Abstract
Mountain Dragons of the genus Japalura Gray 1853 have gained increasing systematic attention recently as a result of the availability of new, vouchered collections and a resurgence of interest in Indochinese agamid diversity. This is particularly true for the J. flaviceps Barbour, Dunn 1919 complex from southwest China. However, many species of the complex are still known from few historical specimens only, and little is known about their general biology and conservation status. As one of such understudied members of the complex, Japalura yulongensis Manthey, Denzer, Hou, and Wang 2012 was described on the basis of seven historical specimens from the type locality in northwest Yunnan, PR China in 1914. Little was known at the time of the general biology and conservation status of the species, and the species has not been documented in the wild since the original description. Herein, we report the re-discovery of this secretive species based on a series of newly collected specimens from the vicinity of the type locality. We provide the first accounts of body coloration in life and microhabitat preferences, expand upon what is known of the species’ morphological variation and ecology, revise the morphological diagnosis of the species, and offer suggestions on its IUCN conservation status and protection status in China.
References
Barbour, T. & Dunn, E.R. (1919) Two new Chinese Japaluras. Proceeding of the New England Zoological Club, 7, 15–19.
https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.12089Bastiaans, E., Bastiaans, M.J., Morinaga, G., Gaytán, J.G.C., Marshall, J.C., Bane, B., Cruz, F.M. & Sinervo, B. (2014) Female preference for sympatric vs. allopatric male throat color morphs in the mesquite lizard (Sceloporus grammicus) species complex. PLoS ONE, 9 (4), e93197.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0093197Cai, B., Wang, Y., Chen, Y. & Li, J. (2015) A revised taxonomy for Chinese reptiles. Biodiversity Science, 23 (3), 365–382. [in Chinese]
https://doi.org/10.17520/biods.2015037Gao, Z.F. & Hou, M. (2002) Description of a new Japalura species from western Sichuan Province, China. Sichuan Journal of Zoology, 21 (1), 3–5. [in Chinese]
IUCN. (2013) IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.4. Available from: http://www.iucnredlist.org/ (accessed 10 November 2016)
Kästle, W. & Schleich, H.H. (1998) Studies on the Systematics and Biology of the Genus Japalura (Sauria: Agamidae). Notes on Comparative Ethology and Taxonomy of the Genus Japalura. In: Kästle, W. & Schleich, H.H. (Eds.), The Contributions to the Herpetology of South Asia (Nepal, India). Fuhlrott Museum, Wuppertal, pp. 233–246.
https://doi.org/10.1002/mmnz.19990750216Köhler, G. (2012) Color Catalogue for Field Biologists. Herpeton, Offenbach, 49 pp.
LeBas, N.R. & Marshall, N.J. (2000) The role of colour in signaling and male choice in the agamid lizard Ctenophorus ornatus. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B: Biological Sciences, 267 (1442), 445–452.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2000.1020Li, C., Deng, Q.X., Wu, Y. & Wang, Y. (2001) A new species of Japalura from Sichuan (Agamidae Gray Japalura). Journal of Sichuan Teachers College (Natural Sciences), 22 (4), 329–331. [in Chinese]
10.16246/j.issn.1673-5072.2001.04.008.SManthey, U. (2010) Agamid Lizards of Southern Asia–Draconinae 2, Leiolepidinae. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, pp. 1–168.
Manthey, U., Wolfgang, D., Hou, M. & Wang, X.H. (2012) Discovered in historical collections: two new Japalura species (Squamata: Sauria: Agamidae) from Yulong Snow Mountains, Lijiang Prefecture, Yunnan, PR China. Zootaxa, 30 (1664), 27–48.
Rao, D., Vindum, J.V., Ma, X., Fu, M. & Wilkinson, J.A. (2017) A new species of Japalura (Squamata, Agamidae) from the Nu River Valley in Southern Hengduan Mountains, Yunnan, China. Asian Herpetological Research, 8 (2), 86–95.
https://doi.org/10.16373/j.cnki.ahr.160053Ren, G., Young, S.S., Wang, L., Wang, W., Long, Y., Wu, R., Li, J., Zhu, J. & Yu, D.W. (2015) Effectiveness of China's national forest protection program and nature reserves. Conservation Biology, 29 (5), 1368–1377.
https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.12561Sabaj, M.H. (2016) Standard symbolic codes for institutional resource collections in herpetology and ichthyology: an online reference. Version 6.5. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Washington, D.C. Available from: http://www.asih.org/resources/standard-symbolic-codes-institutional-resource-collections-herpetology-ichthyology (accessed 14 September 2016)
Song, M. (1987) Survey of the reptiles of southern Shaanxi. Acta Herpetologica Sinica, 6 (1), 59–64. [in Chinese]
Stuart-Fox, D.M. & Ord, T.J. (2004) Sexual selection, natural selection and the evolution of dimorphic coloration and ornamentation in agamid lizards. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B: Biological Sciences, 271 (1554), 2249–2255.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2004.2802Sun, K. (2010) Issues and approaches of the Three Parallel Rivers Yunnan Protected Areas of the World Natural Heritage. Resources and Industries, 12 (6), 118–124. [in Chinese]
Wang, K., Jiang, K., Pan, G., Hou, M., Siler, C.D. & Che, J. (2015) A new species of Japalura (Squamata: Sauria: Agamidae) from Eastern Tibet, PR China. Asian Hepetological Research, 6 (3), 159–168.
https://doi.org/10.16373/j.cnki.ahr.140042Wang, K., Jiang, K., Zou, D., Yan, F., Siler, C.D. & Che, J. (2016a) Two new species of Japalura from the Hengduan Mountain Range, China. Zoological Research, 37 (1), 41–56.
Wang, L., Young, S.S., Wang, W., Ren, G., Xiao, W., Long, Y., Li, J. & Zhu, J. (2016b) Conservation priorities of forest ecosystems with evaluations of connectivity and future threats: Implications in the Eastern Himalaya of China. Biological Conservation, 195, 128–35.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.12.044Zhao, E.M., Zhao, K.T. & Zhou, K.Y. (1999) Fauna Sinica, Reptilia, Vol. 2: Squamata, Lacertilia. Science Press, Beijing, pp. 1–394. [in Chinese]