First report of the Southern Gulf Coast Toad (Incilius valliceps Wiegmann), Common House Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus Duméril and Bibron), Schmidt’s Black-Striped Snake (Coniophanes schmidti Bailey), and Cozumel Whiptail (Aspidoscelis cozumela Gadow), on Turneffe Atoll, Belize

Each year from 2012 to 2019, during a 12-day period in November or December, we photographed common herpetofauna on Calabash Caye, a small mangrove-dominated island on the eastern edge of Turneffe Atoll, Belize. Turneffe Atoll is home to the newest, largest, and most biodiverse marine protected area in Belize. Calabash Caye exemplifies the islands on Turneffe’s eastern edge whose elevated beach ridges enable the development of coastal strand plain and littoral forest habitats, which are among the most threatened habitats in the world. As no herpetofaunal survey has been published for Turneffe in over twenty years, and as the herpetofauna is a conspicuous indicator of the health of terrestrial ecological communities on islands, we leveraged our annual field excursions to Calabash Caye to compile a photographic record of the island’s reptiles and amphibians. In multiple years, we documented the presence of five lizards (Anolis sagrei mayensis, Aspidoscelis cozumela, Ctenosaura similis, Phyllodactylus tuberculosus, and the invasive species Hemidactylus frenatus), three snakes (Boa imperator, Leptophis mexicanus hoeversi, and Coniophanes schmidti), and one amphibian (Incilius valliceps). This represents the first report of A. cozumela, H. frenatus, C. schmidti, and I. valliceps on Calabash Caye or on any island in Turneffe Atoll; H. frenatus, C. schmidti, and I. valliceps have never been reported on any of the Belizean cayes. We did not observe four species that have previously been reported on Calabash Caye: Brown Basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus), Mesoamerican Cane Toad (Rhinella horribilis), Mayan Skink (Marisora lineola; formerly Mabuya unimarginata), or a blindsnake, provisionally identified as Indotyphlops braminus. We also include photos of Anolis allisoni, Ctenosaura similis, and Anolis sagrei mayensis obtained during four single-day excursions to Half Moon Caye on Lighthouse Atoll; this represents three of four species reported from that location during the 1990s.

New records of the mites Geckobia bataviensis Vitzthum, 1926 and Pterygosoma dracoensis Jack, 1962 (Trombidiformes: Pterygosomatidae) from Timor-Leste

We report on the presence of scale mites (Trombidiformes: Pterygosomatidae) parasitizing three species of lizards in Timor-Leste. Geckobia bataviensis Vitzthum, 1926 was found associated with the Common House Gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus Duméril & Bibron, 1836, and the Indopacific Tree Gecko, Hemiphyllodactylus typus Bleeker, 1860, whereas Pterygosoma dracoensis Jack, 1962 was found on the patagia of a Timor Flying Dragon, Draco timoriensis Kuhl, 1820. The association of G. bataviensis with H. frenatus was well documented previously, but this is the first properly documented record of this mite for Timor-Leste. Our report of G. bataviensis on H. typus is the first association of this mite with this gecko. This is the second report of P. dracoensis on D. timoriensis and the first for Timor-Leste.

Remnant of Unrelated Amniote Sex Chromosomal Linkage Sharing on the Same Chromosome in House Gecko Lizards, Providing a Better Understanding of the Ancestral Super-Sex Chromosome

Comparative chromosome maps investigating sex chromosomal linkage groups in amniotes and microsatellite repeat motifs of a male house gecko lizard (Hemidactylus frenatus, HFR) and a flat-tailed house gecko lizard (H. platyurus, HPL) of unknown sex were examined using 75 bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) from chicken and zebra finch genomes. No massive accumulations of microsatellite repeat motifs were found in either of the gecko lizards, but 10 out of 13 BACs mapped on HPL chromosomes were associated with other amniote sex chromosomes. Hybridization of the same BACs onto multiple different chromosome pairs suggested transitions to sex chromosomes across amniotes. No BAC hybridization signals were found on HFR chromosomes. However, HFR diverged from HPL about 30 million years ago, possibly due to intrachromosomal rearrangements occurring in the HFR lineage. By contrast, heterochromatin likely reshuffled patterns between HPL and HFR, as observed from C-positive heterochromatin distribution. Six out of ten BACs showed partial homology with squamate reptile chromosome 2 (SR2) and snake Z and/or W sex chromosomes. The gecko lizard showed shared unrelated sex chromosomal linkages—the remnants of a super-sex chromosome. A large ancestral super-sex chromosome showed a correlation between SR2 and snake W sex chromosomes.

Cost-effective surveillance of an invasive species: application of info-gap theory to the Asian House Gecko Hemidactylus frenatus

Invasive species can lead to community-level damage to the invaded ecosystem and extinction of native species. Most surveillance systems for the detection of invasive species are developed based on expert assessment, inherently coming with a level of uncertainty. In this research, info-gap decision theory (IGDT) is applied to model and manage such uncertainty; surveillance of the Asian House Gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus Duméril and Bibron, 1836 on Barrow Island, is used as a case study. Our research provides a novel method for applying IGDT to determine the robust population threshold (K) to trigger detection, robust-optimizing surveillance costs rather than minimizing surveillance costs. We demonstrate that increasing the population threshold for detection increases both robustness to the errors in the model parameter estimates, and opportuneness to lower surveillance costs than the accepted maximum budget. This paper provides guidance for decision makers to balance robustness and required surveillance expenditure. IGDT offers a novel method to model and manage the uncertainty prevalent in biodiversity conservation practices and modelling. The method outlined here can be used to design robust surveillance systems for invasive species in a wider context, and to better tackle uncertainty in protection of biodiversity and native species in a cost-effective manner.

FIRST RECORD OF Gonatodes albogularis DUMÉRIL & BIBRON, 1836 (SQUAMATA: SPHAERODACTYLIDAE) FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ATLÁNTIDA, HONDURAS, WITH COMMENTS ON THE INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER LIZARDS

We recorded the first population of Gonatodes albogularis for the Departmento de Atlántida, being the most northwestern record in Honduras and we comment on its possible origin. In addition, in the same locality, we found Hemidactylus frenatus and Norops sagrei, species not native to Honduras. We observe certain behaviors of individuals of these three species and discuss them with respect to previous information on their possible interactions, with the intent to encourage future research on the interactions of these three species.

On On the distribution of three exotic geckos of genus Hemidactylus Gray, 1825 (Squamata, Gekkonidae), and an unusual record of the native lizard Gymnophthalmus speciosus (Hallowell, 1861) outside its elevational range in Colombia

The study of the introduction of exotic species in Colombia has been a trending topic in the last decade due to their effects on local diversity. The records of exotic reptile species of the genus Hemidactylus have increased based on museum vouchers and fieldwork. However, there are still plenty of information gaps regarding their current distribution in the country. Similarly, there is limited information on unusual reptile distributions caused by human transport inside the country. Here, we present an update to the distribution of the exotic house geckos Hemidactylus frenatus, H. garnotii, and H. mabouia based on several new localities and historical records. We also present an atypical record of the golden spectacled tegu Gymnophthalmus speciosus in paramo ecosystems from the Central Andes of Colombia, almost 2000 meters above the upper elevational known limit for this species. The distribution update shows that H. frenatus is widely distributed in 30 of the 32 departments of Colombia with no records for Chocó and Guainía. H. garnotii is currently known only from the Cauca River basin of the departments of Antioquia, Caldas, and Risaralda, while H. mabouia, previously known from the Amazon basin of the country, is now reported for the Andean region. Finally, Gymnophthalmus speciosus presence in a paramo ecosystem, considered unusual as it is not part of its distribution area, was probably the result of an accidental transport from a typical lowland locality (below 1000 meters above sea level.

DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTION OF HERPETOFAUNA IN INSTITUT TEKNOLOGI SUMATERA CAMPUS AREA

Land use change of rubber plantation into ITERA campus area has led to changes in the ecology of the area. Amphibians and reptiles, referred as Herpetofauna, are categorized as wild animals that are sensitive to environmental changes and are considered as bio-indicators. Wild conservation activities including herpetofauna is an essential part to the forest campus concept in ITERA. The objective of the study is to analyze the diversity and distribution of herpetofauna. This applied Visual Encounter Survey (VES) with Time Constraint Method and Glue Trap technique. This research was carried out on six observation path and 180 traps. The ecological index analysis consisted of species diversity, evenness, richness, abundance, and community similarity. Twenty-two herpetofauna species were found, including nine amphibians (5 families) and 13 reptiles (9 families). There was one reptile species with vulnerable conservation status and 3 reptile species included in CITES appendix II. The diversity index value (H ') was 2.29; species evenness (E) value was 0.74; and species richness value was 3.33. Amphibian species with the highest abundance was Fejervarya cancrivora 1.78 individual/hour of observer, while from the reptile species was Hemidactylus frenatus 0.35 individual/hour of observer. There were 550 herpetofauna encounters, where 8 species could be found on all transects and 6 species could only be found on one transect. This research showed that the condition of ITERA habitat currently supported herpetofauna's life and needed conservation activities to maintain herpetofauna diversity. Key words: distribution, diversity, herpetofauna, ITERA