MICROFTALMIA EN Aquiloeurycea cafetalera (CAUDATA: PLETHODONTIDAE) Y ECTROMELIA DE FÉMUR EN Craugastor rhodopis (ANURA: CRAUGASTORIDAE) OBSERVADAS EN UN BOSQUE DE NIEBLA DE VERACRUZ, MÉXICO

Abstract

En esta nota presentamos el primer caso reportado de microftalmia en Aquiloeurycea cafetalera y de ectromelia de fémur en Craugastor rhodopis observadas en un bosque de niebla del centro de Veracruz, México.

Ocular abnormalities in two sympatric salamanders (Caudata: Plethodontidae) in a pine-oak forest of La Malinche National Park, Mexico

“…In Mexico, the documentation of malformations in salamanders is scarce in comparison to anurans (Cruz-Pérez et al 2009, Soto-Rojas et al 2017, Venerozo-Tlazalo et al 2022, and the malformations most frequently observed are associated with frog limbs (Aguillón-Gutiérrez and Ramírez-Bautista 2015, Monroy-Vilchis et al 2015, Domínguez-Moreno et al 2018, Carmona-Zamora et al 2020, Reyes-Servín and Díaz-García 2023. Ocular abnormalities have been recorded in salamanders in only two studies (Díaz-García et al 2019, Venerozo-Tlazalo et al 2022. We present the first records of abnormalities in two species of salamanders that inhabit in sympatry in a temperate forest of Mexico.…”

FIRST RECORD OF ECTROMELIA IN Dryophytes eximius (ANURA: HYLIDAE) OF CENTRAL MEXICO

“…Usually, individuals with limb anomalies have impaired locomotor performance, which makes them more prone to predation than those with fully-formed limbs (Johnson et al, 1999(Johnson et al, , 2006. Ectromelia (incomplete limb segments; Meteyer, 2000) has been reported in different Mexican anurans, such as Lithobates neovolcanicus (Barragan-Ramírez & Navarrete-Heredia, 2011), Dryophytes plicatus (Aguillón-Gutiérrez & Ramírez-Bautista, 2015), and Craugastor rhodopis (Díaz-García et al, 2019). The potential causes of this anomaly are exposure to pollutants like heavy metals (Aguillón-Gutiérrez & Ramírez-Bautista, 2015), pesticides (Ouellet et al, 1997), and parasite infection of the trematode Ribeiroia (Johnson et al, 1999(Johnson et al, , 2002.…”

“…Given their specific characteristics (e.g., permeable skin, as well as terrestrial and aquatic lifestyle), hylids are good bioindicators of environmental health (Zaghloul et al, 2020). The increase in the frequency of morphological abnormalities is potentially related to habitat degradation (Díaz-García et al, 2019), including but not limited to water pollution, increasing ultraviolet radiation, and parasitic infection (Blaustein & Johnson, 2003). There is evidence that malformed individuals have an elevated mortality rate (Johnson et al, 2006), given that D. eximius is a semiaquatic species, the ectromelia might diminish its swimming and jumping capacities, which in turn could affect its reproductive success and survival probability (Ouellet et al, 1997), which negatively affects population persistence (Blaustein & Johnson, 2003).…”