Males of several species of lizards have been found to discriminate against familiar females by exhibiting a preference to court and mate with unfamiliar females. Here, I tested the hypothesis that prior physical contact with familiar females is necessary for males to court unfamiliar females more intensely than familiar females and to mate preferentially with unfamiliar females in the brown anole, A. sagrei. Recently captured male and female lizards were randomly paired and assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. Males in the experimental group could see their female cage mates but were prevented from having physical contact with them by housing the female in a small glass cage located within the male's cage. Males in the control group could see their female cage mates and were not prevented from having physical contact with them. Paired males and females were housed together for 14 days. Beginning on day 15, males in the two treatment groups were exposed to either their female cage mates or to previously unseen unfamiliar females and their courtship behavior recorded. Several days after the courtship tests the mating preferences of males were examined by exposing each male to its female cage mate and an unfamiliar female. Males in the experimental group did not court unfamiliar females significantly differently than female cage mates in the courtship tests or mate preferentially with unfamiliar females in the mating tests. Males in the control group, on the other hand, courted unfamiliar females significantly more intensely than female cage mates in the courtship tests and mated preferentially with unfamiliar females in the mating tests. These findings support the hypothesis that in A. sagrei prior physical contact with familiar females is necessary for males to court unfamiliar females more intensely than familiar females and to mate preferentially with unfamiliar females.

Survivorship of hatchling chelonians is low in many instances, although few investigators have intensively studied the immature life stages. We used radio telemetry to assess hatchling gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) survivorship in central Florida (n = 20), and compare our results to previously published studies in north Florida and Mississippi. At our site tortoise predation was extremely high, and no hatchlings lived over 335 days. Average lifespan was consistent among clutches, and the highest mortality occurred within one month of hatching. Major predators included mammals and snakes. Our results are similar to published data from north Florida (n = 20) and Mississippi (n = 45), although hatchlings in north Florida survived the longest. However, all tortoises (n = 85) in each study died many years before reaching sexual maturity due to predation. Hatchling predators varied by site, but mammals were the major predator at all three sites. We discuss the population-level consequences of high mortality in the younger life stages and several hypotheses associated with population stability. Although hatchling mortality was extremely high, long-term data from our central Florida site show that immature animals are captured on a regular basis. The most likely explanation for this apparent contradiction is that true hatchling survival levels are above zero, but are too low to be accurately detected with the current sample sizes. Therefore, long-term mark-recapture studies focusing on hatchling and juvenile animals are necessary to determine whether recruitment is sufficient to maintain current population sizes, or if populations are declining slowly.

We examined reproduction over 3 yr using radio telemetry and X-rays in a South Carolina population of spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata). Spring courtship (March–April) coincided with aggregations of turtles; however, a second peak in courtship in the fall (September–October) did not coincide with such aggregations. Over 75% of the radio-tagged females were gravid in each year of the study. The nesting season lasted approximately two months (mid-May through mid-July). Nesting was primarily nocturnal, and most nests (17/21, 81%) were made in the woody debris of decaying logs and stumps. Incubation time (mean = 79 d) decreased as nest temperature increased. Clutch size was not correlated to maternal body size, and we found no evidence for a tradeoff between clutch size and egg size. However, all measures of egg size and most measures of hatchling size were independent of maternal body size. We also compared reproduction among three widely separated populations of spotted turtles. Clutch size varied with latitude: clutch size was largest in the north (Ontario, mean = 5.3 eggs), mid-sized in the central population (Pennsylvania, mean = 3.9), and smallest in the south (South Carolina, mean = 2.8). Variation in reproductive output among populations was attributable to both variation in number of eggs and to egg size. Most of this variation in clutch size and egg size was explained by differences in body size of females among populations. Because the spotted turtle is considered to be a Species at Risk throughout its range, the data provided in the current study will be useful in conservation planning and for directing future research on the reproductive ecology of freshwater turtles.

The eastern massasauga, Sistrurus c. catenatus, is a small rattlesnake threatened with extirpation throughout its range. Massasaugas occur in a variety of habitats and adequate knowledge of their natural history at local scales is essential for effective management. We used radiotelemetry to document patterns of movement and macrohabitat selection of massasaugas in a fen environment, an important, but understudied, habitat. Based on both 100% minimum convex polygons and 95% kernel density, seasonal home ranges of males were larger than those of nongravid females which, in turn, were larger than those of gravid females. Activity center estimations followed the same trend as the seasonal range estimations. Similarly, activity centers (50% kernel density) of males were larger than those of nongravid females which were larger than those of gravid females. Nongravid females and gravid females differed in their mean frequency of daily movement, distance moved per day and total distance moved in a season. Males also differed from gravid females in these three regards, but only differed from nongravid females in distance moved per day. Compositional analysis of both 100% MCPs and 95% kernel densities indicated a preference for emergent wetland vegetation by all individuals; however, wooded areas and meadows were used to a lesser extent.

The mode and effectiveness of signals greatly depends on habitat characteristics and the activity patterns of a species. Visual cues frequently are involved in social interactions, although their effectiveness can be reduced with nocturnal species or in habitats with limited visibility. The combination of multiple signals, such as chemical and visual cues, can increase the accuracy and efficacy of communication in these systems. Association preferences of male and female Eurycea nana were examined by allowing individuals to choose between members of both sexes based on (1) chemical signals, (2) visual signals, and (3) chemical and visual signals. Both sexes showed stronger associations with the chemical signals and combined chemical and visual signals of the opposite sex than with visual cues alone. The simultaneous inclusion of both chemical and visual signals did not increase male or female responses suggesting that chemosensory communication is sufficient for individuals of this aquatic species to distinguish between the sexes at close range. Additionally, the finding that females as well as males exhibit sexual discrimination suggests that both sexes seek out potential mates, a phenomenon rarely seen in salamanders.

The evolution of the morphological traits underlying locomotor performance is often addressed at the level of species comparisons; however, examining variation in traits within a species and the underlying selective pressures that presumably mold those traits can offer great insight into the effects of natural selection, as well as the selective forces responsible for phenotypic changes. We studied limb morphology and escape behavior of three Oklahoma populations of collared lizards: Glass Mountains (GM), Sooner Lake (SL), and Wichita Mountains (WM). Predation differs among populations, with WM > SL ≫ GM. Habitat openness also varies, with SL > GM > WM. Our analysis of limb morphometrics revealed that WM had the longest hindlimb elements, GM lizards had the shortest, and SL lizards were intermediate. These differences are consistent with the hypothesis that predation pressure rather than habitat structure is most important in determining hindlimb morphology. WM lizards were found to have the longest approach distance among populations, but GM lizards ran the longest distances from predators. These differences in escape behavior support the hypothesis that predation pressure is important in determining population differences in behavior.

We describe a new species of Cochranella from the Cordillera de Carpish, Departamento Huánuco, Peru. The new species is placed in the Cochranella ocellata group and can be distinguished from all other species of Cochranella by having: (1) small white and dark purple spots on the dorsum; (2) a snout slightly protruding to truncate in lateral aspect; (3) and basal webbing between Fingers III and IV.

We describe a new species, Telmatobius chusmisensis, from Chusmisa, Iquique Province, northern Chile. The new taxon is diagnosed by characteristics of the adult morphology, osteology, larval external morphology, and chromosomes. The new species is compared with its Chilean congeners and differs from them in presenting all the carpal elements cartilaginous. The tadpole of T. chusmisensis lack intramarginal mental papillae sharing this character with other Chilean species of the genus.

A new species of frog of the Craugastor alfredi group is described from western Honduras. The new species is the first member of the C. alfredi group reported from Honduras. It inhabits the Montane Subtropical (Premontane) Wet Forest of Montaña del Cerro Azul, Sierra del Espíritu Santo. It differs from all other species in the group by the combination of having the fifth toe pad wider than the second, few melanophores on the abdominal area of the venter, a small number of vomerine teeth (0–8), and a rounded proximal subarticular tubercle on Toe V about one-half the size of the distal subarticular tubercle.

We describe a new species of Eleutherodactylus from the lowlands of the western Amazon Basin. The new species is referred to the Eleutherodactylus unistrigatus group, lacrimosus assemblage. It differs from other members of the group by having a dorsal olive-green coloration with an interorbital creamy yellow stripe that extends posterolaterally and reaches the level of the sacrum, and low ulnar and tarsal tubercles. The new species inhabits western Amazon tropical rainforests and has been found in arboreal bromeliads by day and on vegetation by night. We discuss the effect of lack of sampling in the forest canopy in our understanding of tropical amphibian communities. Based on work conducted at two localities in Ecuadorian Amazonia, we find that even limited sampling effort in the canopy can greatly improve efficiency of biological inventories.

We describe three new species of a cryptic species complex of Cophixalus from southeastern New Guinea and adjacent islands. They are readily distinguished from all other Papuan species by their small size, presence of vocal slits in males, absence of toe webbing, relatively long legs, short snouts, and vertical lores. Their calls consist of a series of high-pitched peeps. Intraspecific color pattern is highly variable and variant patterns are shared among species. Members of this complex can be distinguished from each other on the basis of adult body size, extent of development of the first finger and disc, snout width, tympanum size, and advertisement calls. The new species are among the most common frogs where found. Two of the species are currently known only from their type localities, but the third ranges more broadly in the Southeast Peninsula of New Guinea and D'Entrecasteaux Islands.

Two new species of brachycephalid frogs are described from Pico Marumbi, municipality of Morretes, and Pico da Igreja, municipality of Guaratuba, Paraná State, southern Brazil. The new species share the following attributes: body bufoniform; skin on top of the head, and central part of the back body smooth with no dermal co-ossification; outer metatarsal tubercle distinct; dermal roofing bones of skull unornamented; all paired cranial bones distinct and not fused; quadratojugals, and maxillary odontoids present. The new species from Pico Marumbi is characterized by male SVL = 11.6–12.5 and female SVL = 13.0–14.5 mm; and general color orange with dorsal reddish-brown irregular markings, lateral surfaces with small dark brown spots, and belly with brownish spots and small dots. The new species from Pico da Igreja is characterized by male SVL = 12.6–13.9 and female SVL = 14.6–15.3 mm; and general color orange, lateral surfaces with small dark brown spots, and belly with brownish coalescent spots and small dots. Comparisons with other brachycephalid species and osteological data are provided.