Stephen D. Nash

Turtle Hotspots: An Analysis of the Occurrence of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles in Biodiversity Hotspots, High-Biodiversity Wilderness Areas, and Turtle Priority Areas

Abstract We analyzed the taxon richness and endemism of tortoises and freshwater turtles in the world’s premier biodiversity conservation priority areas and countries with greatest turtle richness. Turtle hotspots include biodiversity hotspots (BHS), high-biodiversity wilderness areas (HBWA), and additional turtle priority areas (TPA) previously identified. We present taxon richness and endemism values for the 16 turtle hotspots with highest richness and endemicity. These 16 turtle hotspots together contain 262 species (83% of total), of which 149 (47%) are endemic to these areas combined, and 134 species (43%) are endemic to just a single priority area. At the terminal taxon (subspecies) level, these 16 areas harbor 342 taxa (79%), of which 210 (48%) are endemic to these combined areas, and 195 (45%) are endemic to a single priority area. These 16 BHS, HBWA, and TPA account for less than 24 million square kilometers, or 16.0% of planet Earth’s land surface, with an estimated 10.4 million square kilometers of original habitat remaining, or 7.0% of the planet’s land surface. Twenty-one countries are recorded to harbor 15 or more species of non-marine turtles, with the percentage of endemic species ranging from 0% to 88%. Collectively, these 21 countries are inhabited by 275 (87%) species and 352 (81%) taxa, of which 115 (37%) species and 175 (40%) taxa are endemic to just a single country. Identification of these conservation priority areas and countries should assist conservation of turtles worldwide by focusing on areas where the greatest number of species and taxa can be secured and where the authorities and institutions that exist hope to accomplish these goals.

Protecting lemurs--response.

McConnell and Kull question whether the current forest habitat represents “only 10 to 20% of Madagascars original forest cover.” We agree that it would have been more prudent to replace “original forest cover” with “surface.” We also concur that there is palaeoecological evidence for

A new galago species for South Africa (Primates: Strepsirhini: Galagidae)

The primate fauna of South Africa has historically been viewed as comprising three diurnal cercopithecoid taxa — chacma baboons (Papio ursinus), vervet (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) and samango monkeys (Cercopithecus albogularis) — and two nocturnal lorisoid species — the thick-tailed greater galago (Otolemur crassicaudatus) and the southern lesser galago (Galago moholi). Here we report the positive identification of a third galago species within South Africas borders: the Mozambique dwarf galago or Grants galago, Galagoides granti (Thomas and Wroughton, 1907). The taxon was previously held to be restricted to Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe, Malawi and Tanzania, but we have also observed it in the sand forest of Tembe Elephant Park and the Tshanini Community Reserve, near the Mozambique border. The species was formerly mistaken for Galago moholi, erroneously (we believe) extending the range of the latter species into northern KwaZulu-Natal. In South Africa the two small galagos are unlikely to have overlapping ranges: Galago moholi prefers dry savanna woodlands, whereas Galagoides granti is apparently confined to dry sand forest. However, both species may coexist with the larger and more widespread Otolemur crassicaudatus, an inhabitant of moist savanna, forest edge and thicket. The true South African ranges of both small galago species need to be ascertained.

Phylogenomic Reconstruction of Sportive Lemurs (genus Lepilemur) Recovered from Mitogenomes with Inferences for Madagascar Biogeography

The family Lepilemuridae includes 26 species of sportive lemurs, most of which were recently described. The cryptic morphological differences confounded taxonomy until recent molecular studies; however, some species’ boundaries remain uncertain. To better understand the genus Lepilemur, we analyzed 35 complete mitochondrial genomes representing all recognized 26 sportive lemur taxa and estimated divergence dates. With our dataset we recovered 25 reciprocally monophyletic lineages, as well as an admixed clade containing Lepilemur mittermeieri and Lepilemur dorsalis. Using modern distribution data, an ancestral area reconstruction and an ecological vicariance analysis were performed to trace the history of diversification and to test biogeographic hypotheses. We estimated the initial split between the eastern and western Lepilemur clades to have occurred in the Miocene. Divergence of most species occurred from the Pliocene to the Pleistocene. The biogeographic patterns recovered in this study were better addressed with a combinatorial approach including climate, watersheds, and rivers. Generally, current climate and watershed hypotheses performed better for western and eastern clades, while speciation of northern clades was not adequately supported using the ecological factors incorporated in this study. Thus, multiple mechanisms likely contributed to the speciation and distribution patterns in Lepilemur.