A new species of Lycodon from Panay Island, Philippines (Reptilia, Serpentes, Colubridae)

Volume: 25Start Page: 85End Page: 9

A new monitor lizard from Panay Island, Philippines (Reptilia, Sauria, Varanidae)

Volume: 24Start Page: 275End Page: 28

Unravelling the underestimated diversity of Philippine water monitor lizards (Squamata: Varanus salvator complex) : with the description of two new species and a new subspecies

Recently, the first part of the morphological revision of the Southeast Asian water monitor lizards of the Varanus salvator (Laurenti, 1768) species group provided a taxonomic overview over the members of this successful and widespread species complex (Koch et al. 2007). There, the Philippine taxa marmoratus, nuchalis and cumingi were reelevated to species status due to diagnostic morphological characteristics, e.g. significantly enlarged scales on the neck region. In this second part of the ongoing revision, these three species are re-investigated using additional voucher specimens and advanced statistical techniques including canonical variates analysis and principal component analysis. Our new investigations indicate that V. marmoratus represents a composite species, comprising at least three distinct taxa. Hence, the populations of the Sulu Archipelago (Tawi-Tawi Island) and those of the Palawan region are described as new species, viz. Varanus rasmusseni sp. nov. and V. palawanensis sp. nov., respectively. The allopatric island populations of V. cumingi inhabiting Samar, Leyte, and Bohol (the East Visayan subregion) show characteristic and geographically correlated colour patterns distinct from the type locality Mindanao (the second subregion of Greater Mindanao), warranting subspecific partition of this species. The new subspecies is named V. cumingi samarensis ssp. nov. In contrast, the taxonomic status of V. nuchalis remained unchanged, although this species shows some considerable variation in colour pattern. The systematic chapters are supplemented with notes about biology and conservation status. The hitherto underestimated diversity and zoogeography of Philippine water monitors is discussed in the light of Pleistocene sea level fluctuations. Finally, we introduce a scenario for the evolution and spread of Southeast Asian water monitor lizards and provide an identification key for the Philippine members of the V. salvatoI' complex

Revision of the Southeast Asian Leaf Turtle Genus \u3cem\u3eCyclemys\u3c/em\u3e Bell, 1834, with Description of a New Species

Within the genus Cyclemys, four species are recognised and diagnosed, based upon more than 200 specimens. One is described as a new species. For the other three species, the nomenclatural history is discussed and several lecto- or neotypes are designated. In addition, a key for all species is presented. Cyclemys dentata (GRAY, 1831) sensu stricto is characterised by a reddish, intensely striped head and neck pattern and a predominant or entirely yellow plastron with a short interfemora1 and a long interanal seam. It is distributed from Thailand over the Malay peninsula to Sumatra and Java. Its range includes Borneo and some islands of the Palawan and Sulu regions of the Philippines, too. The soft parts of Cyclemys oldhamii GRAY, 1863 are mainly dark coloured, without distinct head and neck stripes. The plastron is principally dark and the interfemoral seam is longer and the interanal seam shorter compared with C. dentata. C. oldhamii is in a vast area sympatric with C. dentata. C. oldhamii occurs from NE India over Burma, Thailand, and the Malay peninsula to Borneo, Sumatra, and Java. The population on Java could represent a distinct subspecies because several adults exhibit a clearly paler plastron colouration than specimens from other parts of the range. Cyclemys pulchristriata sp. nov. is a very striking coloured taxon with a conspicuous head and neck pattern consisting of yellow, but not reddish stripes. It is further distinguished from the superficially similar C. dentata by its uniform light coloured throat and the much broader light stripes on the ventral side of the neck. Up to now, C. pulchristriata is only known from Annam (Vietnam). Cyclemys tcheponensis (BOURRET, 1939) closely resembles in many characters C. oldhamii. However, C. tcheponensis differs from this taxon by its striped head and neck pattern. The plastral pattern of hatchlings is different from the three other taxa. C. tcheponensis is known to occur in Chiang Mai (Thailand), Tonkin (Vietnam), and from the border region between Laos and Vietnam

Cryptic extinction risk in a western Pacific lizard radiation

Cryptic ecologies, the Wallacean Shortfall of undocumented species’ geographical ranges and the Linnaean Shortfall of undescribed diversity, are all major barriers to conservation assessment. When these factors overlap with drivers of extinction risk, such as insular distributions, the number of threatened species in a region or clade may be underestimated, a situation we term ‘cryptic extinction risk’. The genus Lepidodactylus is a diverse radiation of insular and arboreal geckos that occurs across the western Pacific. Previous work on Lepidodactylus showed evidence of evolutionary displacement around continental fringes, suggesting an inherent vulnerability to extinction from factors such as competition and predation. We sought to (1) comprehensively review status and threats, (2) estimate the number of undescribed species, and (3) estimate extinction risk in data deficient and candidate species, in Lepidodactylus. From our updated IUCN Red List assessment, 60% of the 58 recognized species are threatened (n = 15) or Data Deficient (n = 21), which is higher than reported for most other lizard groups. Species from the smaller and isolated Pacific islands are of greatest conservation concern, with most either threatened or Data Deficient, and all particularly vulnerable to invasive species. We estimated 32 undescribed candidate species and linear modelling predicted that an additional 18 species, among these and the data deficient species, are threatened with extinction. Focusing efforts to resolve the taxonomy and conservation status of key taxa, especially on small islands in the Pacific, is a high priority for conserving this remarkably diverse, yet poorly understood, lizard fauna. Our data highlight how cryptic ecologies and cryptic diversity combine and lead to significant underestimation of extinction risk

The conservation status of the world’s reptiles

Effective and targeted conservation action requires detailed information about species, their distribution, systematics and ecology as well as the distribution of threat processes which affect them. Knowledge of reptilian diversity remains surprisingly disparate, and innovative means of gaining rapid insight into the status of reptiles are needed in order to highlight urgent conservation cases and inform environmental policy with appropriate biodiversity information in a timely manner. We present the first ever global analysis of extinction risk in reptiles, based on a random representative sample of 1500 species (16% of all currently known species). To our knowledge, our results provide the first analysis of the global conservation status and distribution patterns of reptiles and the threats affecting them, highlighting conservation priorities and knowledge gaps which need to be addressed urgently to ensure the continued survival of the world’s reptiles. Nearly one in five reptilian species are threatened with extinction, with another one in five species classed as Data Deficient. The proportion of threatened reptile species is highest in freshwater environments, tropical regions and on oceanic islands, while data deficiency was highest in tropical areas, such as Central Africa and Southeast Asia, and among fossorial reptiles. Our results emphasise the need for research attention to be focussed on tropical areas which are experiencing the most dramatic rates of habitat loss, on fossorial reptiles for which there is a chronic lack of data, and on certain taxa such as snakes for which extinction risk may currently be underestimated due to lack of population information. Conservation actions specifically need to mitigate the effects of human-induced habitat loss and harvesting, which are the predominant threats to reptiles