Francisco Umbral: A writer's concern about literary genres

Se suele hablar de Umbral como de un autor sin género y un maestro en el arte de sobrepasar las convenciones para crear un estilo único que pueda entenderse como verdaderamente personal. El autor madrileño era plenamente consciente del proceso de ruptura con las formas que le había llevado a ese producto final con el que había encandilado a tantos lectores y críticos. Quizá por eso resulta fácil encontrar en su periodismo (de manera especial el de la última época) reflexiones personalísimas acerca de los géneros literarios, su definición y evolución. El presente artículo pretende seleccionar y comentar los pasajes más relevantes en los que el maestro revisa los distintos géneros, aportando su visión particular a la teoría de la literaturaUmbral is often referred to as a genre-less author, and a master of surpassing conventions to create a unique, truly personal style. He was fully aware of the process of rupture with the forms that had led him to that final product, with which he had dazzled so many readers and critics. Perhaps that is why it is easy to find (especially that of the last period of his life) very personal reflections on literary genres in his journalism, as well as definitions and comments on their evolution. This article aims to select and comment on the most relevant passages in which this master of journalism reviewed the different genres, contributing his personal vision to the theory of literatur

Loss of largest and oldest individuals of the Montpellier snake correlates with recent warming in the southeastern Iberian Peninsula

The effects of climate change on organisms are now being extensively studied in many different taxa. However, the variation in body size, usually shrinkage in response to increasing temperature, has received little attention regarding to reptiles. During past periods of global warming, many organisms shrank in size, and current evidence and experiments manipulating temperature have shown a biomass decrease in some organisms with increasing temperatures. Here we test whether the body size of the Montpellier snake Malpolon monspessulanus from the southeastern Iberian Peninsula is changing and correlated with the increasing temperature in this region during a 39year period (1976–2014). We measured the snout–vent length (SVL) of vouchers in scientific collections to check for trends in adult body size at the population level in relation with temperature, while controlling for the age of the individuals (estimated by skeletochronology, n¼141). Given the great ontogenetic variation in body size of the study species, we categorized age in 3 classes: “young adults” (under 5 years old), “intermediate adults” (from 5 to 7 years old), and “old adults” (from 8 to 14 years old). By means of linear mixed models, we found a negative relationship between SVL of “old adults” and average annual temperature in the region during the lifetime of each individual. Our results indicate that largest and oldest individuals of the Montpellier Snake, that is, males because of strong sexual size dimorphism in this species, disappeared from the study population, and suggest that it occurred in response to rising environmental temperature.Junta de Andalucía RNM-25

Culebra de cogulla argelina – Macroprotodon cucullatus (Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, 1827)

Reptiles - Orden Squamata - Familia Colubridae en la Enciclopedia Virtual de Vertebrados Españoles, http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/.A comprehensive review of the natural history of the Algerian False Smooth Snake Macroprotodon cucullatus in Spain.Peer reviewe

Culebra bastarda – Malpolon monspessulanus (Hermann, 1804)

Reptiles - Orden Squamata - Familia Lamprophiidae en la Enciclopedia Virtual de Vertebrados Españoles, http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/. Versiones anteriores: 23-10-2003; 11-11-2003; 20-12-2006; 29-08-2008; 19-11-2009; 2-10-2015; 2017-01-13.A comprehensive review of the natural history of the Montpellier Snake Malpolon monspessulanus in Spain.Peer reviewe

Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma, Leg Type : A diagnosis not to forget in the elderly

N

El papel del Estrecho de Gibraltar en la conformación de la actual fauna de anfibios y reptiles en el Mediterráneo Occidental

Peer reviewe

Cannibalism in Bonelli's Eagle (Aquila fasciata)

Letter.JC had a postdoctoral contract jointly financed by the ESF and by the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha (JCCM, Spain), in the framework of the Operational Programme FSE 2007–2013.Peer Reviewe

Diversity, distribution and conservation of land mammals in Mauritania, North-West Africa

Funding: National Geographic Society (CRE-7629- 04, CRE-8412-08, GEFNE-53-12, NGS-53336R- 19), Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (11052709, 11052707, 13257467), Rufford Foundation (SG-15399-1, SG-36007-1), Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (PTDC/BIA-BEC/ 099934/2008, PTDC/BIA-BIC/118624/2010, PTDC/ BIA-BIC/2903/2012, PTDC/BIA-ECO/28158/2017), FEDER-Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors - COMPETE (FCOMP-01- 0124-FEDER-008917/028276). Individual support was given by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (CEECINST/00014/2018/CP1512/CT0001, SFRH/ 2020.05054.BD, DL57/2016/CP1440/CT0010, DL57/2016/CP1440/CT0008, DL57/2016/CP1440/ CT[SFRH/BPD/88496/2012], CEECIND/01937/ 2017, SFRH/BPD/84822/2012). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Work supported by National Funds through FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia in the scope of the project UIDB/50027/ 2020.Detailed knowledge about biodiversity distribution is critical for monitoring the biological effects of global change processes. Biodiversity knowledge gaps hamper the monitoring of conservation trends and they are especially evident in the desert biome. Mauritania constitutes a remarkable example on how remoteness and regional insecurity affect current knowledge gaps. Mammals remain one of the least studied groups in this country, without a concerted species checklist, the mapping of regions concentrating mammal diversity, or a national assessment of their conservation status. This work assessed the diversity, distribution, and conservation of land mammals in Mauritania. A total of 6,718 published and original observations were assembled in a spatial database and used to update the occurrence status, distribution area, and conservation status. The updated taxonomic list comprises 107 species, including 93 extant, 12 Regionally Extinct, and 2 Extinct in the Wild. Mapping of species distributions allowed locating concentrations of extant mammal species richness in coastal areas, along the Senegal River valley, and in mountain plateaus. Recent regional extinction of large-sized Artiodactyla and Carnivora has been very high (11% extinct species). From the extant mammals, 11% are threatened, including flagship species (e.g., Addax nasomaculatus and Panthera pardus). Species richness is poorly represented by the current protected areas. Despite the strong advances made, 23% of species categorise as Data Deficient. Persisting systematics and distribution uncertainties require further research. Field surveys in currently unexplored areas (northern and south-eastern regions) are urgently needed to increase knowledge about threatened mammals. The long-term conservation of land mammals in Mauritania is embedded in a complex web of socioeconomic and environmental factors that call for collaborative action and investment in sustainable human development. The current work sets the baseline for the future development of detailed research studies and to address the general challenges faced by mammals and biodiversity in the country.National Geographic Society (CRE-7629- 04, CRE-8412-08, GEFNE-53-12, NGS-53336R- 19)Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (11052709, 11052707, 13257467)Rufford Foundation (SG-15399-1, SG-36007-1)Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (PTDC/BIA-BEC/ 099934/2008, PTDC/BIA-BIC/118624/2010, PTDC/ BIA-BIC/2903/2012, PTDC/BIA-ECO/28158/2017)FEDER-Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors - COMPETE (FCOMP-01- 0124-FEDER-008917/028276)Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (CEECINST/00014/2018/CP1512/CT0001, SFRH/ 2020.05054.BD, DL57/2016/CP1440/CT0010, DL57/2016/CP1440/CT0008, DL57/2016/CP1440/ CT[SFRH/BPD/88496/2012], CEECIND/01937/ 2017, SFRH/BPD/84822/2012)National Funds through FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia in the scope of the project UIDB/50027/ 202

DNA barcode reference library for the West Sahara-Sahel reptiles

DNA barcode reference libraries are now continuously produced for the tree of life, which are essential pillars for the study of biological diversity. Yet, our knowledge about global diversity is largely limited in undersampled regions such as the largest warm desert, the Sahara-Sahel. This dataset provides a DNA barcode reference library for the reptiles of the Western Sahara-Sahel (WSS) and neighbouring countries across this region. It includes 760 barcodes from 133 reptile taxa, distributed in 23 families, and covering the intraspecific diversity of some species. A total of 84 species were collected in the WSS (83% of the total reptile species richness) over 18 overland field expeditions conducted since 2003. DNA barcodes resulted in a high success rate (95%) of species identification and barcoding gap analysis highlighted the effectiveness of the COI fragment as a barcode marker for the WSS reptiles. This dataset represents a comprehensive and reliable DNA reference library for the WSS, filling an important biodiversity gap across a remote and hard-to-sample region.National Geographic Society CRE-7629-04 CRE-8412-08 GEFNE-53-12Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund 11052709 11052707 13257467Rufford Foundation SG-15399-1 SG-17893-1Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology European Commission FCT: PTDC/BIA-BEC/099934/2008 PTDC/BIA-BIC/2903/2012FEDER through COMPETE-Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-008917 FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-028276Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) AGRIGEN-NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000007Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology European Commission UIDB/50027/2020 CEECINST/00014/2018/CP1512/CT0001 DL57/2016/CP1440/CT0010 CEECIND/00937/2018 IF/01425/2014 SFRH/BD/140348/2018Spanish GovernmentEuropean Commission RYC-2019-026959-I/AEI/10.13039/50110001103

The fall of a symbol? A high predation rate by the introduced horseshoe whip snake Hemorrhois hippocrepis paints a bleak future for the endemic Ibiza wall lizard Podarcis pityusensis

Invasive species currently account for a major threat to global biodiversity, and island ecosystems are among the most vulnerable, because of the frequency and success of species introductions on islands. Within Mediterranean islands, reptiles not only are frequently introduced species but are also among the most threatened because of these introductions. The Balearic archipelago is a good example of this, since only two of its current 16 species of reptiles are native. Thirteen years ago, the snake Hemorrhois hippocrepis was introduced by cargo in Ibiza island, and it is in expansion. Individuals obtained from an early eradication campaign showed a fast expression of phenotypic plasticity and acquired larger sizes than those of the source population, probably due to a high prey availability and predator scarcity. The species is thriving at the expense of a small variety of native and non-native prey, but the predation pressure on the endemic Podarcis pityusensis, the only native reptile in the island, is very high, as this lizard represents 56% of the prey in frequency, which might threaten its survival on the long term. Our results on the feeding ecology of the snake are of sufficient concern to justify the maintenance of actions to eradicate this invader.Peer reviewe