A new species of the diurnal gekkonid genus Pristurus Rüppell, 1835 from the Red Sea island Hanish al-Kabir, Yemen

Rösler, Herbert; Köhler, Jörn; Böhme, Wolfgang

doi:10.1163/156853808784124983

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Nevertheless, most of the recently described reptile species in the Western Palaearctic (see e.g. Masroor, ; Rösler et al ., ; Nazarov et al ., ; Torki, ; Busais & Joger, ; Torki et al ., ) have been found in areas where our model suggests a higher richness than currently reported, such as the south of the Arabian Peninsula and the Irano‐Anatolian region. Finally, in recent years, molecular tools are improving our definition of species identity, with the recognition of cryptic taxa and the raising of geographically isolated ‘subspecies’ to the rank of species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating patterns of reptile biodiversity in remote regions

Ficetola

Bonardi

Sindaco

et al. 2012

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim The incompleteness of information on biodiversity distribution is a major issue for ecology and conservation. Researchers have made many attempts to quantify the amount of biodiversity that still remains unknown. We evaluated whether models that integrate ecogeographical variables with measures of the effectiveness of sampling can be used to estimate biodiversity patterns (species richness) of reptiles in remote areas that have received limited surveys.Location The Western Palaearctic (Europe, Northern Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia). MethodsWe gathered data on the distribution of turtles, amphisbaenians and lizards. We used regression models integrating spatial autocorrelation (spatial eigenvector mapping and Bayesian autoregressive models) to analyse species richness, and identified relationships between species richness, ecogeographical features and large-scale measures of accessibility. ResultsThe two regression techniques were in agreement. Known species richness was dependent on ecogeographical factors, peaking in areas with high temperature and annual actual evapotraspiration, and intermediate cover of natural vegetation. However, richness declined sharply in the least accessible areas. Our models revealed regions where reptile richness is likely to be higher than currently known, particularly in the biodiversity hotspots in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, the Irano-Anatolian region, and the Central Asian mountains. An independent validation data set, with distribution data collected recently throughout the study region, confirmed that combining accessibility measures with ecogeographical variables allows a good estimate of reptile richness, even in remote areas that have received limited monitoring so far. Some remote regions that support very rich communities are covered very little by protected areas.Main conclusions Integrating accessibility measures into species distribution models allows biologists to identify areas where current knowledge underestimates the actual richness of reptiles. Our study identifies regions requiring future biodiversity research, proposes a novel approach to biodiversity prediction in poorly studied areas, and identifies potential regions for conservation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating patterns of reptile biodiversity in remote regions

Ficetola

Bonardi

Sindaco

et al. 2012

Journal of Biogeography

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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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Phylogenetic relationships of Semaphore geckos (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae: Pristurus) with an assessment of the taxonomy of Pristurus rupestris

Badiane

Garcia‐Porta

Červenka

et al. 2014

Zootaxa

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A molecular phylogeny of the sphaerodactylid geckos of the genus Pristurus is inferred based on an alignment of 1845 base pairs (bp) of concatenated mitochondrial (12S) and nuclear (acm4, cmos, rag1 and rag2) genes for 80 individuals, representing 18 of the 23-26 species, and the three subspecies of P. rupestris. The results indicate that P. rupestris is polyphyletic and includes two highly divergent clades: the eastern clade, found in coastal Iran and throughout the Hajar Mountain range in northern Oman and eastern UAE; and the western clade, distributed from central coastal Oman, through Yemen, Saudi Arabia and north to southern Jordan. Inferred haplotype networks for the four nuclear genes show that the eastern and western clades of "P. rupestris" are highly differentiated and do not share any alleles. Moreover, although the two clades are differentiated by a morphological multivariate analysis, no one character or set of characters was found to be diagnostic. Based on the molecular analysis of specimens from the type locality of P. rupestris rupestris, the name P. rupestris is applied to the eastern clade. The name that should apply to the western clade cannot be clarified until morphological and genetic data for "P. rupestris" is available from the vicinity of Bosaso, Somalia, and therefore we refer to it as Pristurus sp. 1. The phylogenetic tree of Pristurus supports the hypothesis that P. celerrimus is sister to all the other species in the analyses and that the Socotra Archipelago was independently colonized a minimum of two times.

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A new species of the diurnal gekkonid genus Pristurus Rüppell, 1835 from the Red Sea island Hanish al-Kabir, Yemen

Cited by 4 publications

References 13 publications

Estimating patterns of reptile biodiversity in remote regions

Estimating patterns of reptile biodiversity in remote regions

Developmental Osteology of the Parafrontal Bones of the Sphaerodactylidae

Phylogenetic relationships of Semaphore geckos (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae: Pristurus) with an assessment of the taxonomy of Pristurus rupestris

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