scientific mountaineering expedition to survey the high-altitude rodent fauna of Volcán Llullaillaco in the Puna de Atacama of northern Chile, an effort motivated by video documentation of mice (genusPhyllotis) at a record altitude of 6,205 m. Among numerous trapping records at altitudes of >5,000 m, we captured a specimen of the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus rupestris) on the very summit of Llullaillaco at 6,739 m. This summit specimen represents an altitudinal world record for mammals, far surpassing all specimen-based records from the Himalayas and other mountain ranges. This discovery suggests that we may have generally underestimated the altitudinal range limits and physiological tolerances of small mammals simply because the world’s high summits remain relatively unexplored by biologists.


Zootaxa ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 1022 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
STANISLAV P. ABADJIEV

A catalog of the type material of 59 taxa of Neotropical Pierinae housed in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, is presented. Each entry includes the species-group name, the original combination quoted from the original publication, the type locality, the type specimens with their labels, and notes about current taxonomic status. One new synonym has been established, Euterpe dysoni Doubleday, 1847 = Leodonta marginata Schaus, 1902. Lectotypes are designated for 5 species group taxa: Archonias intermedia Schaus, 1913, Hesperocharis jaliscana Schaus, 1898, H. paranensis Schaus, 1898, Pieris sublineata Schaus, 1902, and P. limona Schaus, 1913.


2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-59
Author(s):  
M. L. Pathak ◽  
H. C. Li ◽  
B. Xu ◽  
X. F. Gao ◽  
K. K. Pokharel ◽  
...  

  The newly described species, Ziziphus budhensis was confirmed as Chinese Jujuba, Z. xiangchengensis on the basis of their DNA analyses. Z. budhensis was explained as a new species on the basis of some morphological differences in 2015. In the Year 2016, the DNA samples were collected from the type locality of Nepal, and the molecular analyses were carried out. The type specimens and the other available images from the different herbariums were examined. Besides, the protologue and the type images were studied carefully. The result showed that though there were some differences in the habit and the habitat of the plant, the previously described new species, Z. budhensis was found to be same as the Chinese species, Z. xiangchengensis. This study also showed the importance of the molecular work of Z. budhensis and confirmed it morphologically distinct although it was very close to the Chinese species.Banko Janakari, Vol. 27, No. 1, page: 55-59


Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4585 (1) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
VINÍCIUS J. C. REIS ◽  
MÁRIO DE PINNA

The trichomycterid catfish species Trichomycterus alternatus (Eigenmann, 1917) and Trichomycterus zonatus (Eigenmann, 1918) are reportedly among the most pervasive species in mid- to high-elevation coastal streams of Southeastern Brazil. Despite their apparent abundance and ecological ubiquity, the applicability of their names is still uncertain. Examination of the type material of the two species reveals that part of the confusion stems from a mixing of species in the T. zonatus type series. Other issues relate to reports of character conditions in the respective species that do not actually correspond to the situation in their type specimens. Such situation triggered a long-lasting chain of taxonomic misinterpretations and erroneous identification protocols and traditions so that even the taxonomic distinctiveness of the two species is nebulous. That situation is disentangled in detail on the basis of new information on the holotypes and remaining type specimens of each species by classical and new (stereo triplet radiography) morphology analyses for data acquisition. Results show that the type specimens of T. alternatus and T. zonatus differ pronouncedly in several traits of internal and external morphology and represent markedly distinct taxa. The latter species does not correspond to most identifications in the literature and is, in fact, endemic to the region of its type locality. We also clarify and map the reported localities of the type material and offer comments on the validity of T. alternatus and T. zonatus, along with that of possibly related forms. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 916 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
LUIS E. ACOSTA

The long neglected scorpion species Orobothriurus bivittatus (Thorell) stat. n., comb. n. (Bothriuridae), formerly considered a subspecies of Urophonius brachycentrus (Thorell) and more recently placed under synonymy of the type species of Orobothriurus Maury, O. alticola (Pocock), is revalidated and redescribed on a male captured in the Sierra del Tontal, west Argentina. It proved to be a close relative of O. alticola, from which it can be separated by some details of the hemispermatophore morphology (e.g. relative length of the lamina apex, lobular expansions at the inflexion point of the front crest). This species is probably a high altitude endemic to the Precordillera, a range separated from the Andes (where O. alticola was collected) by a narrow valley. The type locality for O. bivittatus stat. n., comb. n. (and also for Telegonus weijenberghi Thorell) is restricted to the upper belts of the mentioned range, as thoroughly discussed. To ensure nomenclatural stability, it is proposed to set aside the existing holotype and to designate the studied male as neotype.


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