fauna

Salamander DNA reveals evidence of older land connection between Central and South America

by Smithsonian staff

The two continents are generally believed to have been joined together around three million years ago by the formation of a land bridge–what is now Panama–that sealed up the sea channel between them.

However, a new study of salamanders in South America by a research team lead by Kathryn Elmer of the University of Glasgow, has found evidence that challenges these assumptions and supports a controversial claim by Carlos Jaramillo, a paleontologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, that most of the Isthmus of Panama was formed around 23 million years ago.

The fusion of both land masses led to a two-way migration of animals called the ‘Great American Biotic Interchange’, where animals that had previously evolved separately moved between the two continents, increasing the biodiversity in both regions.

The relative dearth of species of salamander in South America–around 30–compared to Central America, where there are more than 300 species, is usually attributed to the relatively short time the tiny amphibians have had to make their way south down the Isthmus of Panama–a thin strip of land only 30 miles wide at its narrowest point.

However, using DNA analysis, Elmer found that salamanders in South America had much greater genetic divergence from their Central American cousins than should be expected if salamanders migrated across a three- million-year-old land bridge…

(read more: Smithsonian Science)

(photos: T - Bolitoglossa sp. in the upper Amazon basin by Santiago Ron; B - B. peruviana by Kristiina Ovaska)

source: Carlos Jaramillo - Univ. of Glasgow

Two Newly Discovered Salamander Species Described by Colombian Researchers

by Stuart Patterson

A team of young researchers from Colombia have recently published an article in the journal Zootaxa describing two new species of salamander discovered during a project supported by the Conservation Leadership Programme and Save Our Species.

The two new salamanders belong to the genus Bolitoglossa, otherwise known as tropical climbing or web-footed salamanders. One of the salamanders (B. leandrae) has been named after an 11-year old girl who became friends with the team whilst they conducted their fieldwork. “Leandra grew fascinated by the world of amphibians,” explains team leader Aldemar Acevedo. “She was eager to learn about our work and became an excellent spokesperson for nature conservation among the community.”

Bolitoglossa leandrae is a relatively small salamander (its body measures roughly 2.5 cm in length, about the size of a 50 pence, 20 cent or US quarter coin) with a narrow head and long, slender tail. Males are dark brown with thin yellow stripes along the length of the body and females are reddish brown.

Bolitoglossa tamaense is slightly longer than B. leandrae (the body of the longest specimen measured approximately 5 cm, or the same as the height of a credit card) and has a broad head and relatively long body and legs. A number of different colourations and patterns were recorded, but the body is generally brown or dark red, and the tail and limbs can be dark brown, red, orange or yellow…

(read more: Flora and Fauna Intl.)    (photos: Aldemar Acevedo)

The arboreal lungless salamander, Bolitoglossa odonnelli, shows off its impressive prehensile tail, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala.

(family Plethodontidae, subfamily Bolitoglossinae)

(photos: Todd W. Pierson)

Various individuals of the arboreal salamander Bolitoglossa mexicana, from different sites in Honduras.

- family Plethodontidae - the “lungless salamanders”

(photos: Josiah Townsend)

Blue Vipers, Endangered Frogs, and Threatened Birds Protected by New Guatemalan Reserve

media release by ABC, Robert Johns

Conservationists are celebrating the establishment of the new 6,000-acre Sierra Caral Amphibian Reserve in Guatemala, which will protect some of the country’s most endangered wildlife. The reserve is home to a dozen globally threatened frogs and salamanders, five found nowhere else in the world, three species of threatened birds, and the recently discovered Merendon Palm-pitviper (Bothriechis thalassinus), an arboreal, blue-toned viper.

Tucked away in the eastern corner of Guatemala near the Caribbean Sea, and running along the Honduran border, the Sierra Caral is an isolated mountain range that is home to numerous rare and endangered animals and plants. Exploration of these mountains has yielded several new discoveries of beetles, salamanders, frogs, and snakes over the past two decades.

 The site will offer protections for many birds including threatened species such as: the

Highland Guan, Great Curassow and Keel-billed Motmot. Furthermore, the site is known as a haven for an abundance of migratory birds including the Canada Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Wood Thrush, Painted Bunting, Worm-eating Warbler, and Louisiana Waterthrush…

(read more: American Bird Conservancy)

(photos: TL - Great Curassow by Greg Homel; TR - Merendon Palm-pitviper by Robin Moore; Mid - Aerial view by Robin Moore; BL - Giant Palm-footed Salamander by Robin Moore; BR - Carlos Vasquez Almazan next to old growth tree by Don Church)