scholarly journals Ecuadorian Glass Frogs: Current state of knowledge, new research trends and conservation

Author(s):  
Diego F Cisneros-Heredia ◽  
Roy W. McDiarmid

Ecuador has the biggest number of amphibian species per unit of area in the world (427 species in 276,840 km2). Glass frogs (Centrolenidae), with 30 species, constitute 7.06 % of the Ecuadorian anurans. However, the current state of knowledge of this family in Ecuador is still very basic. Several species of glass frogs are currently undescribed, confused with previously described taxa, not yet reported from the country but present in local museum collections, not yet discovered in Ecuador, or even described under two different names. The genus Hyalinobatrachium is poorly known in the country (four species), but at least three undescribed taxa are present in the western lowlands of Ecuador. Among the genera Cochranella and Centrolene, at least 6 new species are known from tropical and subtropical areas in western and eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes. Several characters such as the patterns of skin, eye, peritoneum and pericardium color, the prepollical spine, the nuptial pad, and the presence of the bulla are discussed, especially around its taxonomic potential. At least one undescribed taxon from western lowlands of Ecuador is critically endangered, if not extinct. In the last decade, conservative estimates indicate that at least 26 species of Ecuadorian amphibians have declined or gone extinct, two of them belong to the family Centrolenidae. The reasons for this crisis are not clear but have been related to habitat destruction, climate change, and fungal disease such as the chytridiomycosis.

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego F Cisneros-Heredia ◽  
Roy W. McDiarmid

Ecuador has the biggest number of amphibian species per unit of area in the world (427 species in 276,840 km2). Glass frogs (Centrolenidae), with 30 species, constitute 7.06 % of the Ecuadorian anurans. However, the current state of knowledge of this family in Ecuador is still very basic. Several species of glass frogs are currently undescribed, confused with previously described taxa, not yet reported from the country but present in local museum collections, not yet discovered in Ecuador, or even described under two different names. The genus Hyalinobatrachium is poorly known in the country (four species), but at least three undescribed taxa are present in the western lowlands of Ecuador. Among the genera Cochranella and Centrolene, at least 6 new species are known from tropical and subtropical areas in western and eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes. Several characters such as the patterns of skin, eye, peritoneum and pericardium color, the prepollical spine, the nuptial pad, and the presence of the bulla are discussed, especially around its taxonomic potential. At least one undescribed taxon from western lowlands of Ecuador is critically endangered, if not extinct. In the last decade, conservative estimates indicate that at least 26 species of Ecuadorian amphibians have declined or gone extinct, two of them belong to the family Centrolenidae. The reasons for this crisis are not clear but have been related to habitat destruction, climate change, and fungal disease such as the chytridiomycosis.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ε.Ν. Hatzinikolis

The family Tenuipalpidae from Greece is revised and keys to the Greek species of the gene­ra Aegyptobia, Brevipalpus, Cenopalpus, Pentamerismus and Tenuipalpus are provided. A key to the Greek tenuipalpid genera is also given. The species: Aegyptobia leiahensis, Phytoptipaipusparadoxus, Brevipalpus recki, Pentamerismus coronatus, P. juniperi, P. o­regonensis, Pseudoleptus zelihae, Dolichotetranychus floridanus, Raoiella macfarlanei and Obdulia tamaricis are recorded for the first time. Two new species Aegyptobia karys­tensis and Aegyptobia aliartensis are described and illustrated. Hosts, distributional data and relation to hosts are presented for each species. A revaluation of the world genera and subgenera of the Tenuipalpidae is presented.


Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5057 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-561
Author(s):  
VASILIY B. KOLESNIKOV ◽  
VLADISLAV D. LEONOV

The description of a new species of oribatid mites (Oribatida) of the family Zetorchestidae—Zetorchestes krisperi sp. nov.—is proposed based on adult and tritonymph specimens collected from rainforest soil of Bi Dup-Nui Ba National Park (southern Vietnam). We also review the distinguishing characteristics for Zetorchestes species and present an identification key to Zetorchestes species of the world. Diagnostic features of Zetorchestes nymphs are discussed.  


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Rodrigo-Comino ◽  
José María Senciales-González ◽  
José Damián Ruiz-Sinoga

In this Special Issue, we have tried to include manuscripts about soil erosion and degradation processes and the accelerated rates due to hydrological processes and climate change. We considered that the main goal was successfully reached. The new research focused on measurements, modelling, and experiments under field or laboratory conditions developed at different scales (pedon, hillslope, and catchment) were submitted and published. This Special Issue received investigations from different parts of the world such as Ethiopia, Morocco, China, Iran, Italy, Portugal, Greece and Spain, among others. We are happy to see that all papers presented findings characterized as unconventional, provocative, innovative and methodologically new. We hope that the readers of the journal Water can enjoy and learn about hydrology and soil erosion using the published material, and share the results with the scientific community, policymakers and stakeholders new research to continue this amazing adventure, featuring plenty of issues and challenges.


1996 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 611-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan M. Adrain

Cyphaspis wessmani new species is a morphologically aberrant taxon from the Ludlow Henryhouse Formation of south-central Oklahoma. Its long, scoop-shaped cephalic border is without close comparison in the family Aulacopleuridae, but its possession of eleven thoracic segments with an axial spine on the sixth, an inflated glabella with tiny L1 and dorsal tuberculate sculpture, a prominently expressed bilobate eye socle, and a micropygous pygidium all support assignment to Cyphaspis. The genus is common in Silurian rocks from most parts of the world, but C. wessmani is the first published record from southern Laurentia.


Zootaxa ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3368 (1) ◽  
pp. 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
IVANA KARANOVIC ◽  
WONCHOEL LEE

Seven species of the family Candonidae Kaufmann, 1900 are reported from South Korea. Five species are described as new, all belonging to the subfamily Candoninae Kaufmann, 1900 and the tribe Candonini Kaufmann, 1900: Candona quasiakaina sp. nov., C. sillae sp. nov., Fabaeformiscandona koreana sp. nov., Typhlocypris choi sp. nov., and Schellencandona tea sp. nov. A very close resemblance between Candona sillae and the European C. improvisa Ostermeyer, 1937 prompted a redescription of the latter species based on the type material, and designation of the lectotype. One species of the tribe Candonopsini, Candonopsis transgrediens Brehm, 1923, previously known only from China, is reported from Korean freshwater habitats, and its first redescription is provided, along with a key to the world representatives of the genus Candonopsis Vávra, 1820. One species of the subfamily Paracypridinae, Dolerocypria mukaishimensis Okubo, 1980, previously known only from Japan, is redescribed from Korean brackish water habitats, and some notes on its variability are provided. A checklist of the Candonidae ostracods from East Asia is also provided, but only for those species that have been well-documented and taxonomically described.


Hydrobiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-46
Author(s):  
Eduardo José Rodríguez-Rodríguez ◽  
Rafael Carmona-González

Amphibians are among the most threatened vertebrates in the world due to habitat destruction, emerging diseases, and climate change, and therefore, it is of critical importance to identify the risk and conservation measures for their populations. In this work, we aimed to identify the status of amphibian distribution in the province of Seville, in the south of Spain. We additionally wanted to identify critical conservation areas and propose measures of conservation for the whole community as well as specific taxa. To do this, we mapped the distribution of amphibians using our own data and bibliography and translated it into a 10 × 10 km2 UTM grid. Our work has allowed us to identify several areas of importance for amphibians in the province and populations of some species that need special attention.


Biologija ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vytautas Eigirdas ◽  
Vesta Jonikė

Climate change significantly affects biological diversity around the world. Trends of this phenomenon have also been noticed in Lithuania: in the past decades, 55 new bird species have been recorded. The recent record of a new species was done on 3 December 2019. During ordinary birds ringing carried out in Ventės Ragas Ornithological Station in Lithuania, an individual Siberian northern shrike (Lanius borealis sibiricus) was caught and ringed. Additional blood sample was collected for species confirmation. Based on identification keys and molecular mitochondrial cytochrome b analysis, we report that this is the first record of the Siberian northern shrike in Lithuania.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego F Cisneros-Heredia ◽  
Roy W. McDiarmid

Ecuador has the biggest number of amphibian species per unit of area in the world (425 species in 283,560 km2). In the last decade, conservative estimates indicate that at least 26 species of Ecuadorian amphibians have declined or gone extinct. The reasons for this crisis are not clear but have been related to habitat destruction, climate change, and/or diseases, such as chytridiomycosis. The Río Palenque Science Center (RPSC) was among the last remnants of tropical rainforest in the western lowlands of Ecuador. Twenty years ago, investigations done by R. McDiarmid, Ken Miyata and others lead to the discovery of an amazing herpetofauna, including several undescribed species. However, the expansion of the agricultural frontier and transformation of the forest remnants into oil palm and banana plantations destroyed this site. Among the species identified from RPSC were five species of glass frogs (family Centrolenidae): Centrolene prosoblepon, Cochranella spinosa, Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni, Hyalinobatrachium sp. (cf. valerioi), and an undescribed species of the genus Centrolene. This research analyzed the morphological characters and natural history of the five glass frogs of RPSC in order to describe the new species of Centrolene from RPSC, which seems to be critically endangered, if not extinct. The new species is characterized by a combination of the following characters: 1) distinctive coloration in life with dark flecks and yellow dorsolateral stripes on a green dorsum; 2) parietal peritoneum white, covering about ½ of the venter, pericardium white, liver and stomach without guanophores, large intestine with guanophores; 3) presence of exposed prepollical spines; 4) humeral spines in males; 5) unique glandular nuptial pad between fingers I and II; and 5) reddish iris.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-120
Author(s):  
Yevgen Kiosya ◽  
Katarzyna Vončina ◽  
Piotr Gąsiorek

Many regions of the world remain unexplored in terms of the tardigrade diversity, and the islands of the Indian Ocean are no exception. In this work, we report four species of the family Echiniscidae representing three genera from Mauritius, the second largest island in the Mascarene Archipelago. Two species belong in the genus Echiniscus: Echiniscus perarmatus Murray, 1907, a pantropical species, and one new species: Echiniscus insularissp. nov., one of the smallest members of the spinulosus group and the entire genus, being particularly interesting due to the presence of males and supernumerary teeth-like spicules along the margins of the dorsal plates. The new species most closely resembles Echiniscus tropicalis Binda & Pilato, 1995, for which we present extensive multipopulation data and greatly extend its distribution eastwards towards islands of Southeast Asia. Pseudechiniscus (Meridioniscus) mascarenensissp. nov. is a typical member of the subgenus with elongated (dactyloid) cephalic papillae and the pseudosegmental plate IV’ with reduced posterior projections in males. Finally, a Bryodelphax specimen is also recorded. The assemblage of both presumably endemic and widely distributed tardigrade species in Mauritius fits the recent emerging biogeographic patterns for this group of micrometazoans.


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