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While on the theme of Ecuador from yesterday’s post on 25 newly described Ecuadorian herps…Word has just reached AA‘s ears that the fabulous Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo is now available in the U.S. You can order it from Eagle Mountain Publishing, which also sells a lot of great old reptile and amphibian books at rock bottom prices.

In celebration of this great event, we’re re-printing the review posted a few months ago:

The team at Tropical Herping has done it again! This time, a fabulous, lavish, luscious, information-packed guide to the spectacular herpetofauna of Mindo Parish, Ecuador. Originally available online, the book is now available in print. I had the privilege of writing the foreword, appended below. More information is available on the TH website, as well as an order form.

Foreword:

Small in size, but a global giant in biodiversity, Ecuador is awash in all manner of fauna and flora. Birds, butterflies, trees—the country is a hotspot for just about everything. But no group of organisms is more beautiful, more charismatic, more scientifically captivating than Ecuador’s reptiles and amphibians. The Amazon rainforest dominates the attention of the public, but other parts of the country, especially the mountainous regions, are just as biologically rich. One such area is the small parish of Mindo in Pichincha Province, home to 102 species of creepy crawlies. And what an ensemble! Brilliant colors, toxic skin and venom, sweet serenades, menacing looks, gorgeous displays—this region is an encyclopedia of herpetology in just 268 square kilometers.

Field guides play an essential role in making the fauna and flora of an area widely accessible. They are at the front line of nature education and conservation, the place where the fruits of scientific exploration are distilled, synthesized, packaged, and presented to the public at large. Since the time of Roger Tory Peterson, field guides have played another role, being a venue for beautiful, yet accurate, scientific illustration, allowing readers to not only understand the identifying marks of each species, but also to appreciate them esthetically.

Despite its bountiful herpetofauna, until now no field guides existed for Ecuador’s amphibians and Reptiles. The Tropical Herping team has brilliantly stepped into this void, producing a guide to the herps of Mindo that hopefully will serve both as a model of how guides should be produced and an inspiration to the production of similar efforts elsewhere in Ecuador and beyond. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo is particularly notable in three respects. First is the breadth and depth of information provided for each of Mindo’s species. These authors know their fauna in exquisite detail and have synthesized that knowledge in a clear and lucid manner. The inclusion of frog calls, recorded by the authors themselves, is an added bonus bridging the paper and digital eras. Second, the public often does not understand the connection between scientific research and the information presented in field guides, magazine articles and nature documentaries. Unlike most field guides, The Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo makes this link crystal clear, providing citations so that readers know where to turn to learn more. Indeed, especially impressive is the fact that the authors did a great deal of field work themselves to round out knowledge of these species, presenting that information for the first time here. Finally, third, the book is simply beautiful. The photographs are simply stunning and the maps and other illustrations lovely as well.

The publication of The Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo could not come at a better time. The Mindo region is a microcosm for all that ails the natural world. Deforestation, habitat fragmentation, pollution, overharvesting—all are threats. Mindo has one thing going for in its favor—it has become a nature vacation travel destination, providing jobs and economic rationale for preserving natural habitats. But, ecotourism can be a two-edged sword, as people and development are drawn to the area with potentially negative consequences. Mindo has the opportunity to show how responsible stewardship can be mutually beneficial to man and nature, and this lovely book shows what is at stake. Three cheers for the three authors of this magnificent volume. Long live the herpetofauna of Mindo!

The Green Anole is the quarterly children’s newsletter written for EcoExplorer members of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas.

Although it may seem paradoxical given their natural history, I often see nocturnal geckos basking during the day. They usually occupy trunks between 1-3m, which is prime trunk-ground and trunk ecomorph territory. In Miami we have two of the former (A. sagrei and A. cristatellus), and one of the latter (A. distichus). Here is a photo fresh from today showing such overlap in habitat use. I have yet to see any interactions between anoles and geckos in Miami, has anyone else observed any here or elsewhere?

Cuban brown anole (Anolis sagrei – left) and gecko (Hemidactylus sp., most likely H. mabouia – right) sharing habitat space

Of note – this was taken 23rd Feb 2014 in south Miami (FL) at roughly 1:30pm. It’s hot and sunny.

And a nice one it is! Seemingly initially created by someone in Puerto Rico. Whomever did it: well done!

What better adornment for an arm than a lovely knight anole? Thanks to Chuck Horne, the proud bearer of this lovely crown giant. We’ve featured anole tattoos before, but there must be others out there? Anyone want to share?

Check out the video on this Instagram post.

Lyriocephalus scutatus. Photograph by Ruchira Somaweera, National Geographic

We at Anole Annals love horned lizards, and so were delighted to read about new research on Sri Lankan hornies, reported on the National Geographic Society’s webpage. Check out the article, which details recent research by Ruchira Somaweera of Sydney University.

Certatophora stoddartii. Photograph by Ruchira Somaweera, National Geographic

There was a lot of discussion last month about the fabulous anole goings-on at the SICB meetings. However, there were other conferences sporting important anole work over the holidays. One of them was International Plant and Animal Genome XXII, described as “the largest AG-genomics meeting in the world” and held in San Diego in early January. Perhaps not a venue at which you’d expect anole work to be discussed, but there was Poster #720:

Mining the Most Species-Rich Amniote Genus: de novo Sequencing of Three Anole Lizards for Comparative Genomic Analysis #P720

Date: Monday, January 13
10:00 am – 11:30 am

Description:

Presenters: Marc Tollis Arizona State University, Elizabeth D. Hutchins Arizona State University, Walter L. Eckalbar Arizona State University, Michael R. Crusoe Arizona State University, Catherine M. May Arizona State University, Jessica Stapley Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Elise Kulik Arizona State University, Matt J. Huentelman Translational Genomics Research Institute, Rebecca E. Fisher University of Arizona, Kenro Kusumi Arizona State University

P720 – Mining the Most Species-Rich Amniote Genus: de novo Sequencing of Three Anole Lizards for Comparative Genomic Analysis

The repeated evolution of morphological adaptations to specific ecological niches makes Anolis lizards a spectacular example of adaptive radiation in vertebrates, and an ideal model for comparative genomics. The complete genome of the green anole (A. carolinensis) has already provided insights to the evolution of genomic and phenotypic variation in vertebrates. A multi-species comparison within the Anolis genus would increase the power of studies seeking to understand the genomic bases of species diversification. We carried out de novo whole genome sequencing and draft assembly of three species, the grass anole (A. auratus), the bridled anole (A. frenatus), and the slender anole (A. apletophallus). Here we report some of our preliminary comparative genomic findings. Analysis of the abundance and diversity of transposable elements within these genomes has revealed repetitive landscapes typical of non-mammalian vertebrates, yet variation between Anolis species is greater than what is observed across most mammals. This may have provided a genomic environment amenable to key adaptations during the Anolis radiation. Using well-defined models such as mouse and chicken, we identified orthologous genes integral to myogenesis and limb development, and are beginning to catalogue interspecific variation in protein-coding genes and cis-regulatory motifs. Functional anatomical and histological studies are being performed to quantify the tail and hindlimb muscle groups of these species compared to A. carolinensis. Our ultimate goal is to identify the divergent alleles associated with ecological speciation, thus bridging the genotype-phenotype gap.