Image analysis of the ventral colour pattern discriminates between Spectacled salamanders, Salamandrina perspicillata and S. terdigitata (Amphibia, Salamandridae)

Angelini, Claudio; Utzeri, C.; Costa, Corrado; Menesatti, Paolo; Raimondi, Stefano

doi:10.1163/156853810791069047

Cited by 15 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…hazard rate) at a given age. Given the results of previous analyses [42][43][44], we allowed recapture probabilities to vary among years. As the study period and number of survey years differ among populations (electronic supplementary material, table S1), the four populations and species were analysed separately.…”

Section: (Iii) Multievent Model For Recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slow life-history strategies are associated with negligible actuarial senescence in western Palaearctic salamanders

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Actuarial senescence has been viewed for a long time as an inevitable and uniform process. However, the work on senescence has mainly focused on endotherms with deterministic growth and low regeneration capacity during the adult stage, leading to a strong taxonomic bias in the study of ageing. Recent studies have highlighted that senescence could indeed display highly variable trajectories that correlate with species life-history traits. Slow life histories and indeterminate growth seem to be associated with weak and late senescence. Furthermore, high regenerative abilities could lead to negligible senescence in ectotherms. However, demographic data for species that would allow testing of these hypotheses are scarce. Here, we investigated senescence patterns in ‘true salamanders’ from the western Palaearctic. Our results showed that salamanders have slow life histories and that they experience negligible senescence. This pattern was consistent at both intra- and interspecific levels, suggesting that the absence of senescence may be a phylogenetically conserved trait. The regenerative capacities of salamanders, in combination with other physiological and developmental features such as an indeterminate growth and a low metabolic rate, probably explain why these small ectotherms have lifespans similar to that of large endotherms and, in contrast with most amniotes, undergo negligible senescence. Our study seriously challenges the idea that senescence is a ubiquitous phenomenon in the tree of life.

show abstract

Section: (Iii) Multievent Model For Recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Slow life-history strategies are associated with negligible actuarial senescence in western Palaearctic salamanders

et al. 2019

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…1) the males of S. perspicillata display the throat colour and pectoral girdle coloration or sometimes the whole ventral coloration (during the "stand up" behaviour which was reported for the first time, for salamanders of unknown sex, by Utzeri, Antonelli and Angelini, 2005). Ventral and pectoral coloration of Salamandrina consist of irregular black, red and whitish patches, with patterning differing among individuals (Vanni et al, 1997), among conspecific populations (Costa et al, 2009) and between species (Angelini et al, 2010). It has also been proposed that this coloration could play a role in inter- (Angelini et al, 2010) and intra-specific communication (Costa et al, 2009) although differences of ventral coloration between the sexes were unknown since the method to distinguish the gender in live salamanders was published only recently (Romano, Bruni and Paoletti, 2009).…”

Section: Watchful Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Courtship behaviour, mating season and male sexual interference in Salamandrina perspicillata (Savi, 1821)

Bruni¹,

Romano

2011

Amphib Reptilia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The knowledge of reproductive behaviour of Salamandrina perspicillata, an endemic Italian salamander, is still fragmented and not exhaustive; and the only detailed observations were made just once in a terrarium. We describe many aspects of the terrestrial courtship behaviour such as male alert posture, substrate marking trail, approach and pursuit, tail undulation and vent swinging, and spermatophore deposition and pick-up. The courting pair follows an ellipsoidal track during this manoeuvre a spermatophore is deposited by the male just in front of the female who will reach the spermatophore as she continues to circle. No body contacts were observed during the courtship. Tail movements play a key role in the communication between sexes as well as between antagonistic males. Male-male combat involves biting as the main deterrent. We found that the mating season in wild populations is in the spring, differing from that reported previously for mating in captivity (winter) or extrapolated from the beginning of sperm storage (autumn). Each of these points is discussed in light of available information on social communication, sexual dimorphism, courtship evolution, and sperm storage.

show abstract

“…The Volturno River drainage has been identified as a potential contact zone between lineages of both species (Canestrelli et al , 2006 b ). Using image analysis of the ventral coloration patterns, which are unique and are retained throughout the lives of adults, of more than 300 individuals, Angelini et al (2010 b ) showed that the coloration is discriminative and allows for correct assignment of nearly 99% of individuals to their respective species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybridization of two ancient salamander lineages: molecular evidence for endemic spectacled salamanders on the Apennine peninsula

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Current studies indicate that both processes and mechanisms of natural hybridization go far beyond the formation and maintenance of hybrid zones between species. These studies demonstrate that the evolutionary consequences of hybridization can include extinction or extirpation of lineages but may also favor the formation of new hybrid species in an ecological context. The unambiguous identification of occurrences of hybridization in natural populations is a crucial first step in addressing questions related to natural hybridization in both evolutionary and ecological terms. Here, we provide the first molecular evidence of extensive natural hybridization between two ancient sister species of spectacled salamanders -Salamandrina perspicillata in northern and Salamandrina terdigitata in southern Italy. Parental lineages diverged at least 10 million years ago during the Lower Pliocene and represent the most ancient split between any congeneric amphibian species endemic to the Italian peninsula. Analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome b (Cyt b), nuclear-encoded recombination-activating protein (RAG-1) and propriomelanocortin (POMC) genes of more than 250 individuals from populations of both species and from the contact zone, show clear evidence of ongoing hybridization. Whereas 20% of the individuals from the contact population showed no signs of hybridization for the applied markers, the remainder (80%) were identified as first generation hybrids and backcrossed individuals. Our results suggest that hybridization between these two ancient lineages produces viable and fertile offspring, highlighting the need for research on possible mechanisms that prevent the intermixing and hybridization of parental species on a broader geographical scale.

show abstract

Image analysis of the ventral colour pattern discriminates between Spectacled salamanders, Salamandrina perspicillata and S. terdigitata (Amphibia, Salamandridae)

Cited by 15 publications

References 18 publications

Slow life-history strategies are associated with negligible actuarial senescence in western Palaearctic salamanders

Slow life-history strategies are associated with negligible actuarial senescence in western Palaearctic salamanders

Courtship behaviour, mating season and male sexual interference in Salamandrina perspicillata (Savi, 1821)

Hybridization of two ancient salamander lineages: molecular evidence for endemic spectacled salamanders on the Apennine peninsula

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About