Adaptive genetic diversity is a key factor in conservation planning as it relates to the evolutionary potential of populations and their responses to environmental change. Developments in landscape genomics have fostered a proliferation of tests for selection that aim to identify candidate adaptive markers in natural populations. However, these tests rely on different assumptions and may produce contrasting results. Leer más.
The western subspecies clade of the Mediterranean Spur-thighed Tortoise, Testudo graeca (Family Testudinidae) is comprised of small to medium-sized subspecies (maximum straight carapace lengths [SCL] <25 cm) native to northern Africa and southwestern Europe. In North Africa, Testudo graeca occurs in Mediterranean climates from humid to arid. In the Iberian Peninsula, it is restricted to subhumid, semi-arid, and arid regions. In North Africa, it reaches an altitude of 2090 m in the Haut Atlas (Morocco); in the Iberian Peninsula, it occurs at low elevations below 500 m. Leer más.
We here report on a well-preserved juvenile lizard specimen in Albian amber (ca. 110 mya) from the Hkamti site (Myanmar). This new taxon is represented by an articulated skull and the anterior portion of the trunk, including the pectoral girdle and forelimbs. The scleral ossicles and eyelid are also visible, and the specimen exhibits pristine detail of the integument (of both head and body). Leer más.
En treize ans de vie de célibataire endurcie, Shy n’a même pas flirté. Et pour cause à Padiparc, le parc zoologique lotois où vie cette femelle varan malais n’a jamais hébergé le moindre mâle de son espèce. Pourtant, voilà Shy mère de trois petits reptiles. Le premier est sorti d’un œuf éclos dimanche, les deux autres ont pointé leur frimousse lundi. Leer más.
Our COI metabarcoding approach increased taxonomic resolution and supported a generalist diet in S. salamandra. Between primers, there were no significant differences in the diversity and richness of prey detected. We observed differences in the prevalence of prey identified between sampling regions both in our study and in other studies of S. salamandra diet. This COI metabarcoding study provides recommendations and resources for subsequent research using DNA metabarcoding to study amphibian diets. Leer más.
