Cuadernos de Herpetología

Functional morphology of the tongue of snake Bothrops jararaca (Reptilia: Squamata)

Maria Luiza Assis Rodrigues, Sirlene Souza Rodrigues Sartori — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0300

The tongue has a series of functions that can be related to feeding, such as transporting food to the back of the mouth, sensory function and capturing prey. The tongue of the reptiles has great morphological and functional variations between orders. This study aimed to described the morphological characteristics of the tongue of the snake Bothrops jararaca, relating them to the habitat and eating habits of this species. This work used five adult animals which were collected in the municipality of Viçosa, in the Zona da Mata Mineira region. The animals were euthanized, with anesthetic overdose, for the removal of the tongue, which was used for histological processing and scanning electron microscopy. The tongue had stratified epithelium with an extensive degree of keratinization and pigmentation. It was shown to be strongly muscular, innervated and vascularized.

Lizards Polychrus acutirostris (Sauria: Polychrotidae) and Ameiva ameiva (Sauria: Teiidae) as possible dispersers of the toxic plant Lantana camara (Verbenaceae)

Tue, 02 May 2023 00:00:00 -0300

Several species of lizard consume considerable amounts of plant material, and some can be seed dispersers. Between April and May 2021, five lizards were found that had consumed fruit of Lantana camara, a female specimen of Polychrus acutirostris and four specimens (three males and one female) of Ameiva ameiva. Lantana camara (Verbenaceae) is a plant naturalized in Brazil found in all regions, including areas of Caatinga, Carrasco, and Cerrado. It has fruit resistant to the digestion of its consumers. In ruminants, its consumption is associated with toxicity, with hepatotoxic and photosensitization effects. Our data present, for the first time, the consumption of these fruit by these two lizard’s species and suggest active feeding of L. camara as an additional feed resource, indicating that these lizards could be potential dispersers of L. camara seeds.

New records of malformations in Amazonian anurans

Alexander Tamanini Mônico, Igor Yuri Fernandes, Esteban Diego Koch — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0300

Reports on morphological malformations in amphibians have been extensively documented worldwide. However, in the Amazon Forest records are recent and still a horizon to be explored, considering that they are potential cues of serious environmental problems. Here, we report five individuals of different species with limb morphological malformations (Callimedusa tomopterna, Trachycephalus cunauaru, Dendropsophus marmoratus, Ceratophrys cornuta and Rhinella proboscidea), collected between February 2020 and April 2022 during fieldwork expeditions at localities of Brazilian Amazonia, and a rare case of Siamese twins in a specimen
of Synapturanus ajuricaba previously deposited at the Herpetological Collection of Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia. We provide radiographs and discuss about the affected bone structures. These records provide the first malformation cases known for adult specimens in the abovementioned species, and also in the family Phyllomedusidae.

Primer registro documentado de Phalotris cuyanus (Cei, 1984) (Serpentes, Dipsadidae) en la provincia de La Rioja, Argentina

Erick Iván Bustamante, Facundo Maria Morinigo, Thamara Fariñas Torres — Mon, 01 May 2023 00:00:00 -0300

New record of an alien snake Pantherophis guttatus (Squamata: Colubridae) in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil

Thu, 18 May 2023 00:00:00 -0300

Nuevos registros de Amphisbaena fuliginosa Linnaeus, 1758 (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae) para la Amazonia Boliviana y primer registro para el departamento del Beni

Luis R. Rivas, Vincent A. Vos, Ruben D. Layme — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0300

Primer registro de Amphisbaena bolivica (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae) en San Luis, Argentina

Lucía Martínez Retta, Víctor Maximiliano Pardo, Samuel Ernesto Olivieri Bornand — Fri, 21 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0300

Nuevos registros de serpientes en el Chaco biogeográfico de Argentina

Fri, 19 May 2023 00:00:00 -0300

Estudios sobre anuros de Argentina durante la década 2010- 2020: tendencias y vacíos de información

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0300

La producción del conocimiento científico puede presentar sesgos taxonómicos, geográficos y temáticos, los que a su vez podrían tener consecuencias negativas al momento de tomar decisiones en conservación, sobre todo en grupos altamente amenazados como son los anfibios. El objetivo de este trabajo fue explorar la producción científica sobre anuros de Argentina durante la década 2010-2020, a fin de establecer el estado actual del conocimiento e identificar posibles sesgos y vacíos de información. Nuestros resultados sugieren que la producción del conocimiento científico en anuros de Argentina se mantuvo constante en el período estudiado. Se observaron sesgos en cuanto a la distribución geográfica de las publicaciones, en las especies más estudiadas y en los temas abordados. El número de estudios fue mayor en provincias con una densidad de su población más alta y en temas relacionados con Morfología, así como para especies comunes con tamaños corporales medianos, de hábitos generalistas, con una amplia distribución geográfica, y con ocurrencia en zonas rurales-urbanas. Estos resultados constituyen un punto de partida para esclarecer y evidenciar los diferentes sesgos del conocimiento científico sobre anuros de Argentina.

Anuran detectability and calling phenology in urban ponds from the Brazilian Savanna

Natália Paludo Smaniotto, Leonardo Felipe Bairos Moreira — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0300

Over the last century, urban development has steadily resulted in wetland destruction, stream flow disturbance, and land clearing. Small intermittent wetlands are easily overlooked in large cities, and the secretive nature of amphibian species in these habitats can hinder see the big picture about the persistence of populations in urban habitats. Here, we determined anuran detectability associated with site-specific and survey-specific variables. We also identified the reproductive modes and described the calling activity along a four-year period in urban ponds of the Brazilian Cerrado ecoregion. We recorded 16 anuran species, but only nine were detected at levels suitable for modeling. Seven reproductive modes were observed in the assemblages, and although breeding choruses were more common in the rainy season, calling activity was also recorded in the dry season for 11 species. Anuran detectability was related to pond water depth, rainfall for the previous 24h, and day-of-year. Our results showed interplay between species-specific traits and water availability. We highlight that urban ponds can harbor
a considerable proportion of anuran diversity; however, urbanization seems to constraint even generalist species recorded for the Cerrado ecoregion.

Relationships between body growth indices and environmental factors on the reproductive cycle of the Gymnodactylus geckoides Spix, 1825 (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae) in Northeast Brazil

Fri, 12 May 2023 00:00:00 -0300

In this study, we analyzed the energy and reproductive cycles of female and male Gymnodactylus geckoides in the Caatinga area of northeast Brazil. We investigated whether these proxies of body condition, such as reproductive cells maturation and cellular structures changed in response to variation in abiotic and biotic factors (i.e., humidity, temperature, seasonality, body temperature, growing rate and gonad volume), using individuals stored under scientific conditions collected between September 2018 and December 2021. The condition factor showed an isometric growth pattern in the population studied. Meanwhile, the lipid, hepatic, and gonad factors correlated with body growth and showed monthly and seasonal variations, as well as reproductive cell maturation and cellular structure morphology. The cycles displayed constant replacement of energy reserves and mature reproductive cells, indicating constant and acyclic reproduction in G. geckoides. Energy reserves appear to be used for many reproductive activities, including meeting, gestation, and egg laying that occur at different frequencies during different periods in the dry and rainy seasons. Therefore, the reproductive cycle is likely to be strongly controlled by biotic factors, which are modeled using abiotic factors and environmental conditions (environmental patterns which proportionate greater resource availability). Our study is the first to investigate energy cycles and reproductive strategies in G. geckoides. It has shown that this species stores greater amounts of energy during the rainy season and then depletes these reserves during the dry period, since the rainy season correspond to the increase in energy consumption, mainly because of gestation and egg laying.

Cytogenetic study in the Brazilian semiarid lizard Tropidurus hispidus (Squamata, Tropiduridae)

Mon, 24 Apr 2023 00:00:00 -0300

Different classes of repetitive DNA sequences are found in eukaryotes, often composing substantial portions of the genome, associated with their important role in the structural and functional genome organization. In this work, we mapped repetitive DNA sequences (18S rDNA, microsatellites and telomeric motifs) in the karyotype of Tropidurus hispidus, a species of lizard
from the Brazilian semiarid region. We found a diploid number of 2n = 36 (6 pairs of biarmed macrochromosomes and 12 pairs of microchromosomes). The 18S rDNA clusters were localized at the subterminal region of the long arm of pair 2. The telomeric probes produced signals at terminal, interstitial and centromeric positions of some chromosome pairs, which might indicate
the occurrence of chromosomal rearrangements via chromosome fusions. Microsatellite sequences were found in at least two distinct patterns - clustered in the telomeric/pericentromeric regions or observed as scattered signals in the chromosomes. This study represents an initial step to explore the evolutionary dynamics of repetitive sequences in the Tropidurus genus and
considering the scarcity of data concerning the chromosomal mapping of repetitive sequences in Tropiduridae species, it reinforces the importance of integrating other methodologies, including the isolation and physical mapping of different repetitive DNA sequences, contributing to understanding the patterns of karyotypic evolution in lizards.