Genomic assessment of the Phyllodactylus tuberculosus complex (Reptilia: Phyllodactylidae) in America

Selva Zoque, Mexico: an important Mesoamerican tropical region for reptile species diversity and conservation

The Selva Zoque region is characterized by a great variety of ecosystems for which there is little information about reptile species diversity and their conservation status. This study is the first assessment of the species richness, composition, and conservation status of reptiles of this region. Additionally, this information is compared with that of seven other tropical regions in northern Mesoamerica. In total, 141 native reptile species belonging to 81 genera and 29 families are recorded for the Selva Zoque region. Sixty species (42% of the total) recorded in Selva Zoque are in high-risk categories according to the Mexican Ministry of the Environment, the highest number for the Mexican regions of Mesoamerica. According to the IUCN, six species are in high-risk categories, seven species are in Data Deficient, and 23 (16%) have not been evaluated yet. According to the Environmental Vulnerability Scores approach, 28 species (20%) are in the high vulnerability category. The Selva Zoque species composition is most similar to Los Tuxtlas and Lacandona regions, and most dissimilar to Sian Ka´an Biosphere Reserve. The reptilian fauna of Selva Zoque has a distinctive composition, with the highest number (11 species) of endemic reptiles in the northern Mesoamerican, and species from two biogeographic provinces: the Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Pacific Coast. These results indicate that the Selva Zoque is the most diverse region in native reptile species in northern Mesoamerica, highlighting it as extremely important for the conservation of the reptile fauna at local (southern Mexico) and regional levels (northern Mesoamerica).

Revision of the Laonice bahusiensis complex (Annelida: Spionidae) with a description of three new species

The morphological reexamination of specimens previously identified as Laonice bahusiensis Sderstrm, 1920 from North European and Mediterranean collections, supported by the molecular analysis of freshly collected material, enabled the recognition of four different species in the region: the genuine L. bahusiensis, L. irinae n. sp. from North European waters, and L. grimaldii n. sp. and L. mediterranea n. sp. from the Mediterranean Sea. The morphology of these species is described and illustrated, and their distributions are clarified based on old and new materials. A key for their identification is also provided. The Bayesian analysis of the COI sequences (483 bp) showed that these four species form a clade, namely the L. bahusiensis species complex, morphologically characterized by the continuous dorsal crests on postbranchiate chaetigers in the adults. The genetic p-distances between the species of the complex ranged from 13.27% to 17.99%, while the intraspecific variability ranged from 0.6% to 1.57%. Together with the sister species Laonice cirrata (Sars, 1851), the L. bahusiensis complex formed the Laonice (Laonice) clade, which is morphologically characterized by the prostomium fused with the anterior peristomial margin. However, the monophyly of the L. bahusiensis complex, as well as that of the clade Laonice (Laonice), needs to be further supported through the analysis of a greater set of genes from a larger number of species.