Extreme climate events, together with anthropogenic land use changes, have led to the rise of megafires (i.e., fires at the top of the frequency size distribution) in many world regions. Megafires imply that the centre of the burned area is far from the unburnt; thus, recolonization may be critical for species with low dispersal abilities such as reptiles. We aimed to evaluate the effect of megafires on a reptile community, exploring to what extent reptile responses are spatially shaped by the distance to the unburned area. We examined the short-term spatiotemporal response of a Mediterranean reptile community after two megafires (>20.000 hectares) occurred in summer 2012 at eastern Spain. Reptiles were sampled during four years after the fire in burnt plots located at different distances from the fire perimeter (edge, middle, and centre), and in adjacent unburnt plots. Reptile responses were modelled with fire history, as well as climate and remotely sensed environmental variables. Leer más.

Treefrogs of the genus Osteocephalus have been the focus of several taxonomic and phylogenetic studies, especially in the last two decades. These recent studies have shown that the diversity of this charismatic Amazonian genus is still largely underestimated. Through the evidence of morphological and molecular data, we describe a new species of the Osteocephalus alboguttatus species group from the Purus-Madeira Interfluve, southwestern Brazilian Amazonia. Leer más.

Es el resultado de un proyecto a raíz de conocerse la presencia de dos hongos patógenos, conocidos como hongos quitridios (‘Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis’ y ‘Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans’), que puede provocar la extinción de numerosas especies de anfibios a nivel mundial, en esta zona pirenaica, en altitudes más elevadas, según ha informado la UAB este martes en un comunicado. Leer más.

En un nou article liderat pel Dr. Hugues-Alexandre Blain, publicat a la revista Archaeological and Anthropolocial Sciences, l’equip de Paleoherpetologia del IPHES-CERCA i l’Institut Reial Belga de Ciències Naturals estudiem l’evolució de les comunitats d’amfibis i rèptils de Bèlgica.  Leer más.

Herpetofauna from 18 caves are described for the first time. In total, 17 taxa (10 amphibians and seven reptiles) are identified, three of which correspond to their first fossil record for Belgium (Alytes obstetricans, Pelobates fuscus, and Hyla arborea). The thermophilic snake Zamenis longissimus is documented for the first time in the Holocene (Atlantic/Subboreal period) of Belgium. After marine isotope stage (MIS) 5, the Belgian herpetofauna was still reasonably diverse during MIS 3, but it seems to be represented only by the common frog Rana temporaria and a viper during MIS 2.  Leer más.