Zoology Commons^™

Life History, Sexual Dimorphism And 'Ornamental' Feathers In The Mesozoic Bird Confuciusornis Sanctus., Winfried S. Peters, Dieter Stefan Peters

Winfried S. Peters

Preliminary Analysis Of The Ecology And Geography Of The Asian Nuthatches (Aves: Sittidae), Shaily Menon, Zafar-Ul Islam, Jorge Soberon, A. Townsend Peterson

Shaily Menon

We explored distributions of Asian nuthatch species in ecological and geographic space using ecological niche modeling based on occurrence data associated with specimens and observations. Nuthatches represent a well-defined clade occurring throughout the Northern Hemisphere, but are most diverse in southern Asia where 15 of the 24 species occur and where the lineage is believed to have evolved. Species richness was focused in a narrow east-west band corresponding to the forested parts of the Himalayas with a maximum number of nine species predicted present in these foci. The distributional predictions have a mid-elevation focus with highest species diversity between 1,000 …

Two New Species Of Cave-Dwelling Beetles Trechus Clairville Of Fulvus-Group In Portugal, Ana Reboleira, Fernando Gonçalves, Artur Serrano

Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

Two new cave-dwelling ground beetle species, Trechus gamae sp. n. and Trechus lunai sp. n., from Portugal, are described. The new species are included in the Trechus fulvus-group by their morphological characters. The work provides diagnostic characters in particular those of the structure of male genitalia, and the distribution of the hypogean species of the fulvus -group at the Estremenho Karstic Massif is mapped. Some comments on the seasonal activity of T. gamae sp. n. are also given. An identification key to the males of the T. fulvus-group species from the Estremenho Karstic Massif is presented, and biogeographical comments are …

Demographics Of A Geographically-Isolated Population Of Threatened Salamander (Caudata: Ambystomatidae) In Central Illinois, Stephen J. Mullin, Sarabeth Klueh

Stephen J. Mullin

Amphibian populations that use small isolated wetlands are often small in size, susceptible to stochastic extinction processes, and have little to no contact with other populations. One can ascertain the persistence of such populations only by obtaining data that allow the prediction of future changes in population’s size, and propensity to achieve a sustainable number of individuals. The number of metamorphosing larvae leaving a pond predicts the viability of a salamander population, and thus, the number recruited into the terrestrial adult population. The Jefferson Salamander, Ambystoma jeffersonianum, is a listed threatened species in Illinois, occurring at fewer than 15 ponds …

Anuran Captured In Pitfall Traps In Three Agrossystem In Northwestern São Paulo State, Brazil, Rodrigo Souza Santos Rss

Rodrigo Souza Santos RSS

Although it is generally assumed that agriculture negatively influences amphibian populations, few studies on the effects of agricultural cultivations on neotropical anuran have been conducted. As a contribution to the knowledge about anuran in agriculture, the present study sought to identify the anuran species present in three different agrossystems. We used data from anurans captured in pitfall traps initially proposed for a survey of harvestmen fauna in three agrossystems (corn, soybean, and rubber tree). Four anuran species found in the pitfall traps belong to two Families: Leptodactylidae: Leptodactulus fuscus and L. mystacinus; and Leiuperidae: Eupemphix nattereri and Physalaemus cuvieri. In …