AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES
Researchers of the Ecuadorian Museum of Natural Sciences (MECN) conducted several herpetological evaluations from 2003 to 2013 in Fundación Jocotoco reserves. A total of 339 species have been identified during their fieldwork, including 100 endemic species and 80 endangered species.
In the year 2000, a new species of frog was discovered by David Kizirian and collaborators in the Tapichalaca Reserve, which was named as Hyloscirtus tapichalaca. So far, this species has been found only in this reserve, and remains one of the rarest and most threatened amphibians in the country.
A few years later, a team of researchers from the MECN (Ecuadorian Museum of Natural Sciences) conducted several herpetological evaluations from 2003 to 2013, to the reserves of Fundación Jocotoco. A total of 339 species were identified during their field research, including 100 endemic species and 80 endangered species. During this work, a large amount of scientific information was generated, which was disseminated through a total of 14 scientific publications that have contributed to the knowledge of the amphibians and reptiles of Ecuador. These publications have contributed with new additions to the Ecuadorian herpetofauna and have included the description of at least three species new to science: the glass frogs Nymphargus buenaventura and Teratohyla sornozai (the latter subsequently synonymized with Rulyrana orejuela) and the lizard Enyalioides touzeti. The work and material obtained in the Canandé Biological Reserve has largely served to build the first regional compendium on biodiversity and the identification of the amphibians and reptiles of Chocó Esmeralda.
The information generated on the diversity of amphibians and reptiles of Fundación Jocotoco reserves represents a significant contribution to the knowledge of these groups.
Each reserve has a solid base for the management of its areas, which can be outlined as a long-term monitoring system for threatened species and to assess the effects of climate change on indicator groups. This information was compiled and published in the book: "Herpetofauna in priority areas for Conservation - The Jocotoco and Ecominga Reserve system", which can be purchased at the foundation's offices.
NEW SPECIES OF FLORA IN THE TAPICHALACA RESERVE
Researchers Nathan Muchhala and Álvaro J. Pérez published the description of a new species of plant that was found in the Tapichalaca Reserve. Burmeistera zamorensis belongs to the family Campanulaceae and is only known from the province of Zamora. The article was published in the Novon magazine: A Journal for Botanical Nomenclature.
NOTE: the article is available in English. Published by: Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri 63121, U.S.A.
NEW LIZARD SPECIES IN THE BUENAVENTURA RESERVE
A new species of lizard was found in one of the reserves of Fundación Jocotoco, according to a study that analyzed individuals from Ecuadorian populations of the genus Anadia, with the objective of defining limits between species.
NOTE: the article is available in Spanish.Published by: Neotropical Biodiversity
NEW ANCIENT SPECIES FOUND IN THE RESERVE OF COPALINGA
A new research published by the European Journal of Taxonomy and carried out by Thibaut Delsinne, Gontran Sonet and David A. Donoso, describes 2 new species of Leptanilloides ants: L. copalinga and L. prometea, one of them found in the Copalinga reserve and in the Andes of southern Ecuador. So far, half of the 14 species of Leptanilloides have been found above 1500 m in the mountainous forests or páramos of the Ecuadorian Andes, confirming the biological importance of caring for these threatened habitats.
NOTE: the article is available in English.
