Taxonomy of the Rhampholeon boulengeri Complex (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae): Five New Species from Central Africa's Albertine Rift.

In a recent molecular study, the pygmy chameleon Rhampholeon boulengeri Steindachner, 1911 was shown to contain six genetically distinct, but phenotypically cryptic lineages. Phylogenetic analyses of genetic data demonstrated that several well-supported clades occurred in non-overlapping elevational ranges across the Albertine Rift in Central Africa. In order to resolve the taxonomy of the R.

A personality SNP? Behavioral genetics in African cichlids.

Speciation is familiar in radiations, but personality is not. In a recent article, Sommer-Trembo et al. linked exploratory behavior in African cichlids to a SNP in the promoter of a gene, the homolog of which is associated with human personality disorders, offering clues about the first fish of this radiation, with implications for vertebrate evolution.

Citizen science initiatives document biodiversity baselines at an urban lake.

Changes to biodiversity from urbanization are occurring worldwide, and baseline data is vital to document the magnitude and direction of these alterations. We set out to document the biodiversity of an urban lake in Eastern Iowa that was devoid of baseline data prior to a renovation project that will convert the site into a major area for human recreation. Throughout the course of one year, we studied the biodiversity at Cedar Lake utilizing the citizen-science application iNaturalist coupled with semi-structured BioBlitz events, which we compared to previous opportunistic observations at the site.

Phylogenetic analysis of viviparity, matrotrophy, and other reproductive patterns in chondrichthyan fishes.

The reproductive diversity of extant cartilaginous fishes (class Chondrichthyes) is extraordinarily broad, reflecting more than 400 million years of evolutionary history. Among their many notable reproductive specialisations are viviparity (live-bearing reproduction) and matrotrophy (maternal provision of nutrients during gestation). However, attempts to understand the evolution of these traits have yielded highly discrepant conclusions.

Systematics of the Central African Spiny Reed Frog Afrixalus laevis (Anura: Hyperoliidae), with the description of two new species from the Albertine Rift.

The geographically widespread species Afrixalus laevis (Anura: Hyperoliidae) currently has a disjunct distribution in western Central Africa (Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and possibly adjacent countries) and the area in and near the Albertine Rift in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries. At least two herpetologists have previously suggested that these disjunct populations represent distinct species, and herein, we utilize an integrative taxonomic approach with molecular and morphological data to reconcile the taxonomy of these spiny reed frogs. We sequenced 1554 base pairs of the 16S and RAG1 genes from 34 samples of A.

REPEATED SAMPLING OF WILD INDIVIDUALS REVEALS OPHIDIOMYCES OPHIDIICOLA INFECTION DYNAMICS IN A PENNSYLVANIA SNAKE ASSEMBLAGE.

Ophidiomyces ophidiicola is an emerging fungal pathogen associated with infections in snakes across North America. Although documented in Pennsylvania, O. ophidiicola has not been found at Powdermill Nature Reserve (PNR) in southwestern Pennsylvania, where the snake assemblage has been studied since 2002 and several species have recently declined.

There's a frog in my salad! A review of online media coverage for wild vertebrates found in prepackaged produce in the United States.

Prepackaged leafy green vegetables represent one of the fastest growing segments of the fresh-produce industry in the United States. Several steps in the production process have been mechanized to meet the downstream demand for prebagged lettuces. The growth in this market, however, has come with drawbacks, and chief among them are consumers finding wild animals in prepackaged crops.

Evolutionary history of burrowing asps (Lamprophiidae: Atractaspidinae) with emphasis on fang evolution and prey selection.

Atractaspidines are poorly studied, fossorial snakes that are found throughout Africa and western Asia, including the Middle East. We employed concatenated gene-tree analyses and divergence dating approaches to investigate evolutionary relationships and biogeographic patterns of atractaspidines with a multi-locus data set consisting of three mitochondrial (16S, cyt b, and ND4) and two nuclear genes (c-mos and RAG1). We sampled 91 individuals from both atractaspidine genera (Atractaspis and Homoroselaps).

Phylogeny and biogeography of the African burrowing snake subfamily Aparallactinae (Squamata: Lamprophiidae).

Members of the snake subfamily Aparallactinae occur in various habitats throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The monophyly of aparallactine snakes is well established, but relationships within the subfamily are poorly known. We sampled 158 individuals from six of eight aparallactine genera in sub-Saharan Africa.

Cryptic diversity in Rhampholeon boulengeri (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae), a pygmy chameleon from the Albertine Rift biodiversity hotspot.

Several biogeographic barriers in the Central African highlands have reduced gene flow among populations of many terrestrial species in predictable ways. Yet, a comprehensive understanding of mechanisms underlying species divergence in the Afrotropics can be obscured by unrecognized levels of cryptic diversity, particularly in widespread species. We implemented a multilocus phylogeographic approach to examine diversity within the widely distributed Central African pygmy chameleon, Rhampholeon boulengeri.

Rescuing Perishable Neuroanatomical Information from a Threatened Biodiversity Hotspot: Remote Field Methods for Brain Tissue Preservation Validated by Cytoarchitectonic Analysis, Immunohistochemistry, and X-Ray Microcomputed Tomography.

Biodiversity hotspots, which harbor more endemic species than elsewhere on Earth, are increasingly threatened. There is a need to accelerate collection efforts in these regions before threatened or endangered species become extinct. The diverse geographical, ecological, genetic, morphological, and behavioral data generated from the on-site collection of an individual specimen are useful for many scientific purposes.