Luis Miguel Pires Ceríaco

The study provides a detailed description of the skeletal ontogeny of the extinct dwarf gecko Lygodactylus neglectus, endemic to the oceanic archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, using high-resolution micro-computed tomography of an embryo, a neonate, and adult individuals of both sexes. The main differences among ontogenetic stages involve the degree of ossification, bone fusion, and proportional remodeling, rather than the appearance of novel structures, indicating strong developmental constraints in a miniaturized gekkonid. This work documents for the first time for the genus a complete postcranial skeleton within a comparative ontogenetic framework, including accessory elements such as sesamoids and paraphalanges associated with adhesive locomotion. Subtle sexual dimorphisms in the skull, pelvic girdle, and calcium deposits (endolymphatic sacs) are also characterized and interpreted in part as allometric variation linked to miniaturization and insular reproduction. The authors highlight the importance of historical collections for investigating ontogeny and evolution in rare or potentially extinct insular lineages.

Inia geoffrensis (Blainville, 1817) is a river dolphin occurring in the Amazon and Orinoco basins. In the original description, Blainville indicated that the type specimen was brought from Portugal by Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire to the collection of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris and that Brazil was the likely origin of the specimen. The literature concerning I. geoffrensis demonstrates uncertainty regarding its type locality. Here we aim to explore the history of the collection of the I. geoffrensis holotype, to provide additional data and restrict its type locality. The holotype of I. geoffrensis was collected during Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira’s expedition to Brazil (1783–1792). We conducted a thorough revision of published and archival sources, highlighting information regarding the collection and shipment of material during Ferreira’s expedition. We restricted the type locality of I. geoffrensis to the river stretch between the city of Gurupá on the Amazon River and the community of Pinhel on the Tapajós River, both in the state of Pará. This river stretch traveled by the expedition encompasses part of the lower Amazon River, the mouth and lower Xingu River and the mouth and lower Tapajós River. Ferreira’s expedition also explored the distribution regions of Inia boliviensis d’Orbigny, 1834 and Inia araguaiaensis Hrbek et al., 2014, but did not collect dolphins in those regions. The result of our study supports the maintenance of the current nomenclature of I. geoffrensis.

Pseudacanthicus histrix was described in 1840 by the French naturalist Achille Valenciennes based on an illustration sent decades earlier from Lisbon to the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle by the naturalist of the Royal Cabinet of Natural History of Ajuda. Its holotype was never properly recognized by subsequent authors and has long been considered lost. Here we provide the history of the description of the species, including the several earlier but unpublished attempts in describing it, and trace the fate of the holotype, which remains partially extant in the collections of the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal. The holotype of the species is one of the oldest fish specimens currently held in Portuguese collections and is a surviving relic of Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira's “Philosophical Voyage” to the Amazon basin in the late eighteenth century.

Freshwater fish are amongst the most threatened species globally, a situation that is particularly acute in the Iberian Peninsula and Portugal. Natural History Collections (NHCs) are biodiversity data sources with unparalleled taxonomic, geographic and temporal scope. These collections are essential for modern scientific research and the conservation of species; however, the accession of voucher specimens has faced a steep decline in the last decades. As part of an ongoing effort to review the Portuguese vertebrate collections in the national NHCs, freshwater fish data from major museums and some smaller collections have been gathered and analysed to assess the coverage and representation of the species known from Portuguese inland waters. Overall, the collections do not fully represent the country’s freshwater biodiversity, neither at a taxonomic, geographic or temporal level. Nearly 97% of the species are found in the national NHCs (64 out of 66), but close to 40% of taxa are represented by less than 50 specimens and nearly 70% from less than 50 lots. From a geographic standpoint, the collections cover less than 40% of Portuguese territory and one fifth of species has less than 10% of their known range represented in the assessed institutions. Additionally, 60% of native species are threatened with extinction, but they represent only one quarter of all extant specimens. We draw attention to the risks of incomplete coverage, especially when dealing with such sensitive ecosystems as freshwater.

Biodiversity data from African countries, including São Tomé & Príncipe, is often held outside the continent and remain difficult to access. Despite recent data mobilization efforts in Portuguese-speaking regions, significant gaps persist. Addressing these issues is crucial to support research, conservation and decision making. In this study, we compile and consolidate all available data on the herpetofauna of São Tomé & Príncipe from bibliography, natural history collections and citizen science platforms, with the goal of creating the most comprehensive and up-to-date database. We gathered a total of 6185 records of all amphibian and reptile species from the country and provided an overview of current taxonomic and distribution maps for each species, as well as taxonomic, distribution, and temporal sampling biases. Our results highlight the value of combining traditional scientific and citizen science data, while underscoring the continued importance of voucher specimens and historical data. This integrative approach not only advances knowledge of São Tomé & Príncipe’s unique herpetofauna but also provides a model for similar efforts in other under-studied regions and taxonomic groups.

The Sao Tomé Green Mamba has long been considered one of the great enigmas of Gulf of Guinea herpetology, as the only specimens ever collected were destroyed or are missing. Here we report the rediscovery of one of these specimens, collected in 1885 by Adolfo Möller and long thought lost, housed in the Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. A detailed re-examination of this specimen provides the first opportunity in over a century to reassess its morphology and clarifies historical ambiguities in Bedriaga's description, particularly morphology overlaps with continental Dendroaspis viridis. A detailed history of the specimen is also presented, as well as future research directions.

Chironius laurenti was described based on 27 specimens from localities of the Beni savanna and Chiquitano Dry Forest in Bolivia and one specimen from the Brazilian Cerrado. We examined the holotype of C. laurenti from the department of Beni, Bolivia, as well as most of the paratypes and expanded sample obtained in zoological collections. Based on morphological and molecular data, we restrict the name C. laurenti to the populations distributed throughout the Madeira River Basin and conclude that the known records throughout the Pantanal wetlands and transition areas with the Cerrado savanna represent a distinct entity erroneously attributed to this name. Therefore, we describe the latter populations as a new species endemic to the Upper Paraguay River Basin, distinguished from its congeners by a unique combination of qualitative and quantitative morphological characters (meristic, color pattern, and cranial osteology) and unequivocal molecular evidence. We report on relevant behavioral observations of the new species, specifically its foraging strategy on riverbanks and male-male combat, which may occur during the mating season. Additionally, we discuss possible diversification hypotheses in the Upper Paraguay River Basin and highlight the importance of conserving ecological corridors linking the Pantanal to the surrounding plateaus, as ongoing climate changes may restrict or displace present species’ distributions. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D1DCEB24-8C69-4B76-8387-CD9ACB23C733 .

The concept of biodiversity combines the two fundamental dynamics of life on Earth–the flow of energy and the flow of genes across space and time, which are linked, respectively, to four billion ye...

A expedição de Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira, conhecida como Viagem Filosófica ao Brasil, percorreu uma extensão de quase 40 mil quilômetros pelos biomas Amazônia, Cerrado e Pantanal, durante nove anos (1783-1792). A expedição enviou remessas para Portugal contendo manuscritos, iconografia e amostras da fauna, da flora, de minerais e de artefatos das populações nativas. O material etnográfico em Portugal está depositado no Museu da Academia das Ciências de Lisboa (MACL), no Museu da Ciência da Universidade de Coimbra (MCUC) e na Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa (SGL). Nossos objetivos foram inventariar o material etnográfico que tenha a presença de mamíferos e identificar os mamíferos neste material. Nos resultados, inventariamos 91 artefatos com a presença de mamíferos. Oito das 11 ordens de mamíferos brasileiros estão presentes nesses artefatos. São elas: Artiodactyla, Carnivora, Cingulata, Perissodactyla, Pilosa, Primates, Rodentia e Sirenia. Artiodactyla e Sirenia foram as ordens mais presentes nos artefatos. O material etnográfico com a presença de mamíferos era utilizado na ornamentação corporal, em práticas ritualísticas, na alimentação, na caça, na pesca, na defesa e no ataque. Os artefatos adquiridos na expedição, juntamente com a iconografia e os manuscritos produzidos, contribuem no desenvolvimento de pesquisas relacionadas a etnias existentes e extintas que viveram durante o período colonial do Brasil.

As part of a nineteenth century scientific network, José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage regularly sent “duplicate” specimens from the zoological collections of the National Museum of Lisbon to natural history museums across Europe. These duplicates gained exceptional significance following the 1978 fire that destroyed the Lisbon Museum’s zoological collections, making them the last surviving representatives of its historical holdings. Despite their importance for taxonomic and nomenclatural stability, the full extent of Bocage’s duplicate specimens remains poorly documented. Here we present a comprehensive and integrative revision of the herpetological material sent by Bocage to the British Museum of Natural History. We assess its historical, taxonomic and nomenclatural value, providing an illustrated and annotated catalogue of type specimens. A total of 92 specimens representing 57 species were sent from Lisbon between 1864 and 1896, including 30 type specimens for 27 nominal taxa. We provide evidence for the correction of the type locality associated with the only surviving syntype of Agama anchietae , as well as the recognition of previously unknown types of Chioglossa lusitanica , Hylambates angolensis , Hylambates cynnamomeus , Cystignathus bocagii , Hyperolius insignis , Hyperolius huillensis , Hemidactylus cessacii and Ophirhina anchietae .