Morphological and Molecular Data Revealed One New Species of the Short-legged Toads Brachytarsophrys Tian and Hu,1983(Anura,Megophryidae)from Yunnan,China

A new species of the genus Brachytarsophrys,named Brachytarsophrys wenshanensis sp.nov.,has been identified in southeastern Yunnan,China.This new species can be readily distinguished from other known congeners by both morphological criterion and molecular analysis of three mitochondrial gene segments:16S,COI,and Cytb.This classification is based on the following morphological characters:(1)medium body size(SVL 83.8–85.1 mm in two adult males);(2)enormous head,with head width nearly 1.2 times the length;(3)tongue pyriform,feebly notched;(4)non-meeting heels;(5)male lacking nuptial pad;(6)tibiotarsal articulation reaching angle of mouth when hindlimbs are extended forward alongside the body;(7)absence of outer metatarsal tubercle,inner metatarsal tubercle elliptic and approximately equal to first toe;(8)rudimentary toe webbing,webbing formula:Ⅰ(2–)–(2^(++))Ⅱ(2^(–))–(3^(++))Ⅲ(2^(½))–(4)Ⅳ(4^(+))–(2^(⅔))V;(9)lateral fringes narrow;(10)dermal ridge or glandular fold on dorsum absent;(11)pectoral glands distinct and irregular,femoral gland small.Our work increases the number of species within the genus Brachytarsophrys to 9.

The particle fluxes in sediment traps from Niulang Guyot area in the Northwest Pacific Ocean

The flux of settling particles in the ocean has been widely explored since 1980s due to its important role in biogenic elements cycling,especially in the transport of particulate organic carbon(POC)in the deep sea.However,research in the seamount area of the oligotrophic subtropical Northwest Pacific Ocean is lacking.In this work,two sediment traps were deployed at the foot and another two at the hillside of Niulang Guyot from August2017 to July 2018.The magnitude and composition of particle fluxes were measured.The main factors influencing the spatial variations of the fluxes were evaluated.Our results indicated a low particulate flux from Niulang Guyot area in the Northwest Pacific Ocean,reflecting low primary productivity of the oligotrophic ocean.The total mass flux(TMF)decreased from 2.57 g/(m^(2)·a)to 0.56 g/(m^(2)·a)with increasing depth from 600 m to 4850 m.A clear seasonal pattern of TMF was observed,with higher flux in summer than that in winter.The peak flux of 26.52 mg/(m^(2)·d)occurred in August at 600 m,while the lowest value of 0.07 mg/(m^(2)·d)was shown in February at 4850 m.The settling particles at the deep layers had similar biochemical composition,with calcium carbonate(CaCO_(3))accounting for up to 90%,followed by organic matter and opal,characteristics of Carbonate Ocean.The POC flux decreased more rapidly in the twilight layer because of faster decomposition,remineralization,and higher temperature.A small fraction of POC was transported into the deep ocean by biological pump.Particle fluxes were mainly controlled by the calcareous ballasts besides the primary productivity of the surface water.The advection may be another important factor affecting the flux in the seamount area.The combination of settled matters rich in foraminiferal tests with topography and currents may be the reason for regulating the local abundance of benthos on seamounts.Our results will fill in the knowledge gap of sedimentation flux,improve the understanding of ecosystem in Niulang Guyot area,and eventually provide data support for the optimization of regional ecological modeling.

Temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of nutrients in Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone in the Pacific in 2017

This research investigated eight stations in Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone(CCFZ)in the eastern tropical Pacific in 2017 to study the spatial distribution characteristics of nutrients and chlorophyll a(Chi a)concentration,and compared nutrient concentrations and molar ratios with those of other investigations 20 years ago in the same area.The study found that dissolved inorganic nutrient(N,P and Si)concentrations were lowest in the upper layer,and increased from surface to some depths,then they decreased a little to the bottom.N was the limited nutrient factor for the growth of phytoplankton community.Although nutrient concentrations and molar ratios have no obvious changes in 2017 comparing those in 1998-2003,supplemented from the equatorial Pacific,nutrient concentrations in the study area were higher than those in seamounts in the North Pacific and Station ALOHA.Furthermore,this study used Generalized Additive Models(GAMs)to infer the underlying bottom-up factors controlling phytoplankton abundance(Chi a concentration),showing that depth,salinity and PO^-P concentration were major factors controlling the growth of phytoplankton community.Furthermore,this study can provide basic data and theoretical support for the development of polymetallic nodule area and its long-term impact assessment on the environment.

Baseline establishment for metals in the western Clarion-Clipperton Zone

Resource exploitation in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone(CCZ)is of major research interest worldwide,but its influence on the environment is poorly understood,especially due to the lack of baseline values for metals in the surrounding sediment.This work aimed to establish the baseline values of 17 metals(Ba,Ca,K,Mg,Mn,Na,Ag,As,B,Cd,Co,Cr,Cu,Hg,Ni,Pb,and Zn)using normalization,the cumulative frequency curve method considering a total of 172 samples taken from 8 multitube cores and 1 box sediment core collected in the western CCZ during the COMRA-45 cruise campaign from August to September 2017.The baseline values of the evaluated metals were as follows:1932 mg/kg for Ba,29512 mg/kg for Ca,18150 mg/kg for K,17120 mg/kg for Mg,6747 mg/kg for Mn,28546 mg/kg for Na,0.571 mg/kg for Ag,5.00 mg/kg for As,94.4 mg/kg for B,0.626 mg/kg for Cd,104 mg/kg for Co,76.1 mg/kg for Cr,370 mg/kg for Cu,0.028 mg/kg for Hg,190 mg/kg for Ni,27.5 mg/kg for Pb and 156 mg/kg for Zn.Our findings would fill the baseline value gap in the study area and further improve accuracy of environmental impact assessments on the impact of resource exploitation.

中国两栖、爬行动物更新名录

本文在2015年发表的爬行动物名录及同年《中国两栖类信息系统》发布的两栖动物名录的基础上,通过整理新发表的分类学研究及先前名录遗漏的部分早期文献,更新了截至2019年底中国现生本土两栖、爬行动物物种名录。2015–2019年间,中国两栖动物新记录1科,新描述2属,恢复1属有效性,新记录1属,新描述或恢复有效种74种,新增国家纪录18种;另6属、8种的有效性未得到近年研究证据支持(在此视为次定同物异名而未做收录,后同)。同期,中国爬行动物新恢复5科,新描述1亚科,新描述1属,恢复3属有效性,新记录3属,新描述、恢复或提升有效种43个,新增国家纪录10种;另有5属、4种的有效性未得到近年研究证据支持,并移除1属、4种在我国的分布纪录。此外,通过整理2015年前文献,爬行动物增补3属,提升3亚种至种级地位,增补国家新纪录3种,另有3属、2种的有效性未得到近年研究证据支持,同时移除1种在我国的分布纪录。综上,截至2019年底,我国共记录现生本土两栖动物3目13科62属515种(蚓螈目1科1属1种,有尾目3科14属82种,无尾目9科47属431种),爬行动物3目35科135属511种(鳄形目1科1属1种,龟鳖目6科18属34种,有鳞目蛇亚目18科73属265种、蜥蜴亚目10科43属211种)。此外,本文还对先前名录中部分爬行动物的中文名提出了修改建议,建议恢复部分物种的惯用中文名。2015–2019年,新物种及新纪录已知物种数量占现两栖、爬行动物物种总数的17.1%和10.2%。近年来,我国发表的两栖、爬行动物新物种和已知物种的新纪录数量持续增加,分类体系也在研究中不断完善,建议今后及时地进行阶段性总结,同时对存在的问题提出讨论,以推动中国两栖、爬行动物分类学研究工作的进一步开展。

云南省两栖类物种名录修订

云南省是我国两栖类多样性最丰富的地区,近年来受威胁的两栖类物种数显著增加,亟需对两栖类的名录进行更新和完善。本文在《云南两栖爬行动物》的基础上,通过收集近十余年的研究资料,结合近年国内外最新研究结果,确定物种有效性和分类归属,并结合本团队野外考察数据,对云南两栖类的物种名录和分布进行系统的整理与修订。修订后的名录共记录云南省两栖类191种,隶属3目12科49属,占全国两栖类种数的32.5%。自2008年以来,云南省新增两栖类1科23属70种,本名录修订3科31属47种;共发现34个新种、15个中国新纪录和10个省级新纪录种,主要集中在云南的边境地区。云南省记录45种受威胁物种,占云南省两栖类种数的23.6%,占全国受威胁两栖类物种数的25.6%。其中,2种被列为极危(CR),9种被列为濒危(EN),34种被列为易危(VU)。名录共记录15种国家II级重点保护野生动物,占受国家保护两栖类种数的16.0%。此外,列入CITES附录I和附录II的分别有1种和8种,被列为云南省极小种群物种而作为重点保护野生动物的有5种。在新名录的基础上,本文讨论了云南省两栖类多样性与分类研究不足的类群、考察薄弱的地区、物种丰富度的格局分布以及受威胁情况,以期对云南省未来两栖类的研究和保护工作提供依据和参考。