Podd: SquaMates

SquaMates Ep. 30: Nolite te serpentes biteyouonyourbum

10 februari 2025 | 90 min

SquaMates Ep. 29: Frog Trek

15 oktober 2024 | 85 min

In this episode we drop some HOT OFF THE PRESS news about seven new species of frogs from Madagascar that Mark has been involved in describing that are named after seven Star Trek captains. We also cover some exciting recent research on Gymmie phylogeography and diving anoles! Plus, Hiral is submitting her PhD thesis! Wow!

Remember that you can watch the full episode with video at youtube.com/@squamatespod!

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full notes and references, go to squamatespod.com

Check out the new frogs named after Star Trek captains!

Episode Citations

Swierk, L. (2024) Novel rebreathing adaptation extends dive time in a semi-aquatic lizard. Biology Letters, 20(9):20240371. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2024.0371

Vásquez-Restrepo, J.D., Ribeiro‑Júnior, M.A. & Sánchez-Pacheco, S.J. (2024) Once upon a time: exploring the biogeographic history of the largest endemic lizard family in the Neotropics (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 143(1):blae080. DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blae080

Vásquez-Restrepo, J.D. & Diago-Toro, M.F. (2024) Alice in Lizardland: exploring the spatiotemporal speciation and morphological evolutionary rates in the highly diverse microteiid lizards (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 142(2):208-219. DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blad127

Vences, M., Köhler, J., Hutter, C.R., Preick, M., Petzold, A., Rakotoarison, A., Ratsoavina, F.M., Glaw, F. & Scherz, M.D. (in press) Communicator whistles: a Trek through the taxonomy of the Boophis marojezensis complex reveals seven new, morphologically cryptic treefrogs from Madagascar (Amphibia: Anura: Mantellidae). Vertebrate Zoology DOI: 10.3897/vz.74.e121110

Shout-outs:

Hayley Crowell: instagram

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • youtube

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate • redbubble • bluesky

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • redbubble • bluesky

Ethan Kocak: personal website • comic • twitter • tumblr • facebook • patreon • bluesky

Hiral Naik: website • twitter • instagram • bluesky

The post SquaMates Ep. 29: Frog Trek first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 28: All day and all of the night (feat. Herpetological Highlights!)

11 september 2024 | 41 min

SquaMates Ep. 27: I’m only hoppy when it rains

19 augusti 2024 | 76 min

In this episode we talk about everyone’s favourite frogs, rain frogs of the family Brevicipitidae! We go over their diversity, ecology, and anatomy, as well as their fun adhesive properties!

Remember that you can watch the full episode with video at youtube.com/@squamatespod!

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full notes and references, go to squamatespod.com

Glued amplexus as exhibited by Breviceps spp. Illustration by Ethan Kocak.

Exciting updates

Check out Ethan’s new book, The Unfamiliars!

Hiral managed to secure a Rufford Small Grant

Gabriel illustrated Dave Hone’s new book, ‘Uncovering Dinosaur Behavior: What They Did and How We Know‘

Episode Citations

Feng, Y.-J., Blackburn, D.C., Liang, D., Hillis, D.M., Wake, D.B., Cannatella, D.C. & Zhang, P. (2017) Phylogenomics reveals rapid, simultaneous diversification of three major clades of Gondwanan frogs at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 114(29):E5864–E5870. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1704632114

Noble, G.K. & Parker, H.W. (1926) A synopsis of the brevicipitid toads of Madagascar. American Museum Novitates, 232:1–21.

Parker, H.W. (1934) Monograph of the frogs of the family Microhylidae. Trustees of the British Museum, London, UK.

Zaman, S., Lengerer, B., Van Lindt, J., Saenen, I., Russo, G., Bossaer, L., Carpentier, S., Tompa, P., Flammang, P. & Roelants, K. (2024) Recurrent evolution of adhesive defence systems in amphibians by parallel shifts in gene expression. Nature Communications, 15:5612. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49917-3

Shout-outs:

David Hone: homepage • twitter

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • youtube

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate • redbubble • bluesky

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • redbubble • bluesky

Ethan Kocak: personal website • comic • twitter • tumblr • facebook • patreon • bluesky

Hiral Naik: website • twitter • instagram • bluesky

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SquaMates Ep. 26: Let’s talk about snakes, baby

29 juli 2024 | 106 min

In this episode we gently debate subspecies, and then dive into several snake papers, from their anomalously extensive and rapid diversification, to a recent taxonomic change. Regrettably the audio on this episode was affected by a technical error, so it is far less than our usual quality (Ethan and Hiral are a little quiet, sorry!). Hopefully it doesn’t affect the listening experience too badly!

Remember that you can watch the full episode with video at youtube.com/@squamatespod!

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full notes and references, go to squamatespod.com

Check out Ethan’s new book, The Unfamiliars!

Episode Citations

Vences, M., Köhler, J., Scherz, M.D., Hutter, C.R., Rabe Maheritafika, H.M., Rafanoharana, J.M., Raherinjatovo, H., Rakotoarison, A., Andreone, F., Raselimanana, A.P. & Glaw, F. (2024) Four new species of forest-dwelling mantellid frogs from Madagascar allied to Gephyromantis moseri (Amphibia, Anura). Spixiana, 46(2):297–319.

Scherz, M.D., Rudolph, J., Rakotondratsima, M., Ratsoavina, F.M., Crottini, A., Andreone, F., Glaw, F. & Vences, M. (2024) Molecular systematics of the subgenus Gephyromantis (Phylacomantis) with description of a new subspecies. Zootaxa, 5446(2):205–220. DOI: 10.11646/ZOOTAXA.5446.2.3

de Queiroz, K. (2020) An updated concept of subspecies resolves a dispute about the taxonomy of incompletely separated lineages. Herpetological Review, 51(3):459–461. [Mark incorrectly gave publication date as being 2021]

de Queiroz, K. (2007) Species concepts and species delimitation. Systematic Biology, 56(6):879–886. DOI: 10.1080/10635150701701083

Title, P.O., Singhal, S., Grundler, M.C., Costa, G.C., Pyron, R.A., Colston, T.J., Grundler, M.R., Prates, I., Stepanova, N., Jones, M.E.H., Cavalcanti, L.B.Q., Colli, G.R., Di-Poï, N., Donnellan, S.C., Moritz, C., Mesquita, D.O., Pianka, E.R., Smith, S.A., Vitt, L.J. & Rabosky, D.L. (2024) The macroevolutionary singularity of snakes. Science, 383(6685):918–923. DOI: 10.1126/science.adh2449

Strong, C., Scherz, M.D. & Caldwell, M.W. (2021) Deconstructing the Gestalt: New concepts and tests of homology, as exemplified by a re-conceptualization of “microstomy” in squamates. Anatomical Record, 304:2303–2351. DOI: 10.1002/ar.24630

Losos, J. B. (2017) Improbable Destinies: Fate, Chance, and the Future of Evolution. Riverhead Books, New York City NY, USA. 384 pp.

Datta, D. & Bajpai, S. (2024) Largest known madtsoiid snake from warm Eocene period of India suggests intercontinental Gondwana dispersal. Scientific Reports, 14(1):8054. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58377-0

Zaher, H., Trusz, C., Koch, C., Entiauspe-Neto, O.M., Battilana, J. & Grazziotin, F.G. (2024) Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the dwarf boas of the family Tropidophiidae (Serpentes: Alethinophidia). Systematics and Biodiversity, 22(1):2319289. DOI: 10.1080/14772000.2024.2319289

Vences, M., Guayasamin, J.M., Miralles, A. & de la Riva, I. (2013) To name or not to name: Criteria to promote economy of change in Linnaean classification schemes. Zootaxa, 3636(2):201–244. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3636.2.1

Scherz, M.D., Vences, M., Rakotoarison, A., Andreone, F., Köhler, J., Glaw, F. & Crottini, A. (2017) Lumping or splitting in the Cophylinae (Anura: Microhylidae) and the need for a parsimony of taxonomic changes: a response to Peloso et al. (2017). Salamandra, 53(3):479–483.

Shout-outs:

Common Descent Podcast

TetZoo Podcats

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • youtube

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate • redbubble • bluesky

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • redbubble • bluesky

Ethan Kocak: personal website • comic • twitter • tumblr • facebook • patreon • bluesky

Hiral Naik: website • twitter • instagram • bluesky

The post SquaMates Ep. 26: Let’s talk about snakes, baby first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 25: Micrurus brings all the boys to the yard

9 maj 2024 | 75 min

In this episode we talk about a really cool predation observation, the importance of publishing behavioural or observational notes, and some follow-up on the anaconda mess from Episode 24.

Remember that you can watch the full episode with video at youtube.com/@squamatespod!

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full notes and references, go to squamatespod.com

Episode Citations

Bringsøe, H. & Dreyer, N.P. (2024) Kleptoparasitism in Micrurus mipartitus (Squamata, Elapidae) competing for the same Caecilia sp. (Gymnophiona, Caeciliidae) in western Colombia. Herpetozoa, 37:77–84. DOI: 10.3897/herpetozoa.37.e112716

Mancuso, M., Zaman, S., Maddock, S.T., Kamei, R.G., Salazar-Valenzuela, D., Wilkinson, M., Roelants, K. & Fry, B.G. (2023) Resistance Is Not Futile: Widespread Convergent Evolution of Resistance to Alpha-Neurotoxic Snake Venoms in Caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona). International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(14) DOI: 10.3390/ijms241411353

Mailho-Fontana, Pedro L., Antoniazzi, M.M., Alexandre, C., Carvalho Pimenta, D., Mozer Sciani, J., Brodie, Edmund D., Jr. & Jared, C. (2020) Morphological Evidence for an Oral Venom System in Caecilian Amphibians. iScience, 23:101234. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101234

Vásquez-Restrepo, J.D., Alfonso-Rojas, A. & Palacios-Aguilar, R. (2024) On the validity of the recently described northern green anaconda Eunectes akayima (Squamata, Serpentes). Bionomia, 37(1):1–7. DOI: 10.11646/BIONOMINA.37.1.1

Dubois, A., Denzer, W., Entiauspe-Neto, O.M., Frétey, T., Ohler, A., Bauer, A.M. & Pyron, R.A. (2024) Nomenclatural problems raised by the recent description of a new anaconda species (Squamata, Serpentes, Boidae), with a nomenclatural review of the genus Eunectes. Bionomia, 37(1):8–58. DOI: 10.11646/BIONOMINA.37.1.2

Shout-outs:

Jodi Rowley: @jodirowley

Darren Naish/TetZoo: @tetzoo on twitter • @tetzoo on bluesky

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • youtube

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate • redbubble • bluesky

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • redbubble • bluesky

Ethan Kocak: personal website • comic • twitter • tumblr • facebook • patreon • bluesky

Hiral Naik: website • twitter • instagram • bluesky

The post SquaMates Ep. 25: Micrurus brings all the boys to the yard first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 24: Green Anaconda don’t want none

18 april 2024 | 83 min

In this episode we talk about the breaking news that caecilians produce milk‽, and get into some recent taxonomic works on anacondas and eyelash palm-pitvipers. Content warning: this episode contains several Hot Takes.

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes (and references), go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Episode Citations

Wake, M.H. (2024) Amphibian hatchlings find mother’s milk. Science, 383(6687):1060–1061. DOI: 10.1126/science.ado2094

Mailho-Fontana, P.L., Antoniazzi, M.M., Coelho, G.R., Pimenta, D.C., Fernandes, L.P., Kupfer, A., Brodie, E.D. & Jared, C. (2024) Milk provisioning in oviparous caecilian amphibians. Science, 383(6687):1092–1095. DOI: 10.1126/science.adi5379

Arteaga, A., Pyron, R.A., Batista, A., Vieira, J., Meneses Pelayo, E., Smith, E.N., Barrio Amorós, C.L., Koch, C., Agne, S., Valencia, J.H., Bustamante, L. & Harris, K.J. (2024) Systematic revision of the Eyelash Palm-Pitviper Bothriechis schlegelii (Serpentes, Viperidae), with the description of five new species and revalidation of three. Evolutionary Systematics, 8:15–64.

Rivas, J.A., De La Quintana, P., Mancuso, M., Pacheco, L.F., Rivas, G.A., Mariotto, S., Salazar-Valenzuela, D., Baihua, M.T., Baihua, P., Burghardt, G.M., Vonk, F.J., Hernandez, E., García-Pérez, J.E., Fry, B.G. & Corey-Rivas, S. (2024) Disentangling the Anacondas: Revealing a New Green Species and Rethinking Yellows. Diversity, 16(2) DOI: 10.3390/d16020127

Shout-outs:

Lingthusiasm Podcast

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • youtube

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate • redbubble • bluesky

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • redbubble • bluesky

Ethan Kocak: personal website • comic • twitter • tumblr • facebook • patreon • bluesky

Hiral Naik: website • twitter • instagram • bluesky

The post SquaMates Ep. 24: Green Anaconda don’t want none first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 22: Neil Caiman and Crew

12 februari 2024 | 103 min

SquaMates Ep. 21: Bachia to the Future

7 juni 2021 | 98 min

The Mates get into the evolution of Ambystoma, whether or not to use subspecies, and the fantastically diverse and oft maligned gymnophthalmids (gymmies!).

Episode notes can get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes (and references and beautiful pictures), go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Episode Citations

Boccia, C.K., Swierk, L., Ayala-Varela, F.P., Boccia, J., Borges, I.L., Estupiñán, C.A., Martin, A.M., Martínez-Grimaldo, R.E., Ovalle, S., Senthivasan, S., Toyama, K.S., del Rosario Castañeda, M., García, A., Glor, R.E. & Mahler, D.L. Repeated evolution of underwater rebreathing in diving Anolis lizards. Current Biology: DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.040

de Queiroz, K. (2007) Species concepts and species delimitation. Systematic Biology, 56(6):879–886. DOI: 10.1080/10635150701701083

de Queiroz, K. (2020) An updated concept of subspecies resolves a dispute about the taxonomy of incompletely separated lineages. Herpetological Review, 51(3):459–461.

Everson, K.M., Gray, L.N., Jones, A.G., Lawrence, N.M., Foley, M.E., Sovacool, K.L., Kratovil, J.D., Hotaling, S., Hime, P.M., Storfer, A., Parra-Olea, G., Percino-Daniel, R., Aguilar-Miguel, X., O’Neill, E.M., Zambrano, L., Shaffer, H.B. & Weisrock, D.W. (2021) Geography is more important than life history in the recent diversification of the tiger salamander complex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 118(17):e2014719118. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2014719118

Gymnophthalmids

Assorted gymnophthalmids illustrated by our very own Gabriel Ugueto

Assorted gymnophthalmine gymnophthalmids illustrated by our very own Gabriel Ugueto

Bachia species illustrated by Gabriel: above, B. trinitatis; below, B. lineata

Comparison of Gymnophthalmus (above) and Tretioscincus (below). Note the brille of Gymnophthalmus versus the movable eyelid with a semi-transparent window ind Tretioscincus

Reduction of limbs and digits in various Gymnophthalmids: a Bachia, b Gymnophthalmus (4 fingers), c Tretioscincus (5 fingers but 1st one very rudimentary), d Riolama (1st reduced and clawless) e Anadia (five digits presented and clawed)

Reduction of limbs and digits in various Bachia species

One of Gabriel’s favourite gymmies: Anadia marmorata

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate • redbubble

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • redbubble

Ethan Kocak: personal website • comic • twitter • tumblr • facebook • patreon

The post SquaMates Ep. 21: Bachia to the Future first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 20: Lerista Explains It All

12 maj 2021 | 156 min

The Mates are joined this month by Hiral Naik, a snake ecologist from South Africa! We talk turtles, skinks, crocodiles, neocolonialism in science, and Lamprophiidae!

Episode notes can get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes (and references and beautiful pictures), go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Episode Citations

Thomson, R.C., Spinks, P.Q. & Shaffer, H.B. (2021) A global phylogeny of turtles reveals a burst of climate-associated diversification on continental margins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(7):e2012215118. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2012215118

Chapple, D.G., Roll, U., Böhm, M., Aguilar, R., Amey, A.P., Austin, C.C., Baling, M., Barley, A.J., Bates, M.F., Bauer, A.M., Blackburn, D.G., Bowles, P., Brown, R.M., Chandramouli, S.R., Chirio, L., Cogger, H., Colli, G.R., Conradie, W., Couper, P.J., Cowan, M.A., Craig, M.D., Das, I., Datta-Roy, A., Dickman, C.R., Ellis, R.J., Fenner, A.L., Ford, S., Ganesh, S.R., Gardner, M.G., Geissler, P., Gillespie, G.R., Glaw, F., Greenlees, M.J., Griffith, O.W., Grismer, L.L., Haines, M.L., Harris, D.J., Hedges, S.B., Hitchmough, R.A., Hoskin, C.J., Hutchinson, M.N., Ineich, I., Janssen, J., Johnston, G.R., Karin, B.R., Keogh, J.S., Kraus, F., LeBreton, M., Lymberakis, P., Masroor, R., McDonald, P.J., Mecke, S., Melville, J., Melzer, S., Michael, D.R., Miralles, A., Mitchell, N.J., Nelson, N.J., Nguyen, T.Q., de Campos Nogueira, C., Ota, H., Pafilis, P., Pauwels, O.S.G., Perera, A., Pincheira-Donoso, D., Reed, R.N., Ribeiro-Júnior, M.A., Riley, J.L., Rocha, S., Rutherford, P.L., Sadlier, R.A., Shacham, B., Shea, G.M., Shine, R., Slavenko, A., Stow, A., Sumner, J., Tallowin, O.J.S., Teale, R., Torres-Carvajal, O., Trape, J.-F., Uetz, P., Ukuwela, K.D.B., Valentine, L., Van Dyke, J.U., van Winkel, D., Vasconcelos, R., Vences, M., Wagner, P., Wapstra, E., While, G.M., Whiting, M.J., Whittington, C.M., Wilson, S., Ziegler, T., Tingley, R. & Meiri, S. (2021) Conservation status of the world’s skinks (Scincidae): Taxonomic and geographic patterns in extinction risk. Biological Conservation, 257:109101. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109101

Hekkala, E., Gatesy, J., Narechania, A., Meredith, R., Russello, M., Aardema, M.L., Jensen, E., Montanari, S., Brochu, C., Norell, M. & Amato, G. (2021) Paleogenomics illuminates the evolutionary history of the extinct Holocene “horned” crocodile of Madagascar, Voay robustus. Communications Biology, 4(1):505. DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02017-0

Naik, H., Kgaditse, M. M. & Alexander, G. J. (2021) Ancestral Reconstruction of Diet and Fang Condition in the Lamprophiidae: Implications for the Evolution of Venom Systems in Snakes. Journal of Herpetology, 55(1):1–10. DOI: 10.1670/19-071 [x]

Shout-outs

Liam Revell’s PhyTools blog

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate • redbubble

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • redbubble

Ethan Kocak: personal website • comic • twitter • tumblr • facebook • patreon

Hiral Naik: website • twitter • instagram • save the snakes

The post SquaMates Ep. 20: Lerista Explains It All first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 19: Nobody Expects the Lacey Imposition

12 april 2021 | 125 min

After a corona-induced hiatus, the Mates are back with a looser format and some deep dives on tiny chameleons, glowing geckos, and the much debated Lacey act!

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes (and references and beautiful pictures), go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Works in Froggress

National Geographic Article featuring Gabriel’s illustrations

Get ready for the superstars of the story of life

The first three books in @Ben_garrod‘s #Extinct series are out on 13th May! Fantastically illustrated by @SerpenIllus.

Pre-order here & support independent bookshops: https://t.co/SSIy6oxgwM pic.twitter.com/jN1hJWZWb7

— Zephyr Books (@_ZephyrBooks) April 10, 2021

Mark and Ella at their wedding!

Episode Citations

Scherz, M.D., Schmidt, L., Crottini, A., Miralles, A., Rakotoarison, A., Raselimanana, A.P., Köhler, J., Glaw, F. & Vences, M. (2021) Into the Chamber of Horrors: A proposal for the resolution of nomenclatural chaos in the Scaphiophryne calcarata complex (Anura: Microhylidae), with a new species-level phylogenetic hypothesis for Scaphiophryninae. Zootaxa, 4938(1):392–420. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4938.4.2

Glaw, F., Köhler, J., Hawlitschek, O., Ratsoavina, F.M., Rakotoarison, A., Scherz, M.D. & Vences, M. (2021) Extreme miniaturization of a new amniote vertebrate and insights into the evolution of genital size in chameleons. Scientific Reports, 11:2522. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80955-1

Prötzel, D., Heß, M., Schwager, M., Glaw, F. & Scherz, M.D. (2021) Neon-green fluorescence in the desert gecko Pachydactylus rangei caused by iridophores. Scientific Reports, 11:297. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79706-z

Jowers, M.J., Othman, S.N., Borzée, A., Rivas, G.A., Sánchez-Ramírez, S., Auguste, J., Downie, J.R., Read, M. & Murphy, J.C. (2021) Unraveling unique island colonization events in Elachistocleis frogs: phylogeography, cryptic divergence, and taxonomical implications. Organisms Diversity & Evolution 21:189–206. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13127-021-00487-y

Dal Vechio, F., Prates, I., Grazziotin, F.G., Graboski, R. & Rodrigues, M.T. (2021) Molecular and phenotypic data reveal a new Amazonian species of pit vipers (Serpentes: Viperidae: Bothrops). Journal of Natural History 54(37–38):2415–2437. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00222933.2020.1845835

Marshall, B.M., Strine, C. & Hughes, A.C. (2020) Thousands of reptile species threatened by under-regulated global trade. Nature Communications 11:4738. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18523-4

Shout-outs

The Chameleon Academy Podcast

Darren Naish: @tetzoo • The Tetzoo Blog

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate • redbubble

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • redbubble

Ethan Kocak: personal website • comic • twitter • tumblr • facebook • patreon

The post SquaMates Ep. 19: Nobody Expects the Lacey Imposition first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 18: Amici manere domi!

20 juni 2020 | 102 min

Here’s episode 18, a Works in Froggress episode, featuring the Mates, Dr Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak, talking about what’s going on in their new lives stuck inside—Ethan’s setting off on a freelancing lifestyle, Gabriel has been tweaking the same illustration forever, and Mark is working on FIIIIIIIIIISH! The Mates then dive into a discussion about Uroplatus geckos!

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes (and references and beautiful pictures), go to http://www.squamatespod.com

A note: this episode was recorded on the 24th of April 2020, a time when most of humanity seemed united in their fight against a common enemy, the coronavirus COVID-19. In the meantime, another enemy of humanity has been brought into the limelight that, by its very nature, divides. That enemy is racism. The experiences of Christian Cooper highlight how people of colour may be treated when engaging in field sciences like ornithology or herpetology, and similar stories are being heard from people of colour across social media (e.g. see the #BlackInNature tag on twitter). We must strive to make field-based sciences like herpetology inclusive of people of colour, and to fight racism wherever we encounter it in order to disassemble the systematic discrimination that plagues our fields and our societies. We at the SquaMates podcast stand firmly behind the BlackLivesMatter movement.

Check out Ethan’s new professional website, www.ethankocak.com!

Episode Citations

Glaw, F., Scherz, M.D., Rakotoarison, A., Crottini, A., Raselimanana, A.P., Andreone, F., Köhler, J. & Vences, M. (2020) Genetic variability and partial integrative revision of Platypelis frogs (Microhylidae) with red flash marks from eastern Madagascar. Vertebrate Zoology, 70(2):141–156. DOI: 10.26049/VZ70-2-2020-04 [pdf]

Miralles, A., Bruy, T., Wolcott, K., Scherz, M.D., Begerow, D., Beszteri, B., Bonkowski, M., Felden, J., Gemeinholzer, B., Glaw, F., Glöckner, F.O., Hawlitschek, O., Kostadinov, I., Nattkemper, T.W., Printzen, C., Renz, J., Rybalka, N., Stadler, M., Weibulat, T., Wilke, T., Renner, S.S. & Vences, M. (2020) Repositories for taxonomic data: where we are and what is missing. Systematic Biology, syaa026. DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syaa026 (online ahead of print)

Mantidactylus radaka, one of the recently described frogs.

Rancilhac, L., Bruy, T., Scherz, M.D., Pereira, E.A., Preick, M., Straube, N., Lyra, M., Ohler, A., Streicher, J.W., Andreone, F., Crottini, A., Hutter, C.R., Randrianantoandro, J.C., Rakotoarison, A., Glaw, F., Hofreiter, M. & Vences, M. (in press) Target-enriched DNA sequencing from historical type material enables a partial revision of the Madagascar giant stream frogs (genus Mantidactylus). Journal of Natural History. DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1748243 (online ahead of print) [Request PDF]

Rakotoarison, A., Scherz, M.D., Köhler, J., Ratsoavina, F.M., Hawlitschek, O., Megson, S., Vences, M. & Glaw, F. (2020) Frogs of the genus Platypelis from the Sorata massif in northern Madagascar: description of a new species and reports of range extensions. Zoosystematics and Evolution, 96(1):263–274. DOI: 10.3897/zse.96.47088 [pdf]

Curious Kids: can chameleons change colour when they sleep?

Main discussion: Uroplatus

Here are some of Mark’s photos of some Uroplatus species. Also check out www.uroplatus.info for information about Uroplatus geckos!

Gamble, T., Greenbaum, E., Jackman, T.R. & Bauer, A.M. (2015) Into the light: diurnality has evolved multiple times in geckos. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 115(4):896–910. DOI: 10.1111/bij.12536

Ratsoavina, F.M., Raminosoa, N.R., Louis Jr., E.E., Raselimanana, A.P., Glaw, F. & Vences, M. (2013) An overview of Madagascar’s leaf tailed geckos (genus Uroplatus): species boundaries, candidate species and review of geographical distribution based on molecular data. Salamandra, 49(3):115–148. Available here, and strongly recommended reading for those interested in Uroplatus!

Ratsoavina, F.M., Scherz, M.D., Tolley, K.A., Raselimanana, A.P., Glaw, F. & Vences, M. (2019) A new species of Uroplatus (Gekkonidae) from Ankarana National Park, Madagascar, of remarkably high genetic divergence. Zootaxa, 4683(1):84–96. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4683.1.4

Ratsoavina, F.M., Raselimanana, A.P., Scherz, M.D., Rakotoarison, A., Glaw, F. & Vences, M. (2019) Finaritra! A new leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus) species from Marojejy National Park in north-eastern Madagascar. Zootaxa, 4545(4):563–577. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4545.4.7

Ratsoavina, F.M., Gehring, P.-S., Scherz, M.D., Vieites, D.R., Glaw, F. & Vences, M. (2017) Two new species of leaf-tailed geckos (Uroplatus) from the Tsaratanana mountain massif in northern Madagascar. Zootaxa, 4347(3):446–464. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4347.3.2

Russell, A.P., Hood, H.A. & Bauer, A.M. (2014) Laryngotracheal and cervical muscular anatomy in the genus Uroplatus (Gekkota: Gekkonidae) in relation to distress call emission. African Journal of Herpetology, 63(2):127–151. DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2014.940065

Crottini, A., Madsen, O., Poux, C., Strauß, A., Vieites, D.R. & Vences, M. (2012) Vertebrate time–tree elucidates the biogeographic pattern of a major biotic change around the K–T boundary in Madagascar. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 109(14):5358–5363. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1112487109

Shout-outs

The Chameleon Academy Podcast

Dave Hone: @Dave_Hone

Darren Naish: @tetzoo • The Tetzoo Blog

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate • redbubble

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • redbubble

Ethan Kocak: hire Ethan • website • twitter • tumblr • facebook • patreon

The post SquaMates Ep. 18: Amici manere domi! first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 17: Malayopython and the Glowing Tail

1 juni 2020 | 103 min

We’re back with Episode 17! In this Breaking Newts episode, the Mates, Dr Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak, talk about the coolest new research in herpetology and Gabriel’s extremely squeaky chair! Featuring a few controversial new bits of science, some amazing turtles, diverse salamanders, and glowing, bony amphibians!

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes (and references), go to http://www.squamatespod.com

A note: this episode was recorded on the 24th of April 2020, a time when most of humanity seemed united in their fight against a common enemy, the coronavirus COVID-19. In the meantime, another enemy of humanity has been brought into the limelight that, by its very nature, divides. That enemy is racism. The experiences of Christian Cooper highlight how people of colour may be treated when engaging in field sciences like ornithology or herpetology, and similar stories are being heard from people of colour across social media (e.g. see the #BlackInNature tag on twitter). We must strive to make field-based sciences like herpetology inclusive of people of colour, and to fight racism wherever we encounter it in order to disassemble the systematic discrimination that plagues our fields and our societies. We at the SquaMates podcast stand firmly behind the BlackLivesMatter movement.

Episode Citations

Anole Online Learning Resources

Xing, L., O’Connor, J.K., Schmitz, L., Chiappe, L.M., McKellar, R.C., Yi, Q. & Li, G. (2020) Hummingbird-sized dinosaur from the Cretaceous period of Myanmar. Nature, 579:245–249. 10.1038/s41586-020-2068-4 — Darren Naish has done a great job of first writing about this in its original interpretation, and then updating his article to explain the ethical and phylogenetic problems associated with the paper. On the 29th of May, 2020, an editor’s note was added to the paper, that reads ‘Readers are alerted that doubts have been expressed about the phylogenetic placement of the fossil described in this paper. We are investigating and appropriate editorial action will be taken once this matter is resolved.’

Breuil M, Schikorski D, Vuillaume B, Krauss U, Morton MN, Corry E, Bech N, Jelić M, Grandjean F (2020) Painted black: Iguana melanoderma (Reptilia, Squamata, Iguanidae) a new melanistic endemic species from Saba and Montserrat islands (Lesser Antilles). ZooKeys, 926:95-131. 10.3897/zookeys.926.48679

Vargas-Ramírez, M., Caballero, S., Morales-Betancourt, M.A., Lasso, C.A., Amaya, L., Gregorio Martínez, J., das Neves Silva Viana, M., Vogt, R.C., Pires Farias, I., Hrbek, T., Campbell, P.D. & Fritz, U. (2020) Genomic analyses reveal two species of the matamata (Testudines: Chelidae: Chelus spp.) and clarify their phylogeography. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 106823. 10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106823

Sánchez-Villagra, M.R., Pritchard, P.C.H., Paolillo, A. & Linares, O.J. (1995) Geographic variation in the matamata turtle, Chelus fimbriatus, with observations on its shell morphology and morphometry. Chelonian Conservation and Biology, 1(4):293–300.

Here is the Tetrapod Zoology blog by Darren Naish about Matamata mentioned in the episode, which was the basis of this comic by Ethan!

Lamb, J.Y. & Davis, M.P. (2020) Salamanders and other amphibians are aglow with biofluorescence. Scientific Reports, 10:2821. 10.1038/s41598-020-59528-9

Jaramillo, A.F., De La Riva, I., Guayasamin, J.M., Chaparro, J.C., Gagliardi-Urrutia, G., Gutiérrez, R.C., Brcko, I., Vilà, C. & Castroviejo-Fisher, S. (2020) Vastly underestimated species richness of Amazonian salamanders (Plethodontidae: Bolitoglossa) and implications about plethodontid diversification. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 149:106841. 10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106841

Vieites, D.R., Wollenberg, K.C., Andreone, F., Köhler, J., Glaw, F. & Vences, M. (2009) Vast underestimation of Madagascar’s biodiversity evidenced by an integrative amphibian inventory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 106(20):8267–8272. 10.1073/pnas.0810821106

Rovito, S.M., Parra-Olea, G., Hanken, J., Bonett, R.M. & Wake, D.B. (2013) Adaptive radiation in miniature: the minute salamanders of the Mexican highlands (Amphibia: Plethodontidae: Thorius). Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society, 109:622–643.

Yoshida, T., Ujiie, R., Savitzky, A.H., Jono, T., Inoue, T., Yoshinaga, N., Aburaya, S., Aoki, W., Takeuchi, H., Ding, L., Chen, Q., Cao, C., Tsai, T.-S., Silva, A.d., Mahaulpatha, D., Nguyen, T.T., Tang, Y., Mori, N. & Mori, A. (2020) Dramatic dietary shift maintains sequestered toxins in chemically defended snakes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 117:5964. 10.1073/pnas.1919065117

Paluh, D.J., Stanley, E.L. & Blackburn, D.C. (2020) Evolution of hyperossification expands skull diversity in frogs. Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences of the USA, 117:8554. 10.1073/pnas.2000872117

Jared, C., Mailho-Fontana, Pedro L., Antoniazzi, Marta M., Mendes, Vanessa A., Barbaro, Katia C., Rodrigues, Miguel T. & Brodie, Edmund D., Jr. (2015) Venomous Frogs Use Heads as Weapons. Current Biology, 25(16):2166–2170. 10.1016/j.cub.2015.06.061

Interestingly, there is probably a third species we did not know about: Cajade, R., Hermida, G., Piñeiro, J.M., Regueira, E., Alcalde, L., Fusco, L.S. & Marangoni, F. (2017) Multiple anti-predator mechanisms in the red-spotted Argentina Frog (Amphibia: Hylidae). Journal of Zoology, 302(2):94–107. 10.1111/jzo.12439 — thanks to Dan Paluh (@danpaluh) for bringing that to our attention on twitter!

Esquerré, D., Donnellan, S., Brennan, I.G., Lemmon, A.R., Lemmon, E.M., Zaher, H., Grazziotin, F.G. & Keogh, J.S. (in press) Phylogenomics, biogeography and morphometrics reveal rapid phenotypic evolution in pythons after crossing Wallace’s line. Systematic Biology. 10.1093/sysbio/syaa024

Sandoval, M.T., Ruiz García, J.A. & Álvarez, B.B. (2020) Intrauterine and post-ovipositional embryonic development of Amerotyphlops brongersmianus (Vanzolini, 1976) (Serpentes: Typhlopidae) from northeastern Argentina. Journal of Morphology, 281:523–535. 10.1002/jmor.21119

Simison, W.B., Parham, J.F., Papenfuss, T.J., Lam, A.W. & Henderson, J.B. (in press) An annotated chromosome-level reference genome of the red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans). Genome Biology and Evolution. 10.1093/gbe/evaa063

Grundler, M.C. (2020) SquamataBase: a natural history database and R package for comparative biology of snake feeding habits. Biodiversity Data Journal, 8:e49943. 10.3897/BDJ.8.e49943

Shout-outs

Yara Haridy: @yara_haridy

Darren Naish: @tetzoo • The Tetzoo Blog

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate • redbubble

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • redbubble

Ethan Kocak: website • twitter • tumblr • facebook • patreon

The post SquaMates Ep. 17: Malayopython and the Glowing Tail first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 16: Sex-bias in herpetology

12 april 2020 | 41 min

SquaMates Ep. 15: And now for something completely different

8 mars 2020 | 74 min

SquaMates Ep. 14: And Another Thing…

20 februari 2020 | 58 min

Dr Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak are back for a new start in 2020 and a small change to our episode format! In this Breaking Newts episode, we highlight important herpetological papers published since October 2019!

Episode Citations

Post, Y., Puschhof, J., Beumer, J., Kerkkamp, H.M., de Bakker, M.A.G., Slagboom, J., de Barbanson, B., Wevers, N.R., Spijkers, X.M., Olivier, T., Kazandjian, T.D., Ainsworth, S., Iglesias, C.L., van de Wetering, W.J., Heinz, M.C., van Ineveld, R.L., van Kleef, R.G.D.M., Begthel, H., Korving, J., Bar-Ephraim, Y.E., Getreuer, W., Rios, A.C., Westerink, R.H.S., Snippert, H.J.G., van Oudenaarden, A., Peters, P.J., Vonk, F.J., Kool, J., Richardson, M.K., Casewell, N.R. & Clevers, H. (2020) Snake Venom Gland Organoids. Cell, 180, 233–247.e21. 10.1016/j.cell.2019.11.038

Garberoglio, F.F., Apesteguía, S., Simões, T.R., Palci, A., Gómez, R.O., Nydam, R.L., Larsson, H.C.E., Lee, M.S.Y. & Caldwell, M.W. (2019) New skulls and skeletons of the Cretaceous legged snake Najash, and the evolution of the modern snake body plan. Science Advances, 5, eaax5833. 10.1126/sciadv.aax5833

Macrì, S., Savriama, Y., Khan, I. & Di-Poï, N. (2019) Comparative analysis of squamate brains unveils multi-level variation in cerebellar architecture associated with locomotor specialization. Nature Communications, 10, 5560. 10.1038/s41467-019-13405-w

Čerňanský, A., Herrel, A., Kibii, J.M., Anderson, C.V., Boistel, R. & Lehmann, T. (2020) The only complete articulated early Miocene chameleon skull (Rusinga Island, Kenya) suggests an African origin for Madagascar’s endemic chameleons. Scientific Reports, 10, 109. 10.1038/s41598-019-57014-5

Burbrink, F.T., Grazziotin, F.G., Pyron, R.A., Cundall, D., Donnellan, S., Irish, F., Keogh, J.S., Kraus, F., Murphy, R.W., Noonan, B., Raxworthy, C.J., Ruane, S., Lemmon, A.R., Lemmon, E.M. & Zaher, H. (2019) Interrogating genomic-scale data for Squamata (Lizards, Snakes, and Amphisbaenians) shows no support for key traditional morphological relationships. Systematic Biology, 10.1093/sysbio/syz062

Fischer, E.K., Roland, A.B., Moskowitz, N.A., Vidoudez, C., Ranaivorazo, N., Tapia, E.E., Trauger, S.A., Vences, M., Coloma, L.A. & O’Connell, L.A. (2019) Mechanisms of convergent egg provisioning in poison frogs. Current Biology, 29, 4145–4151.e3. 10.1016/j.cub.2019.10.032

Lind, A.L., Lai, Y.Y.Y., Mostovoy, Y., Holloway, A.K., Iannucci, A., Mak, A.C.Y., Fondi, M., Orlandini, V., Eckalbar, W.L., Milan, M., Rovatsos, M., Kichigin, I.G., Makunin, A.I., Johnson Pokorná, M., Altmanová, M., Trifonov, V.A., Schijlen, E., Kratochvíl, L., Fani, R., Velenský, P., Rehák, I., Patarnello, T., Jessop, T.S., Hicks, J.W., Ryder, O.A., Mendelson, J.R., Ciofi, C., Kwok, P.-Y., Pollard, K.S. & Bruneau, B.G. (2019) Genome of the Komodo dragon reveals adaptations in the cardiovascular and chemosensory systems of monitor lizards. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3, 1241–1252. 10.1038/s41559-019-0945-8

Suryamohan, K., Krishnankutty, S.P., Guillory, J., Jevit, M., Schröder, M.S., Wu, M., Kuriakose, B., Mathew, O.K., Perumal, R.C., Koludarov, I., Goldstein, L.D., Senger, K., Dixon, M.D., Velayutham, D., Vargas, D., Chaudhuri, S., Muraleedharan, M., Goel, R., Chen, Y.-J.J., Ratan, A., Liu, P., Faherty, B., de la Rosa, G., Shibata, H., Baca, M., Sagolla, M., Ziai, J., Wright, G.A., Vucic, D., Mohan, S., Antony, A., Stinson, J., Kirkpatrick, D.S., Hannoush, R.N., Durinck, S., Modrusan, Z., Stawiski, E.W., Wiley, K., Raudsepp, T., Kini, R.M., Zachariah, A. & Seshagiri, S. (2020) The Indian cobra reference genome and transcriptome enables comprehensive identification of venom toxins. Nature Genetics, 52, 106-117. 10.1038/s41588-019-0559-8

Li, J., Yu, H., Wang, W., Fu, C., Zhang, W., Han, F. & Wu, H. (2019) Genomic and transcriptomic insights into molecular basis of sexually dimorphic nuptial spines in Leptobrachium leishanense. Nature Communications, 10, 5551. 10.1038/s41467-019-13531-5

Furness, A.I. & Capellini, I. (2019) The evolution of parental care diversity in amphibians. Nature Communications, 10, 4709. 10.1038/s41467-019-12608-5

Perkins, R.D., Gamboa, J.R., Jonika, M.M. Lo, J., Shum, A., Adams, R. H. & Blackmon, H. (2019) A database of amphibian karyotypes. Chromosome Research 27:313. 10.1007/s10577-019-09613-1

Shout-outs

Eva Fischer: @evakfischer • Fischer lab website • Personal Website

Lauren O’Connell: @alaurenoconnell • Stanford Laboratory of Organismal Biology

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate • redbubble

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • artwork prints

Ethan Kocak: website • twitter • tumblr • facebook

The post SquaMates Ep. 14: And Another Thing… first appeared on SquaMates.

Squamates Ep. 13: Mostly Humbugs

15 november 2019 | 88 min

We are the worst, but at least we have an Episode 13, unlike a certain podcast we know. In this long-delayed episode, it’s just two of your normal co-hosts, Dr Mark D. Scherz and Gabriel Ugueto, in a more laid-back, chatty format than the usual!

In this thirteenth episode, the structure of the show is a bit different, but we do talk about biogeography and conservation of some geckos and frogs from Madagascar, how exciting we find turtles, and some really cool new science.

Works in Frogress

Mohan, A.V., Gehring, P.-S., Scherz, M.D., Glaw, F., Ratsoavina, F.M. & Vences, M. (2019) Comparative phylogeography and patterns of deep genetic differentiation of two gecko species, Paroedura gracilis and Phelsuma guttata, across north-eastern Madagascar. Salamandra, 55(3):211–220.

Scherz, M.D., Glaw, F., Hutter, C.R., Bletz, M.C., Rakotoarison, A., Köhler, J. & Vences, M. (2019) Species complexes and the importance of Data Deficient classification in Red List assessments: the case of Hylobatrachus frogs. PLoS One, 14(8):e0219437. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219437 — for more information about this paper, see Mark’s article in The Conversation (short) and on his blog (long) about it

Mark mentions this paper as well when talking about the former:

Gehring, P.-S., Siarabi, S., Scherz, M.D., Ratsoavina, F.M., Rakotoarison, A., Glaw, F. & Vences, M. (2018) Genetic differentiation and species status of the large-bodied leaf-tailed geckos Uroplatus fimbriatus and U. giganteus. Salamandra, 54(2):132–146.

and this paper when talking about the latter:

Gehara, M., Crawford, A.J., Orrico, V.G.D., Rodríguez, A., Lötters, S., Fouquet, A., Barrientos, L.S., Brusquetti, F., De la Riva, I., Ernst, R., Urrutia, G.G., Glaw, F., Guayasamin, J.M., Hölting, M., Jansen, M., Kok, P.J.R., Kwet, A., Lingnau, R., Lyra, M., Moravec, J., Pombal, J.P., Jr., Rojas-Runjaic, F.J.M., Schulze, A., Señaris, J.C., Solé, M., Rodrigues, M.T., Twomey, E., Haddad, C.F.B., Vences, M. & Köhler, J. (2014) High levels of diversity uncovered in a widespread nominal taxon: continental phylogeography of the Neotropical tree frog Dendropsophus minutus. PLoS ONE, 9(9):e103958. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103958

Some showcases of what Gabriel talked about:

His ‘cheat-sheets’ to some American lizards:

Jurassic taxa for his upcoming book:

Follow-up

Wollenberg Valero, C.K., Marshall, C.J., Bastiaans, E., Caccone, A., Camargo, A., Morando, M., Niemiller, L.M., Pabijan, M., Russello, A.M., Sinervo, B., Werneck, P.F., Sites, W.J., Wiens, J.J. & Steinfartz, S. (2019) Patterns, mechanisms and genetics of speciation in reptiles and amphibians. Genes, 10(9): DOI: 10.3390/genes10090646

Rasys, A.M., Park, S., Ball, R.E., Alcala, A.J., Lauderdale, J.D. & Menke, D.B. (2019) CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing in Lizards Through Microinjection of Unfertilized Oocytes. Cell Reports, 28(9):2288–2292.e3. DOI: 10.1101/591446

Breuil, M., Vuillaume, B., Schikorski, D., Krauss, U., Morton, M.N., Haynes, P., Daltry, J.C., Corry, E., Gaymes, G., Gaymes, J., Bech, N., Jelić, M. & Grandjean, F. (2019) A story of nasal horns: two new subspecies of Iguana Laurenti, 1768 (Squamata, Iguanidae) in Saint Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, and Grenada (southern Lesser Antilles). Zootaxa, 4608(2):201–232. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4608.2.1

Breaking Newts

Women Researching and Talking Herpetology

The September 2019 issue of MDPI Diversity is packed with herpetology!

Fischer, E.K., Roland, A.B., Moskowitz, N.A., Tapia, E.E., Summers, K., Coloma, L.A. & O’Connell, L.A. (2019) The neural basis of tadpole transport in poison frogs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1907):20191084. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1084 — Mark said this was in Open Science but it was not

Rovatsos, M., Farkačová, K., Altmanová, M., Johnson Pokorná, M. & Kratochvíl, L. (2019) The rise and fall of differentiated sex chromosomes in geckos. Molecular Ecology, 28(12):3042-3052. DOI: 10.1111/mec.15126

Feiner, N. (2019) Evolutionary lability in Hox cluster structure and gene expression in Anolis lizards. Evolution Letters, 3(5):474–484. DOI: 10.1002/evl3.131 — check out the post on this article on Anole Annals!

Skipwith, P.L., Bi, K. & Oliver, P.M. (2019) Relicts and radiations: Phylogenomics of an Australasian lizard clade with east Gondwanan origins (Gekkota: Diplodactyloidea). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 140:106589. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106589

Watanabe, A., Fabre, A.-C., Felice, R.N., Maisano, J.A., Müller, J., Herrel, A. & Goswami, A. (2019) Ecomorphological diversification in squamates from conserved pattern of cranial integration. Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences of the USA, 116(29):14688. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1820967116

Chaplin, K., Sumner, J., Hipsley, C.A. & Melville, J. (2019) An integrative approach using phylogenomics and high-resolution x-ray computed tomography for species delimitation in cryptic taxa. Systematic Biology: DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syz048

Shout-outs

Common Descent Podcast: PodBean • Apple Podcasts • @CommDescentPC

Eva Fischer: @evakfischer • Fischer lab website • Personal Website

Lauren O’Connell: @alaurenoconnell • Stanford Laboratory of Organismal Biology

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate • redbubble

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • artwork prints

Ethan Kocak: website • twitter • tumblr • facebook

The post Squamates Ep. 13: Mostly Humbugs first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 12: So Long, and Tanks for all our Frogs

8 augusti 2019 | 127 min

Here it is, Episode 12! In this episode, the Mates, Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak, have some hot takes on wasp taxonomy (wtf?) and lizard functional groups!

In this twelfth episode, we talk sailing frogs, how fast you have to walk to find the most snakes, lizard skulls, and flying geckos, and have a somewhat impassioned discussion of wasp taxonomy and a reductionist approach to lizard functional grouping! Our #HERper is Dr. Meg Stewart, and our main discussion is about squamate cognition!

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes (and references), go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Works in Froggress

Rakotoarison, A., Scherz, M.D., Bletz, M.C., Razafindraibe, J.H., Glaw, F., Vences, M. (2019) Description of the lucky Cophyla (Microhylidae, Cophylinae), a new arboreal frog from Marojejy National Park in north-eastern Madagascar. Zootaxa, 4651(2):271–288. 10.11646/zootaxa.4651.2.4

The British cover of Believe it or Snot, the third book in the Does it Fart? trilogy

Breaking Newts

Glaw, F., Hawlitschek, O., Glaw, K. & Vences, M. (2019) Integrative evidence confirms new endemic island frogs and transmarine dispersal of amphibians between Madagascar and Mayotte (Comoros archipelago). The Science of Nature, 106, 19. 10.1007/s00114-019-1618-9 — Mark’s blog post

Meierotto, S., Sharkey, M.J., Janzen, D.H., Hallwachs, W., Hebert, P.D.N., Chapman, E.G. & Smith, M.A. (2019) A revolutionary protocol to describe understudied hyperdiverse taxa and overcome the taxonomic impediment. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, 66, 119–145. 10.3897/dez.66.34683

Mark fucked up: he says in the episode that Alex Hall (@allopatry) said funding would be the taxonomic revolution, but it was actually said by Derek Hennen (@derekhennen)!

Lardner, B., Yackel Adams, A. A., Savidge, J. A. & Reed, R. N. (in press) Optimizing walking pace to maximize snake detection rate: A visual encounter survey Experiment. Herpetologica. 10.1655/Herpetologica-D-18-00020.1

Grismer, L.L., Wood, P.L.J., Grismer, J.L., Quah, E.S.H., Thy, N., Phimmachak, S., Sivongxay, N., Seateun, S., Stuart, B.L., Siler, C.B., Mulcahy, D.G., Anamza, T. & Brown, R.M. (2019) Geographic structure of genetic variation in the Parachute Gecko Ptychozoon lionotum Annandale, 1905 across Indochina and Sundaland with descriptions of three new species. Zootaxa, 4638, 151–198. 10.11646/zootaxa.4638.2.1

Villa, A. & Delfino, M. (in press) A comparative atlas of the skull osteology of European lizards (Reptilia: Squamata). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlz035

Feiner, N. & Wood, N.J. (2019) Lizards possess the most complete tetrapod Hox gene repertoire despite pervasive structural changes in Hox clusters. Evolution & Development, 21, e12300. 10.1111/ede.12300

Vidan, E., Novosolov, M., Bauer, A.M., Herrera, F.C., Chirio, L., de Campos Nogueira, C., Doan, T.M., Lewin, A., Meirte, D., Nagy, Z.T., Pincheira-Donoso, D., Tallowin, O.J.S., Torres Carvajal, O., Uetz, P., Wagner, P., Wang, Y., Belmaker, J. & Meiri, S. (in press) The global biogeography of lizard functional groups. Journal of Biogeography, 10.1111/jbi.13667

This paper is based heavily on Meiri (2018) Global Ecology and Biogeography 27:1168 10.1111/geb.12773

#HERper:

Dr. Margaret ‘Meg’ Dickerson

Obituary on Legacy.com

ASIH Stewart Award

Publications (via ResearchGate)

Main Discussion:

Szabo, B., Noble, D.W.A., Byrne, R.W., Tait, D.S. & Whiting, M.J. (2019) Precocial juvenile lizards show adult level learning and behavioural flexibility. Animal Behaviour, 154, 75–84. 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.06.003

Matsubara, S., Deeming, D.C. & Wilkinson, A. (2017) Cold-blooded cognition: new directions in reptile cognition. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 16, 126–130. 10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.06.006

Wilkinson, A. & Huber, L. (2014) Cold-Blooded Cognition: Reptilian Cognitive Abilities in Vonk, J. & Shackelford, T. K. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Evolutionary Psychology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. pp. 129–143. URL

Shout-outs:

Common Descent Podcast: PodBean • Apple Podcasts • @CommDescentPC

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • artwork prints

Ethan Kocak: website • twitter • tumblr • facebook

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SquaMates Ep. 11: Life, the Sphaerodactylidae, and Everything

9 juli 2019 | 127 min

We’re back for our belated anniversary episode, episode 11! In this episode, the Mates, Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak, talk about the hottest new research in herpetology since April 2019!

In this eleventh episode, we talk about salamander feet, burrowing lizard eyes, and the incredible gecko family Sphaerodactylidae.

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes (and references), go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Works in Froggress

Mark’s three new papers:

Scherz, M.D., Köhler, J., Vences, M., Glaw, F. (2019) A new yellow-toed Platypelis species (Anura, Microhylidae, Cophylinae) from the Maroantsetra region, northeastern Madagascar. Evolutionary Systematics, 3(1):75–83. DOI:10.3897/evolsyst.3.33417 [pdf] — this is the paper Mark mentioned that was soon to be published!

Rakotoarison, A.*, Scherz, M.D.*, Bletz, M.C., Razafindraibe, J.H., Glaw, F. & Vences, M. (2019) Diversity, elevational variation, and phylogenetic origin of stump-toed frogs (Microhylidae: Cophylinae: Stumpffia) on the Marojejy massif, northern Madagascar. Salamandra, 55(2):115–123. [pdf]

Köhler, J., Vences, M., Scherz, M.D. & Glaw, F. (2019) A new species of nocturnal gecko, genus Paroedura, from the karstic Tsingy de Bemaraha formation in western Madagascar. Salamandra, 55(2):73–81. [pdf]

Dinosaurs commissioned of Gabriel by the Australian National Marine Museum

Gabriel’s artwork in the BBC Science Focus Magazine

The British cover of Believe it or Snot, the third book in the Does it Fart? trilogy

Breaking Newts

Baken EK, Adams DC (2019) Macroevolution of arboreality in salamanders. Ecology and Evolution 9(12): 7005–7016. doi:10.1002/ece3.5267

Portik DM, Bell RC, Blackburn DC, Bauer AM, Barratt CD, Branch WR, Burger M, Channing A, Colston TJ, Conradie W, Dehling JM, Drewes RC, Ernst R, Greenbaum E, Gvoždík V, Harvey J, Hillers A, Hirschfeld M, Jongsma GFM, Kielgast J, Kouete MT, Lawson LP, Leaché AD, Loader SP, Lötters S, Meijden AVD, Menegon M, Müller S, Nagy ZT, Ofori-Boateng C, Ohler A, Papenfuss TJ, Rößler D, Sinsch U, Rödel M-O, Veith M, Vindum J, Zassi-Boulou A-G, McGuire JA (2019) Sexual dichromatism drives diversification within a major radiation of African amphibians. Systematic Biology doi:10.1093/sysbio/syz023

Krohn AR, Diepeveen ET, Bi K, Rosenblum EB (2019) Local adaptation does not lead to genome-wide differentiation in lava flow lizards. Ecology and Evolution 9(12): 6810–6820. doi:10.1002/ece3.5231

Shine R, Shine T, Goiran C (2019) Morphology, reproduction and diet of the greater sea snake, Hydrophis major (Elapidae, Hydrophiinae). Coral Reefs doi:10.1007/s00338-019-01833-5

Yovanovich CAM, Pierotti MER, Rodrigues MT, Grant T (2019) A dune with a view: the eyes of a neotropical fossorial lizard. Frontiers in Zoology 16(1): 17. doi:10.1186/s12983-019-0320-2

Liu Y, Day LB, Summers K, Burmeister SS (2019) A cognitive map in a poison frog. The Journal of Experimental Biology 222(11): jeb197467. doi:10.1242/jeb.197467

Hu J, Askary AM, Thurman TJ, Spiller DA, Palmer TM, Pringle RM, Barrett RDH (2019) The epigenetic signature of colonizing new environments in Anolis lizards. Molecular Biology and Evolution doi:10.1093/molbev/msz133

Baeckens S, Llusia D, García-Roa R, Martín J (2019) Lizard calls convey honest information on body size and bite performance: a role in predator deterrence? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 73: 87. doi:10.1007/s00265-019-2695-7

#HERper:

Mary Cynthia Dickerson — 1866–1923

Main Discussion:

Gamble T, Bauer AM, Greenbaum E, Jackman TR (2007) Evidence for Gondwanan vicariance in an ancient clade of gecko lizards. Journal of Biogeography 35: 88–104. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01770.x

Shout-outs:

Tony Gamble: twitter • lab website

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • artwork prints

Ethan Kocak: website • twitter • tumblr • facebook

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SquaMates Ep. 10: The Rhacodactylus at the End of the Universe

9 maj 2019 | 119 min

Belated and disorganised, but it is finally here! Episode ten, with the Mates, Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak, talking about the hottest new research in herpetology since March 2019!

In this tenth episode, we talk about glowing frogs, diving snakes, twitter’s greatest HERpetologists, and New Caledonian geckos!

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes (and references), go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Works in Frogress:

Mark’s new paper on Mini mum, Mini scule, and Mini ature came out!

Read Mark’s new paper describing Brookesia tedi

Listen to Mark’s notes from the field on the Chameleon Breeder Podcast

Breaking Newts:

World Congress of Herpetology 2020

SEH Herpetological Conference 2019

Rasys AM, Park S, Ball RE, Alcala AJ, Lauderdale JD, Menke DB (2019) CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing in Lizards Through Microinjection of Unfertilized Oocytes. bioRxiv doi: 10.1101/591446

Schield DR, Card DC, Hales NR, Perry BW, Pasquesi GM, Blackmon H, Adams RH, Corbin AB, Smith CF, Ramesh B, Demuth JP, Betrán E, Tollis M, Meik JM, Mackessy SP, Castoe TA (2019) The origins and evolution of chromosomes, dosage compensation, and mechanisms underlying venom regulation in snakes. Genome Research. doi: 10.1101/gr.240952.118

Goutte S, Mason MJ, Antoniazzi MM, Jared C, Merle D, Cazes L, Toledo LF, el-Hafci H, Pallu S, Portier H, Schramm S, Gueriau P, Thoury M (2019) Intense bone fluorescence reveals hidden patterns in pumpkin toadlets. Scientific Reports 9(1): 5388. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-41959-8 — follow Sandra on twitter!

Rebouças R, Carollo AB, de Oliveira Freitas M, Lambertini C, dos Santos RMN, Toledo LF (2019) Is the conspicuous dorsal coloration of the Atlantic forest pumpkin toadlets aposematic? Salamandra 55(1): 39–47. [pdf]

Gray RJ (2019) Biofluorescent lateral patterning on the mossy bushfrog (Philautus macroscelis): the first report of biofluorescence in a rhacophorid frog. Herpetology Notes 12(363–364). [pdf] — Mark was wrong, this was the rhacophorid frog he was thinking of

Vági B, Végvári Z, Liker A, Freckleton Robert P, Székely T (2019) Parental care and the evolution of terrestriality in frogs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 286(1900): 20182737. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2737

Shine R (1979) Sexual Selection and Sexual Dimorphism in the Amphibia. Copeia 1979(2): 297–306. — this is the paper Mark mentioned about reasons that male frogs sometimes get larger than females

Weinell JL, Branch WR, Colston TJ, Jackman TR, Kuhn A, Conradie W, Bauer AM (2019) A species-level phylogeny of Trachylepis (Scincidae: Mabuyinae) provides insight into their reproductive mode evolution. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 136: 183-195. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2019.04.002

Pinto BJ, Card DC, Castoe TA, Diaz Jr RE, Nielsen SV, Trainor PA, Gamble T (2019) The transcriptome of the veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus): A resource for studying the evolution and development of vertebrates. Developmental Dynamics doi: 10.1002/dvdy.20

Crowe-Riddell JM, D’Anastasi BR, Nankivell JH, Rasmussen AR, Sanders KL (in press) First records of sea snakes (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae) diving to the mesopelagic zone (>200 m). Austral Ecology doi: 10.1111/aec.12717

#HERper:

@HellbenderHecht — Kirsten Hecht
@ToadallyPriya — Priya Nanjappa
@Afro_herper — Earyn McGee
@kwren88 — Karen Lips
@jodirowley — Jodi Rowley
@amphibs — Katy Greenwald
@anatinmyshoe — Anat Belasen
@herpomania — Sneha Dharwadkar
@abslawson — Abby Lawson
@HerpetALLogy — awesome herpers

Main discussion references:

Bauer AM, Jackman TR, Sadlier RA, Whitaker AH (2012) Revision of the giant geckos of New Caledonia (Reptilia: Diplodactylidae: Rhacodactylus). Zootaxa 3404(1): 1–52. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3404.1.1

Shout-outs!

Darren Naish: @tetzoo

Sandra Goutte: @sandra_goutte

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • artwork prints

Ethan Kocak: website • twitter • tumblr • facebook

The post SquaMates Ep. 10: The Rhacodactylus at the End of the Universe first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 9: The Herpetologist’s Guide to the Galaxy

25 mars 2019 | 138 min

What? Another episode? So soon after the last? yes indeed! Episode nine is here, with the Mates, Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak, talking about the hottest new research in herpetology since December 2018!

In this ninth episode, we talk about Eleutherodactylus, yellow anacondas, painting with snake pee, and blind snakes in a great deal of detail! Our featured #HERper is Joan Beauchamp Procter, a visionary woman of the early 20th century!

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes (and references), go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Missed Snakes/Follow-up:

Sherratt, E., Coutts, F.J., Rasmussen, A.R. & Sanders, K.L. (in press) Vertebral evolution and ontogenetic allometry: The developmental basis of extreme body shape divergence in microcephalic sea snakes. Evolution & Development. Evolution and Development, 1–10. 10.1111/ede.12284

Works in Frogress:

Mark has submitted his thesis!!! With cover artwork done by Gabriel.

Gabriel’s rendition of Tyrannosaurus rex!

Ethan received his amazing new acquisitions: two species of caecilians!

Breaking Newts:

Marshall JC, Bastiaans E, Caccone A, Camargo A, Morando M, Niemiller ML, Pabijan M, Russello MA, Sinervo B, Sites, Jr. JW, Vences M, Werneck FP, Wollenberg Valero KC, Steinfartz S. 2018. Mechanisms of speciation in reptiles and amphibians: a synopsis. PeerJ Preprints 6, e27279v1 10.7287/peerj.preprints.27279v1

Cunningham, A.A., Smith, F., McKinley, T.J., Perkins, M.W., Fitzpatrick, L.D., Wright, O.N. & Lawson, B. (2019) Apparent absence of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans in wild urodeles in the United Kingdom. Scientific Reports, 9, 2831. 10.1038/s41598-019-39338-4

Fitzpatrick, L.D., Pasmans, F., Martel, A. & Cunningham, A.A. (2018) Epidemiological tracing of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans identifies widespread infection and associated mortalities in private amphibian collections. Scientific Reports, 8, 13845. 10.1038/s41598-018-31800-z

Kriss, D., Howe, E., Levinson, J., Rizzo, A., Carò, F. & DeLeonardis, L. (2018) A material and technical study of Paracas painted ceramics. Antiquity, 92, 1492–1510. 10.15184/aqy.2018.164

Camera, B.F., Miranda, E.B.P., Ribeiro, R.P., Barros, M., Draque, J., Waller, T., Micucci, P.A., Dambros, C.S. & Strüssmann, C. (2019) Historical assumptions about the predation patterns of yellow anacondas (Eunectes notaeus): are they infrequent feeders? Journal of Herpetology, 53, 47–52. 10.1670/18-089

Dugo-Cota, Á., Vilà, C., Rodríguez, A. & Gonzalez-Voyer, A. (in press) Ecomorphological convergence in Eleutherodactylus frogs: a case of replicate radiations in the Caribbean. Ecology Letters. 10.1111/ele.13246

Frishkoff, L.O., Gabot, E., Sandler, G., Marte, C. & Mahler, D.L. (in press) Elevation shapes the reassembly of Anthropocene lizard communities. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 10.1038/s41559-019-0819-0

Kueneman, J.G., Bletz, M.C., McKenzie, V.J., Becker, C.G., Joseph, M.B., Abarca, J.G., Archer, H., Arellano, A.L., Bataille, A., Becker, M., Belden, L.K., Crottini, A., Geffers, R., Haddad, C.F.B., Harris, R.N., Holden, W.M., Hughey, M., Jarek, M., Kearns, P.J., Kerby, J.L., Kielgast, J., Kurabayashi, A., Longo, A.V., Loudon, A., Medina, D., Nuñez, J.J., Perl, R.G.B., Pinto-Tomás, A., Rabemananjara, F.C.E., Rebollar, E.A., Rodríguez, A., Rollins-Smith, L., Stevenson, R., Tebbe, C.C., Vargas Asensio, G., Waldman, B., Walke, J.B., Whitfield, S.M., Zamudio, K.R., Zúñiga Chaves, I., Woodhams, D.C. & Vences, M. (2019) Community richness of amphibian skin bacteria correlates with bioclimate at the global scale. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3, 381–389. 10.1038/s41559-019-0798-1

Measey, J., Basson, A., Rebelo, A.D., Nunes, A.L., Vimercati, G., Louw, M. & Mohanty, N.P. (2019) Why have a pet amphibian? Insights from YouTube. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 52. 10.3389/fevo.2019.00052

#HERper: Joan Beauchamp Procter FZS FLS

Read about Joan on Wikipedia

A lovely article on Joan by the Linnean Society

An article on Joan by the Zoological Society of London

An obituary of Joan Procter was published in Nature by G. A. Boulenger

Main discussion references:

Miralles, A., Marin, J., Markus, D., Herrel, A., Hedges, S.B. & Vidal, N. (2018) Molecular evidence for the paraphyly of Scolecophidia and its evolutionary implications. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 31, 1782–1793. 10.1111/jeb.13373

Matsubara, K., Kumazawa, Y., Ota, H., Nishida, C. & Matsuda, Y. (2019) Karyotype analysis of four blind snake species (Reptilia: Squamata: Scolecophidia) and karyotypic changes in Serpentes. Cytogenetic and Genome Research, 157, 91–99. 10.1159/000496554

Chretien, J., Wang-Claypool, C.Y., Glaw, F. & Scherz, M.D. (2019) The bizarre skull of Xenotyphlops sheds light on synapomorphies of Typhlopoidea. Journal of Anatomy, Early View. DOI: 10.1111/joa.12952 [Request PDF]

The crazy skull of Xenotyphlops

Mizuno, T. & Kojima, Y. (2015) A blindsnake that decapitates its termite prey. Journal of Zoology, 297, 220–224. 10.1111/jzo.12268

Kley, N.J. (2001) Prey transport mechanisms in blindsnakes and the evolution of unilateral feeding systems in snakes. American Zoologist, 41, 1321–1337. 10.1093/icb/41.6.1321

A selection of skulls of species of the genera Xenotyphlops, Indotyphlops, and Madatyphlops

Kley, N.J. (2006) Morphology of the lower jaw and suspensorium in the Texas blindsnake, Leptotyphlops dulcis (Scolecophidia: Leptotyphlopidae). Journal of Morphology, 267, 494–515. 10.1002/jmor.10414

Vidal, N., Marin, J., Morini, M., Donnellan, S., Branch, W.R., Thomas, R., Vences, M., Wynn, A., Cruaud, C. & Hedges, S.B. (2010) Blindsnake evolutionary tree reveals long history on Gondwana. Biology Letters, 6, 558–561. 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0220

Kraus, F. (2017) New species of blindsnakes (Squamata: Gerrhopilidae) from the offshore islands of Papua New Guinea. Zootaxa, 4299, 75–94. 10.11646/zootaxa.4299.1.3

Cundall, D. & Irish, F.J. (2008) The snake skull. In: Gans, C., Gaunt, A.S. & Adler, K. (Eds.) Morphology H: The Skull of Lepidosauria. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Ithaca, New York, pp. 349–692. — access the chapter here.

Shout-outs!

Emma Sherratt: @DrEmSherratt

Darren Naish: @tetzoo

Lorenzo Senici: @crazy.snakeman

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • artwork prints

Ethan Kocak: website • twitter • tumblr • facebook

The post SquaMates Ep. 9: The Herpetologist’s Guide to the Galaxy first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 8: The Last Anole

15 mars 2019 | 120 min

After a work-frenzied hiatus, the SquaMates are back with an eighth episode! And it’s a special episode devoted to discussing the recent Anolis Newsletter! The show is hosted by Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak, and we are joined by a special guest host, Dr. James T. Stroud!

In this eighth episode, we fail to talk about anything but the newsletter, but it is packed with fun anecdotes and amazing observations—there should be enough entertainment for everyone!

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes (and references), go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Works in Frogress:

Mark’s newest papers:

Scherz, M.D., Köhler, J., Rakotoarison, A., Glaw, F. & Vences, M. (2019) A new dwarf chameleon, genus Brookesia, from the Marojejy massif in northern Madagascar. Zoosystematics and Evolution, 95, 95–106. DOI: 10.3897/zse.95.32818 [pdf]

The crazy skull of Xenotyphlops

Chretien, J., Wang-Claypool, C.Y., Glaw, F. & Scherz, M.D. (2019) The bizarre skull of Xenotyphlops sheds light on synapomorphies of Typhlopoidea. Journal of Anatomy, Early View. DOI: 10.1111/joa.12952 [Request PDF]

Ratsoavina, F.M., Raselimanana, A.P., Scherz, M.D., Rakotoarison, A., Glaw, F. & Vences, M. (2019) Finaritra! A new leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus) species from Marojejy National Park in north-eastern Madagascar. Zootaxa, 4545, 563–577. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4545.4.7 [Request PDF]

Gabriel

Check out this amazing illustration by Gabriel that Mark commissioned for his PhD thesis cover:

Ethan will be illustrating the new book in the Does it Fart? series!

James’ newest papers

Mothes, C.C., Stroud, J.T., Clements, S.L., Searcy, C.A. (2019) Evaluating the ability of an Ecological Niche Model to accurately predict biotic invasions using South Florida’s exotic lizard community. Journal of Biogeography [PDF]

Stroud, J.T., Colom, M.*, Ferrer, P.*, Palermo, N.*, Vargas, V.*, Cavallini, M.*, Lopez, J.*, Jones, I. (2019) Behavioral shifts with urbanization may facilitate biological invasion of a widespread lizard. Urban Ecosystems [PDF]

Stroud, J.T. (2019) Using introduced anoles as natural experiments in ecology and evolution. Anolis Newsletter VII, p. 242-260. Eds. Stroud, J.T., Geneva, A.J., Losos, J.B. Washington University, St. Louis MO [PDF]

Stroud, J.T. (2019) Thoughts on the ecology and evolution of anoles: insights from 5 years of meandering strolls. Anolis Newsletter VII, p. 261-274. Eds. Stroud, J.T., Geneva, A.J., Losos, J.B. Washington University, St. Louis MO. [PDF]

Main discussion references:

Click here to access the amazing Anolis Newsletter! 323 pages of anole-y goodness!

Prötzel, D., Heß, M., Scherz, M.D., Schwager, M., van’t Padje, A. & Glaw, F. (2018) Widespread bone-based fluorescence in chameleons. Scientific Reports, 8:698. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-19070-7 [pdf]

Note: @ 53:25 Mark accidentally misspeaks and said ‘the family Dactyloa’ instead of ‘Dactyloidae’. Five days in the taxonomic penitence chamber!

Shout-outs!

Darren Naish: @tetzoo

Jonathan Losos: @jlosos

Anthony Geneva: @AnthonyGeneva

Yasel Alfonso: @Yasel_Alfonso

Tony Gamble: @Tony_Gamble1

Colin Donihue: @ColinDonihue

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • artwork prints

Ethan Kocak: website • twitter • tumblr • facebook

James T. Stroud: website • twitter • anole annals twitter • Anole Annals blog

The post SquaMates Ep. 8: The Last Anole first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 7: The Frog Awakens

22 december 2018 | 141 min

The seventh episode of the SquaMates podcast—more amazing news, including five new herp genomes and a new siren, and a discussion that focusses on taxonomy! The show is hosted by Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak.

In this seventh episode, we talk about a selection of new and newsworthy papers, including a new siren, five new reptile genomes (Lonesome George and the high-quality tegu genome!), and lizards in the Andes. Our main discussion is all about taxonomy, which we have a lot of strong opinions about. Our #HERper is the amazing Dr. Helen Beulah Thompson Gaige, an instrumental woman in the establishment of the American Society for Ichthyology and Herpetology!

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes (and references), go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Works in Frogress:

Nothing to report for this episode! We are all working hard as always, but have nothing to show for this month. Tragic.

Breaking Newts References:

Graham, S.P., Kline, R., Steen, D.A. & Kelehear, C. (2018) Description of an extant salamander from the Gulf Coastal Plain of North America: The Reticulated Siren, Siren reticulata. 13, e0207460.

Esquerré D, Brennan IG, Catullo RA, Torres-Pérez F, Keogh JS (in press) How mountains shape biodiversity: the role of the Andes in biogeography, diversification and reproductive biology in South America’s most species rich lizard radiation (Squamata: Liolaemidae). Evolution. 10.1111/evo.13657

Kolora, S.R.R., Weigert, A., Saffari, A., Kehr, S., Costa, M.B.W., Spröer, C., Indrischek, H., Chintalapati, M., Lohse, K., Doose, G., Overmann, J., Bunk, B., Bleidorn, C., Grimm-Seyfarth, A., Henle, K., Nowick, K., Faria, R., Stadler, P.F. & Schlegel, M. (in press) Divergent evolution in the genomes of closely-related lacertids, Lacerta viridis and L. bilineata and implications for speciation. GigaScience, giy160. 10.1093/gigascience/giy160

Quesada, V., Freitas-Rodríguez, S., Miller, J., Pérez-Silva, J.G., Jiang, Z.-F., Tapia, W., Santiago-Fernández, O., Campos-Iglesias, D., Kuderna, L.F., Quinzin, M., Álvarez, M.G., Carrero, D., Beheregaray, L.B., Gibbs, J.P., Chiari, Y., Glaberman, S., Ciofi, C., Araujo-Voces, M., Myoral, P., Arango, J.R., Tamargo-Gómez, I., Roiz-Valle, D., Pascual-Torner, M., Evans, B.R., Edwards, D.L., Garrick, R.C., Russello, M.A., Poulakakis, N., Gaughran, S.J., Rueda, D.O., Bretones, G., Marquès-Bonet, T., White, K.P., Caccone, A. & López-Otín, C. (in press) Giant tortoise genomes provide insights into longevity and age-related disease. Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Roscito, J.G., Sameith, K., Pippel, M., Francoijs, K.-J., Winkler, S., Dahl, A., Papoutsoglou, G., Myers, G. & Hiller, M. (in press) The genome of the tegu lizard Salvator merianae: combining Illumina, PacBio, and optical mapping data to generate a highly contiguous assembly. GigaScience, giy141. 10.1093/gigascience/giy141

Roscito, J.G., Sameith, K., Parra, G., Langer, B.E., Petzold, A., Moebius, C., Bickle, M., Rodrigues, M.T. & Hiller, M. (2018) Phenotype loss is associated with widespread divergence of the gene regulatory landscape in evolution. Nature Communications, 9, 4737. 10.1038/s41467-018-07122-z

Bergmann, P.J. & Morinaga, G. (in press) The convergent evolution of snake-like forms by divergent evolutionary pathways in squamate reptiles. Evolution. 10.1111/evo.13651

Ali, J.R. & Meiri, S. (in press) Biodiversity growth on the volcanic ocean islands and the roles of in situ cladogenesis and immigration: case with the reptiles. Ecography. 10.1111/ecog.04024

Yuan, Z.-Y., Zhang, B.-L., Raxworthy, C.J., Weisrock, D.W., Hime, P.M., Jin, J.-Q., Lemmon, E.M., Lemmon, A.R., Holland, S.D., Kortyna, M.L., Zhou, W.-W., Peng, M.-S., Che, J. & Prendini, E. (2018) Natatanuran frogs used the Indian Plate to step-stone disperse and radiate across the Indian Ocean. National Science Review, 0, 1–5. 10.1093/nsr/nwy092

Correia, L.L., Nunes, P.M.S., Gamble, T., Maciel, A.O., Marques-Souza, S., Fouquet, A., Rodrigues, M.T. & Mott, T. (2018) A new species of Brasilotyphlus (Gymnophiona: Siphonopidae) and a contribution to the knowledge of the relationship between Microcaecilia and Brasilotyphlus. Zootaxa, 4527, 186–196.

Campbell, J.A., Smith, E.N. & Hall, A.S. (2018) Caudals and calyces: The curious case of a consumed Chiapan colubroid. Journal of Herpetology, 52, 458–471. 10.1670/18-042

#HERper

Dr. Helen Beulah Thompson Gaige

Dr. Gaige on Wikipedia

Research career profile on list of Scientific and Common names of herps of North America

Parenti, L.R. & Wake, M.H. (2016) Evolution of the role of women in the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Copeia, 104, 594–601. 10.1643/OT-16-427

Ruthven, A.G. (1936) Helen Thompson Gaige. Herpetologica, 1, 1–3.

Main discussion: Taxonomy

Questions by:

Anna Davison — @amdecology

Mike Itgen — @itgenm

John Haas — @neotropical99

Charles — @IncogPollywog

Patrick Hennessey — @thepatrick_h

Ana C. Afonso Silva —@anacatarinaas

Owen Davies —@DrOwenDavies

SquaMates Ep. 6: Return of the ‘Anoli’

22 november 2018 | 166 min

The sixth episode of the SquaMates podcast—featuring some amazing new stories, including new iguanas and crocodiles, high-elevation herps, and some spectacular sea serpents! The show is hosted by Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak.

In this sixth episode, we talk about the many newsworthy papers published in the last month, from complex genomic modelling to some really amazing new species, including one crocodile that is new, and one that is not! Our main discussion is about sea snakes, their diversity and specialisations. Our #HERper is Grace Olive Wiley, a controversial but amazing herper of history.

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes (and references), go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Works in Frogress:

Prötzel, D., Lambert, S.M., Andrianasolo, G.T., Hutter, C.R., Cobb, K.A., Scherz, M.D. & Glaw, F. (2018) The smallest ‘true chameleon’ from Madagascar: a new, distinctly colored species of the Calumma boettgeri complex (Squamata, Chamaeleonidae). Zoosystematics and Evolution, 94, 409–423. 10.3897/zse.94.27305

Scherz, M.D., Glaw, F., Rakotoarison, A., Wagler, M. & Vences, M. (2018) Polymorphism and synonymy of Brookesia antakarana and B. ambreensis, leaf chameleons from Montagne d’Ambre in north Madagascar. Salamandra, 54, 259–268.

Hutter, C.R., Andriampenomanana, Z.F., Razafindraibe, J., Rakotoarison, A. & Scherz, M.D. (2018) New dietary data from Compsophis and Alluaudina species (Squamata: Lamprophiidae: Pseudoxyrhophiinae), and implications for their dietary complexity and evolution. Journal of Natural History, 52, 2497–2510. 10.1080/00222933.2018.1543732

https://www.newtist.com/

Gabriel’s interview with Dave Hone

How dinosaurs are brought to life—through art (interview with Gabriel)

Breaking Newts References:

Barrow, L.N., Lemmon, A.R. & Lemmon, E.M. (2018) Targeted Sampling and Target Capture: Assessing Phylogeographic Concordance with Genome-wide Data. Systematic Biology, syy021.

Breuil, M., Vuillaume, B., Schikorski, D., Krauss, U., Morton, M., Haynes, P., Daltry, J., Corry, E., Gaymes, G., Gaymes, J., Bech, N., Jesic, M. & Grandjean, F. (2018) A story of nasal horns: A new species of Iguana Laurenti, 1768 (Squamata, Iguanidae) in Saint Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, and Grenada (Southern Lesser Antilles) and its implications for the taxonomy of the genus Iguana. bioRxiv. 10.1101/466128

note: Iguana delicatissima lives in sympatry with introduced populations of Iguana… not native populations of the new Iguana.

Engelbrecht, H.M., Branch, W.R., Greenbaum, E., Alexander, G.J., Jackson, K., Burger, M., Conradie, W., Kusamba, C., Zassi-Boulou, A.-G. & Tolley, K.A. (2019) Diversifying into the branches: Species boundaries in African green and bush snakes, Philothamnus (Serpentes: Colubridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 130, 357–365. 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.023

Liu, J., Guo, X., Chen, D., Li, J., Yue, B. & Zeng, X. (2019) Diversification and historical demography of the rapid racerunner (Eremias velox) in relation to geological history and Pleistocene climatic oscillations in arid Central Asia. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 130, 244–258. 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.029

Milián-García, Y., Russello, M.A., Castellanos-Labarcena, J., Cichon, M., Kumar, V., Espinosa, G., Rossi, N., Mazzotti, F., Hekkala, E., Amato, G. & Janke, A. (2018) Genetic evidence supports a distinct lineage of American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) in the Greater Antilles. PeerJ, 6, e5836. 10.7717/peerj.5836

Myers, E.A., Bryson, R.W., Hansen, R.W., Aardema, M.L., Lazcano, D. & Burbrink, F.T. (2018) Exploring Chihuahuan Desert diversification in the gray-banded kingsnake, Lampropeltis alterna (Serpentes: Colubridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.031

Prates, I., Penna, A., Rodrigues, M.T. & Carnaval, A.C. (in press) Local adaptation in mainland anole lizards: Integrating population history and genome–environment associations. Ecology and Evolution. 10.1002/ece3.4650

Ramm, T., Cantalapiedra, J.L., Wagner, P., Penner, J., Rödel, M.-O. & Müller, J. (2018) Divergent trends in functional and phylogenetic structure in reptile communities across Africa. Nature Communications, 9, 4697. 10.1038/s41467-018-07107-y

Shirley, M.H., Carr, A.N., Nestler, J.H., Vliet, K.A. & Brochu, C.A. (2018) Systematic revision of the living African Slender-snouted Crocodiles (Mecistops Gray, 1844). Zootaxa, 4504, 151–193.

Sun, Y.-B., Fu, T.-T., Jin, J.-Q., Murphy, R.W., Hillis, D.M., Zhang, Y.-P. & Che, J. (2018) Species groups distributed across elevational gradients reveal convergent and continuous genetic adaptation to high elevations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115, E10634–E10641. 10.1073/pnas.1813593115

Gnecchi-Ruscone, G.A., Abondio, P., De Fanti, S., Sarno, S., Sherpa, M.G., Sherpa, P.T., Marinelli, G., Natali, L., Di Marcello, M., Peluzzi, D., Luiselli, D., Pettener, D. & Sazzini, M. (2018) Evidence of polygenic adaptation to high altitude from Tibetan and Sherpa genomes. Genome Biology and Evolution, 10, 2919–2930. 10.1093/gbe/evy233

Huerta-Sánchez, E., Jin, X., Asan, Bianba, Z., Peter, B.M., Vinckenbosch, N., Liang, Y., Yi, X., He, M., Somel, M., Ni, P., Wang, B., Ou, X., Huasang, Luosang, J., Cuo, Z.X.P., Li, K., Gao, G., Yin, Y., Wang, W., Zhang, X., Xu, X., Yang, H., Li, Y., Wang, J., Wang, J. & Nielsen, R. (2014) Altitude adaptation in Tibetans caused by introgression of Denisovan-like DNA. Nature, 512, 194. 10.1038/nature13408

Episode 4, on Thermophis

Torres-Carvajal, O., Echevarría, L.Y., Lobos, S.E., Venegas, P.J. & Kok, P.J.R. (2019) Phylogeny, diversity and biogeography of Neotropical sipo snakes (Serpentes: Colubrinae: Chironius). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 130, 315–329. 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.022

Addtional resources:

http://www.timetree.org/

#HERper

Wikipedia Page about Grace Olive Wiley

Main discussion: Sea Snakes

Listen to this podcast interview with Blanche D’Anastasi — follow her @SeaSnakeBlanche

Also follow Jenna C. Rowe-Riddell: @jcroweriddell

Udyawer, V., Barnes, P., Bonnet, X., Brischoux, F., Crowe-Riddell, J.M., D’Anastasi, B., Fry, B.G., Gillett, A., Goiran, C., Guinea, M.L., Heatwole, H., Heupel, M.R., Hourston, M., Kangas, M., Kendrick, A., Koefoed, I., Lillywhite, H.B., Lobo, A.S., Lukoschek, V., McAuley, R., Nitschke, C., Rasmussen, A.R., Sanders, K.L., Sheehy, C., Shine, R., Somaweera, R., Sweet, S.S. & Voris, H.K. (2018) Future Directions in the Research and Management of Marine Snakes. Frontiers in Marine Science, 5. 10.3389/fmars.2018.00399

Crowe-Riddell, J.M., Snelling, E.P., Watson, A.P., Suh, A.K., Partridge, J.C. & Sanders, K.L. (2016) The evolution of scale sensilla in the transition from land to sea in elapid snakes. Open Biology, 6. 10.1098/rsob.160054

Lillywhite, H.B., Sheehy, I.I.I.C.M., Heatwole, H., Brischoux, F. & Steadman, D.W. (2018) Why are there no sea snakes in the Atlantic? BioScience, 68, 15-24. 10.1093/biosci/bix132

Murphy, J.C. (2012) Marine Invasions by Non-Sea Snakes, with Thoughts on Terrestrial–Aquatic–Marine Transitions. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 52, 217-226. 10.1093/icb/ics060

Sanders, K.L., Lee, M.S.Y., Mumpuni, Bertozzi, T. & Rasmussen, A.R. (2013) Multilocus phylogeny and recent rapid radiation of the viviparous sea snakes (Elapidae: Hydrophiinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 66, 575-591. 10.1016/j.ympev.2012.09.021

Sherratt, E., Rasmussen, A.R. & Sanders, K.L. (2018) Trophic specialization drives morphological evolution in sea snakes. Royal Society Open Science, 5, 10.1098/rsos.172141

We have great photos provided by Scott Eiper, which we display here with permission (Thanks, Scott!):

Hydrophis atriceps

Hydrophis pacificus

Ventral scales of Aipysurus fuscus

Shout-outs!

Darren Naish: @tetzoo

Dani Rabaiotti: @danirabaiotti

Dave Hone: @dave_hone

Hank Green: @hankgreen

Emma Sherratt: @dremsherratt

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • artwork prints

Ethan Kocak: website • twitter • tumblr • facebook

The post SquaMates Ep. 6: Return of the ‘Anoli’ first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 5: The Pythons Strike Back

22 oktober 2018 | 142 min

The fifth episode of the SquaMates podcast—with cool new papers, and a special surprise. The show is hosted by Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak, and this week we’re joined by guest host, #HERper Helen Plylar!

In this fifth episode, we talk about amphibian genome size evolution, the speciation of dusky salamanders (Desmognathus), and the Great Anolis Debate. We talk with Helen about her experience as a #HERper, and our main topic of discussion is her research on heat ‘vision’ in snakes.

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes, go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Works in Frogress:

Mark has a new book:

Andreone, F., Crottini, A., Rosa, G.M., Rakotoarison, A., Scherz, M.D. & Raselimanana, A.P. (2018) Les Amphibiens du Nord de Madagascar. Association Vahatra, Antananarivo, Madagascar, 355 pp.

and two new papers:

Sentís, M., Chang, Y., Scherz, M.D., Prötzel, D. & Glaw, F. (2018) Rising from the ashes: resurrection of the Malagasy chameleons Furcifer monoceras and Furcifer voeltzkowi (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae), based on micro-CT analyses and external morphology. Zootaxa, 4483(3):549–566. 10.11646/zootaxa.4483.3.7

Rasolonjatovo, S.M., Scherz, M.D., Raselimanana, A.P. & Vences, M. (2018) Tadpole predation by Mantidactylus bellyi Mocquard, 1895 with brief description of the site and morphological measurements of the specimen. Herpetology Notes, 11:747–750. [pdf]

Gabriel is being featured in an exhibition in Albuquerque, New Mexico:

Museum’s Unique Fossil Collection & Paleoart Exhibit open for Paleontologists Convention in Albuquerque

Ethan is doing Skinktober

And True or Poo?, a sequel to Does it Fart?, written by Dani Rabaiotti (@DaniRabaiotti) and Nick Caruso (@PlethodoNick) and illustrated by our own Ethan Kocak, is out!

Breaking Newts References:

Jones, K.S. & Weisrock, D.W. (in press) Genomic data reject the hypothesis of sympatric ecological speciation in a clade of Desmognathus salamanders. Evolution. 10.1111/evo.13606

Liedtke, H.C., Gower, D.J., Wilkinson, M. & Gomez-Mestre, I. (in press) Macroevolutionary shift in the size of amphibian genomes and the role of life history and climate. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 10.1038/s41559-018-0674-4

Nori, J., Villalobos, F. & Loyola, R. (in press) Global priority areas for amphibian research. Journal of Biogeography. 10.1111/jbi.13435

Nori, J. & Loyola, R. (2015) On the Worrying Fate of Data Deficient Amphibians. PLoS ONE, 10, e0125055. 10.1371/journal.pone.0125055

Data deficiency and the plight of the unknown – a blog post by Mark on the Nori & Loyola (2015) paper when it first came out.

Amado, T.F., Bidau, C.J. & Olalla-Tárraga, M.Á. (in press) Geographic variation of body size in New World anurans: energy and water in a balance. Ecography. 10.1111/ecog.03889 — check out @amadotalita on twitter!

The great Anolis debate:

Nicholson, K.E., Crother, B.I., Guyer, C. & Savage, J.M. (2018) Translating a clade based classification into one that is valid under the international code of zoological nomenclature: the case of the lizards of the family Dactyloidae (Order Squamata). Zootaxa, 4461, 573-586. 10.11646/zootaxa.4461.4.7

in response to

Poe, S., Nieto-montes de oca, A., Torres-carvajal, O., De Queiroz, K., Velasco, J.A., Truett, B., Gray, L.N., Ryan, M.J., Köhler, G., Ayala-varela, F. & Latella, I. (2017) A phylogenetic, biogeographic, and taxonomic study of all extant species of Anolis (Squamata; Iguanidae). Systematic Biology, 66, 663–697. 10.1093/sysbio/syx029

and

Poe, S. (2013). 1986 Redux: New genera of anoles (Squamata: Dactyloidae) are unwarranted. Zootaxa, 3626(2), 295–299.

in response to

Nicholson, K.E., Crother, B.I., Guyer, C. & Savage, J.M. (2012) It is time for a new classification of anoles (Squamata: Dactyloidae). Zootaxa, 3477, 108.

and so on, and so forth.

Poll on AnoleAnnals suggests people don’t want to the adopt the alternative taxonomy

Pyron, R.A., Burbrink, F.T. & Wiens, J.J. (2013) A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 13, 93. 10.1186/1471-2148-13-93 (Mark mistakenly referred to this as the ‘Pyron and Wiens paper’)

#HERpers and main discussion

Read an interview with Helen Bond Plylar!

Read the Wikipedia page about Infrared ‘Vision’ in snakes

Questions from lizardners shoutouts

@llewelly

Alex Hall, @allopatry

Nicholas Sly, @nickslybirdguy

Natalia Maass, @NatDoesScience

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • artwork prints

Ethan Kocak: website • twitter • tumblr • facebook

Helen Bond Plylar: twitter

The post SquaMates Ep. 5: The Pythons Strike Back first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 4: A Newt Hope

22 september 2018 | 127 min

The fourth episode of the SquaMates podcast! You wanted more snake genomes? You got them! You wanted more controversy? Double dose! This show is rife with bad puns and brilliant science, hosted by Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak!

In this fourth episode, we revisit the Toxicofera, whinge about how busy we all are, mourn the loss of priceless collections, and bring you some hot new science from the last month! These breaking newts include some new snake genomes, some shockingly complicated methods, and a strong message of STAHP SENDING SALAMANDERS OVERSEAS! Our main discussion is a free-form conversation about the way we think about invasive species, and how it is often based on gut feelings, rather than evidence (which discuss without mentioning any primary literature). The featured #HERper is Rose Marie Antoinette Blommers-Schlösser, whose work did wonders for researchers studying Madagascar’s amphibians.

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes, go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Missedsnakes References:

Koch, N.M. & Gauthier, J.A. (2018) Noise and biases in genomic data may underlie radically different hypotheses for the position of Iguania within Squamata. PloS ONE, 13, e0202729. 10.1371/journal.pone.0202729

Works in Froggress

True or Poo is coming out soon—pre-order it now!

Breaking Newts References:

Wikimedia Campaign to upload photos of the Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. Or upload your photos here. Or send them to [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].

Miralles, A., Marin, J., Markus, D., Herrel, A., Hedges, S.B. & Vidal, N. (in press) Molecular evidence for the paraphyly of Scolecophidia and its evolutionary implications. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 10.1111/jeb.13373

Opazo, J.C. & Zavala, K. (2018) Phylogenetic evidence for independent origins of GDF1 and GDF3 genes in anurans and mammals. Scientific Reports, 8, 13595. 10.1038/s41598-018-31954-w

Shibata, H., Chijiwa, T., Oda-Ueda, N., Nakamura, H., Yamaguchi, K., Hattori, S., Matsubara, K., Matsuda, Y., Yamashita, A. & Isomoto, A. (2018) The habu genome reveals accelerated evolution of venom protein genes. Scientific Reports, 8, 11300. 10.1038/s41598-018-28749-4

Burbrink, F.T. & Gehara, M. (2018) The biogeography of deep time phylogenetic reticulation. Systematic Biology, 67, 743–755. 10.1093/sysbio/syy019

Li, J.-T., Gao, Y.-D., Xie, L., Deng, C., Shi, P., Guan, M.-L., Huang, S., Ren, J.-L., Wu, D.-D. & Ding, L. (2018) Comparative genomic investigation of high-elevation adaptation in ectothermic snakes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 201805348. 10.1073/pnas.1805348115

Sun, A.X., Londono, R., Hudnall, M.L., Tuan, R.S. & Lozito, T.P. (2018) Differences in neural stem cell identity and differentiation capacity drive divergent regenerative outcomes in lizards and salamanders. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 201803780. 10.1073/pnas.1803780115

*This paper was discussed in the news segment of Episode 42 of the Common Descent Podcast

McGlothlin, J.W., Kobiela, M.E., Wright, H.V., Mahler, D.L., Kolbe, J.J., Losos, J.B. & Brodie III, E.D. (2018) Adaptive radiation along a deeply conserved genetic line of least resistance in Anolis lizards. Evolution Letters, 2, 310–322. 10.1002/evl3.72

*This extremely complicated paper is summarised on the Evolution Letters editor’s blog.

Fitzpatrick, L.D., Pasmans, F., Martel, A. & Cunningham, A.A. (2018) Epidemiological tracing of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans identifies widespread infection and associated mortalities in private amphibian collections. Scientific Reports, 8, 13845. 10.1038/s41598-018-31800-z

#HERper further reading:

Wikipedia: Rose Marie Antoinette Blommers-Schlösser

Blommers-Schlösser, R.M.A. & Blanc, C.P. (1991) Amphibiens (première partie). Faune de Madagascar, 75, 1–397. [can be purchased here]

Blommers-Schlösser, R.M.A. & Blanc, C.P. (1993) Amphibiens (duexième partie). Faune de Madagascar, 75, 385–530. [can be purchased here]

Blommers-Schlösser, R.M.A. (1975) Observations on the larval development of some Malagasy frogs, with notes on their ecology and biology (Anura: Dyscophinae, Scaphiophryninae, and Cophylinae). Beaufortia, 24, 7–26. [pdf available here]

Shout-outs

llewelly: @llewelly (sorry about the epic fail at answering your question!)

Jakob Vinther: @macroevolut — the deliverer of the fossil colour talk that Mark mentioned in Works in Froggress.

Emma Sherratt: @DrEmSherratt — the deliverer of arguably the best talk at Evolution 2018.

Germán Orizaola: @GOrizaola — works on the treefrogs in Chernobyl

Colin Donihue: @colindonihue

Hey @TomBodett, I heard you ask @Faith_Salie on @waitwait for a pic of my leafblower setup. Here ya go!
I’m flattered—this is probably the first (and last) time my work has been measured against @TomCruise! When you get home, definitely tell your kids to go out and do science! pic.twitter.com/NiIxPNXlto

— Colin Donihue (@colindonihue) July 28, 2018

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • artwork prints

Ethan Kocak: website • twitter • tumblr • facebook

The post SquaMates Ep. 4: A Newt Hope first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 3: Revenge of the Toxicofera

22 augusti 2018 | 173 min

The third episode of the SquaMates podcast—bigger, better, and much, much longer than ever before! The show is rife with bad puns and brilliant science, and hosted by Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak!

In this third episode, an unplanned drinking game is introduced, as well as a new section title! We talk about cobras, leafblowers, synapomorphic skull loss among stem Serpentes, and the ridiculous diversity of the Gymnophthghshmhalmidae, before diving into our main topic (by popular demand): the Toxicofera, and the age-old question, ‘just what is venom, anyway?’ and ‘why is my hand falling off?’ The featured #HERpers are a trifecta of amazing Victorian-Edwardian women, whose fates differed dramatically, but who helped light the way for women in herpetology.

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes, go to http://www.squamatespod.com

Missedsnakes References:

Smith, J.J., Timoshevskaya, N., Timoshevskiy, V.A., Keinath, M.C., Hardy, D. & Voss, S.R. (2018) A Chromosome-Scale Assembly of the Enormous (32 Gb) Axolotl Genome. bioRxiv, 10.1101/373548

Works in Frogress:

Mark’s blogpost about the new geckos and frogs he described

New books illustrated by Gabriel and Ethan: ‘So you think you know about… Dinosaurs’

Breaking Newts References:

Wüster, W., Chirio, L., Trape, J.-F., Ineich, I., Jackson, K., Greenbaum, E., Barron, C., Kusamba, C., Nagy, Z.T., Storey, R., Hall, C., Wüster, C.E., Barlow, A. & Broadley, D.G. (2018) Integration of nuclear and mitochondrial gene sequences and morphology reveals unexpected diversity in the forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca) species complex in Central and West Africa (Serpentes: Elapidae). Zootaxa, 4455, 68–98. 10.11646/zootaxa.4455.1.3

Donihue, C.M., Herrel, A., Fabre, A.-C., Kamath, A., Geneva, A.J., Schoener, T.W., Kolbe, J.J. & Losos, J.B. (2018) Hurricane-induced selection on the morphology of an island lizard. Nature, 560, 88–91. 10.1038/s41586-018-0352-3

*hilarious video here

Xing, L., Caldwell, M.W., Chen, R., Nydam, R.L., Palci, A., Simões, T.R., McKellar, R.C., Lee, M.S.Y., Liu, Y., Shi, H., Wang, K. & Bai, M. (2018) A mid-Cretaceous embryonic-to-neonate snake in amber from Myanmar. Science Advances, 4, eaat5042. 10.1126/sciadv.aat5042

Perry, B.W., Card, D.C., McGlothlin, J.W., Pasquesi, G.I.M., Adams, R.H., Schield, D.R., Hales, N.R., Corbin, A.B., Demuth, J.P., Hoffmann, F.G., Vandewege, M.W., Schott, R.K., Bhattacharyya, N., Chang, B.S.W., Casewell, N.R., Whiteley, G., Reyes-Velasco, J., Mackessy, S.P., Gamble, T., Storey, K.B., Biggar, K.K., Passow, C.N., Kuo, C.-H., McGaugh, S.E., Bronikowski, A.M., de Koning, J., Edwards, S.V., Pfrender, M.E., Minx, P., Brodie, I.I.I.E.D., Brodie, J.E.D., Warren, W.C. & Castoe, T.A. (in press) Molecular adaptations for sensing and securing prey and insight into amniote genome diversity from the garter snake genome. Genome Biology and Evolution, accepted, evy157. 10.1093/gbe/evy157

Edwards, R.J., Tuipulotu, D.E., Amos, T.G., O’Meally, D., Richardson, M.F., Russell, T.L., Vallinoto, M., Carneiro, M., Ferrand, N., Wilkins, M.R., Sequeira, F., Rollins, L.A., Holmes, E.C., Shine, R. & White, P.A. (in press) Draft genome assembly of the invasive cane toad, Rhinella marina. GigaScience, giy095. 10.1093/gigascience/giy095

Pasquesi, G.I.M., Adams, R.H., Card, D.C., Schield, D.R., Corbin, A.B., Perry, B.W., Reyes-Velasco, J., Ruggiero, R.P., Vandewege, M.W., Shortt, J.A. & Castoe, T.A. (2018) Squamate reptiles challenge paradigms of genomic repeat element evolution set by birds and mammals. Nature Communications, 9, 2774. 10.1038/s41467-018-05279-1

Portik, D.M., Bell, R.C., Blackburn, D.C., Bauer, A.M., Barratt, C.D., Branch, W.R., Burger, M., Channing, A., Colston, T.J., Conradie, W., Dehling, J.M., Drewes, R.C., Ernst, R., Greenbaum, E., Gvoždík, V., Harvey, J., Hillers, A., Hirschfeld, M., Jongsma, G., Kielgast, J., Kouete, M.T., Lawson, L.P., Leaché, A.D., Loader, S.P., Lötters, S., van der Meijden, A., Menegon, M., Müller, S., Nagy, Z.T., Ofori-Boateng, C., Ohler, A., Papenfuss, T.J., Rößler, D., Sinsch, U., Rödel, M.-O., Veith, M., Vindum, J., Zassi-Boulou, A.-G. & McGuire, J.A. (2018) Sexual dichromatism drives diversification within a major radiation of African amphibians. bioRxiv, 10.1101/372250

Moravec, J., Šmíd, J., Štundl, J. & Lehr, E. (2018) Systematics of Neotropical microteiid lizards (Gymnophthalmidae, Cercosaurinae), with the description of a new genus and species from the Andean montane forests. ZooKeys, 774, 10.3897/zookeys.774.25332

#HERper further reading:

Dr Doris Mable Cochran:

Wikipedia

Smithsonian Institution Archives

A lovely and incredibly in-depth piece on this by Dr Leslie M.B. (full name unknown)

Dr Bertha Lutz:

Wikipedia

Feminism, Fascism, and Frogs: The Case of Bertha Lutz at the United Nations

Get to Know a Brazilian – Bertha Lutz

Enrica Calabresi:

Wikipedia

Toxicofera citations:

Fry, B.G., Vidal, N., Norman, J.A., Vonk, F.J., Scheib, H., Ramjan, S.F., Kuruppu, S., Fung, K., Hedges, S.B., Richardson, M.K., Hodgson, W.C., Ignjatovic, V., Summerhayes, R. & Kochva, E. (2005) Early evolution of the venom system in lizards and snakes. Nature, 439, 584–588. 10.1038/nature04328

Vidal, N. & Hedges, S.B. (2005) The phylogeny of squamate reptiles (lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians) inferred from nine nuclear protein-coding genes. Comptes Rendus Biologies, 328, 1000–1008. 10.1016/j.crvi.2005.10.001

Hargreaves, A.D., Swain, M.T., Logan, D.W. & Mulley, J.F. (2014) Testing the Toxicofera: Comparative transcriptomics casts doubt on the single, early evolution of the reptile venom system. Toxicon, 92, 140–156. 10.1016/j.toxicon.2014.10.004

Losos, J.B., Hillis, D.M. & Greene, H.W. (2012) Who Speaks with a Forked Tongue? Science, 338, 1428–1429. 10.1126/science.1232455 [pdf]

Gauthier, J.A., Kearney, M., Maisano, J.A., Rieppel, O. & Behlke, A.D.B. (2012) Assembling the squamate tree of life: perspectives from the phenotype and the fossil record. Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History, 53, 3–308. 10.3374/014.053.0101

Fry, B.G., Casewell, N.R., Wüster, W., Vidal, N., Young, B. & Jackson, T.N.W. (2012) The structural and functional diversification of the Toxicofera reptile venom system. Toxicon, 60, 434–448. 10.1016/j.toxicon.2012.02.013

*This paper received a few replies… see the doi link and read those to formulate your own opinions.

Irisarri, I., Baurain, D., Brinkmann, H., Delsuc, F., Sire, J.-Y., Kupfer, A., Petersen, J., Jarek, M., Meyer, A., Vences, M. & Philippe, H. (2017) Phylotranscriptomic consolidation of the jawed vertebrate timetree. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 1, 1370–1378. 10.1038/s41559-017-0240-5

Streicher, J.W. & Wiens, J.J. (2017) Phylogenomic analyses of more than 4000 nuclear loci resolve the origin of snakes among lizard families. Biology Letters, 13, 20170393. 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0393

Reeder, T.W., Townsend, T.M., Mulcahy, D.G., Noonan, B.P., Wood, P.L., Jr., Sites, J.W., Jr. & Wiens, J.J. (2015) Integrated analyses resolve conflicts over squamate reptile phylogeny and reveal unexpected placements for fossil taxa. PLoS ONE, 10, e0118199. 10.1371/journal.pone.0118199

Koludarov, I., Jackson, T.N.W., op den Brouw, B., Dobson, J., Dashevsky, D., Arbuckle, K., Clemente, C.J., Stockdale, E.J., Cochran, C., Debono, J., Stephens, C., Panagides, N., Li, B., Roy Manchadi, M.-L., Violette, A., Fourmy, R., Hendrikx, I., Nouwens, A., Clements, J., Martelli, P., Kwok, H.F. & Fry, B.G. (2017) Enter the dragon: the dynamic and multifunctional evolution of Anguimorpha lizard venoms. Toxins, 9, 242. 10.3390/toxins9080242

*we fucked up: this was published on the 8^th of August 2017, NOT 2018! Oops.

Questions from Lizardners References

Reynolds, R.G., Niemiller, M.L. & Revell, L.J. (2014) Toward a Tree-of-Life for the boas and pythons: Multilocus species-level phylogeny with unprecedented taxon sampling. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 71, 201–213. 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.11.011

Cieri, R.L., Craven, B.A., Schachner, E.R. & Farmer, C.G. (2014) New insight into the evolution of the vertebrate respiratory system and the discovery of unidirectional airflow in iguana lungs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111, 17218–17223. 10.1073/pnas.1405088111

Tetrapod Zoology: Skinks, Skinks, Skinks!

Tetrapod Zoology: Sandfishes and kin: of sand-swimming, placentation, and limb and digit reduction (skinks part III)

Tetrapod Zoology: Worm Lizards: Lifestyles of the limbless

Shout-outs

Dr Darren Naish (@tetzoo) and John Conway (@thejohnconway), and the Tetrapod Zoology podcast http://www.tetzoo.com/

Julian Rossi @JulianJRossi

Dr Owen Davies @DrOwenDavies

Nicholas Sly @NickSlyBirdGuy

Sarah McAnulty @SarahMackAttack

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • artwork prints

Ethan Kocak: website • twitter • tumblr • facebook

The post SquaMates Ep. 3: Revenge of the Toxicofera first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 2: Attack of the Genomes

22 juli 2018 | 137 min

The much-anticipated second episode of the SquaMates podcast, hosted by Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak, here for your ears at last!

The this second episode, we give an overview of some of the biggest new research in herpetology since the start of 2018, and the topic of the week is axolotls and their enormous genomes. The featured #HERper is Prof. Marvalee Wake!

Episode notes sometimes get clipped on your device or by your podcast provider; for full (extensive) notes, go to http://www.squamatespod.com

General notes on the episode (preliminary corrections, clarifications):

We always have to record episodes a few weeks in advance, because of our busy schedules, and as a result, we might have missed some interesting advances that have just emerged. We will always endeavour to cover the best of these in the following episode! This may sometimes break down the illusion of being a current podcast, but we promise we are trying to keep everything as timely as possible!

Since recording, the two accepted papers mentioned by Mark have been published, and you can read about them and access the PDFs at http://www.markscherz.com/archives/3827

On JMIH (Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists): Our episode was recorded before the story of Dick Vogt’s inappropriate slides had emerged. We would like to make it clear that we believe there is no place for the sexualisation of female researchers (or any other dehumanising practices in research, for that matter), and we were pleased that the Herpetologists’ League has signed onto the JMIH code of conduct, and approve especially the decision to form committees addressing inclusivity, diversity, and professionalism, which, as we highlighted in the first episode, has been a long-standing issue in herpetology.

Note also that Mark was incorrect; JMIH 2019 will be in Snowbird, Utah.

Our twitter poll on how to pronounce ‘anole’ (https://twitter.com/SquaMatesPod/status/1012344498683342848) received 680 votes, of which 59.3% (corrected for 95 people who wanted to see the results) agreed with Mark and Ethan that the correct pronunciation is without a sharp ‘e’ (ah/uh-noll), 24.4% agreed with Gabriel that it should have a sharp ‘e’ (ah/uh-no-lee), and 16.2% wanted to circumvent the issue by using the Latin name, Anolis, meaning that a whopping 75.5% of tweeps think Gabriel is wrong. But he has decided that this is the hill that he will fight and die on, and who are we to deny him that desire?

Breaking Newts References:

Xing, L., Stanley, E.L., Bai, M. & Blackburn, D.C. (2018) The earliest direct evidence of frogs in wet tropical forests from Cretaceous Burmese amber. Scientific Reports, 8, 8770. 10.1038/s41598-018-26848-w — This paper was discussed in more detail in Episode 67 of the TetZooPodcats: http://tetzoo.com/podcast/2018/6/21/episode-67-stupid-successful-frog

Simões, T.R., Caldwell, M.W., Talanda, M., Bernardi, M., Palci, A., Vernygora, O., Bernardini, F., Mancini, L. & Nydam, R.L. (2018) The origin of squamates revealed by a Middle Triassic lizard from the Italian Alps. Nature, 557, 706–709. 10.1038/s41586-018-0093-3 — This paper was discussed at length in an interview with the first author in Episode 92 of Palaeocast: http://www.palaeocast.com/squamate-origins/

O’Hanlon, S.J., Rieux, A., Farrer, R.A., Rosa, G.M., Waldman, B., Bataille, A., Kosch, T.A., Murray, K.A., Brankovics, B., Fumagalli, M., Martin, M.D., Wales, N., Alvarado-Rybak, M., Bates, K.A., Berger, L., Böll, S., Brookes, L., Clare, F., Courtois, E.A., Cunningham, A.A., Doherty-Bone, T.M., Ghosh, P., Gower, D.J., Hintz, W.E., Höglund, J., Jenkinson, T.S., Lin, C.-F., Laurila, A., Loyau, A., Martel, A., Meurling, S., Miaud, C., Minting, P., Pasmans, F., Schmeller, D.S., Schmidt, B.R., Shelton, J.M.G., Skerratt, L.F., Smith, F., Soto-Azat, C., Spagnoletti, M., Tessa, G., Toledo, L.F., Valenzuela-Sanchez, A., Verster, R., Vörös, J., Webb, R.J., Wierzbicki, C., Wombwell, E., Zamudio, K.R., Aanensen, D.M., James, T.Y., Gilbert, M.T.P., Weldon, C., Bosch, J., Balloux, F., Garner, T.W.J. & Fisher, M.C. (2018) Recent Asian origin of chytrid fungi causing global amphibian declines. Science, 360, 621–627. 10.1126/science.aar1965 — Not with love or money was it possible to find out which species of frog carried the oldest isolate of chytrid found in this study, because Science has somehow misplaced the supplemental materials of the article. Sorry! But it was probably a Bombina, and almost certainly was not a salamander.

Voyles, j., Woodhams, D.C., Saenz, V., Byrne, A.Q., Perez, R., Rios-Sotelo, G., Ryan, M.J., Bletz, M.C., Sobell, F.A., McLetchie, S., Reinert, L., Rosenblum, E.B., Rollins-Smith, L.A., Ibáñez, R., Ray, J.M., Griffith, E.J., Ross, H. & Richards-Zawacki, C.L. (2018) Shifts in disease dynamics in a tropical amphibian assemblage are not due to pathogen attenuation. Science, 359, 1517–1519. 10.1126/science.aao4806

Woinarski, J.C.Z., Murphy, B.P., Palmer, R., Legge, S.M., Dickman, C.R., Doherty, T.S., Edwards, G., Nankivell, A., Read, J.L. & Stokeld, D. (2018) How many reptiles are killed by cats in Australia? Wildlife Research, 45, 247–266. 10.1071/WR17160 — Keep your cats indoors!!! It is perfectly possible to keep a cat happy and healthy without it having to go outside except on a lead. There is loads of literature online about this, but you can start here: https://www.vetwest.com.au/pet-library/indoor-cats-keep-your-feline-happy

Arteaga, A., Salazar-Valenzuela, D., Mebert, K., Peñafiel, N., Aguiar, G., Sánchez-Nivicela, J.C., Pyron, R.A., Colston, T.J., Cisneros-Heredia, D.F., Yánez-Muñoz, M.H., Venegas, P.J., Guayasamin, J.M. & Torres-Carvajal, O. (2018) Systematics of South American snail-eating snakes (Serpentes, Dipsadini), with the description of five new species from Ecuador and Peru. ZooKeys, 766, 79–147. 10.3897/zookeys.766.24523 — See this article on Mongabay about the selling of the names to buy up forest to protect, and save the species: https://news.mongabay.com/2018/06/scientists-find-new-snail-eating-snakes-auction-naming-rights-to-save-them/. • This paper was featured in Episode 31 of Herpetological Highlights: https://herphighlights.podbean.com/e/031-from-tortoise-brutality-to-snail-eating-snakes/. • We failed to talk about naming new species after people—we will do this in a future episode

Weinell, J.L. & Brown, R.M. (2018) Discovery of an old, archipelago-wide, endemic radiation of Philippine snakes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 119, 133–150. 10.1016/j.ympev.2017.11.004

#HERpers

More information about Prof. Marvalee H. Wake:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=x20bM6cAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvalee_Wake

Publications discussed:

Wake, D.B., Roth, G. & Wake, M.H. (1983) On the problem of stasis in organismal evolution. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 101, 211–224. — The Wikipedia page on Punctuated equilibrium is really good: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuated_equilibrium

Wake, M.H. (1977) The reproductive biology of caecilians: an evolutionary perspective. In: Taylor, D.H. & Guttman, S.I. (Eds.) The reproductive biology of amphibians. Springer, Boston, MA, USA. — This paper has has 124 citations, not 600 as stated in the episode (yet!).

Wake, M.H. (1993) Evolution of oviductal gestation in amphibians. The Journal of Experimental Zoology, 266, 394–413. [pdf]

Estes, R. & Wake, M.H. (1972) The first fossil record of caecilian amphibians. Nature, 239, 228–231. 10.1038/239228b0

A few mistakes made in the episode:

• Maternal dermatotrophy was originally discovered in part by Wilkinson & Nussbaum (1998 J. Nat. Hist. 32:1403) and in described in much more detail in Kupfer et al. (2006 Nature 440:926)—what was known to Prof. Wake at the time of her studies was Matrotrophy, which involves the consumption of the lining of the oviduct lining, not the external skin, and she contributed significantly to knowledge on that topic in the paper Wake, M. H. & Dickie, R. (1998) Oviduct structure and function and reproductive modes in amphibians. Journal of Experimental Zoology, 282:477–506, but it seems to have been originally described by… Dr. Hampton Wildman Parker. Of course. Parker did everything first, it seems.

• Mark got super confused explaining the oviductal gestation paper: Nectophrynoides are live-bearing frogs. Salamandra atra are live-bearing salamanders. Dermophis are live-bearing caecilians. Duh.

Main discussion

In this episode, we have done our best to cover a little bit about the genomes of axolotls, but we have actually only barely touched on just how incredible the genomes of these and other salamanders are, or how much we already know about them. This was necessary given the format and length of the podcast, but there is a huge amount of great literature out there that we did not manage to touch on! This may come up in future episodes, but otherwise, we encourage you to read more about these genomes yourselves!

References:

Nowoshilow, S., Schloissnig, S., Fei, J.-F., Dahl, A., Pang, A.W.C., Pippel, M., Winkler, S., Hastie, A.R., Young, G., Roscito, J.G., Falcon, F., Knapp, D., Powell, S., Cruz, A., Cao, H., Habermann, B., Hiller, M., Tanaka, E.M. & Myers, E.W. (2018) The axolotl genome and the evolution of key tissue formation regulators. Nature, 554, 50. 10.1038/nature25458

Humphrey, R.R. (1967) Albino axolotls from an albino tiger salamander through hybridization. Journal of Heredity, 58, 95–101. 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a107572

de Both, N.J. (1968) Transplantation of axolotl heads. Science, 162, 460–461. 10.1126/science.162.3852.460

Keinath, M.C., Timoshevskaya, N., Timoshevskiy, V.A., Voss, S.R. & Smith, J.J. (preprint) Miniscule differences between the sex chromosomes in the giant genome of a salamander, Ambystoma mexicanum. bioRxiv, 10.1101/354092

Elewa, A., Wang, H., Talavera-López, C., Joven, A., Brito, G., Kumar, A., Hameed, L.S., Penrad-Mobayed, M., Yao, Z., Zamani, N., Abbas, Y., Abdullayev, I., Sandberg, R., Grabherr, M., Andersson, B. & Simon, A. (2017) Reading and editing the Pleurodeles waltl genome reveals novel features of tetrapod regeneration. Nature Communications, 8, 2286. 10.1038/s41467-017-01964-9

A few clarifications:

Humboldt brought the first dead specimens of Ambystoma mexicanum to Europe in 1804, which were placed in the natural history museum in Paris. Living specimens were brought to Europe and bred in laboratories from 1864 onwards. Anyone with an interest in Alexander von Humboldt should read The Invention of Nature, by Andrea Wulf—an excellent biography on Alexander von Humboldt: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23995249-the-invention-of-nature

Briefly mentioned and further reading

Daza, J.D., Stanley, E.L., Wagner, P., Bauer, A.M. & Grimaldi, D.A. (2016) Mid-Cretaceous amber fossils illuminate the past diversity of tropical lizards. Science Advances, 2, e1501080. 10.1126/sciadv.1501080

Xing, L., O’Connor, J.K., McKellar, R.C., Chiappe, L.M., Bai, M., Tseng, K., Zhang, J., Yang, H., Fang, J. & Li, G. (2018) A flattened enantiornithine in mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber: morphology and preservation. Science Bulletin, 63, 235–243. 10.1016/j.scib.2018.01.019

Xing, L., McKellar, R.C., Xu, X., Li, G., Bai, M., Persons, W.S.I., Miyashita, T., Benton, M.J., Zhang, J., Wolfe, A.P., Yi, Q., Tsing, K., Ran, H. & Currie, P.J. (2016) A feathered dinosaur tail with primitive plumage trapped in mid-Cretaceous amber. Current Biology, 26, 3352–3360. 10.1016/j.cub.2016.10.008

Losos, J.B., Jackman, T.R., Larson, A., de Queiroz, K. & Rodríguez-Schettino, L. (1998) Contingency and determinism in replicated adaptive radiations of island lizards. Science, 279, 2115–2118. 10.1126/science.279.5359.2115

Additional material

Awful rendering of Atelopus hoogmoedi: https://frogoftheweek.wordpress.com/2016/04/10/fotw3/ —I mean, honestly.

Axolotl song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxA0QVGVEJw

Genome size database: http://genomesize.com/

TALEN information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwEiNySbBLY&t=4s (sorry, there’s not a lot out there on this)

CRISPR information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfA_jAKV29g • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BXYSGepx7Q • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k99bMtg4zRk

Evo-devo song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydqReeTV_vk

Giant bullfrog tadpole: @afro_herper, https://twitter.com/Afro_Herper/status/1007064141549457408

Ethan’s Blackmudpuppy comic! http://www.blackmudpuppy.com

Shout-outs

Dr. Darren Naish (@tetzoo) and John Conway (@thejohnconway), and the Tetrapod Zoology podcast http://www.tetzoo.com/

Tom Major (@Thomas_Major) and Ben Marshall (@Ben_M_Marshall), and the Herpetological Highlights (@HerpHighlights) podcast https://herphighlights.podbean.com/

Kirsten Hecht: @hellbenderhecht

Dr. Owen Davies: @drowendavies

Zach Miller: @zmiller1902

Follow the show and the hosts on social media!

SquaMates: website • twitter • instagram • facebook

Mark D. Scherz: website • twitter • instagram • tumblr • facebook • researchgate

Gabriel Ugueto: website • twitter • instagram • facebook • artwork prints

Ethan Kocak: website • twitter • tumblr • facebook

The post SquaMates Ep. 2: Attack of the Genomes first appeared on SquaMates.

SquaMates Ep. 1: The Fishopod Menace

22 juni 2018 | 140 min

It’s finally here! The first episode of SquaMates, the totally serious herpetology podcast, hosted by Mark D. Scherz, Gabriel Ugueto, and Ethan Kocak!

In this first episode, we introduce you to the show and its format, then cover all of herpetological history, and then discuss all reptiles and amphibians ever.

Show References:

Caruso, N. & Rabaiotti, D. (2018) Does it fart? The definitive field guide to animal flatulence. Quercus, 144 pp.

Cope, E.D. (1895) The classification of the Ophidia. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, 18, 186–219.

Duellman, W.E. & Trueb, L. (1986) Biology of Amphibians. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.

Feng, Y.-J., Blackburn, D.C., Liang, D., Hillis, D.M., Wake, D.B., Cannatella, D.C. & Zhang, P. (2017) Phylogenomics reveals rapid, simultaneous diversification of three major clades of Gondwanan frogs at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary. Proceedings of the national Academy of Sciences of the USA, 114, E5864–E5870. 10.1073/pnas.1704632114

Irisarri, I., Baurain, D., Brinkmann, H., Delsuc, F., Sire, J.-Y., Kupfer, A., Petersen, J., Jarek, M., Meyer, A., Vences, M. & Philippe, H. (2017) Phylotranscriptomic consolidation of the jawed vertebrate timetree. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 1, 13709–1378. 10.1038/s41559-017-0240-5

Trueb, L. (1968) Cranial Osteology of the Hylid Frog, Smilisca baudini. University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History, 18, 11–35.

Trueb, L. (1973) Bones, frogs, and evolution. In: Vial, J.L. (Ed.) Evolutionary biology of the anurans: Contemporary research on major problems. University of Missouri Press, USA, pp. 65–132.

Trueb, L. (1993) Patterns of Diversity in the Lissamphibian Skull. In: Hanken, J. & Hall, B.K. (Eds.) The Skull, Volume 2: Patterns of Structural and Systematic Diversity. University of Chicago Press, Chicago IL, USA, pp. 255–343.

Wollenberg Valero, K.C., Garcia-Porta, J., Rodríguez, A., Arias, M., Shah, A., Randrianiaina, R.D., Brown, J.L., Glaw, F., Amat, F., Künzel, S., Metzler, D., Isokpehi, R.D. & Vences, M. (2017) Transcriptomic and macroevolutionary evidence for phenotypic uncoupling between frog life history phases. Nature Communications, 8, 15213. 10.1038/ncomms15213

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SquaMates

A science podcast about everything herpetological: reptiles and amphibians and other advanced fishopods.

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SquaMates Ep. 30: Nolite te serpentes biteyouonyourbum

SquaMates Ep. 29: Frog Trek

SquaMates Ep. 28: All day and all of the night (feat. Herpetological Highlights!)

SquaMates Ep. 27: I’m only hoppy when it rains

SquaMates Ep. 26: Let’s talk about snakes, baby

SquaMates Ep. 25: Micrurus brings all the boys to the yard

SquaMates Ep. 24: Green Anaconda don’t want none

SquaMates Ep. 22: Neil Caiman and Crew

SquaMates Ep. 21: Bachia to the Future

SquaMates Ep. 20: Lerista Explains It All

SquaMates Ep. 19: Nobody Expects the Lacey Imposition

SquaMates Ep. 18: Amici manere domi!

SquaMates Ep. 17: Malayopython and the Glowing Tail

SquaMates Ep. 16: Sex-bias in herpetology

SquaMates Ep. 15: And now for something completely different

SquaMates Ep. 14: And Another Thing…

Squamates Ep. 13: Mostly Humbugs

SquaMates Ep. 12: So Long, and Tanks for all our Frogs

SquaMates Ep. 11: Life, the Sphaerodactylidae, and Everything

SquaMates Ep. 10: The Rhacodactylus at the End of the Universe

SquaMates Ep. 9: The Herpetologist’s Guide to the Galaxy

SquaMates Ep. 8: The Last Anole

SquaMates Ep. 7: The Frog Awakens

SquaMates Ep. 6: Return of the ‘Anoli’

SquaMates Ep. 5: The Pythons Strike Back

SquaMates Ep. 4: A Newt Hope

SquaMates Ep. 3: Revenge of the Toxicofera

SquaMates Ep. 2: Attack of the Genomes

SquaMates Ep. 1: The Fishopod Menace