Activity and reproductive patterns of lizards in the Chaco of Argentina

We studied the activity and breeding pattern of dominant lizard species in the Arid Chaco, the southernmost subregion of the Chaco ecoregion (Chancaní Reserve, Córdoba province, Argentina). Lizards were captured with pitfall traps over a 4-year period. In total, 1449 individuals belonging to 11 of the 12 lizard species recorded in the area were trapped. Of these, we selected six species for a detailed analysis: Teius teyou and Stenocercus doellojuradoi accounted for 63% of the captures, Tropidurus etheridgei, Liolaemus chacoensis and Homonota fasciata accounted for 32%, and 5% comprised Leiosaurus paronae and the remaining five species. All the studied species were active during the warm–rainy season (September to March). Monthly lizard captures were highly correlated with monthly mean temperature and rainfall. No captures occurred during the remaining months of the year. All reproductive tactics known for the Chaco lizards were observed in Chancaní, including single clutch in a short breeding season in summer or autumn, as well as an extended breeding season with multiple clutches. Stenocercus doellojuradoi and L. paronae showed a singular reproductive timing, suggesting the occurrence of egg retention. Compared with sub-tropical Chaco sites, the Arid Chaco only differs in the lack of winter activity, resulting from the lower temperature and rainfall regime of our study site.Fil: Pelegrin, Nicolas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Cordoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecologia Animal; ArgentinaFil: Bucher, Enrique Hugo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Cordoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecologia Animal; Argentin

Anura, microhylidae, elachistocleis bicolor (Valenciennes, 1838): Distribution extension in the province of Córdoba, Argentina

Elachistocleis bicolor is distributed in Argentina in the Chaco, Espinal, and Pampa ecoregions. Previous records in Córdoba, Argentina were restricted to the east of the province. Here we present a new record of E. bicolor for Córdoba in Reserva Natural San Martín (31°21′ S, 64°15′ W), about 150 km NW of the nearest record.Fil: López Juri, Guadalupe. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; ArgentinaFil: Pelegrin, Nicolas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Zoología Aplicada; Argentin

First records of Ameivula abalosi (Cabrera, 2012) (Squamata: Teiidae) for the province of Córdoba, Argentina

Localities ̶ República Argentina. Province of Córdoba, Totoral Department, Las Peñas (30º35´S, 64º01´W, 502 m a.s.l.). Date: March 4th 2006. Collected by M. Kufner, V. Briguera, D. Tamburini, C. Cebollada Pütz, M. Basso and E. Ruiz de los Llanos. Voucher: MZUC (exCBC 674), deposited in the Museo de Zoología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (Fig. 1).República Argentina. Province of Córdoba, Tulumba Department, about 10 km west from Lucio V. Mansilla (29°45´7"S, 64°46´29"W, 182 m a.s.l.). Dates: December 3rd, and December 12th 2015. Collected by N. Pelegrin and S. M. Leão. Vouchers: LECOH 00578 and 00579), two specimens, deposited in the collection of Laboratorio de Ecología y Conservación de la Herpetofauna (IDEA-UNC) (Fig. 2). Comments ̶ Ameivula abalosi distinguishes from the other 13 species of the A. ocellifera species group by the combination, among other character states, of five superciliary scales, low number of femoral pores (15-19 in total) and presence in males of erected thorn-like scales along the inferoposterior half of the calf (see detail in Fig. 2). In Argentina it was reported for the provinces of Corrientes, El Chaco, Formosa, La Rioja, Salta, Santiago del Estero, and San Juan (Cabrera, 2012; Gómez Alés et al., 2017), plus an unconfirmed old citation (as Cnemidophorus ocellifer) for Catamarca province by Koslowsky (1898). Presence in neighbor countries include records in Paraguay for the Alto Paraguay, Boquerón, Canindeyú, Central, Concepción, Itapúa, Misiones, Ñeembucú, Presidente Hayes, and San Pedro Departments (Cacciali et al., 2016, and references therein), and Bolivia (Chuquisaca, Santa Cruz, and Tarija Departments; Cabrera et al., 2016). In this report we extend the distribution of the species about 180 km to the south and 195 km to the east from the nearest localities previously known (Cabrera, 2012), into new areas of the Chaco in the province of Córdoba, at central Argentina (Fig. 3), increasing up to 30 the number of lizard species reported for this province by Cabrera (2015). MZUC (exCBC 674) is a juvenile (SVL= 40.7 mm) that fell in a trap arrangement placed where a soybean culture parcel limited with Chaco forest (Ruiz de los Llanos, pers. comm.) during field collects to evaluate influence of agricultural expansion on vertebrate diversity (Cebollada Pütz et al., 2012). LECOH 00578 and 00579 are two adult male specimens captured by pitfall trapping in a Chaco forest area next to Salinas Grandes, at northwestern Córdoba. Predominant vegetation there was spiny shrubs and cacti, typical of the transition between the Arid Chaco forest and the salt plain of Salinas Grandes.All localities where A. abalosi has been found belong either to the Semiarid, Arid, or Humid Chaco subregions sensu Naumann (2006). To the present, no individuals of this species have been confirmed for the Mountain Chaco (Chaco Serrano). Tio Vallejo and Miranda (1984) cited Cnemidophorus ocellifer for Tanti (MACN 10247), Cruz Chica (MACN 29625), and Cruz Grande (MACN 21446), three mountainous villages of Córdoba province. However, revised by one of us (MRC) in 2002, the specimens MACN 10247 (two individuals) and MACN 29625 correspond to Contomastix serrana, undescribed by 1984. The MACN 21446 could not be found in the collection.Fil: Cabrera, Mario Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; ArgentinaFil: Muniz Leao, Suelem. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; ArgentinaFil: Pelegrin, Nicolas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; Argentin

Kentropyx viridistriga, Green Kentropyx

Kentropyx viridistriga has been assessed as Least Concern as the species has a wide range acrossParaguay, and areas of Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia, with no known widespread threats. This species is known from Paraguay, northern Argentina, Brazil (in the state of Mato Grosso), and Bolivia (Beni, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba). This species is found in Cerrado, Chaco and Pantanal biomes. It also inhabits open areas within rainforest, often in moist conditions, occupying river beaches and flood plains. The species has been found on floating vegetation. This species is considered to be threatened in Argentina by habitat loss; but on a range-wide scale no major threats are known.Fil: Pelegrin, Nicolas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Montero, Ricardo. Fundación Miguel Lillo. Dirección de Zoología. Instituto de Herpetología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Kacoliris, Federico Pablo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología de Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Etchepare, Eduardo Gabriel. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Biología. Laboratorio de Herpetología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentin

Feeding ecology of Parodon tortuosus (Pisces, Characiformes) from Río de la Suela (Córdoba, Argentina)

Se estudió la alimentación de 71 individuos de Parodon tortuosus en el río de La Suela, provincia de Córdoba, Argentina. La dieta estuvo compuesta mayormente de algas (el 92.1% del peso seco del alimento ingerido correspondió a Chlorophyta, Cyanophyta y Chrisophyta), encontrándose también algunos ítems animales como Diptera (Chironomidae y Simuliidae), Ephemeroptera y Trichoptera, que solo representaron el 7.9% del peso seco. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en la alimentación entre la estación cálida y la fría ni entre juveniles y adultos. Parodon tortuosus es una especie consumidora de algas que habita corrientes con sustrato rocoso, comportándose como un ramoneador o como un raspador según sus necesidades, ingiriendo ítems animales junto con las algas, al parecer, en forma ocasional.The feeding of 71 Parodon tortuosus individuals from de la Suela River, Córdoba Province, Argentina, was analized. The diet was mostly composed by algae (Chlorophyta, Cyanophyta and Chrisophyta which comprise 92.1% of the total dry weight of the stomach contents), with a few animal items (7.9%) such as Diptera (Chironomidae and Simuliidae), Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera. There were no significant differences in the diet between cold and warm seasons neither between juveniles and adults. Parodon tortuosus is an algae-eating fish that lives in small waterfalls with rocky substrates. It behaves as a browser or as a grazer according to its needs, but it can eventually ingest animal food mixed with the algae

Natural history of bothrops itapetiningae boulenger, 1907 (serpentes: Viperidae: crotalinae), an endemic species of the Brazilian Cerrado

We present data on habitat use, activity, sexual dimorphism, reproduction, and diet of Bothrops itapetiningae, a species endemic to the Brazilian Cerrado. Habitat use was studied through active search techniques in several areas from July 1997 to July 2000. Diet, reproduction, activity, and sexual dimorphism were studied through the analysis of specimens deposited in Brazilian museums. Annual activity was inferred from collection records grouped by month and season. The specimens were sexed by direct observation of gonads and sexual dimorphism was assessed using morphological data. The reproductive cycle of the species was studied by analyzing the number of vitellogenic and nonvitellogenic follicles, ova, and embryos by month. The diet was determined by analyzing stomach and digestive tract contents. The species is a habitat specialist, associated with open cerrado grasslands, and is active more frequently during the rainy season (October to March). Males have longer tails whereas females have longer heads. The reproductive cycle is seasonal and probably biennial, with births (5.8 ± 2.9 embryos) occurring during the rainy season. Diet is of a generalist, but mammals are important items for both sexes and all age classes. Bothrops itapetiningae is among the smaller Brazilian pit vipers. Its low fecundity, high habitat specialization, and sensitivity to human disturbances, along with the high level of threat to its natural grassland habitat in the Brazilian Cerrado, makes this a potentially threatened snake. Knowledge of its biology is fundamental to conserving and managing this species.Fil: Muniz Leao, Suelem. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; Argentina. Universidade do Brasília; BrasilFil: Pelegrin, Nicolas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Centro de Zoología Aplicada; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; ArgentinaFil: Nogueira, Cristiano de Campos. Universidade do Brasília; BrasilFil: Brandão, Reuber Albuquerque. Universidade do Brasília; Brasi

Pseudotomodon Trigonatus (false tomodon snake): Habitat

Pseudotomodon trigonatus is a dipsadid snake endemic to Argentina. It is mainly distributed in the Monte Desert ecoregion, but it also occurs in the Mountain Chaco (Giraudo and Scrocchi 2002. Smithsonian Herpetological Information Service 1321–53; Avila 1997. Herpetol. Rev. 28:98). It is generally associated with xerophytic environments in the Monte Desert, and in rocky habitats in the Mountain Chaco...Fil: Pelegrin, Nicolas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; ArgentinaFil: Lara Resendiz, Rafael Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; ArgentinaFil: Muniz Leao, Suelem. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez, José Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; Argentin

Stenocercus azureus

Listed as Least Concern on the basis that this species has a very wide range in southern South America. It is nonetheless rare throughout this range, and while it is not thought to be at immediate risk of extinction insufficient information exists on its population status, natural history or the impacts of threats from habitat loss. This lizard is known from the lowlands of southeastern South America. It occurs in the States of Parana, Rio Grande do Sul, and Sao Paulo in southern Brazil and in Uruguay; it has been collected between 150 and 250 m asl (Torres-Carvajal 2007). The species has also been reported for Corrientes and Misiones provinces, Argentina (A. Giraudo and E. Etchepare pers comm. 2014). It may also occur in Paraguay (P. Cacciali and N. Scott pers. comm. 2014). This species is found in Atlantic forest and Pampas grasslands. It is an egg laying species (Torres-Carvajal 2007).Fil: Cacciali Sosa, Pier. Universidad Técnica de Comercialización y Desarrollo; ParaguayFil: Kacoliris, Federico Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; ArgentinaFil: Montero, Ricardo. Fundación Miguel Lillo. Dirección de Zoología. Instituto de Herpetología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pelegrin, Nicolas. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Etchepare, Eduardo Gabriel. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional de Concordia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

How do lizard niches conserve, diverge or converge? Further exploration of saurian evolutionary ecology

Background: Environmental conditions on Earth are repeated in non-random patterns that often coincide with species from different regions and time periods having consistent combinations of morphological, physiological and behavioral traits. Observation of repeated trait combinations among species confronting similar environmental conditions suggest that adaptive trait combinations are constrained by functional tradeoffs within or across niche dimensions. In an earlier study, we assembled a high-resolution database of functional traits for 134 lizard species to explore ecological diversification in relation to five fundamental niche dimensions. Here we expand and further examine multivariate relationships in that dataset to assess the relative influence of niche dimensions on the distribution of species in 6-dimensional niche space and how these may deviate from distributions generated from null models. We then analyzed a dataset with lower functional-trait resolution for 1023 lizard species that was compiled from our dataset and a published database, representing most of the extant families and environmental conditions occupied by lizards globally. Ordinations from multivariate analysis were compared with null models to assess how ecological and historical factors have resulted in the conservation, divergence or convergence of lizard niches. Results: Lizard species clustered within a functional niche volume influenced mostly by functional traits associated with diet, activity, and habitat/substrate. Consistent patterns of trait combinations within and among niche dimensions yielded 24 functional groups that occupied a total niche space significantly smaller than plausible spaces projected by null models. Null model tests indicated that several functional groups are strongly constrained by phylogeny, such as nocturnality in the Gekkota and the secondarily acquired sit-and-wait foraging strategy in Iguania. Most of the widely distributed and species-rich families contained multiple functional groups thereby contributing to high incidence of niche convergence. Conclusions: Comparison of empirical patterns with those generated by null models suggests that ecological filters promote limited sets of trait combinations, especially where similar conditions occur, reflecting both niche convergence and conservatism. Widespread patterns of niche convergence following ancestral niche diversification support the idea that lizard niches are defined by trait-function relationships and interactions with environment that are, to some degree, predictable and independent of phylogeny.Fil: Pelegrin, Nicolas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecología Animal; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Winemiller, Kirk Owen. Texas A&M University; Estados UnidosFil: Vitt, Laurie J.. University Of Oklahoma; Estados UnidosFil: Fitzgerald, Daniel B.. United States Geological Survey; Estados UnidosFil: Pianka, Eric R. University of Texas at Austin; Estados Unido

La fonction des pièces de la Bertonne : un problème en partie résolu

Les pièces de la Bertonne sont si particulières qu’il nous a semblé utile d’exposer ici l’ensemble de la démarche qui a permis de déterminer leur véritable fonction. L’argumentation a été essentiellement construite sur la base d’un raisonnement déductif. Les trois hypothèses fonctionnelles (pièce amincie en vue d’un emmanchement, outil et nucléus à lamelles) évoquées depuis leur découverte ont été testées au fur et à mesure dans le but d’éliminer celles qui étaient improbables. La fonction de nucléus à lamelles s’est alors révélée la plus vraisemblable. Ce résultat fut ensuite confirmé par la découverte récente de quelques lamelles retouchées indubitablement obtenues à partir de ces pièces de la Bertonne. Cet article est enfin consacré à la présentation de la méthode originale de débitage de lamelles de type « Bertonne » qui présente de nombreuses analogies avec celle connue sous le nom d’Orville