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Article Reference Discovery of a new duiker species (Bovidae: Cephalophinae) from the Dahomey Gap, West Africa
Among the two most widely distributed duiker species, Philantomba monticola (Thunberg, 1789) and Philantomba maxwelli (C.H. Smith, 1827), the latter shows geographic variation in pelage color and body size. This issue was not investigated in detail so far, especially in the eastern region of its distribution area, notably due to the lack of material from the Dahomey Gap. We undertook a species-level revision of Philantomba in West Africa, notably including a series of specimens collected in Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Using morphological measurements (craniometry) and genetic data (two mitochondrial and three nuclear markers), we describe a new duiker species occurring in the Dahomey Gap (Togo, Benin) and the Niger delta, Philantomba walteri sp. nov. This discovery highlights the importance of the Dahomey Gap for the evolutionary history of the West African forest faunas. It also has conservation implications given that the new species is one of the main targets of the local bushmeat trade.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Incollection Reference DNA Barcoding Amphibians and Reptiles
Only a few major research programs are currently targeting COI barcoding of amphibians and reptiles (including chelonians and crocodiles), two major groups of tetrapods. Amphibian and reptile species are typically old, strongly divergent, and contain deep conspecifi c lineages which might lead to problems in species assignment with incomplete reference databases. As far as known, there is no single pair of COI primers that will guarantee a suffi cient rate of success across all amphibian and reptile taxa, or within major subclades of amphibians and reptiles, which means that the PCR amplifi cation strategy needs to be adjusted depending on the specifi c research question. In general, many more amphibian and reptile taxa have been sequenced for 16S rDNA, which for some purposes may be a suitable complementary marker, at least until a more comprehensive COI reference database becomes available. DNA barcoding has successfully been used to identify amphibian larval stages (tadpoles) in species-rich tropical assemblages. Tissue sampling, DNA extraction, and amplifi cation of COI is straightforward in amphibians and reptiles. Single primer pairs are likely to have a failure rate between 5 and 50\% if taxa of a wide taxonomic range are targeted; in such cases the use of primer cocktails or subsequent hierarchical usage of different primer pairs is necessary. If the target group is taxonomically limited, many studies have followed a strategy of designing specifi c primers which then allow an easy and reliable amplifi cation of all samples.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Repeated unidirectional introgression of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA between four congeneric Tanganyikan cichlids.
With an increasing number of reported cases of hybridization and introgression, interspecific gene flow between animals has recently become a widely accepted and broadly studied phenomenon. In this study, we examine patterns of hybridization and introgression in Ophthalmotilapia spp., a genus of cichlid fish from Lake Tanganyika, using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA from all four species in the genus and including specimens from over 800 km of shoreline. These four species have very different, partially overlapping distribution ranges, thus allowing us to study in detail patterns of gene flow between sympatric and allopatric populations of the different species. We show that a significant proportion of individuals of the lake-wide distributed O. nasuta carry mitochondrial and/or nuclear DNA typical of other Ophthalmotilapia species. Strikingly, all such individuals were found in populations living in sympatry with each of the other Ophthalmotilapia species, strongly suggesting that this pattern originated by repeated and independent episodes of genetic exchange in different parts of the lake, with unidirectional introgression occurring into O. nasuta. Our analysis rejects the hypotheses that unidirectional introgression is caused by natural selection favoring heterospecific DNA, by skewed abundances of Ophthalmotilapia species or by hybridization events occurring during a putative spatial expansion in O. nasuta. Instead, cytonuclear incompatibilities or asymmetric behavioral reproductive isolation seem to have driven repeated, unidirectional introgression of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA into O. nasuta in different parts of the lake.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference A new adappoid primate from the Early Eocene of India
A new genus and species of primitive adapoid primate, Asiadapis cambayensis, is described based on a dentary from the lower Eocene Cambay Shale exposed in the Vastan lignite mine in Gujarat, western India. Asiadapis is most similar to European cercamoniine notharctids and to Marcgodinotius, another primitive cercamoniine from Vastan mine. Asiadapis and Marcgodinotius may belong to a primitive clade of notharctids that reached India around the beginning of the Eocene.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference A complete skull of Allodaposuchus precedens Nopcsa, 1928 (Eusuchia) and a reassessment of the morphology of the taxon based on the romanian remains
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference A reassessment of the fossil goose Anser scaldii Lambrecht, 1933
The name Anser scaldii was first used by Van Beneden (1872) in a brief text that read ‘Nous avons recu un humérus dans un parfait état de conservation, trouvé dans le crag, à Anvers’. The name was also used by Van Beneden (1873), but in both instances it is a nomen nudum. The name was made valid for the purposes of nomenclature by Lambrecht (1933: 368) when he entered Anser scaldii Van Beneden, 1872, with the following description and information: ‘Humerus typisch anserin, von der Größe von Tadorna casarca. Länge 129 mm. Material: Humerus im Mus. Bruxelles. Alter und Fundort: Obermiozän (Bolderian), Antwerpen. Etymologie: Artname nach der Schelde: Scaldia.’ At the same time he mistakenly gave the original combination as Anas scaldii Van Beneden 1872, which error was perpetuated by Gaillard (1939), Brodkorb (1964), Howard (1964), and Bochenski (1997), as noted by Mlíkovský (2002: 125). The statement by Lambrecht that this fossil is of similar length to humeri of Tadorna prompted Worthy et al. (2007) to suggest that Anser scaldii may have a bearing on the evolution of Tadornini in Europe. Accordingly, we re- examined the holotype in the Department of Paleontology, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium, to ascertain its relationships and its significance in Anseriform evolution.
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Reptiles of Venezuela: an updated and commented checklist
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Low genetic diversity in tepui summit vertebrates
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference From Amazonia to the Atlantic forest:molecular phylogeny of Phyzelaphryninae frogs reveals unexpected diversity and a striking biogeographic pattern emphasizing conservation challenges
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications
Article Reference Cryptic species in Iphisa elegans Gray, 1851 (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) revealed by hemipenial morphology and molecular data
Located in Library / RBINS Staff Publications