ROSIE, a database of reptilian offspring sex ratios and sex-determining mechanisms, beginning with Testudines

Here, we present the Reptilian Offspring Sex and Incubation Environment (ROSIE) database, a comprehensive set of over 7,000 individual measurements of offspring sex ratios in the order Testudines as well as SDM classifications for 149 species. As the name suggests, we plan to expand the taxonomic coverage of ROSIE to include all non-avian reptiles and will regularly release updates to maintain its comprehensive nature. This resource will enable crucial future research probing the ecology and evolution of SDM, including the presumed sensitivity of TSD to rapid environmental change. Leer más.

Fatal chytridiomycosis in the Moroccan midwife toad Alytes maurus and potential distribution of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis across Morocco

The presence of Bd in North Africa was described in 2011 and this included the distribution range of the endemic Moroccan midwife toad (Alytes maurus). Here we report new Bd positive occurrences across several distant regions of Morocco, augment the known number of infected species, and describe the first evidence of lethal chytridiomycosis in A. maurus. Thumsová et al. 2021. Thumsova_etal22

Amphibian body size and species richness as a proxy for primary productivity and climate: The Orce wetlands (Early Pleistocene, Guadix-Baza Basin, SE Spain)

Amphibians are considered excellent indicators of ecological and climatic changes with a remarkable phenotypic plasticity. The study of such adaptative capacities is central to understanding the climate and environmental changes that occurred during the Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition, at around 1.2 Ma, when the persistence of subtropical ecosystems in Europe came to an end, and several reptile and tree taxa were extirpated. The SE Spain sites in the Guadix-Baza Basin offer an exceptional opportunity for studying this change, in addition to the significant findings made in this area in the field of human evolution. Ir al enlace

Las ranas del Pleistoceno se hacían más grandes cuando el clima era adverso

UGR/DICYT Un equipo multidisciplinar de científicos ha estudiado el tamaño de las ranas que vivieron en Orce hace 1,5 millones de años y ha puesto de manifiesto que sus cuerpos aumentaban de envergadura cuando las condiciones climáticas se volvían más adversas. Esto se debió a que, con el frío y la aridez, las ranas deben almacenar energía, soportar las bajas temperaturas y aumentar su fertilidad. Leer más.

¿Será la fama suficiente para salvar al ajolote mexicano?

Un elenco único de personas se apresura a salvar a la peculiar salamandra en peligro de extinción (también denominada achoque), pero los expertos advierten que lo que realmente necesario es la restauración del hábitat. Leer más.