Marinus S. Hoogmoed

Quantifying the biodiversity value of tropical primary, secondary, and plantation forests

Biodiversity loss from deforestation may be partly offset by the expansion of secondary forests and plantation forestry in the tropics. However, our current knowledge of the value of these habitats for biodiversity conservation is limited to very few taxa, and many studies are severely confounded by methodological shortcomings. We examined the conservation value of tropical primary, secondary, and plantation forests for 15 taxonomic groups using a robust and replicated sample design that minimized edge effects. Different taxa varied markedly in their response to patterns of land use in terms of species richness and the percentage of species restricted to primary forest (varying from 5% to 57%), yet almost all between-forest comparisons showed marked differences in community structure and composition. Cross-taxon congruence in response patterns was very weak when evaluated using abundance or species richness data, but much stronger when using metrics based upon community similarity. Our results show that, whereas the biodiversity indicator group concept may hold some validity for several taxa that are frequently sampled (such as birds and fruit-feeding butterflies), it fails for those exhibiting highly idiosyncratic responses to tropical land-use change (including highly vagile species groups such as bats and orchid bees), highlighting the problems associated with quantifying the biodiversity value of anthropogenic habitats. Finally, although we show that areas of native regeneration and exotic tree plantations can provide complementary conservation services, we also provide clear empirical evidence demonstrating the irreplaceable value of primary forests.

The global distribution of tetrapods reveals a need for targeted reptile conservation

The distributions of amphibians, birds and mammals have underpinned global and local conservation priorities, and have been fundamental to our understanding of the determinants of global biodiversity. In contrast, the global distributions of reptiles, representing a third of terrestrial vertebrate diversity, have been unavailable. This prevented the incorporation of reptiles into conservation planning and biased our understanding of the underlying processes governing global vertebrate biodiversity. Here, we present and analyse the global distribution of 10,064 reptile species (99% of extant terrestrial species). We show that richness patterns of the other three tetrapod classes are good spatial surrogates for species richness of all reptiles combined and of snakes, but characterize diversity patterns of lizards and turtles poorly. Hotspots of total and endemic lizard richness overlap very little with those of other taxa. Moreover, existing protected areas, sites of biodiversity significance and global conservation schemes represent birds and mammals better than reptiles. We show that additional conservation actions are needed to effectively protect reptiles, particularly lizards and turtles. Adding reptile knowledge to a global complementarity conservation priority scheme identifies many locations that consequently become important. Notably, investing resources in some of the world’s arid, grassland and savannah habitats might be necessary to represent all terrestrial vertebrates efficiently.The global distribution of nearly all extant reptile species reveals richness patterns that differ spatially from that of other taxa. Conservation prioritization should specifically consider reptile distributions, particularly lizards and turtles.

Food habits of Anilius scytale (Serpentes: Aniliidae) in the Brazilian Amazonia

Information on the diet of Anilius scytale is provided based on the analysis of 162 specimens from the Brazilian Amazonia. Amphisbaenians (Aulura anomala Barbour, 1914; Leposternon polystegumn [Dumeril, 1951] and Amphisbaena sp.), which are highly specialized for a fossorial life, accounted for 81.25% of the recorded items, followed by snakes - Anilius scytale (Linnaeus, 1758), and Tantilla melanocephala (Linnaeus, 1758): 12.5% - and caecilians - Caecilia cf. gracilis Shaw, 1802: 6.25%. We found a positive, although not significant, relationship between the snout-vent length of A. scytale and the total length of the prey and a tendency for smaller specimens to ingest proportionately larger prey. Anilius scytale forages mainly on the ground, at night, as well as in aquatic environments. The non-selective capture of either proportionately large or small prey by A. scytale may reflect the opportunistic nature of the encounters. A tendency of the juveniles of this species to ingest proportionately larger prey may be associated with either a low availability of prey with a size compatible to that of the juveniles, or with their inexperience in selecting prey. Ingestion of prey headfirst may be an attempt to minimize the risk of injury the prey could cause through their rigid, pointed and sharp structures or powerful bites.

Observations on the nocturnal activity of lizards in a marshy area in Serra do Navio, Brazil

Lizards normally considered to be diurnal inhabitants of forest-floor leaf-litter were found, during field work in Serrado Navio, Amapa State in a rather special habitat, the margin of a large, marshy, open area at the side of a creek, completely surrounded by rainforest, with a thick layer of leaf-litter on a very wet and muddy substrate. In this location they were extremely numerous and active during nights with a nearly full moon. Some speculations about the causes for this behaviour are made.

Karyotypes of a Cryptic Diploid Form of the Unisexual Leposoma percarinatum (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae) and the Bisexual Leposoma ferreirai from the Lower Rio Negro, Amazonian Brazil

Abstract Karyotypes of Leposoma show a clear differentiation between species of the scincoides group from Brazilian Atlantic Forest (2n  =  52, without distinctive size groups of chromosomes) and those of the parietale group from the Amazon (2n  =  44, with 20M + 24m). In a previous study, we found that in the parietale group the parthenoform Leposoma percarinatum from the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, exhibited a triploid karyotype (3n  =  66) with 30 macrochromosomes and 36 microchromosomes. It was suggested that this karyotype arose after hybridization between a bisexual species with N  =  22 (10M + 12m) and a hypothetical unisexual cryptic diploid form of the L. percarinatum complex. Herein, we describe the karyotypes for two species of the parietale group occurring sympatrically in the Arquipélago das Anavilhanas, lower Rio Negro, in Amazonian Brazil. The first represents a distinctive diploid parthenogenetic clone of the L. percarinatum complex, and the other is the recently described Leposoma ferreirai. Both species have 44 biarmed chromosomes clearly represented by 20 macrochromosomes and 24 microchromosomes and present Ag-NORs in one pair of the smallest sized microchromosomes; heteromorphism of size for these regions was detected in L. percarinatum. C-banding revealed blocks of constitutive heterochromatin on the telomeric and pericentromeric regions of macrochromosomes and some microchromosomes. The description of a diploid karyotype (2n  =  44, 20M + 24m) for the L. percarinatum complex and its sympatric congener L. ferreirai provides new insight for a better understanding of the origin of parthenogenesis in the L. percarinatum complex.

A NEW SPECIES OF MICROCAECILIA (AMPHIBIA: GYMNOPHONA: CAECILIIDAE) FROM SURINAME

Abstract We describe a new species of the caecilian genus Microcaecilia (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Caeciliidae) from the Lely Mountains, Suriname and provide new information about the identification and distribution of species of Microcaecilia across the Guiana Shield. The new species, M. grandis, is large (318 mm total length), has many premaxillary-maxillary teeth (>20), and has bicuspid vomeropalatine teeth. We determined that specimens from Suriname previously assigned to M. unicolor (Duméril, 1864) were misidentified and that M. unicolor is currently known only from French Guiana.

Lepidodactylus lugubris (Duméril & Bibron 1836) (Reptilia: Gekkonidae), an introduced lizard new for Brazil, with remarks on and correction of its distribution in the New World

Recently seven specimens of the gecko Lepidodactylus lugubris were collected or observed in Belém, Pará, northern Brazil. This is the first vouchered occurrence in Brazil of a widely dispersed (Pacific area) and invasive species (much of the Pacific, parts of northern South America and southern Central America and Florida, U.S.A.). In Suriname the species has already spread into the interior. The distribution of the species is corrected and the history of its introduction in the New World is reconstructed, with an estimation of the state of invasiveness for each country. Some possible routes of introduction are discussed.

A New Species of Mesobaena Mertens, 1925 (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae) from Brazilian Guiana, with a Key to the Amphisbaenidae of the Guianan Region

Abstract We describe a new species of the formerly monotypic genus Mesobaena from the northern part of the State of Pará, Brazilian Guiana. This species is characterized by having a very pointed snout, two supralabials and two infralabials, of which second ones are elongate and enormous, small eye visible under ocular, ocular very elongate, autotomy annulus poorly marked or absent, absence of dorsal, lateral and ventral sulci, and presence of vertical flat, unsegmented band-like structure with concave lateral edges on tip of tail. Hemipenis without spines or distinct ridges on proximal third, sulcus spermaticus only on proximal third. We make comparisons with other South American amphisbaenids, and provide a key to the amphisbaenids of the Guianan Region. The species is fossorial and inhabits Amazonian tropical rainforest forest near creeks. This is the second species known of the genus, which seems to be restricted to the Guiana Shield and immediate surroundings.

On the distinctiveness of Amapasaurus , its relationship with Loxopholis Cope 1869, and description of a new genus for L. guianensis and L. hoogmoedi (Gymnophthalmoidea/Ecpleopodini: Squamata)

Amapasaurus is a monotypic genus of forest lizards never accessed molecularly and, based on morphological similarities, suggested to be closely related to species of the former Leposoma parietale group Ruibal 1952, currently in the genus Loxopholis Cope 1869. Two other species, formerly allocated in Arthrosaura (A. guianensis and A. hoogmoedi), were tentatively moved to Loxopholis in an extensive molecular revision of Gymnophthalmoidea. Here we add mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data (12S, cyt b, ND4, c-mos and NT3) of Amapasaurus to previously published and new data of all Ecpleopodini genera (except for Adercosaurus), in order to test: i) the close relationship between Amapasaurus and Loxopholis and ii) the position of Loxopholis guianensis and Loxopholis hoogmoedi with three different phylogenetic methods, expanding the knowledge on the current taxonomy of Ecpleopodini. Concatenated analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear data (2303 bp) under Bayesian Inference, Maximum Likelihood and Maximum Parsimony methods recovered a strongly supported sister relationship between Amapasaurus tetradactylus Cunha 1970 and species of Loxopholis. Genetic divergence between Amapasaurus and this assemblage of Loxopholis is high in both mitochondrial (~18% for cyt b) and nuclear (~12% for c-mos) regions, supporting its generic distinctiveness. Differing from the current taxonomy of the Ecpleopodini tribe, our analyses recovered Lo. guianensis and Lo. hoogmoedi as a distinct clade that is sister to all other Loxopholis plus Amapasaurus. Supplemented by external and hemipenial morphology data available from the literature along with DNA sequences, we restrict Loxopholis to the species of the former parietale group of Leposoma and describe a new genus to allocate Lo. guianensis and Lo. hoogmoedi.

First records in Brazil for Arthrosaura versteegii van Lidth de Jeude, 1904 (Reptilia, Gymnophthalmidae), a possible species complex, and distribution extension for Arthrosaura montigena Myers & Donnelly, 2008, in Venezuela

Arthrosaura versteegii van Lidth de Jeude, 1904 is known to occur on the Guiana Shield from eastern Venezuela to western French Guiana, between 100 m and 1400 m a.s.l. No records for Brazil are known. Herein, we report specimens morphologically similar to A. versteegii from 2 areas in Brazilian Amazonia, south of the Amazon river. However, the Brazilian specimens exhibit 2 distinct types of hemipenes that also differ from that of Guianan males of A. versteegii. Moreover, the reexamination of 2 specimens of A. versteegii collected in the Venezuela highlands show that they are A. montigena Myers & Donnelly, 2008, leaving A. versteegii restricted to the eastern Amazonian lowlands.