Pseudoeurycea unguidentis

Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Pseudoeurycea longicauda

Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Osteological Variation among Extreme Morphological Forms in the Mexican Salamander Genus Chiropterotriton (Amphibia: Plethodontidae): Morphological Evolution And Homoplasy

Osteological variation is recorded among and within four of the most distinctive species of the Mexican salamander genus Chiropterotriton. Analysis of the data is consistent with the monophyletic status of the genus and documents previously unrecorded intraspecific and interspecific variation. Most of the recorded variation involves qualitative and quantitative proportional differences, but four fixed differences constitute autapomorphic states that affirm and diagnose some species (C. dimidiatus, C. magnipes). Osteological variation in 15 characters is analyzed with respect to predictions generated from four hypotheses: 1) phylogeny, 2) adaptation to specific habitats (the four species include cave-dwelling, terrestrial, and arboreal forms), 3) size-free shape, and 4) size. High levels of intraspecific variation suggest that the characters studied are not subject to rigid functional constraints in salamanders, regardless of size. The pattern predicted by the hypothesis based on size differences seen among these four Chiropterotriton species matches most closely the observed pattern of relative skull robustness. Since size change and heterochrony are often associated in plethodontid evolution, it is likely that changes in developmental timing play a role in the morphological transitions among these morphologically diverse taxa. Webbed feet, miniaturization, body shape, and an unusual tarsal arrangement are morphologies exhibited in species of Chiropterotrition that are shown to be homoplastic with other clades of tropical plethodontids. Although extensive homoplasy in salamanders might be seen as a roadblock to unraveling phylogenetic hypotheses, the homologous developmental systems that appear to underlie such homoplasy may reveal common and consistent evolutionary processes at work

Palaeoplethodon hispaniolae gen. n., sp. n. (Amphibia: Caudata), a fossil salamander from the Caribbean Palaeodiversity 8: 21–29; Stuttgart 30 December 2015.

A salamander hatchling, Palaeoplethodon hispaniolae gen. n., sp. n. (Amphibia: Caudata), is described from Dominican Republic amber. While physical features align the fossil with members of the family Plethodontidae, the short forelimb with the foot lacking distinct digits and the long hind limb with elongated foot and strongly fused digits, as well as its presence in 15–40 mya Dominican amber, distinguish the fossil from previously described salamanders. The apparent 13–14 costal grooves and strongly webbed digits are characters shared with members of the extant plethodontid genus Bolitoglossa PETERS, 1879, the most speciose genus of Neotropical salamanders. This is the first salamander recovered from any amber source and the first undisputed salamander reported from the Caribbean region

Aneides lugubris

Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Evaluating the climate effects of mid-1800s deforestation in New England, USA, using a Weather, Research, and Forecasting (WRF) Model Multi-Physics Ensemble

The New England region of the northeastern United States has a land use history characterized by forest clearing for agriculture and other uses during European colonization and subsequent reforestation following widespread farm abandonment. Despite these broad changes, the potential influence on local and regional climate has received relatively little attention. This study investigated wintertime (December through March) climate impacts of reforestation in New England using a high-resolution (4 km) multiphysics ensemble of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model. In general, the conversion from mid-1800s cropland/grassland to forest led to warming, but results were sensitive to physics parameterizations. The 2-m maximum temperature (T2max) was most sensitive to choice of land surface model, 2-m minimum temperature (T2min) was sensitive to radiation scheme, and all ensemble members simulated precipitation poorly. Reforestation experiments suggest that conversion of mid-1800s cropland/grassland to present-day forest warmed T2max +0.5 to +3 K, with weaker warming during a warm, dry winter compared to a cold, snowy winter. Warmer T2max over forests was primarily the result of increased absorbed shortwave radiation and increased sensible heat flux compared to cropland/grassland. At night, T2min warmed +0.2 to +1.5 K where deciduous broadleaf forest replaced cropland/grassland, a result of decreased ground heat flux. By contrast, T2min of evergreen needleleaf forest cooled –0.5 to –2.1 K, primarily owing to increased ground heat flux and decreased sensible heat flux

The ossification sequence of Aneides lugubris, with comments on heterochrony

ABSTRACT. -Post-hatching ontogeny is described for the skeleton of a large, direct-developing, terrestrial plethodontid salamander, Aneides Iugubris. This species appears to have the most prolonged ontogeny of the plethodontids. Until the end of the second year of life, osteological ontogeny is similar to that of other species, but beyond that point major changes occur. Ossification of the long bones continues throughout life and is never completed. Elements such as the pelvic plate ossify continuously, but never completely. Mesopodial elements remain cartilaginous throughout life. The most dramatic changes relate to the feeding system. The anterior part of the skull becomes grotesquely enlarged in the largest specimens, with extensive coossification. Maxillary and dentary teeth decrease in number but increase in size and complexity. Features identified as "supportive adaptations" appear during ontogeny, more so in the feeding than in the locomotory mechanism. Data are interpreted in the framework of recent studies of heterochrony