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Showing 6 results for Taxonomy
Arriving at the correct taxonomy: a comment on “A new and highly divergent mitochondrial lineage in the Small Five-toed Jerboa, Scarturus elater, from Iran”
Ahmad Mahmoudi, Boris Kryštufek,
Volume 2, Issue 1 (3-2020)
Abstract
We reanalyzed 657 base pairs of mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) sequences of the Small Five-toed jerboas Scarturus from Iran, which had been published as Allactaga by Mohammadi et al. (2016) in the Zoology in the Middle East. We show that taxonomic names are available for the three main clusters they recognized: S. hotsoni, S. elater, and S. toussi. The last two species each contained two lineages, both in our analysis as well in those published earlier. We recommend the taxonomic identification of specimens in molecular analyses and call for deposition of voucher material in responsible public collections.

The Atlas of Mammals of Iran. Mahmoud Karami, Taher Ghadirian and Kaveh Faizolahi. 2016. Iran Department of the Environment, Tehran. 292 pp.
Frank E. Zachos,
Volume 2, Issue 2 (6-2020)
Abstract
Iran is a country with a very rich mammal fauna, including such iconic species as the Asiatic cheetah Acinonyx jubatus (Griffith), the Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor Pocock, the Mesopotamian fallow deer Dama mesopotamica (Brooke), and the Asiatic wild ass Equus hemionus Pallas. There are no less than eight species of cat (Felidae) living in Iran today, and until recently there were even two more (the Caspian tiger Panthera tigris virgata (Illiger) and the Asiatic lion Panthera leo persica (Meyer)). For comparison, the whole European continent harbours a mere three felids. A recent atlas now adds to our knowledge on this spectacular mammalian line-up and its dissemination. The book, also available as a pdf, by Karami, Ghadirian and Faizolahi lists 183 terrestrial and 16 aquatic species of mammals (including the Caspian tiger and Asiatic lion), from the dugong and the Caspian seal Pusa caspica (Gmelin) to whales and dolphins, bats (Chiroptera) and rodents (Rodentia), from Perissodactyla to Lagomorpha and from Carnivora to Chiroptera ...

Corrections on recent herpetofaunal species records from Gujarat State, western India
Harshil Patel, Raju Vyas,
Volume 2, Issue 3 (9-2020)
Abstract
We re-address the findings of recent publications on herpetofaunal diversity of certain urban areas of Gujarat, India, in which, authors have claimed to report nine frogs and two lizard species for the first time from the State, without any morphological data and/or voucher specimens. We present our critique and comments, with the known distributional ranges of these species and on these erroneous records. We also advocate removal of such species from the faunal list of Gujarat until confirmed reports, based on correctly identified vouchers, are presented. We recommend here that identification of a species should be done following standard protocols and by facilitating the deposition of voucher specimen/s in responsible public repositories for studies involving taxonomy, morphology and range extension.

Notes on the distribution and morphology of Coelognathus helena (Daudin, 1803) (Squamata: Colubridae) from Gujarat State, India
Harshil Patel, Rajdeep Jhala, Raju Vyas,
Volume 3, Issue 3 (9-2021)
Abstract
We provide an account on the distribution, morphology and biology of the Indian trinket snake, Coelognathus helena (Daudin, 1803) from Gujarat, India, and report the first record of the subspecies, Coelognathus helena nigriangularis Mohapatra, Schulz, Helfenberger, Hofmann, Dutta from the Gujarat state based on reptile surveys throughout the state. We show that our understanding regarding the morphology of this species is not fully known as our series of specimens shows a high range of 204–245 ventral scales in C. h. helena and 219–279 ventral scales, 78–98 subcaudal scales in C. h. monticollaris.

The lions of Somalia: a review of available morphological and socio-ecological data
Spartaco Gippoliti, Dario Fraschetti, Osman Gedow Amir, Francesco M. Angelici,
Volume 4, Issue 2 (6-2022)
Abstract
There is an increased recognition of the threat status of the African lion (Panthera leo), once a widespread top predator of open African habitats. However, our knowledge about the biology of the species is often based on a few study sites in South and East Africa, and the present subspecific taxonomy developed by the IUCN reinforces an idea of homogeneity of the species in Africa. A synthesis of available knowledge regarding the lions of Southern Somalia, formerly proposed as a distinct subspecies, Panthera leo somaliensis is presented. Particular attention is paid to the issue of manelessness in males, a phenomenon that has been studied in Tsavo (N.E. Kenya) but it is highlighted for the first time for the Southern Somalia region. Although our data cannot lead to a definitive answer about the taxonomic status of Somali lions, there is enough evidence to call for further studies and conservation efforts, also in the light of the increased evidence of genetic discontinuity in lions associated with strong ecological barriers.

Book Review: Voles and Lemmings (Arvicolinae) of the Palaearctic Region. Boris Kryštufek and Georgy I. Shenbrot. 2022. University of Maribor, University Press. 436 pp.
Lutz Christian Maul ,
Volume 4, Issue 3 (9-2022)
Abstract
The book by Boris Kryštufek and Georgy I. Shenbrot, published a few weeks ago, is an encyclopaedic masterpiece and up-to-date standard work on the rodent group of Arvicolinae Gray, 1821 (voles and lemmings) belonging to the family Cricetidae Fischer, 1817 (hamsters). The authors are two experts on these mammals, and are known worldwide by scientists working in mammalogy for their publications. In addition to countless individual articles, B. Kryštufek is best known for his monograph on the ‘Mammals of Turkey and Cyprus’, which he published together with Vladimír Vohralík (Kryštufek and Vohralík, 2001; 2005; 2009). Georgy Shenbrot wrote, among many other books and papers, mainly devoted to desert and steppe rodents, ‘An Atlas of the Geographic Distribution of the Arvicoline Rodents’ in co-operation with Boris Krasnov (Shenbrot and Krasnov, 2005). It is certainly no exaggeration to call the present book, reviewed here, a worthy, up-to-date successor to Hinton's classic ‘Monograph of Voles and Lemmings’ (Hinton, 1926) and Gromov and Polyakov's volume on ‘Voles (Microtinae)’ (Gromov and Polyakov, 1977) in the framework of the ‘Fauna SSSR’ series (which actually always represented the entire group worldwide). So, one can say that a fundamental work on voles appears about every 50 years.
 

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