Amphibians in Zootaxa: 20 years documenting the global diversity of frogs, salamanders, and caecilians

Zootaxa is a mega-journal that since its inception, 20 years ago, has contributed to the documentation of the planet?s biodiversity. Its role concerning terrestrial vertebrates has been crucial especially for amphibians, which are the most threatened class of vertebrates. As current editors of the Amphibia section, we reviewed the state of knowledge of taxonomic publications on amphibians over the last two decades (from 2001 to 2020). Our review reveals that 2,533 frogs, 259 salamanders, and 55 caecilians have been named in these 20 years, mainly in the tropical regions of South America, Asia, and Africa. More than half (57%) of these species descriptions were published in only 10 journals. At least 827 species of the new amphibians (29% of the total) were described in Zootaxa. This mega-journal has served also as a place of publication for monographs and systematic reviews, in addition to short articles documenting the vocalizations of anurans and the morphology of embryos and larvae. Its efficient evaluation process, the freedom of manuscript length, including full-color figures, and free of cost for the authors, has made Zootaxa a favorite for amphibian researchers. In an era of accelerating rates of biodiversity loss, documenting, describing, naming, and proposing evolutionary scenarios for species is, more than ever, an urgent task.Fil: Rivera Correa, Mauricio. Universidad de Antioquia; ColombiaFil: Baldo, Juan Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas; ArgentinaFil: Vera Candioti, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Goyannes Dill Orrico, Victor. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Blackburn, David C.. University Of Florida. Florida Museum Of History; Estados UnidosFil: Castroviejo Fisher, Santiago. Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Chan, Kin Onn. National University of Singapore; SingapurFil: Gambale, Priscilla. Universidade Federal de Goiás; BrasilFil: Gower, David J.. Natural History Museum; Reino UnidoFil: Quah, Evan S. H.. National University of Singapore; SingapurFil: Rowley, Jodi J. L.. University of New South Wales; AustraliaFil: Twomey, Evan. Goethe Universitat Frankfurt; AlemaniaFil: Vences, Miguel. Technische Universitat Carolo Wilhelmina Zu Braunschweig.; Alemani

An updated and annotated checklist of the lizards of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, and their adjacent archipelagos

Grismer, L. Lee, Quah, Evan S. H. (2019): An updated and annotated checklist of the lizards of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, and their adjacent archipelagos. Zootaxa 4545 (2): 230-248, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4545.2.

The Rediscovery of Sphenomorphus malayanus Doria, 1888 (Squamata: Scincidae) from the Titiwangsa Mountain Range of Peninsular Malaysia and its re-description as S. senja sp. nov.

Grismer, L. Lee, Quah, Evan S. H. (2015): The Rediscovery of Sphenomorphus malayanus Doria, 1888 (Squamata: Scincidae) from the Titiwangsa Mountain Range of Peninsular Malaysia and its re-description as S. senja sp. nov. Zootaxa 3931 (1): 63-70, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3931.1.

On the taxonomy of Lygosoma bampfyldei Bartlett, 1895 (Squamata: Scincidae) with descriptions of new species from Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia and the resurrection of Lygosoma schneideri Werner, 1900

Grismer, L. Lee, Quah, Evan S. H., Duzulkafly, Zaharil, Yambun, Paul (2018): On the taxonomy of Lygosoma bampfyldei Bartlett, 1895 (Squamata: Scincidae) with descriptions of new species from Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia and the resurrection of Lygosoma schneideri Werner, 1900. Zootaxa 4438 (3): 528-550, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4438.3.

A new species of Dibamus Duméril & Bibron 1839 (Squamata: Dibamidae) from a hill station in Peninsular Malaysia

Quah, Evan S. H., S, Shahrul Anuar M., Grismer, L. Lee, Grassby-Lewis, Rupert (2017): A new species of Dibamus Duméril & Bibron 1839 (Squamata: Dibamidae) from a hill station in Peninsular Malaysia. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 65: 681-690, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.535845

Data from: Species delimitation with gene flow: a methodological comparison and population genomics approach to elucidate cryptic species boundaries in Malaysian Torrent Frogs

Accurately delimiting species boundaries is a non-trivial undertaking that can have significant effects on downstream inferences. We compared the efficacy of commonly-used species delimitation methods (SDMs) and a population genomics approach based on genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to assess lineage separation in the Malaysian Torrent Frog Complex currently recognized as a single species (Amolops larutensis). First, we used morphological, mitochondrial DNA and genome-wide SNPs to identify putative species boundaries by implementing non-coalescent and coalescent-based SDMs (mPTP, iBPP, BFD*). We then tested the validity of putative boundaries by estimating spatiotemporal gene flow (fastsimcoal2, ABBA-BABA) to assess the extent of genetic isolation among putative species. Our results show that the A. larutensis complex runs the gamut of the speciation continuum from highly divergent, genetically isolated lineages (mean Fst = 0.9) to differentiating populations involving recent gene flow (mean Fst = 0.05; Nm > 5). As expected, SDMs were effective at delimiting divergent lineages in the absence of gene flow but overestimated species in the presence of marked population structure and gene flow. However, using a population genomics approach and the concept of species as separately evolving metapopulation lineages as the only necessary property of a species, we were able to objectively elucidate cryptic species boundaries in the presence of past and present gene flow. This study does not discount the utility of SDMs but highlights the danger of violating model assumptions and the importance of carefully considering methods that appropriately fit the diversification history of a particular system

A new species of lowland karst dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from northwestern Peninsular Malaysia

Wood, Perry L., Quah, Evan S. H., Anuar, Shahrul, Muin, Mohd Abdul (2013): A new species of lowland karst dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from northwestern Peninsular Malaysia. Zootaxa 3691 (5): 538-558, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3691.5.

FIGURE 4 in A new species of lowland karst dwelling Cnemaspis Strauch 1887 (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from northwestern Peninsular Malaysia

FIGURE 4. Microhabitat structure of the karst formations for Cnemaspis grismeri sp. nov. from Lenggong Valley, Perak

The discovery and description of a new species of Bent-toed Gecko of the Cyrtodactylus pulchellus complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Langkawi Archipelago, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia

Quah, Evan S. H., Grismer, L. Lee, Wood, Perry L., Sah, Shahrul Anuar Mohd (2019): The discovery and description of a new species of Bent-toed Gecko of the Cyrtodactylus pulchellus complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Langkawi Archipelago, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia. Zootaxa 4668 (1): 51-75, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4668.1.