Karyotype of a Ranid Frog, Platymantis pelewensis, from Belau, Micronesia, with Comments on Its Systematic Implications

The karyotype of Platymantis pelewensis Peters, 1867, the only native, endemic amphibian in Belau, extremely isolated from other congeners, consisted of 2n = 22 homologous chromosomes largely forming a graded series. Of these, chromosomes of pairs 1, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 11 were metacentric; the remainder were submetacentric. Secondary constrictions were evident on shorter arms of pair 7. This karyotype is nearly identical with that of P. papuensis Meyer from New Guinea, but is distinct from two Philippine congeners hitherto karyotyped both in chromosome number and morphology. This suggests that the ancestral form of P. pelewensis dispersed from New Guinea or other Melanesian islands

Finding Euroscaptor mizura (Mammalia : Insectivora) and Its Nest from under Hebeloma radicosum (Fungi : Agaricales) in Ashiu, Kyoto, with Data of Possible Contiguous Occurrences of Three Talpine Species in This Region

We examined nests and other traces of moles in Ashiu, Kyoto, beneath fruit bodies of a mushroom species, Hebeloma radicosum, which grows on the underground latrines of small mammals. We also attempted to catch animals at nesting sites which were detected through the fungal fruiting. As a result, an adult specimen of a talpine mole species, Euroscaptor mizura, was collected together with its nest. This is the first record of E. mizura from Ashiu region. Also, this is the first report of the nest of E. mizura, of the mushroom-mole nest association in H. radicosum and E. mizura, and of the capture of a mole at the nesting site under indication of the fungus. Morphological features of the animal and structure of the nest are described. This finding further revealed a contiguousness in the distribution of three talpine species, E. mizura, Mogera wogura and Mogera kobeae in Ashiu

Phylogenetic Relationships of the Flying Lizards, Genus Draco (Reptilia, Agamidae)

Phylogenetic relationships among 12 species of the genus Draco were inferred from 779 base pairs of mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA genes and allozymes for 20 presumptive loci. Results indicated the presence of at least four distinct lineages within the genus. The first lineage consists of D. volans and D. cornutus, whereas the second only of D. lineatus, which exhibits a great genetic divergence between two subspecies. The third is monotypic with D. dussumieri, the only species distributed in southern India. The fourth included all the remaining species. The third and fourth lineages are supposed to exclusively share a common ancestor. It is likely that the common ancestor of whole Draco originally diverged into three groups, the ancestors of the first, second, and third and fourth lineages, by vicariance. In the fourth lineage, D. blanfordii, D. haematopogon, D. melanopogon, D. obscurus and D. taeniopterus are likely to be exclusively close to each other. The resultant phylogenetic tree contradicts the dichotomous relationships previously hypothesized on the basis of morphological characters