A Distinctive New Species of<i>Gonatodes</i>(Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae) from Isla La Blanquilla, Venezuela, with Remarks on the Distribution of Some Other Caribbean Sphaerodactylid Lizards

Rivas, Gilson A.; Ugueto, Gabriel N.; Schargel, Walter E.; Barros, Tito R.; Velozo, Pablo; Sánchez, Luz Esther

doi:10.2994/sajh-d-12-18212.1

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Together these islands represent the most southwestern component of the Caribbean biodiversity hot spot (Myers et al 2000) with a reptilian fauna that is approximately 50% endemic (Van Buurt 2005, 2006. These arid islands are considered biogeographically isolated from the Caribbean West Indies, with over-water dispersal from the South American mainland hypothesized as the primary pathway for terrestrial colonization (Koopman 1958(Koopman , 1959Staton and Dixon 1977;McFarlane and Lundberg 2002;Debrot 2003;Wüster et al 2005;Zijlstra et al 2010;Muñoz-Garay and Mantilla-Meluk 2012;Rivas et al 2013). Despite the close geographic distance and taxonomic affinity between the ABC islands and the mainland, high rates of endemism have led to the hypothesis that these islands comprise a distinct biogeographic province (Van Buurt 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling the Influence of Urbanization and Invasion on Endemic Geckos in Tropical Biodiversity Hot Spots: A Case Study ofPhyllodactylus martini(Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) along an Urban Gradient in Curaçao

Dornburg¹,

Lippi

Federman

et al. 2016

Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History

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Predicting the response of endemic species to urbanization has emerged as a fundamental challenge in 21st century conservation biology. The factors that underlie population declines of reptiles are particularly nebulous, as these are often the least understood class of vertebrates in a given community. In this study, we assess correlations between feeding ecology and phenotypic traits of the Lesser Antillean endemic Dutch leaf-toed gecko, Phyllodactylus martini, along an urban gradient in the Caribbean island of Curaçao. There has been a marked decline of this species in developed habitats associated with the invasive tropical house gecko Hemidactylus mabouia. We find a correlation between aspects of locomotor morphology and prey in undeveloped habitats that is absent in developed habitats. Analyses of stomach contents further suggest that Phyllodactylus martini alters primary prey items in developed areas. However, changes in prey promote the overlap in foraging niches between Phyllodactylus martini and Hemidactylus mabouia, suggesting that direct resource competition is contributing to the decline of Phyllodactylus martini. In addition to competitive exclusion, we suggest that the urban extirpation of Phyllodactylus martini could also be attributed to a top-down control on population growth by Hemidactylus mabouia. Colonizations of walls put Phyllodactylus martini in direct contact with Hemidactylus mabouia increasing the chances for predation events, as evidenced by our observation of a predation event on a Phyllodactylus martini juvenile by an adult Hemidactylus mabuoia. In total, our results add to a growing body of literature demonstrating the threat that invasive synanthropic reptiles pose to endemics that might otherwise be able to cope with increased urbanization pressures.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling the Influence of Urbanization and Invasion on Endemic Geckos in Tropical Biodiversity Hot Spots: A Case Study ofPhyllodactylus martini(Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) along an Urban Gradient in Curaçao

Dornburg¹,

Lippi

Federman

et al. 2016

Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History

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“…Parenthetical numbers correspond to the recognized number of species within each genus (Uetz, 2017). Adjacent boxplots indicate the range of maximum SVLs for the corresponding genus, based on maximum SVL data for 210 of the 215 recognized sphaerodactylid species (Blanford, 1881;Werner, 1896;Rivero-Blanco, 1968;Hoogmoed, 1973;Thomas, 1975;Schwartz and Henderson, 1991;Avila-Pires, 1995;Schleich et al, 1996;Szczerbak and Golubev, 1996;Anderson, 1999;Hedges and Thomas, 2001;Fong and Díaz, 2004;Barrio-Amor os and Brewer-Carias, 2008;Meiri, 2008;Rivas and Schargel, 2008;R€ osler et al, 2008;Díaz and Hedges, 2009;Largen and Spawls, 2010;Rojas-Runjaic et al, 2010;Schargel et al, 2010;Sturaro and Avila-Pires, 2011;Kok, 2011;McCranie and Hedges, 2012;Rivero-Blanco and Schargel, 2012;McCranie and Hedges, 2013;Rivas et al, 2013;Batista et al, 2015;Calder on-Espinosa and Medina-Rangel, 2016;Griffing et al, 2017).…”

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Developmental Osteology of the Parafrontal Bones of the Sphaerodactylidae

Griffing

Daza

DeBoer

et al. 2017

The Anatomical Record

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Well-resolved phylogenetic hypotheses and ontogenetic data are often necessary for investigating the evolution of structural novelty. The Sphaerodactylidae comprises 12 genera of predominantly miniaturized geckos. The genera Aristelliger and Teratoscincus are exceptions, with taxa reaching snout-to-vent lengths far exceeding those of other sphaerodactylids. These two genera possess enigmatic, supraorbital ossifications-parafrontal bones-which are encountered nowhere else among squamates. At the time of their discovery, these structures were believed to be the result of evolutionary convergence. Although relationships between other sphaerodactylids remain unresolved, recent molecular and morphological data have supported a close relationship between Aristelliger and Teratoscincus. We investigated the ontogeny of parafrontal bones to better understand relationships between sphaerodactylid body size and the presence of parafrontals, and to evaluate whether ontogenetic data support the homology of parafrontals between Aristelliger and Teratoscincus. We hypothesize that the parafrontals of Aristelliger and Teratoscincus are homologous and that there is a threshold body size in sphaerodactylids below which parafrontals do not develop, thus explaining their absence from the miniaturized taxa. The presence of parafrontals was investigated in all sphaerodactylid genera using cleared-and-stained, radiographed, and skeletonized specimens. Total surface area of parafrontals was measured for seven species of Aristelliger and six species of Teratoscincus throughout their ontogeny. Histology was used to investigate the cellular composition of the parafrontals throughout their ontogeny. Our data suggest that parafrontals have evolved in parallel from a homologous, parafrontal precursor and that the onset of parafrontal development is not strictly dependent on a threshold body size. Anat Rec, 301:581-606, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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“…Noteworthy new records of squamate reptiles (Reptilia: Squamata) from various Venezuelan Caribbean islands, including a new addition to the herpetofauna of Venezuela Ugueto and Harvey 2010;Ugueto and Rivas 2010;Rivas et al 2013;unpublished data). In this paper we report a new important addition to the Venezuelan herpetofauna, add new distributional records of squamate reptiles, extending their known distribution in Venezuela, and present information on lepidosis and coloration from these specimens.…”

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confidence: 99%

Noteworthy new records of squamate reptiles (Reptilia: Squamata) from various Venezuelan Caribbean islands, including a new addition to the herpetofauna of Venezuela

Ugueto¹,

Velozo²,

Sánchez³

et al. 2013

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The occurrence of Gymnophthalmus lineatus in Venezuela is established for the first time based on a specimen collected on Las Aves Archipelago. We also document the first records of Phyllodactylus ventralis from Los Frailes Archipelago, Amphisbaena alba from Isla de Margarita, and report the occurrence of Thecadactylus cf. rapicauda on Las Aves Archipelago. Additionally we expand the distribution of the snake Leptophis ahaetulla on Isla de Margarita and report the third specimen known from that island. We also present information on the lepidosis and coloration for all species when pertinent.

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A Distinctive New Species ofGonatodes(Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae) from Isla La Blanquilla, Venezuela, with Remarks on the Distribution of Some Other Caribbean Sphaerodactylid Lizards

Cited by 7 publications

References 12 publications

Disentangling the Influence of Urbanization and Invasion on Endemic Geckos in Tropical Biodiversity Hot Spots: A Case Study ofPhyllodactylus martini(Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) along an Urban Gradient in Curaçao

Disentangling the Influence of Urbanization and Invasion on Endemic Geckos in Tropical Biodiversity Hot Spots: A Case Study ofPhyllodactylus martini(Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) along an Urban Gradient in Curaçao

Developmental Osteology of the Parafrontal Bones of the Sphaerodactylidae

Noteworthy new records of squamate reptiles (Reptilia: Squamata) from various Venezuelan Caribbean islands, including a new addition to the herpetofauna of Venezuela

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