Hidden diversity of mammals

New species Chilomys georgeledecii. Click to enlarge. Photo: Jorge Brito.

Some groups of animals just don’t get enough love. The little forest mice of the genus Chilomys are such a group. They are hardly ever seen, and they all look pretty much the same at first galnce. Taxonomists have not paid much attention to them, and all specimens of Chilomys from the northern Andes of South America were lazily classified into just one or two species (depending on the taxonomist). However, in recent years there have been suggestions that there may be more species of these little mice. It is hard to know for sure, though. If all we have are a few specimens, each from different locations, how can we know that subtle differences between them are not just due to geographical variation of a single species? And if we have two slightly different specimens from a single location, how do we know that the differences between them are not simply due to individual variation (like hair color in humans)?

In order to answer these questions, we need more information. We need to look at many different individuals in a single location, and we need to look at more locations. And we have to look at many different traits, not just one or two. Then we will be able to see if the individuals can be grouped into discrete groups, with no intermediate individuals between groups. That will indicate the groups probably represent good species; DNA evidence can then be used to confirm this conclusion. (Recall that a biological species is a population that can freely interbreed , but which rarely or never breed with other populations.)

A few years ago a team of scientists led by Jorge Brito began the difficult task of trying to figure out these questions for the small rodents of Ecuador, including Chilomys. I’ve written before about the new genus of mammal that he discovered in the course of this work. This week he finally published the results of his long study of the Chilomys mice. The  new publication reports the discovery of at least five new species of Chilomys mice in Ecuador! Two of them are known only from our Dracula Reserve in northwest Ecuador (province of Carchi), while a third new species is more widespread and occurs in our Naturetrek-Viscaya Reserve in east-central Ecuador (Banos area, province of Tungurahua).

One of the new species from the Dracula Reserve was named Chilomys georgeledecii after the international conservationist George Ledec.  It lives at a wide range of elevations, from 1500m to more than 2300m, and it is one of the smallest members of the genus in Ecuador. It lives in the same forests as the other new species from the Dracula Reserve, which was named C. carapazi after the Olympic bicycle racing gold-medalist Richard Carapaz, who is a native of Carchi province where the species was discovered. He is a hero in Ecuador, a role model and inspiraton, and everyone in Carchi looks up to him. Jorge Brito was very pleased to be able to honor him in this way. This species is the biggest member of the genus and it was found at an elevation of 2350m.

New species Chilomys carapazi, named after Ecuadorian Olympian Richard Carapaz who is from Carchi province. Painting by Glenda Pozo.

Richard Carapaz winning an Olympic Gold Medal for Ecuador. Photo: EFE

Another of the newly recognized species is C. percequilloi, named after a Brazilian mammologist. It lives from 1600m to over 4000m on the eastern slope of the Andes in Ecuador, including our Naturetrek-Viscaya Reserve. Two other species were also discovered, C. neisi from Zamora-Chinchipe and El Oro provinces in Ecuador at 2500-2900m, and  C. weksleri from the west-central Andes of Ecuador from 1600-3200m.

DNA analysis performed by the authors shows that the genus Chilomys is a relatively young genus, less than 2.5 million years old, so the species described here are probably young species which evolved due to repeated Pleistocene isolation events driven by glacial cycles. This is similar to the time scales we see in Andean orchids, but much younger than some of the frog species we have discovered, as I will report shortly.

The previously-hidden diversity of these Chilomys mice is probably not unique. Other closely related genera (Neusticomys, Microryzomys, Oreoryzomys, Neomicroxus, etc)  are also apparently far richer in species than we currently believe. Surely there will be more mammal discoveries to report here soon!

Jorge Brito’s work was made possible in part by donations to EcoMinga by Rainforest Trust and the University of Basel Botanical Gardens. Our reserve guards, especially Eduardo Pena and Fausto Recalde, worked closely with Jorge’s team in the field and helped prepare the specimens. Their salaries are paid by World Land Trust’s Keepers of the Wild porgram and Humans For Abundance.

Lou Jost, Fundacion EcoMinga

Shrew-opossums, our strangest mammals

The shrew-opossum Caenolestes sangay, not exactly cute and cuddly! Photo: Jorge Brito.

Most mammals, including us, are placental mammals. There are two smaller groups of mammals: egg-laying monotremes like the platypus, and marsupials like the opossum and kangaroo. These groups diverged more than a hundred million years ago from the lineage that became the placental mammals, and though they are minor players in the world today, both were more important in the distant past.  Marsupials in particular were once much more important and much more diverse. Marsupials apparently originated in the northern continent that became Asia and North America. About 65Mya marsupials moved from North America into South America, which at this time was also connected to Antarctica and Australia. Around 50-35Mya, at least one species of marsupial made it to what is now Australia via Antarctica, setting the stage for the later diversification of marsupials on that continent as it moved away from Antarctica and into its splendid isolation in the remoteness of the Pacific Ocean.

South American saber-toothed marsupial carnivore Thylacosmilus. Photo: Wikipedia CC.

Fossil evidence shows that ancient South America of 10-40Mya had a rich and ecologically diverse marsupial fauna. Some of them were the size of bears, and others were large predators with two saber-like teeth like those of the famous saber-toothed cats. Some were hopping animals similar to the kangaroo rat, some resembled the present-day North American opossum, and some were arboreal animals resembling primates. There was also a rich and varied group of small and mid-sized rat-like marsupials belonging to the order Paucituberculata, which included both carnivorous and plant-eating genera.

Over time, these strange marsupials slowly disappeared. Only a few species in the order Paucituberculata, and one species (or species complex) in the order Microbiotheria (which may have been  a reverse migrant from the early marsupial diversification in Australia), survive today.

Our reserves protect two of these survivors, the “shrew-opossums” Caenolestes convelatus in our Dracula Reserve and Caenolestes sangay in our Cerro Candelaria Reserve (see Technical Note 1 below). Both shrew-opossums are in the order Paucituberculata and both are mainly predators, feeding on insects, other arthropods, worms, frogs, and small mammals, but they also sometimes eat fruit and fungi. They have two distinctive lower incisors that point straight ahead, like daggers. Caenolestes sangay is a new species described in 2013 by a group of scientists that included our collaborator Jorge Brito. It is exciting to add a previously unknown descendant of this lonely lineage, which diverged from other marsupials 55Mya.

Caenolestes sangay skull, note the dagger-like lower incisors. From Ojala-Barbour et al (2013) A new species of shrew-opossum (Paucituberculata: Caenolestidae) with a phylogeny of extant caenolestids, Journal of Mammology 94: 967-982.

The shrew-opossum Caenolestes sangay. Photo: Jorge Brito.

The shrew-opossum from our Dracula Reserve, Caenolestes convelatus. Photo: Jorge Brito.

In our Dracula and Cerro Candelaria reserves, the resident species of Caenolestes is the sole representative of its order, and this makes its conservation especially important. Conservationists tend to think in terms of species diversity, but we should also pay attention to higher-level diversity. All else being equal, a reserve that contained sloths, manatees, monkeys, bats, and deer would be far more important than a reserve that protected only a set of rodents, even if the number of species were the same in each of the two reserves. A reserve with one species of rat and one species of shrew-opossum is far more diverse and important than an otherwise identical reserve with two species of rat and no species of shrew-opossum. The first reserve protects more unique evolutionary history than the second. I believe this should be the guiding principle of conservation: maximize the amount of unique evolutionary history protected.

Phylogenetic tree of the major mammal groups (orders). The order Paucituberculata, which contains the shrew-opossums, is highlighted in red. Modified from https://www.palaeontologyonline.com/articles/2012/fossil-focus-marsupials/

The amount of unique evolutionary history represented in a given locality is called its “phylogenetic diversity”. In this age of DNA analysis we have reasonably accurate phylogenetic trees for many plant and animal groups. For any given natural group — mammals, for example — the simplest measure of the amount of unique evolutionary history protected at a locality is the total length of all the branches in the phylogenetic tree (including the “trunk” that connects the group to the rest of the organisms in the reserve) of the species found there (see Technical Note 2 for other ways of measuring this). In the case of our shrew-opossum, it has been evolving on its own unique branch for at least 55 million years, so it contributes quite a lot of  phylogenetic diversity to our Cerro Candelaria and Dracula reserves. The shrew-opossums are among the most interesting mammals in our reserves, even though almost no one has ever heard of them.

Lou Jost, Fundacion EcoMinga

Technical notes:

1. The name “Shrew-opossum” can be misleading. Strictly speakimg, the opossums are marsupials in a different order than this animal. I think a better English name for these would be “marsupial shrew”.

2. My colleagues Anne Chao, CH Chiu, and I have developed some more advanced measures of phylogenetic diversity and differentiation: Chao A, Chiu CH, Jost L (2010) Phylogenetic diversity measures based on Hill numbers, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 365:3599–3609 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/47566303_Phylogenetic_diversity_measures_based_on_Hill_numbers

Zarigüeyas-musaraña, nuestros mamíferos más extraños 

IMG 01 – ¡La zarigüeya-musaraña Caenolestes sangay, no exactamente tierna y mimosa *delicada*! Fotografía: Jorge Brito 

La mayoría de mamíferos, incluyéndonos, son mamíferos placentarios. Hay dos grupos más pequeños de mamíferos: los monotremas pone-huevos como el ornitorrinco, y los marsupiales como las musarañas y el canguro. Estos grupos divergieron hace más de cien millones de años atrás del linaje que se volvió de los mamíferos placentarios, y aunque son jugadores menores en el mundo de hoy, ambos fueron más importantes en el pasado distante. Los marsupiales en particular fueron mucho más importantes y mucho más diversos. Aparentemente los marsupiales se originaron en el continente norte que se volvió Asia y Norteamérica. Cerca de 65 millones de años atrás los marsupiales se movieron de Norteamérica a Suramérica, lo cual en ese tiempo también se conectaba a la Antártica y Australia. Cerca de 50-35 millones de años atrás, al menos una especie de marsupial llegó a lo que ahora es Australia a través de la Antártica, preparando el terreno para una diversificación tardía de marsupiales en ese continente a medida que se alejaba de la Antártica y se adentraba en su espléndido aislamiento en la lejanía del Océano Pacífico.  

IMG 02 – Carnívoro marsupial dientes de sable sudamericano Thylacosmilus. Fotografía: Wikipedia 

La evidencia fósil muestra que la antigua Suramérica de hace 10 a 40 millones de años tenía una fauna marsupial rica y ecológicamente diversa. Algunas de ellas tenían el tamaño de osos, y otros eran grandes predadores con dos dientes en forma de sable como los de los famosos felinos dientes de sable. Algunos eran animales saltarines similares a la rata canguro, y algunos parecían a las musarañas norteamericanas de hoy en día, y algunos eran animales arbóreos parecidos a primates. También había un grupo rico y variado de marsupiales similares a ratas de tamaño pequeño y mediano pertenecientes al orden Paucituberculata, el cual incluye géneros carnívoros y herbívoros.  

A lo largo del tiempo, estos marsupiales extraños desaparecieron lentamente. Sólo unas pocas especies en el orden Paucituberculata, y una especie (o complejo de especies) en el orden Microbiotheria (el cual puede haber sido un migrante inverso de la diversificación marsupial temprana en Australia), sobrevive hoy. 

Nuestras reservas protegen dos de estos sobrevivientes, las “musarañas-zarigüeyas” Caenolestes convelatus en nuestra Reserva Drácula y Caenolestes sangay en nuestra Reserva Cerro Candelaria (ver la Nota Técnica 1 a continuación). Ambas zarigüeyas-musarañas están en el orden Paucituberculata y ambos son principalmente depredadoras, alimentándose de insectos, otros artrópodos, gusanos, ranas, y pequeños mamíferos, pero ellos también a veces comen frutas y hongos. Ellos tienen dos incisivos inferiores distintivos que apuntan hacia adelante, como dagas. Caenolestes sangay es una nueva especie descrita en 2013 por un grupo de científicos que incluyen a nuestro colaborador Jorge Brito. Es emocionante añadir un descendiente previamente desconocido a este linaje solitario, el cual divergió de otros marsupiales hace 55 millones de años.  

IMG 03 – Cráneo de Caenolestes sangay, observe los incisivos inferiores en forma de daga. De Ojala-Barbour et al. (2013) Una nueva especie de zarigüeya-musaraña (Paucituberculata: Caenolestidae) con una filogenia de caenolestidos existentes, Journal of Mammology 94:967-982 

IMG 04 – La zarigüeya-musaraña Caenolestes sangay. Fotografía: Jorge Brito 

IMG 05 – La zarigüeya-musaraña de nuestra Reserva Drácula, Caenolestes convelatus. Fotografía: Jorge Brito. 

En nuestras Reservas Drácula y Cerro Candelaria, la especie residente de Caenolestes es la única representante de su orden, y esto hace que su conservación sea especialmente importante. Los conservacionistas tienden a pensar en términos de diversidad de especies pero deberíamos también poner atención a la diversidad de alto nivel. En igualdad de condiciones, una reserva que contiene perezosos, manatís, monos, murciélagos y ciervos sería mucho más importante que una reserva que protege solo a un grupo de roedores, incluso si el número de especies fuera el mismo en cada una de las dos reservas. Una reserva con una especie de rata y una especie de zarigüeya-musaraña es mucho más diversa e importante que una reserva idéntica con dos especies de rata y ninguna especie de zarigüeya-musaraña. La primera reserva protege una historia evolutiva más singular que la segunda. Creo que este debería ser el principio rector de la conservación: maximizar la cantidad de historia evolutiva única protegida.

IMG 06 – Árbol filogenético de la mayoría de los grupos de mamíferos (órdenes). El orden Paucituberculata, el cual contiene las zarigüeyas-musarañas, esta resaltado en rojo. Modificado de: https://www.palaeontologyonline.com/articles/2012/fossil-focus-marsupials/ 

La cantidad de historia evolutiva única representada en una localidad dada es llamada su “diversidad filogenética”. En esta era de análisis de ADN tenemos árboles filogenéticos razonablemente precisos para muchos grupos de plantas y animales. Para cualquier grupo natural dado – mamíferos, por ejemplo – la medida más simple de la cantidad de historia evolutiva única protegida en una localidad es la longitud total de todas las ramas en el árbol filogenético (incluyendo el “tronco” que conecta el grupo al resto de los organismos en la reserva) de las especies encontradas ahí (mire la Nota Técnica 2 para otras maneras de medir esto. En el caso de nuestra zarigüeya-musaraña, ha ido evolucionando por su propia rama por al menos 55 millones de años, de modo que contribuye bastante a la diversidad filogenética de nuestras reservas Cerro Candelaria y Drácula. Las zarigüeyas-musarañas están entre los mamíferos más interesantes en nuestras reservas, incluso aunque casi nadie ha oído hablar sobre ellas. 

Lou Jost, Fundacion EcoMinga 

Traducción: Salomé Solórzano-Flores

 

Notas Tecnicas: 

1. El nombre “zarigüeya-musaraña” puede ser engañoso. Estrictamente hablando las zarigüeyas son marsupiales en un orden diferente que este animal. Creo que un mejor nombre en inglés para esto podría ser “musaraña marsupial” 
2. Mis colegas Anne Chao, CH Chiu, y yo hemos desarrollado algunas medidas más avanzadas para la diferenciación y diversidad filogenética: Chao A, Chiu CH, Jost L (2010) Diversidad filogenética basada en los números de Hill, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 365:3599-3609 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/47566303_Phylogenetic_diversity_measures_based_on_Hill_numbers 

Rainforest Trust’s Species Legacy auction program includes new Dracula Reserve frog, forest mouse, and orchid

New Pristimantis frog. Photo: EcoMinga/Jordy Salazar.

 

[Traducion en espanol abajo]

Tomorrow, December 8, 2018, the Rainforest Trust will put up for auction the naming rights for a number of new species from around the world. The goal is to raise money for Rainforest Trust’s partners, such as EcoMinga, to permanently protect each of these species, and then name each new species after the donor who protects them, or after a person or thing that the donor designates.

Rainforest Trust describes the program as “A historic opportunity to name a species new to science and protect their habitat… Rainforest Trust is celebrating 30 years of conservation success with the largest ever public auction of species naming rights. The twelve newly discovered species pictured below need scientific recognition and we’re providing an exclusive opportunity to preserve your legacy through purchasing the naming rights. Or bid to give the ultimate gift to a loved one this holiday season! Proceeds from this auction go directly to the nature reserves in which these species live, so a bid for one of these species’ names is a chance to both save them from extinction and honor someone or something you care about.”

Rainforest Trust has included three species from the Dracula Reserve and its vicinity, including the most beautiful frog of the whole auction, and the only mammal, and the biggest orchid:

 

New Pristimantis frog. Photo: Mario Yanez

Pristimantis sp. nov.  (blue eyes)

This stunning new frog with unusual blue to blue-gray eyes was featured in an earlier post. It was found after a long journey into one of the best foothill forests our herpetologist reserve manager, Juan Pablo Reyes, had ever seen in western Ecuador. This forest is adjacent to our current Dracula Reserve, and a target for future purchase, so Juan Pablo and Mario Yanez (INABIO) were charged with investigating it. On their first night in this magnificent forest, these experienced frog scientists quickly became aware of a series of strange unfamiliar frog songs, most of them coming from the canopy above their heads. (Like the best birdwatchers, good frog scientists know the calls of all the local frogs, and hunt for new species mostly by sound.) Searching for the sources of these calls with their flashlights, Juan Pablo and Mario finally located the eye reflections of one of the mystery frogs singing on an aroid leaf about 3.5 meters above  the ground. Juan Pablo climbed a neighboring trunk and was able to use a stick to knock off the leaf, which spun to the ground while the frog stuck firmly to its surface! The herpetologists caught it, and the moment they saw its blue eyes contrasting with the yellow body mottled with brown, they knew they had found a species new to science.

 

New forest mouse. Photo: Jorge Brito

Chilomys sp. nov.

This little animal was first encountered during our initial Dracula Reserve expedition in 2015, with scientists from the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO) and University of Basel (Switzerland) in search of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Jorge Brito from INABIO was the mammal expert. During the first week of the expedition very few animals were found, but among them were three small individuals in the small genus Chilomys (forest mice) that caught Jorge’s attention, since there were no reports of a Chilomys like this from the region. He could not identify them to species at that time, and listed them as “Chilomys sp.” in his report. No more individuals were found until a new expedition in 2016, when more were found in the highest part of the reserve. With these new individuals Jorge was able to judge the range of variation in the species’ traits. Another individual was collected in 2018 in one of the lower parts of the reserve, showing that this animal was in fact widely distributed throughout our Dracula Reserve mosaic, though most abundant in the highest parts.

Once all the individuals were studied, it became clear that these enigmatic mice were different from the other known species of Chilomys, showing that the region protected by the Dracula Reserve was not only special for plants and frogs but also for mammals.

 

New Trevoria orchid. Photo: Luis Baquero

Trevoria sp. nov. (orchid)

This species discovery needed a lot of patience. The first known plant was found eight years ago in a remote part of what is now our Dracula Reserve, by orchidologist Luis Baquero and local resident Hector Yela, who is now our reserve guard. It did not have flowers so nothing could be concluded about it. Over the succeeding years several other plants were found in distant parts of the future Dracula Reserve, always without flowers. One of them was collected alive and kept in the Quito Botanical Garden, where it finally flowered for the first time this year. The flower has a strong odor of olive oil. Sadly the creation of our reserve did not happen in time to save the largest population of this species, but we have  managed to protect some of the other populations.

Please spread the word about this opportunity to support conservation and name a species. Remember, tomorrow is the day!

Lou Jost, Fundacion EcoMinga

Nuevas especies de ranas, orquídeas y ratones de bosque de la Reserva Drácula se incluyen en Subasta de Nominación de Especies de Rainforest Trust

Traducido por: Alejandra Solórzano Flores

 

IMG 01- Nueva rana de Pristimantis. Fotografía: EcoMinga/Jordy Salazar.

 

Mañana, 8 de diciembre 2018, la organización Rainforest Trust pondrá en subasta los derechos para nombrar nuevas especies alrededor del mundo. La meta es recaudar dinero para los socios de Rainforest Trust, como EcoMinga, para proteger permanentemente cada una de estas especies, y nombrar cada nueva especie en honor del donador que las protege, o de una persona o cosa que el donador designe.

Rainforest Trust describe el programa como “Una oportunidad histórica de nombrar una especie nueva para la ciencia y proteger su háibitat… Rainforest Trust está celebrando 30 años de éxito en conservación con la mayor subasta pública de derechos para la denominación de especies. Las 12 nuevas especies descubiertas que se muestran a continuación necesitan un reconocimiento científico y estamos brindando una oportunidad exclusiva para preservar su legado mediante la compra de los derechos de nominación. ¡O haga una oferta para darle el mejor regalo a un ser querido en estas fiestas! Los ingresos de esta subasta irán directamente a las reservas naturales en las cuales estas especies viven, por lo que una oferta por la nominación de estas especies es una oportunidad para salvarlas de la extinción y honrar a alguien o algo por quien te preocupas“.

Rainforest Trust ha incluido tres especies de la Reserva Dracula y sus alrededores, incluyendo el más hermoso anfibio de la subasta, el único mamífero, y la orquídea más grande.

IMG 02 – Nueva rana Pristimantis. Fotografía: Mario Yanez

Pristimantis sp. nov.  (ojos azules)

Este nuevo anfibio con inusuales ojos azules a gris-azules fueron reportados en un post anterior. Fue encontrado después de un largo viaje en uno de los mejores bosques de las estribaciones que nuestro gerente de reserva herpetólogo, Juan Pablo Reyes, ha visto alguna vez en el oeste de Ecuador. Este bosque se encuentra adyacente a nuestra Reserva Drácula actual, y es un objetivo para futuras adquisiciones, así que Juan Pablo y Mario Yánez (INABIO) se encargaron de investigarlo. Durante la primera noche en este magnifico bosque, estos cientificos experimentados en ranas se dieron cuenta rápidamente de una serie de extraños cantos de rana desconocidos, muchas de ellos provenientes del dosel sobre sus cabezas (Como los mejores observadores de aves, los buenos científicos de ranas conocen las llamadas de todos las las ranas locales, y buscan nuevas especies en su mayoría por el sonido). Buscando la fuente de estas llamadas con sus linternas, Juan Pablo y Mario finalmente encontraron el reflejo de los ojos de una de las misteriosas ranas cantando en una hoja de aracea unos 3.5 metros sobre el suelo. Juan Pablo trepó un tronco vecino y logró usar un palo para golpear la hoja, la cual cayó al suelo mientras la rana se sostenía firmemente a su superficie! Los herpetólogos la atraparon, y el momento que vieron sus ojos azules contrastando con su cuerpo amarillo con manchas color café, supieron que habían encontrado una nueva especie para la ciencia.

IMG 03 – Nuevo ratón de bosque. Fotografía: Jorge Brito

Chilomys sp. nov.

Este pequeño animal fue encontrado primero durante nuestra expedicioón inicial a Reserva Drácula en 2015, con científicos del Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO) y la Universidad de Basilea (Suiza) en la búsqueda de mamíferos, reptiles y anfibios. Jorge Brito del INABIO fue el experto en mamíferos. Durante la primera semana de la expedición, muy pocos animales fueron encontrados, pero entre ellos hubo tres pequeños individuos del género Chilomys (ratón del bosque) que captó la atención de Jorge, ya que no había reportes de Chilomys como este en la región. Él no pudo identificar la especie en este momento, y lo enlistó como “Chilomys sp.” en su informe. No se encontraron más individuos  hasta una nueva expedición en 2016, cuando se encontraron más en la parte más alta de la reserva. Con estos nuevos individos Jorge fue capaz de evaluar el rango de variacion de las características de esta especie. Otro individuo fue colectado en 2018 en una de las partes más bajas de la reserva, demostrando que, de hecho, este animal se distribuye ampliamente dentro del mosaico de nuestra Reserva Drácula, aunque es más abundante en las partes altas.

Una vez todos los individuos fueron estudiados, se volvió claro que estos enigmáticos ratones eran diferentes de otras especies conocidas de Chilomys, demostrando que el área protegida por la Reserva Drácula no fue especial sólo para plantas y anfibios, si no también para mamíferos.

IMG 04 – Nueva orquídea Trevoria. Fotografía: Luis Baquero

Trevoria sp. nov. (orquídea)

El descubrimiento de esta especie necesitó de mucha paciencia. La primera planta conocida fue encontrada ocho años atrás en una parte remora nde lo que hoy es Reserva Drácula por el orquideólogo Luis Baquero y el residente local Héctor Yela, quien ahora es nuestro guardia de la reserva. El individuo no tenía flores, así que no podía concluirse nada acerca de este. A lo largo de los siguientes años, muchas otras plantas se encontraron en diferentes partes de la futura Reserva Drácula, siempre sin flores. Una de ellas se colectó viva y se envió al Jardín Botánico de Quito, donde finalmente floreció por primera vez ese año. La flor tenía un fuerte aroma a aceite de oliva. Tristemente la creación de nuestra reserva no ocurrió a tiempo para salvar a la población más grande de esta especie, pero hemos logrado proteger a algunas de las otras poblaciones.

Por favor difundan la voz acerca de esta oportunidad para apoyar la conservación y nombrar una especie. Recuerden, mañana es el día!

Lou Jost, fundación EcoMinga.

…

New species of Anolis lizard described from our Dracula Reserve

The new Anolis lizard. Photo: Juan Pablo Reyes/EcoMinga

The deep, dry Rio Mira valley separates the montane forests protected by our Dracula Reserve from the montane forests further south (such as those protected by our Manduriacu Reserve). Evidently this Rio Mira valley has served as a barrier for many cloud forest organisms over evolutionary time, leading to the evolution of different sister species on each side. The endangered Andean toads Rhaebo olallai in Manduriacu and Rhaebo colomai in the Dracula Reserve may form such a species pair. A pair of still-undescribed forest mice, one in Manduriacu and the other in the Dracula Reserve, appear to be another instance of this phenomenon. EcoMinga’s Juan Pablo Reyes and his colleagues at the National Institute of Biodiversity (INABIO) have just added another example of this divergence, as they published a description of a new species of Anolis lizard from the Dracula Reserve that is the sister species of a common Anolis south of the Rio Mira. The article is published in ZooKeys.

 

The Mira valley separates the new species, Anolis dracula, from its sister species A. aequatorialis. Map from the article.

This lizard is the most common Anolis of the area. Here is a comparison, from the article, of the new species and its closest relative, A. aequatorialis:

Top: Anolis dracula. Bottom: A. aequatorialis. From the article.

The scientists who discovered this species were supported in this investigation by INABIO (National Institute for Biodiversity), SENECYT, UNAM (Mexico), the University of Basel Botanical Garden, and EcoMinga. We strongly believe that science should drive conservation, and we always encourage scientists to investigate our reserves. We provide logistical support and sometimes can also help fund studies. Such investigations help us understand the diversity we protect, and let us identify and prioritize new areas for conservation our conservation purchases.

We would like to thank recent donors who make these investigations and land purchases possible: World Land Trust, Rainforest Trust, Orchid Conservation Alliance, University of Basel Botanical Garden, Andean Studies Program, Fundacion Condor, and individuals including Henri Botter and Ardy Van Ooij, Judith Rapacz, Mark Wilson, Vera Lee Rao, and Vicki Byrd.

Lou Jost, Fundacion EcoMinga

New orchid species discovered in our Dracula Reserve: Pleurothallis chicalensis

Pleurothallis chicalensis. Photo: Andreas Kay

Our Dracula Reserve in northwest Ecuador has been the source of many orchid discoveries lately, so many in fact that I am rather far behind in reporting them here.  This is the newest discovery, just published yesterday by M. Jimenez, L. Baquero, M. Wilson, and G. Iturralde in the journal Lankesteriana. It is a bright yellow Pleurothallis which was first found by Luis Baquero and Gabriel Iturralde, and later found by Javier Robayo (EcoMinga’s executive director), Hector Yela (our reserve guard) and Andreas Kay (photographer and author of the web page Ecuador Megadiverso) in 2013 in what is now the Cerro Oscuro unit of our Dracula Reserve. The first scientific collection was made in 2016 by Luis Baquero, one of the architects of our reserve design. He found it near what is now the Cerro Colorado unit of the Dracula Reserve, and again on Cerro Oscuro. It was also recognized in a photograph taken near the La Planada reserve in nearby Colombia. The authors named it after the small town of Chical, the nearest community, so that community members might feel some pride in the biodiversity of the magnificent forests which still survive there.

Pleurothallis chicalensis plant. Note flower at far right. Photo: Andreas Kay.