AFLPs: genetic markers for paternity studies in newts (Triturus vulgaris)

DNA-based genetic markers can reveal paternity whenever the direct assignment of fathers to offspring is precluded by multiple matings and internal fertilisation. Microsatellites are the current marker of choice in many behavioural studies, and have revealed important insights into genetic mating systems of European amphibians. However, the number of amphibian species for which the time-consuming designing of locus-specific microsatellite primers was successful is still limited, and the cross-utilisation of existing markers to closely related taxa seems to have a particularly low success rate. Allozymes can infer parentage without a species-specific protocol, but, due to their low degree of polymorphism, in mate choice experiments require the a priori screening of individuals. Dominant markers such as RAPDs successfully identified closely-related amphibian species and their hybrids, but might be less suited to distinguish between closely related individuals with a putatively high frequency of shared bands

Leptodactylus cunicularius

Number of Pages: 5Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Leptodactylus knudseni

Number of Pages: 12Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Phylogenetic relationships of African Caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona): insights from mitochondrial rRNA gene sequences

Africa (excluding the Seychelles) has a diverse caecilian fauna, including the endemic family Scolecomorphidae and six endemic genera of the more cosmopolitan Caeciliidae. Previous molecular phylogenetic studies have not included any caecilians from the African mainland. Partial 12S and 16S mitochondrial gene sequences were obtained for two species of the endemic African Scolecomorphidae and five species and four genera of African Caeciliids, aligned against previously reported sequences for 16 caecilian species, and analysed using parsimony, maximum likelihood, Bayesian and distance methods. Results are in agreement with traditional taxonomy in providing support for the monophyly of the African Caeciliid genera Boulengerula and Schistometopum and for the Scolecomorphidae. They disagree in indicating that the Caeciliidae is paraphyletic with respect to the Scolecomorphidae. Although more data from morphology and/or molecules will be required to resolve details of the interrelationships of the African caecilian genera, the data provide strong support for at least two origins of caecilians in which the eye is reduced and covered with bone, and do not support the hypotheses that the caecilian assemblages of Africa, and of East and of West Africa are monophyletic

The tadpole of Physalaemus fernandezae (Anura: Leptodactylidae)

This paper describes the external and buccopharyngeal morphology, chondrocranium and cranial muscles in tadpoles of Physalaemus fernandezae. The data are compared with those for other species of Physalaemus to improve the diagnosis of the “species group” within the genus. Species of the “P. biligonigerus” group have four infralabial papillae, two semicircular arches of pustulations in a V-shaped pattern on the prenarial arena, 6–8 conical papillae and 40–60 pustulations on the buccal roof arena, four postnarial papillae, a semicircular median ridge, clawshaped lateral ridges and larval crista parotica with a poorly-developed anterior process. Species of the “P. pustulosus” group possess four infralabial papillae (shared with the P. biligonigerus group), tooth row formula 2(2)/3, four lingual papillae, two postnarial papillae, twelve conical papillae and 16–20 pustulations on the buccal roof arena, short lateral ridges with rough concave margins and larval crista parotica with a well-developed anterior process and reduced posterior process. Species of the “P. cuvieri ” group present two infralabial papillae, three pustulations and two serrated papillae on the prenarial arena, five pustulations and two serrated papillae on the postnarial arena, four long and bifid papillae and more than 60 pustulations on the buccal roof arena, and lack larval crista parotica. In species of the “P. signiferus” group both medial and lateral mental gaps are absent, and the tooth row formula is 2(2)/3(1).Fil: Alcalde, Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Limnología "Dr. Raúl A. Ringuelet". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Limnología; ArgentinaFil: Natale, Guillermo Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmosfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmosfera; ArgentinaFil: Cajade, Rodrigo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmosfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmosfera; Argentin

Leptodactylus rugosus

Number of Pages: 5Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Phylogenetic relationships of Indian caecilians (Amphibia: Gymnophiona) inferred from mitochondrial rRNA gene sequences

India has a diverse caecilian fauna, including representatives of three of the six currently recognized families, the Caeciliidae, Ichthyophiidae, the endemic Uraeotyphlidae, but previous molecular phylogenetic studies of caecilians have not included sequences for any Indian caecilians. Partial 12S and 16S mitochondrial gene sequences were obtained for a single representative of each of the caecilian families found in India and aligned against previously reported sequences for 13 caecilian species. The resulting alignment (16 taxa, 1200 sites, of which 288 cannot be aligned unambiguously) was analyzed using parsimony, maximum-likelihood, and distance methods. As judged by bootstrap proportions, decay indices, and leaf stabilities, well-supported relationships of the Indian caecilians are recovered from the alignment. The data (1) corroborate the hypothesis, based on morphology, that the Uraeotyphlidae and Ichthyophiidae are sister taxa, (2) recover a monophyletic Ichthyophiidae, including Indian and South East Asian representatives, and (3) place the Indian caeciliid Gegeneophis ramaswamii as the sister group of the caeciliid caecilians of the Seychelles. Rough estimates of divergence times suggest an origin of the Uraeotyphlidae and Ichthyophiidae while India was isolated from Laurasia and Africa and are most consistent with an Indian origin of these families and subsequent dispersal of ichthyophiids into South East Asia

Leptodactylus syphax

Number of Pages: 9Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Ambystoma opacum

Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Wikipedia as an encyclopaedia of life

In his 2003 essay E O Wilson outlined his vision for an “encyclopaedia of life” comprising “an electronic page for each species of organism on Earth”, each page containing “the scientific name of the species, a pictorial or genomic presentation of the primary type specimen on which its name is based, and a summary of its diagnostic traits.” Although the “quiet revolution” in biodiversity informatics has generated numerous online resources, including some directly inspired by Wilson's essay (e.g., "http://ispecies.org":http://ispecies.org, "http://www.eol.org":http://www.eol.org), we are still some way from the goal of having available online all relevant information about a species, such as its taxonomy, evolutionary history, genomics, morphology, ecology, and behaviour. While the biodiversity community has been developing a plethora of databases, some with overlapping goals and duplicated content, Wikipedia has been slowly growing to the point where it now has over 100,000 pages on biological taxa. My goal in this essay is to explore the idea that, largely independent of the efforts of biodiversity informatics and well-funded international efforts, Wikipedia ("http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page) has emerged as potentially the best platform for fulfilling E O Wilson’s vision