Diversification of shrub frogs (Rhacophoridae, Pseudophilautus) in Sri Lanka - Timing and geographic context

US National Science Foundation (DEB 0345885) to CJS and JH; National Geographic Society (7612-04) to CJS; and Society of Systematic Biologists Graduate Student Award for Research to MM. MM was also supported by a Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE) Ziff Environmental Postdoctoral Fellowship. (DEB 0345885 - US National Science Foundation; 7612-04 - National Geographic Society; Society of Systematic Biologists Graduate Student Award for Research; Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE) Ziff Environmental Postdoctoral Fellowship)Accepted manuscrip

Predicted Pleistocene-Holocene range shifts of the tiger (Panthera tigris)

Aim In this article, we modelled the potential range shifts of tiger (Panthera tigris) populations over the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, to provide new insights into the evolutionary history and interconnectivity between populations of this endangered species. Location Asia. Methods We used an ecological niche approach and applied a maximum entropy (Maxent) framework to model potential distributions of tigers. Bioclimatic conditions for the present day and mid-Holocene, and for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), were used to represent interglacial and glacial conditions of the Late Pleistocene, respectively. Results Our results show that the maximum potential tiger range during modern climates (without human impacts) would be continuous from the Indian subcontinent to north-east Siberia. During the LGM, distributions are predicted to have contracted to southern China, India and Southeast Asia and remained largely contiguous. A potential distribution gap between Peninsular Malaya and Sumatra could have effectively separated tigers on the Sunda Islands from those in continental Asia during interglacials. Main conclusions The continuous modelled distribution of tigers in mainland Asia supports the idea of mainly unimpeded gene flow between all populations throughout the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Thus, our data support a pragmatic approach to tiger conservation management, especially of mainland populations, as it is likely that only recent anthropogenic changes caused separation of these populations. In contrast, Sunda tigers are likely to have separated and differentiated following the Last Glacial Maximum and thus warrant separate management

Habitat use affects morphological diversification in dragon lizards

Habitat use may lead to variation in diversity among evolutionary lineages because habitats differ in the variety of ways they allow for species to make a living. Here, we show that structural habitats contribute to differential diversification of limb and body form in dragon lizards (Agamidae). Based on phylogenetic analysis and ancestral state reconstructions for 90 species, we find that multiple lineages have independently adopted each of four habitat use types: rock-dwelling, terrestriality, semi-arboreality and arboreality. Given these reconstructions, we fit models of evolution to species’ morphological trait values and find that rock-dwelling and arboreality limit diversification relative to terrestriality and semi-arboreality. Models preferred by Akaike information criterion infer slower rates of size and shape evolution in lineages inferred to occupy rocks and trees, and model-averaged rate estimates are slowest for these habitat types. These results suggest that ground-dwelling facilitates ecomorphological differentiation and that use of trees or rocks impedes diversification

FIGURE 9. Pseudophilautus hankeni n in Two new species of shrub frogs (Rhacophoridae: Pseudophilautus) from Sri Lanka

FIGURE 9. Pseudophilautus hankeni n. sp.: a, lateral; b, dorsal; and c, ventral aspects, respectively, of head of holotype, male, WHT 6304, 21.9 mm SVL. Scale bar: 1 mm

Pseudophilautus semiruber Annandale 1913

Pseudophilautus semiruber (Annandale, 1913) Figs 2−4 Ixalus semiruber Annandale, 1913: 305. Material examined. Mature female, 13.4 mm SVL, WHT 5831, Agra-Bopath forest, 1750 m a.s.l. (06º 50 ' 15 "N, 80 º 40 ’ 50 "E), coll. 01 August 2005, Madhava Meegaskumbura & Mohomed Bahir. Diagnosis. ‘ Ixalus ’ semiruber is assigned to the genus Pseudophilautus as it is well nested within the Sri Lankan monophyletic group (Fig. 1) of shrub frogs (Meegaskumbura et al. 2002; Bossuyt et al. 2004; Yu et al. 2010) characterized by terrestrial direct development (Bossuyt and Dubois 2000). Pseudophilautus semiruber is distinguished from all other Sri Lankan congeners by a combination of the following characters: size small, mature individuals [12.0]– 13.4 mm SVL; canthal edges rounded; tympanum distinct; vomerine ridge absent; supratympanic fold feebly defined; throat, chest, belly and underside of thigh smooth. Description. Body stout. Head laterally convex. Snout oval in dorsal and lateral view. Canthal edges rounded. Loreal region flat. Interorbital space concave. Internarial space flat. Nostrils oval. Pupil oval, horizontal. Tympanum distinct, oval, vertical, its outer rim narrow but clear. Pineal ocellus absent. Vomerine ridge absent. Tongue moderate, elongate, emarginate; no lingual papilla. Supratympanic fold feebly defined. Cephalic ridges absent. Skin on head not co-ossified. Upper arm short, lower arm slender. Fingers slender, relative length of fingers, 1 <2 <4 <3. Tips of fingers with discs bearing circum-marginal grooves, lacking lateral dermal fringes but with rudimentary webbing. Subarticular tubercles on fingers feebly defined, oval, single. Prepollex oval, feebly defined. Two palmar tubercles, oval, feebly defined. Supernumerary tubercles present on fingers and palm. Thigh, shank, toes slender. Relative length of toes, 1 <2 <5 <3 <4. Tips of toes with discs bearing circum-marginal groves. Webbing present on toes. Subarticular tubercles on toes distinct, oval, single, all present. Inner metatarsal tubercle distinct, oval. Tarsal fold absent. Outer metatarsal tubercle absent. Supernumerary tubercles present on toes and on foot. Tarsal tubercle absent. Dorsal and lateral parts of head and body, and lower part of flank, smooth. Dorso-lateral fold absent. Dorsal and lateral parts of upper arm, lower arm, thigh, shank and foot smooth. A narrow dermal ridge on mid-dorsum to back of head, then to vent. Throat, chest, belly and underside of thigh smooth. Coloration. In life, dorsal surface of head ashy brown, inter-orbital region and dorsum gray. Flank ashy brown with a few white patches outlined in red. Inguinal zone dark brown with white patches. Loreal region, tympanic region, tympanum and lips ash. Entire upper arm and proximal half of lower arm dorsally red, a black band extending antero-dorsally from base of the upper arm to proximal half of lower arm. Distal half of lower arm and fingers dorsally reddish brown, vaguely banded with black. Thigh and inner shank dorsally red with ashy-brown crossbars outlined in black. Thigh and shank ventrally light red with white patches; inguinal zone red-orange. Foot dorsally red, ventrally ashy brown. Area around vent ashy brown. Throat and margin of throat ashy brown with whitish patches; chest and belly reddish brown with white patches. Stored in 70 % ethanol, following fixing in 10 % buffered formalin, mid-dorsal area dark brown, mid-dorsal ridge pale brown. Head dorsally dark brown. Both upper and lower flanks pale brown. Inguinal zone pale brown with dark-brown patches. Loreal, typanum, tympanic region, supratympanic fold, upper and lower lips dark brown. Dorsal and lateral areas of limbs dark to pale brown. Anterior and lateral margins of lower arm and upper arm with dark-brown markings. Dorsal area of thigh, shank and foot with wide, dark cross-bars. Knees dark brown. Ventral parts of head, body, both upper and lower arms, fingers, thigh, shank, foot and toes dark brown with yellow spots and patches. Measurements of WHT 5831 (in mm): DBE, 4.0; DFE, 2.5; DL, 0.4; DW, 0.5; ED, 1.7; EN, 1.0; ES, 2.4; FEL, 5.9; FL I, 1.0; FL II, 1.2; FL III, 2.2; FL IV, 1.8; FOL, 8.6; HL, 5.4; HW, 5.5; IML, 0.7; IN, 2.0; IO, 1.8; LAL, 6.5; MBE, 1.8; MFE, 3.2; MN, 4.1; NS, 0.8; PAL, 3.4; SVL, 13.4; TBL, 6.3; TL I, 1.1; TL II, 1.3; TL III, 1.9; TL IV, 3.0; TL V, 1.8; TYD, 0.5; TYE, 0.8; UAW, 3.3; UEW, 0.9. Distribution. Pseudophilautus semiruber was originally described from a single specimen collected at Pattipola (06º 51 ' 20 "N, 80 º 49 ’ 40 "E; 1,850 m a.s.l.), about 8 km southeast of Agra-Bopath (06º 50 ' 15 "N, 80 º 40 ’ 50 "E). The species is probably restricted to the montane forests of this area (Fig. 5), and is probably under-represented in collections because its diminutive size may have led to it being overlooked as the juvenile of an arboreal Pseudophilautus and because relatively little collection effort has involved searching through leaf litter on the forest floor, which is apparently the habitat of this ‘shrub-frog’.Published as part of Meegaskumbura, Madhava, Manamendra-Arachchi, Kelum, Bowatte, Gayan & Meegaskumbura, Suyama, 2012, Rediscovery of Pseudophilautus semiruber, a diminutive shrub frog (Rhacophoridae: Pseudophilautus) from Sri Lanka, pp. 58-68 in Zootaxa 3229 on pages 60-62, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.28034

A second extinct big cat from the late quaternary of Sri Lanka

A second extinct big cat, tentatively considered to be a tiger (Panthera tigris), is recorded from Sri Lanka for the first time from a fossil left lower carnassial found in alluvium near Ratnapura in 1962 and a sub-fossil right middle phalanx 14C dated to ~ 16,500 ybp, discovered in 1982 in a prehistoric midden at Batadomba Cave, near Kuruwita. The species is diagnosed from the only other big cats known from Sri Lanka, Panthera pardus and the extinct P. leo sinhaleyus Deraniyagala, 1938. This record significantly advances the timing of dispersal of tigers into the Indian peninsula. Tigers appear to have arrived in Sri Lanka during a pluvial period during which sea levels were depressed, evidently prior to the last glacial maximum ca. 20,000 years ago. The lion appears to have become extinct in Sri Lanka prior to the arrival of culturally modern humans, ca. 37,000 ybp

New species amongst Sri Lanka's extinct shrub frogs (Amphibia: Rhacophoridae: Philautus)

Meegaskumbura, Madhava, Manamendra-Arachchi, Kelum, Schneider, Christopher J., Pethiyagoda, And Rohan (2007): New species amongst Sri Lanka's extinct shrub frogs (Amphibia: Rhacophoridae: Philautus). Zootaxa 1397: 1-15, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17535