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Two new species of the gekkonid lizard genus Hemiphyllodactylus are described based on specimens collected from Champasak Province in southern Laos and Houaphanh Province in northern Laos. Phylogenetic analyses recover H. indosobrinus sp. nov. from Champasak Province as the sister lineage to the Thai endemic H. flaviventris. Hemiphyllodactylus indosobrinus sp. nov. can be diagnosed by having 15 supralabial scales, eight chin scales,...

Graduate student Elyse Ellsworth is spending the Spring 2019 semester studying the ecology of the critically endangered Central American River Turtle, or Hicatee (Dermatemys mawii) in Belize. The Hicatee are unique among turtles, as they are the only surviving member of the family Dermatemydidae. They are found in rivers, ponds, and wetlands throughout portions of southern Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala; however, there...

The genera Lepidothyris, Lygosoma and Mochlus comprise the writhing or supple skinks, a group of semi-fossorial, elongate-bodied skinks distributed across the Old World Tropics. Due to their generalized morphology and lack of diagnostic characters, species- and clade-level relationships have long been debated. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies of the group have provided some clarification of species-level relationships, but a number of issues regarding...

Despite being recognized as ecologically and biogeographically important, the biodiversity of the Hengduan Mountain Region, particularly along the upper Mekong River, remains poorly understood. Here we describe a new species of Mountain Dragon of the genus Japalura sensu lato Gray, 1853 from the headwater region of the Mekong River in Chamdo, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. The species is recognized as a member...

Regions with complex geological histories often have diverse and highly endemic biotas, yet inferring the ecological and historical processes shaping this relationship remains challenging. Here, in the context of the taxon cycle model of insular community assembly,we investigate patterns of lineage diversity and habitat usage in a newly characterized vertebrate radiation centred upon the world’s most geologically complex insular region: island arcs...

In this synopsis, we provide basic information relating to each of the currently known species of snakes that has been recorded from the Philippines. The references included with each account provide guidance to literature that contains additional information. This work represents an up-to-date account of the snake fauna of the Philippine Archipelago....

The aridification of Africa resulted in the fragmentation of forests and the expansion of an arid corridor stretching from the northeast to southwest portion of sub-Saharan Africa, but the role this corridor has had in species-level diversification of southern African vertebrates is poorly understood. The skink species Mochlus afer and M. sundevallii inhabit wide areas of the arid corridor and are therefore...

Based on molecular and morphological data sets, we describe a new species of scincid lizard of the genus Lygosoma from Indochina, and redescribe true Lygosoma quadrupes (Linnaeus, 1766). The new species is small and slender, and represents the third member of the L. quadrupes complex, increasing the diversity of Lygosoma species recognized in Southeast Asia to 24. Based on the reevaluation of...

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