2001. Volume 8. No. 3. Contents

THE AGAMID LIZARD Ptyctolaemus phuwuanensis MANTHEY AND NABHITABHATA, 1991 FROM THAILAND AND LAOS REPRESENTS A NEW GENUS

Natalia B. Ananjeva and Bryan L. Stuart

New material of Ptyctolaemus phuwuanensis is described. This rock-dwelling agamid from Thailand and Laos differs from all other draconines including Ptyctolaemus gularis (the type species of the genus) by having femoral pores, and from all other agamids by having the combination of femoral pores and haired skin sense organs. The taxon is described here as a new genus.

Key Words: Agamidae, Draconinae, Ptyctolaemus, Thailand, Laos, femoral pores, new genus.

PLIOCENE ANURANS OF EAST-EUROPEAN PLATFORM

Viatcheslav Yu. Ratnikov

The brief review of eleven Pliocene East-European localities of Anura and their taxonomic composition is presented. Species composition of herpetofauna distinguishes it from later Pleistocene ones.

Key Words: Anura, Pliocene, East-European platform.

JAW APPARATUS OF THE PERMANENT-AQUATIC URODELA: PAEDOMORPHOSIS, NEOTENY, AND FEEDING ADAPTATIONS

Nikolai N. Iordansky

Patterns of distribution of larval, adult and specialized characters in the skull and jaw musculature are compared in the adult paedomorphic perennibranchiate urodelans (Siren, Necturus, Proteus, Amphiuma, Megalobatrachus ) and neotenic axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum). These patterns are essentially different in the neotenic and paedomorphic forms, and also in various species of the perennibranchiates. The neoteny (unhereditary ontogenetic modifications) and paedomorphosis (evolutionary hereditary transformations of ontogenesis) are quite different phenomena, in spite of external similarity of their phenotypic manifestations. The data under consideration do not correspond with the hypotheses assuming possibility of transformation of neoteny into paedomorphosis and high tempo of the paedomorphic macroevolution. The adaptive roles of some paedomorphic and specialized characters of the jaw apparatus in permanent-aquatic salamanders are discussed, with special attention to Amphiuma and Siren.

Key Words: Paedomorphosis, Neoteny, Urodela, Skull, Jaw musculature, Adaptation, Evolution.

FORMATION OF THE SCAPULAR PART OF THE PECTORAL GIRDLE IN ANURAN LARVAE

Natalja V. Baleeva

The development of the scapular part of the pectoral girdle was traced from the limb bud stage to the metamorphosis climax in three anuran species of different families: Rana temporaria, Bufo bufo, and Bombina bombina. It was found that the scapular part originates from two independent anlagen - the "upper-scapular" and the "lower-scapular". These anlagen fuse together forming a unified cartilaginous element at the stage of young (nonhypertrophied) cartilage. The boundary between the definitive scapula and the suprascapula passes within the lower anlage. This boundary is a synchondrosis arising under the influence of m. interscapularis. The ratio of the scapula and the suprascapula length is determined by the place of m. interscapularis formation.

Key Words: Anura, development, scapula, suprascapula, synchondrosis, pectoral girdle.

A MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF STEJNEGER'S PITVIPER Trimeresurus stejnegeri (SERPENTES, VIPERIDAE, CROTALINAE), WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES FROM THAILAND

Patrick David, Nicolas Vidal, and Olivier S. G. Pauwels

The status of populations currently referred to the green pitviper Trimeresurus stejnegeri in the Indochinese Peninsula and Thailand is reevaluated on the basis of 30 morphological characters obtained from 152 preserved specimens of T. stejnegeri and related species. These data, in conjunction with observations on living and freshly collected specimens, reveal the existence of an undescribed species from eastern central Thailand, which is named here. Preliminary comparisons with various populations of T. stejnegeri from China and the Indochinese Peninsula and a taxonomic discussion are also provided.

Key Words: Reptilia, Serpentes, Viperidae, Crotalinae, Trimeresurus, Trimeresurus stejnegeri, China, Thailand, Vietnam.

HERPETOGEOGRAPHICAL REGIONALIZATION OF THE RUSSIA AND ADJACENT COUNTRIES

V. V. Bobrov and G. M. Aleshchenko

Zoogeographical regionalization of the territory of the former USSR based on distribution of terrestrial reptiles is presented. A scheme of the zoogeographical subdivisions based on cluster analysis using Jaccard coefficients of the distribution of terrestrial reptiles is given. Reptilian fauna of the former Soviet Union is composed of 3 orders, 18 families, 59 genera, and 175 species. The areas compared were the 130 primary areas. These areas were delimited through examination of areal borders of families of reptiles. On the basis of source literature, the paper presents the analysis of spatial distribution of reptiles in 130 primary areas of the former USSR. According to the scheme of zoogeographic divisions the territory constitutes a part of the Palaearctic zoogeographical region, with 8 subregions (Euro-Siberian forest, Eastern-Asian forest, Eurasian steppe-semidesert, Mediterranean mountain-forest, Asian Anterior desert, Sahara-Gobian desert, Middle-Asian mountain, and Central-Asian mountain), 22 superprovinces, and 64 provinces.

Key Words: Reptiles, zoogeography, the former USSR.

NEW RECORD OF Walterinnesia aegyptia LATASTE, 1887 (OPHIDIA: ELAPIDAE: BUNGARINAE) IN TURKEY

Ismail H. Ugurtas, Theodore J. Papenfuss, and Nikolai L. Orlov

During a night excursion on September 8, 2000, in southern Turkey, 4 km from the town ªanliurfa (= Urfa) (by the highway towards the town Gaziantep), adult female Walterinnesia aegyptia was collected. It is the first record for the monotypic genus Walterinnesia and supplement of the family Elapidae to the herpetofauna of Turkey. Detailed description of this specimen (CAS⁴ N220647) is presented.

Key words: Reptilia, Serpentes, Elapidae, Bungarinae, Walterinnesia aegyptia, distribution, Turkey.