PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Describing biodiversity on tight budgets: 3 new Andean lizards discovered

2013-12-18
(Press-News.org) Contact information: César Aguilar
caguilarp@gmail.com
Pensoft Publishers
Describing biodiversity on tight budgets: 3 new Andean lizards discovered

Three beautiful new lizards from the Andes of Peru have been delimited and discovered using different lines of evidences by Peruvian and American biologists from San Marcos and Brigham Young universities respectively. The study was published in the open access journal Zookeys.

These lizards have been "hidden" and confused with other lizards of the same group because of their overall similar appearance. However this study, which includes molecular, ecological and more detailed morphological analyses, has identified them as new species. This research can be seen as an example of a midpoint between, on one extreme, species delimitation studies which rely on expensive molecular data and rarely include descriptions of new species, and at the other extreme, species descriptions that rely on morphology and rarely include more than elementary analyses.

The new study shows that with few resources, multiple different lines of evidence can be integrated to discover new species and provide a basis for more stable scientific names. Species with scientific names are crucial because they become "visible" to national and international governments and organizations devoted to biodiversity conservation. Species delimited but not formally described and without scientific names don't exist in the real world, and this is an issue of pivotal importance in the Andean, Patagonian, and Neotropical regions of South America.

The new species are named for and dedicated to two different old Andean civilizations, Chavín and Wari, and an Inca ruler, Pachacutec. Liolaemus pachacutec was found above Písac, an Inca ruin built by Pachacutec. Liolaemus chavin was found in an area close to the center of the Chavín culture, where reptiles and other animals were represented in some remarkable artistic expressions. Liolaemus wari was found close to the center of Wari culture, in Ayacucho department, southeastern Peru.



INFORMATION:

Original Source:

Aguilar C, Wood PL Jr, Cusi JC, Guzmán A, Huari F, Lundberg M, Mortensen E, Ramírez C, Robles D, Suárez J, Ticona A, Vargas VJ, Venegas PJ, Sites JW Jr (2013) Integrative taxonomy and preliminary assessment of species limits in the Liolaemus walkeri complex (Squamata, Liolaemidae) with descriptions of three new species from Peru. ZooKeys 364: 47. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.364.6109

Contacts:

César Aguilar
Email: caguilarp@gmail.com

Jack Sites
Email: jack_sites@byu.edu



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Packaging insulin into a pill-friendly form for diabetes treatment

2013-12-18
Packaging insulin into a pill-friendly form for diabetes treatment Since insulin's crucial discovery nearly a century ago, countless diabetes patients have had to inject themselves with the life-saving medicine. Now scientists are reporting a new development ...

Tropical forests mitigate extreme weather events

2013-12-18
Tropical forests mitigate extreme weather events Tropical forests reduce peak runoff during storms and release stored water during droughts, according to researchers working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Their results lend ...

Vemurafenib: Result unchanged despite new data

2013-12-18
Vemurafenib: Result unchanged despite new data Results from later analysis dates uncertain because patients switched between treatments Pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), the German ...

Toward lowering titanium's cost and environmental footprint for lightweight products

2013-12-18
Toward lowering titanium's cost and environmental footprint for lightweight products A novel method for extracting titanium, a metal highly valued for its light weight, high strength, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility, could lower its cost and make ...

44 percent of adults worry e-cigarettes will encourage kids to start smoking tobacco

2013-12-18
44 percent of adults worry e-cigarettes will encourage kids to start smoking tobacco Almost half of parents concerned their child will try e-cigarettes; support high for prohibiting sale to kids, says U-M National Poll on Children's Health ANN ARBOR, Mich. ...

Suggested ban on trans fat begs the question: Are substitutes any healthier?

2013-12-18
Suggested ban on trans fat begs the question: Are substitutes any healthier? Health advocates cheered last month's U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposal to ban partially hydrogenated oils — which contain trans fats that increase the risk of heart ...

Toward lowering titanium's cost and environment

2013-12-18
Toward lowering titanium's cost and environment In the quest to shrink motors so they can maneuver in tiny spaces like inside and between human cells, scientists have taken inspiration from millions of years of plant evolution and incorporated, for the first ...

Leading health care executives optimistic about health care reform, Penn survey shows

2013-12-18
Leading health care executives optimistic about health care reform, Penn survey shows Views differ sharply from general public, politicians, and commentators Philadelphia - Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of the nation's leading health ...

Liver cells benefit from mesenchymal stem cell co-culture prior to transplantation

2013-12-18
Liver cells benefit from mesenchymal stem cell co-culture prior to transplantation Putnam Valley, NY. (Dec. 18, 2013) – Hepatocyte (liver cell) transplantation is becoming an accepted therapy for acute liver failure, either for ...

Preferable treatment for MS found in allogenic bone marrow stem cells

2013-12-18
Preferable treatment for MS found in allogenic bone marrow stem cells MSCs isolated from MS patients have decreased suppressive function compared to those of healthy counterparts Putnam Valley, NY. (Dec. 18, 2013) – Multiple sclerosis ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New research boosts future whooping cough vaccines

Mechanistic understanding could enable better fast-charging batteries

No bones about it: new details about skeletal cell aging revealed

UNM scientists discover how nanoparticles of toxic metal used in MRI scans infiltrate human tissue

UMaine research examines best methods for growing Atlantic sea scallops

Medical cannabis could speed recovery, especially at community recovery homes

Study assesses U.S. image amid weakening of democracy

Two scientific researchers to receive 2025 Ralph L. Sacco Scholarships for Brain Health

Researchers improve chemical reaction that underpins products from foods to fuels

Texas Tech to develop semiconductor power devices through $6 million grant

Novel genomic screening tool enables precision reverse-engineering of genetic programming in cells

Hot Schrödinger cat states created

How cells repair their power plants

Oxygen is running low in inland waters—and humans are to blame

ACP’s Best Practice Advice addresses use of cannabis, cannabinoids for chronic noncancer pain

Beyond photorespiration: A systematic approach to unlocking enhanced plant productivity

How a small number of mutations can fuel outbreaks of western equine encephalitis virus

Exposure to wildfire smoke linked with worsening mental health conditions

Research uncovers hidden spread of one of the most common hospital-associated infections

Many older adults send their doctors portal messages, but who pays?

Fine particulate matter from 2020 California wildfires and mental health–related emergency department visits

Gender inequity in institutional leadership roles in US academic medical centers

Pancreatic cells ‘remember’ epigenetic precancerous marks without genetic sequence mutations

Rare combination of ovarian tumors found in one patient

AI-driven clinical recommendations may aid physician decision making to improve quality of care

Artificial intelligence has potential to aid physician decisions during virtual urgent care

ACP and Annals of Internal Medicine present breaking scientific news at ACP’s Internal Medicine Meeting 2025

New study reveals polymers with flawed fillers boost heat transfer in plastics

Signs identified that precede sudden arrhythmic death syndrome in young people

Discovery of bacteria's defence against viruses becomes a piece of the puzzle against resistance

[Press-News.org] Describing biodiversity on tight budgets: 3 new Andean lizards discovered