Works on Animal Behavior and Reproduction

A new species of the genus Scincella Mittleman, 1950, is described from Yunnan Province, China, based on an integrative taxonomic approach combining morphological and molecular ev…

Our study reports a new distribution record for the recently described species Boulenophrys daxuemontis in Nayong County, Guizhou Province, expanding its known range. Furthermore,…

The genus Gracixalus is a group of small and medium-sized rhacophorid frogs for which many new species have been described recently, yet little is known about their biology. Graci…

We describe a new species of large-bodied, rock-dwelling gecko of the genus Hemidactylus from the Eastern Ghats of Odisha, India. The new species is genetically distinct, as alrea…

Body color abnormalities can significantly affect reptile fitness, as coloration plays a key role in ecological interactions such as mate selection, predator avoidance, and protec…

Snakes heavily depend on chemical communication and use chemical cues for trailing, foraging, searching for mates, and other behaviors. Snake pheromones reported so far are comple…

We describe a new species of lance-headed pit viper from north-western Laos, based on morphological and molecular (6092 bp from cyt b, ND4, COI, 12S rRNA and 16S rRNA mitochondria…

The Atelopus (or harlequin frogs) have become a symbol of the ongoing efforts to conserve biodiversity in Ecuador over the past few decades. Atelopus ignescens, also known as jamb…

Female reproductive effort is defined as the proportion of total energy or resources devoted to reproduction. In reptiles, there is frequently high inter- and intra-population var…

Sexual head dimorphism is a condition where head morphology of male and female of the same species differ, which provides an additional way to recognise sex for species identifica…

In this study, the advertisement calls of Leptobrachella suiyangensis and Leptobrachella bashaensis are described. The advertisement call of L. suiyangensis includes simple and co…

From July to October 2015, a study was conducted on the water monitors (Varanus salvator macromaculatus) at Dusit Zoo in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 90 monitors were captured, m…

Aggregations (e.g. group basking) by snakes are usually limited to specific life cycle phases (e.g. mating) or are a consequence of drastic environmental changes (e.g. habitat des…

We describe a new saxicolous species of Lepidophyma from the Sierra Madre Oriental, in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico and provide morphological and molecular data to support the …

When several male snakes dispute over one female in the breeding season, two major male-male rivalries are known to occur: male-male combat and multimale breeding aggregation. The…

In this work, we describe the first records of head-wobble behaviour for Tachymenis peruviana and T. chilensis coronellina. We analyse this behaviour (occurrence, frequency) and a…

Lepidodactylus lugubris is known from tropical Asia, Oceania, and Latin America, but in China it was previously known only from Taiwan Island. In this paper, we report a new herpe…

Some new cases of anomalies in wild Bufotes viridis from Western Poland are presented together with a discussion of their potential causes and a comparison with similar cases from…

A new species of bent-toed geckos of the genus Cyrtodactylus is described from western Arunachal Pradesh. The new species is a member of the Indo-Burma clade and is embedded withi…

The genus Lygosoma Hardwicke & Gray, 1827 is a group of semi-fossorial supple skink from Southeast Asia, the members of which are still understudied in Indochina. Lysosoma quadrup…

The European green toad, Bufotes viridis (Laurenti, 1768), is a rare and protected species in Vienna. In spring and summer 2020, we conducted a survey to assess size and status of…

In anurans, the different types of anti-predator behaviour have been documented in isolation, but some species have shown synergistic strategies in different situations. The displ…

Bite force can be an important aspect of a lizard’s organismal performance, and is likely to be subject to influence by ambient conditions including an individual’s thermal enviro…

Among amphibians, conspecific chemical communication has been widely studied in Caudata. Adult anurans, by contrast, have received less attention. Recently, it was shown that chem…

Understanding population dynamics is vital in amphibian conservation. To compare demography and movements, we conducted a capture-recapture study over three spring seasons in two …

Research on navigation in animals is hampered by conflicting results and failed replications. In order to assess the generality of previous results, male Bufo bufo were collected …

Clutch size and number of clutches per reproductive cycle are important life history traits that can be influenced by anatomical, physiological, evolutionary, and ecological facto…

In Chile, the presence of Mourning Gecko, Lepidodactylus lugubris Duméril & Bibron, 1836 has been recognized for Easter Island (Rapa Nui) from late 19th century. Here, we report t…

The poorly known semi-fossorial snake Blythia reticulata is a small, oviparous, worm-eating species found in northeastern India and neighboring countries. Here we report on multip…

This study presents the first molecular evidence of Macrovipera razii from central Zagros, more than 300 km north-west of its prior records in southern Iran. Molecular analyses ba…

Alsodes pehuenche, an endemic anuran that inhabits the Andes of Argentina and Chile, is considered “Critically Endangered” due to its restricted geographical distribution and mult…

Clutch size (CS) and relative clutch mass (RCM) are considered important features in life history descriptions of species within Squamata. Variations in these two characteristics …

Locomotor performance is a fundamental feature commonly related to many animals’ fitness. In most cases, locomotor performance is closely related to morphology of the structures r…

Amphibians are highly sensitive to environmental changes such as climate warming. Here, we report unusually early oviposition in two spatially isolated urban subpopulations of the…

Anurans emit a variety of acoustic signals in different behavioral contexts during the breeding season. The release call is a signal produced by the frog when it is inappropriatel…

We characterized the body size (as snout-vent length), age, sexual size dimorphism, and growth rate in a population of one of the larger riparian frog from Madagascar (Mantidactyl…

Natural diets of anuran larvae vary widely in their relative amounts of nutrients. The proportion of these ingested nutrients has significant influence on larval and post-metamorp…

We monitored the population size of the agile frog (Rana dalmatina) and the common toad (Bufo bufo) from 2011 or 2012, respectively, to the year 2017 at a syntopic breeding site i…

Introductions of non-native species (NNS) are major drivers of biodiversity loss. Gammarids (Crustacea, Gammaroidea) have been particularly successful in establishing and spreadin…

Biological invasions constitute an opportunity to study the evolutionary processes behind species’ adaptations. The invasive potential of some species, like the Argentine ant (Lin…

The presence of a predator affects prey populations either by direct predation or by modifying various parts of their life history. We investigated whether the hatching time, deve…

Invasive alien species (IAS) are major drivers of global biodiversity loss, and the poorly regulated international pet trade is a source of emerging and future invaders. Predictio…

Cities are focal points of introduction for invasive species. Urban evolution might facilitate the success of invasive species in recipient urban habitats. Here we test this hypot…

The taxonomy of the Tetramorium naganum, T. plesiarum, T. schaufussii, and T. severini species groups are revised for the Malagasy region. A total of 31 species are treated, of wh…

In this study we synonymise the genus Decamorium Forel under Tetramorium Mayr, revise the new T. decem species group by providing a diagnosis of the group, an illustrated identifi…

Four new species of the Mouse Spider genus Missulena Walckenaer, 1805 (family Actinopodidae) are described from Western Australia based on morphological features of adult males. M…

We describe a new species of Alopoglossus from the Pacific slopes of the Andes in northern Ecuador based on morphological and molecular evidence. The new species differs most sign…

We describe a new species of the bufonid toad genus Rhinella from transition montane forest of the buffer zones of the Yanachaga-Chemillén National Park and the Pui Pui Protected …

We review the systematics of the Hypsiboas calcaratus species complex, a group of widely distributed Amazonian hylid frogs. A comprehensive analysis of genetic, morphological, and…

Few data are available on the morphology of the hemipenis of teiid lizards, especially those of the recently-defined genus Tupinambis, a widely-distributed group of large-bodied l…