scholarly journals Characterization of an Alsodes pehuenche breeding site in the Andes of central Chile

Herpetozoa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 21-26
Author(s):  
Alejandro Piñeiro ◽  
Pablo Fibla ◽  
Carlos López ◽  
Nelson Velásquez ◽  
Luis Pastenes

Alsodes pehuenche, an endemic anuran that inhabits the Andes of Argentina and Chile, is considered “Critically Endangered” due to its restricted geographical distribution and multiple potential threats that affect it. This study is about the natural history of A. pehuenche and the physicochemical characteristics of a breeding site located in the Maule mountain range of central Chile. Moreover, the finding of its clutches in Chilean territory is reported here for the first time. Finally, a description of the number and morphology of these eggs is provided.

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinícius Matheus Caldart ◽  
Samanta Iop ◽  
Tiago Gomes dos Santos ◽  
Sonia Zanini Cechin

We record for the first time Crossodactylus schmidti (Anura: Hylodidae) and Proceratophrys avelinoi (Anura: Cycloramphidae) from Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, based on individuals captured in an area of Mesophytic Semideciduous Forest, the Parque Estadual do Turvo, located in the northwest region of the state. These records extend the geographical range for both species in about 60 km from the nearest known locality, the Municipality of San Vicente, Misiones, Argentina. We provide a characterization of the calling site used by males of Crossodactylus schmidti, and we also determined the niche breadth of P. avelinoi regarding to the use of water bodies.


Author(s):  
Carina Carneiro de Melo Moura ◽  
Geraldo Jorge Barbosa De Moura ◽  
Elizardo Batista Ferreira Lisboa ◽  
Vera Lúcia Ferreira Luz

The knowledge of natural history of the Brazilian species of turtles is still insipient because most information about these animals are restricted to a few records of occurrence, which in general are sparse in the literature or even in museums. The paucity of knowledge prevents broader approaches on various ecological and evolutionary aspects, which are primordial for conservation planning and management of the group. The large geographical extent, the environmental complexity, and the degradation of biomes in Northeast Brazil make the systematization of environmental and biological data on turtles from this region, which are compiled and discussed in this paper, highly important to contribute to the characterization of the conservation status of these species and therefore to subsidize the diagnosis of the environments associated to them.


Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2910 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
MAJID MORADMAND ◽  
PETER JÄGER

Four new species of the huntsman spider genus Spariolenus Simon, 1880 are described from Iran: S. aratta spec. nov. (female) from Jebal Barez mountains in Kerman Province, S. iranomaximus spec. nov. (male, female) from Khofash cave in Ilam Province, S. manesht spec. nov. (female) from Manesht mountain in Ilam and S. zagros spec. nov. (male, female) from Kenesht cave, Kermanshah Province. We present an extended diagnosis for the genus and information on the natural history of the new species. This is the first record of the subfamily Heteropodinae in Iran. Females of S. iranomaximus spec. nov. are larger than any spider ever found in the Middle East. All the species occurred in caves and rock crevices of the Zagros mountain range in Iran. According to the geographical distribution of currently known Spariolenus species, palaeontology perspectives and geological history of the area an evolutionary scenario of speciation associated with Zagros orogeny is proposed.


2021 ◽  
pp. 10-30
Author(s):  
Hans Joas

The Scottish eighteenth-century philosopher and historian David Hume can be considered a pioneer of the “natural history of religion” in the sense of a universal history of religion that is not based on theological presuppositions. This chapter offers a characterization of his methodological achievements and a reevaluation of his empirical claims concerning monotheism, polytheism, religion and tolerance. It also interprets the German reception of Hume in Herder and other eighteenth-century thinkers as a serious critical continuation that is free from Hume’s anti-Christian motives. This continuation opens the perspective of a serious study of the literary character of religious texts, in this case of the Bible. All simple contrasts between Enlightenment and religion are overcome as soon as we take this interaction of thinkers into account.


2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (24) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey B. Doty ◽  
Giorgi Maghlakelidze ◽  
Irakli Sikharulidze ◽  
Shin-Lin Tu ◽  
Clint N. Morgan ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In 2013, a novel orthopoxvirus was detected in skin lesions of two cattle herders from the Kakheti region of Georgia (country); this virus was named Akhmeta virus. Subsequent investigation of these cases revealed that small mammals in the area had serological evidence of orthopoxvirus infections, suggesting their involvement in the maintenance of these viruses in nature. In October 2015, we began a longitudinal study assessing the natural history of orthopoxviruses in Georgia. As part of this effort, we trapped small mammals near Akhmeta (n = 176) and Gudauri (n = 110). Here, we describe the isolation and molecular characterization of Akhmeta virus from lesion material and pooled heart and lung samples collected from five wood mice (Apodemus uralensis and Apodemus flavicollis) in these two locations. The genomes of Akhmeta virus obtained from rodents group into 2 clades: one clade represented by viruses isolated from A. uralensis samples, and one clade represented by viruses isolated from A. flavicollis samples. These genomes also display several presumptive recombination events for which gene truncation and identity have been examined. IMPORTANCE Akhmeta virus is a unique Orthopoxvirus that was described in 2013 from the country of Georgia. This paper presents the first isolation of this virus from small mammal (Rodentia; Apodemus spp.) samples and the molecular characterization of those isolates. The identification of the virus in small mammals is an essential component to understanding the natural history of this virus and its transmission to human populations and could guide public health interventions in Georgia. Akhmeta virus genomes harbor evidence suggestive of recombination with a variety of other orthopoxviruses; this has implications for the evolution of orthopoxviruses, their ability to infect mammalian hosts, and their ability to adapt to novel host species.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Safia Zeghbib ◽  
Róbert Herczeg ◽  
Gábor Kemenesi ◽  
Brigitta Zana ◽  
Kornélia Kurucz ◽  
...  

Abstract Bats are reservoirs of numerous zoonotic viruses. The Picornaviridae family comprises important pathogens which may infect both humans and animals. In this study, a bat-related picornavirus was detected from Algerian Minioptreus schreibersii bats for the first time in the country. Molecular analyses revealed the new virus originates to the Mischivirus genus. In the operational use of the acquired sequence and all available data regarding bat picornaviruses, we performed a co-evolutionary analysis of mischiviruses and their hosts, to authentically reveal evolutionary patterns within this genus. Based on this analysis, we enlarged the dataset, and examined the co-evolutionary history of all bat-related picornaviruses including their hosts, to effectively compile all possible species jumping events during their evolution. Furthermore, we explored the phylogeny association with geographical location, host-genus and host-species in both data sets.


Zootaxa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 4243 (3) ◽  
pp. 521
Author(s):  
FABIANO F. ALBERTONI ◽  
SÔNIA A. CASARI

The natural history of Acentroptera basilica Guérin-Méneville, 1844 and A. cf. tessellata Baly, 1958 (Cassidinae: Sceloenoplini) associated with Aechmea aquilega Salisb. and Vriesea sp. (Bromeliaceae), respectively, is registered. Adults of both species are leaf scrapers, although larvae are leaf-miners. The immature stages of both species of Acentroptera are described and illustrated for the first time. The male and the female genitalia of A. basilica and new records for both species are also included. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2172 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
PASCHOAL COELHO GROSSI

Two new species of Leptinopterus are described, both from southern Brazil: L. asketus new species and L. assimilis new species. Two new synonymies are also made; L. rotundicollis Lüderwaldt and L. luederwaldti de Moraes are synonymyzed with L. tibialis (Eschscholtz). The correct identities of two unavailable names are discussed: “L. nitidus ab. lepidus” with L. affinis Parry and “L. elegans ab. catharinensis” with L. gracilis Boileau. For the first time, some natural history notes for five species of Leptinopterus are reported and some information on their behavior is also given. The identity of Leptinopterus gracilis is correctly determined after an examination of a picture of the holotype.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4-6) ◽  
pp. 358-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Pugliano

Famed for his collection of drawings of naturalia and his thoughts on the relationship between painting and natural knowledge, it now appears that the Bolognese naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522–1605) also pondered specifically color and pigments, compiling not only lists and diagrams of color terms but also a full-length unpublished manuscript entitled De coloribus or Trattato dei colori. Introducing these writings for the first time, this article portrays a scholar not so much interested in the materiality of pigment production, as in the cultural history of hues. It argues that these writings constituted an effort to build a language of color, in the sense both of a standard nomenclature of hues and of a lexicon, a dictionary of their denotations and connotations as documented in the literature of ancients and moderns. This language would serve the naturalist in his artistic patronage and his natural historical studies, where color was considered one of the most reliable signs for the correct identification of specimens, and a guarantee of accuracy in their illustration. Far from being an exception, Aldrovandi’s ‘color sensibility’ spoke of that of his university-educated nature-loving peers.



Zootaxa ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 4410 (3) ◽  
pp. 483 ◽  
Author(s):  
FERNANDO DA SILVA CARVALHO-FILHO ◽  
GABRIELA PIRANI ◽  
THIAGO GECHEL KLOSS

A new species of Cladochaeta Coquillett (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is described, C. caxiuana sp. nov. from the Brazilian Amazon, based on 10 male and 10 female specimens obtained from nymphs of Sphodroscarta trivirgata (Amyot & Serville, 1843) (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Aphrophoridae). The female of Cladochaeta atlantica Pirani & Amorim, 2016 is described based on specimens reared from spider egg sacs of the spider Cryptachaea migrans (Keyserling, 1884) (Araneae: Theridiidae) obtained in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. This is the first record of this fly genus attacking a spider egg sac. The species Cladochaeta sororia (Williston, 1896) is recorded for the first time from Brazil, based on specimens collected in an urban garden in the Amazon. In addition, an unidentified female specimen of Cladochaeta Coquillett, 1900 was obtained from the cocoon of a spider wasp of the genus Notocyphus Smith (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae). 


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