New sub-species of pilot whale identified in Pacific Ocean

Date:  June 3, 2019

Source:  Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Short-finned pilot whales are found over a wide swath of the world's oceans, with habitats in the Indian, and Pacific, and North Atlantic oceans. Despite this wide distribution, the whales have been recognized as a single species -- but a recent study has found that two unique subspecies actually exist. The study published June 3, 2019, in Molecular Ecology.

Japanese whalers and scientists have long described two "forms" of short-finned pilot whales with distinct body types -- the 'Naisa' form, which live in Southern Japan and have square-shaped heads; and the 'Shiho' form, which lives in northern Japan and have round heads. Yet no prior study had examined the genetic diversity of those whales on a global scale, says Amy Van Cise, a postdoctoral scholar at WHOI and lead author on the study.

"You can't manage animals globally without understanding their diversity. If you think of a group of animals as a single species, and it turns out they're not, you could wind up accidentally losing an entire subspecies without knowing it," she says.

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Three new sub-species of snow leopard discovered

Date: May 11, 2017
Source: Oxford University Press USA

A recent research paper in the Journal of Heredity reveals that there are three sub-species of snow leopard. Until now, researchers had assumed this species, Panthera uncia, was monotypic.

Studying snow leopard scat from wildlife trails and marking sites revealed three primary genetic clusters, differentiated by geographical location: the Northern group, Panthera uncia irbis, found in the Altai region, the Central group, Panthera uncia uncioides, found in the core Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau, and the Western group, Panthera uncia uncia, found in the Tian Shan, Pamir, and trans-Himalaya regions. This is the first range-wide genetic analysis of wild snow leopard populations.

The snow leopard is considered the world's most elusive large big cat and inhabits a vast area of around 1.6 million km2 across 12 countries in Asia. It is a high-altitude specialist that primarily occupies mountains above 3,000m in elevation, a habitat characterized by low oxygen levels, low productivity, temperature extremes, aridity, and harsh climactic conditions. The snow leopard is the largest carnivore in its high-altitude habitat in many areas and is under substantial threat throughout its range.

The snow leopard remains the last of the five big cats to be the subject of a comprehensive subspecies assessment. This gap in research is a direct result of three challenges: the snow leopard inhabits remote regions that are often politically unstable and therefore harder to access, opportunities for radio or GPS tracking are limited because snow leopards are difficult to observe and trap in the wild, and most founders of the captive snow leopard population have an unknown origin.

Genetic sampling via the collection of scat along wildlife trails and marking sites is a non-invasive, effective, and efficient way to survey snow leopard populations and has become an important research approach, replacing previous methods which primarily relied on samples from hunter harvested or captive animals, tracking studies, or museum specimens.

The patterns of variation amongst the snow leopard subspecies suggest a 'barrier effect' due to the desert basins in the area, with the northern subspecies isolated by the Gobi Desert and the central and western species divided by the trans-Himalayas. Follow-up studies are needed to perform additional genetic analyses to provide more information on connectivity and structure within each region.

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Camera-trap records subspecies of Brown bear in Armenia

Just 150 bears in Armenia

May 2013. Recent camera-trap footage from the Caucasus Wildlife Refuge has recorded a Syrian Brown Bear and highlights the importance of camera-traps for monitoring wildlife and informing conservation strategies.

A camera-trap has recently captured rare footage of a Syrian Brown Bear (Ursus arctos syriacus), a subspecies of Brown Bear native to Eurasia. This is an important recording as there may be just one or two bears in the reserve and the Red Data Book of Armenia lists them as vulnerable.

Bears in Armenia

The bears inhabit the south-eastern part of Armenia, particularly in Meghri, Kapan, Goris, Sisian, Vayk, and Yeghegnadzor regions. They have been known to range as far as the hill foots of Mt Aragats, and up to elevations of 3,000m above sea level.

The Syrian Brown Bear's typical habitat is arid sparse forest, broadleaf forests, mountain grass lands, subalpine and alpine meadows. Availability of fruits, berries and nuts is an important influence on their distribution.

Possibly 150 bears in the wild

There are thought to be some 150 bears in the wild. The exact population is unknown - and likely to be declining due to poaching, habitat destruction and diminishing sources of food in the wild.

Continued

Chattanooga Zoo researchers discover turtle subspecies

CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) – The Chattanooga Zoo announced Thursday the discovery of a turtle never before documented in Tennessee. The turtle, called the Gulf Coast Spiny Softshell Turtle, was found in a tributary in the Conasauga River.

The Gulf Coast Spiny Softshell is a subspecies of the more prevalent Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtle found throughout Tennessee. 

Chattanooga Zoo researchers, Rick Jackson and David Hedrick, were in the process of looking for multiple reptile and amphibian species that had never been officially recorded in Bradley County when the Gulf Coast Spiny Softshell Turtle was discovered.  

"We are very excited about our new resident here in the state," said Hedrick. "The last time a new turtle was found in Tennessee was in 1986 when threatened Bog Turtles were discovered in Northeast Tennessee". 

Biologist Dr. A. Floyd Scott at Austin Peay Univsersity characterized the discovery as "significant" because it adds a new taxon to the vertebrate fauna of Bradley County and to the Tennessee region.

"Their find, coupled with a preserved specimen in the North Carolina State Museum of Natural Sciences that was collected in 1974 from the Conasauga River in eastern Bradley County, suggest there is an established population there that has been overlooked until now," Dr. Scott added.

Zoo officials explain the spotting of this subspecies is especially momentous because soft shelled turtles are an extremely wary aquatic species that disappear at the first sign of danger. 

Director of Ectotherms Rick Jackson noted how "the assessment of this population of turtles in Tennessee is one of several conservation initiatives currently underway within the Chattanooga Zoo's Reptile and Amphibian department". 

The Gulf Coast Spiny Softshell turtle discovered by Zoo researchers was a female measuring 18 inches in length.  

These turtles can live to be 50 years or more.

http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/18093726/chattanooga-zoo-researchers-discover-turtle-subspecies