Anderson's Salamander (Ambystoma andersoni)

Anderson’s salamander exhibits some highly unusual and distinct features, indicative of its evolutionary distinctiveness, including its rare “neotenous” life history, whereby the species never develops into an adult but instead retains its juvenile characteristics throughout life, essentially achieving reproductive maturity whilst still in its undeveloped larval form. This would be akin to a tadpole being able to breed without ever turning into a frog. The species is totally aquatic, spending its whole life in the same body of water (Lake Zacapu). This lake is currently suffering from pollution which poses a major threat to the survival of the species.

Evolutionary Distinctiveness
Order: Caudata
Family: Ambystomatidae
The family Ambystomatidae or “the mole salamanders” is included within the four earliest or most primitive family lineages of the order “Caudata” (the salamanders), diverging from all other salamanders in the Early Cretaceous period over 140 million years ago, around five million years before the koala and dolphin lineages diverged from their common ancestor. The small number of species that represent the genus Ambystoma are highly evolutionarily distinct members of both the salamanders and the amphibians as a whole.Anderson’s salamander exhibits some highly unusual and distinct features, indicative of its evolutionary distinctiveness, including its rare “neotenous” life history, whereby the species never develops into an adult but instead retains its juvenile characteristics throughout life, essentially achieving reproductive maturity whilst still in its undeveloped larval form. There are a couple of theories for why neoteny (also referred to as paedomorphosis) develops in some mole salamanders. One idea is that the production or effectiveness of the hormone thyroxine is compromised, either by the species living in water bodies containing insufficient iodine (which is required in the manufacture of thyroxine by the body) or in water temperatures that are too cold for the thyroxine to be effective. This impacts upon the development of the species and sexually mature adults never develop adult characteristics but remain in the larval form. A second theory suggests that species evolving in pools surrounded by hostile terrestrial environments develop aquatic lives to obviate the need to exit the relative safety of their watery home. This is a common trait in species that inhabit high-elevation ponds.

Description
Anderson’s salamander is an Ambystomatid or mole salamander found only in Lake Zacapu near Zacapu, Mexico at an elevation of 2,000 meters above sea level. Mole salamanders are medium to large, stocky salamanders, usually measuring between 90 to 350mm from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, which salamanders retain throughout their life. Males are often larger than females, owing to their longer tails. Ambystomatids generally exhibit both aquatic “neotenic” larval (or aquatic and permanently juvenile in form with external, feathery gills) and terrestrial “metamorphosed” (or ground-dwelling, fully developed adult in form with reduced gills) stages in their wild populations. Ambystomatids are often boldly patterned as adults, with well-developed “costal” grooves (successive vertical grooves along the sides of the body), especially the metamorphosing varieties. They have a rather flattened body with a wide, flattened head, a large mouth and smooth skin with many glands. The tail is roundish or laterally compressed, and, during the breeding season, males have a very swollen cloacal zone (the region around the reproductory and excretory opening in amphibians located underneath the base of the tail).Like all neotenic Ambystoma species, Anderson’s salamander retains its larval features into adulthood. The mature salamander has medium-sized external gills with bright red filaments, and a prominent caudal (or tail) fin. It grows to a length of around 214 mm, with the tail accounting for about 40% of this measurement. A dorsal fin extends as a low ridge from the base of the gill rakers along the back to the base of the tail, where it rises about 13 mm to form the dorsal tail fin. This species has a large head and small, stocky limbs, as do the larvae. The toes are short and pointed with a slight degree of webbing. The skin colouration is a complex pattern of black blotches (some interconnected) on a red-brown base.

Ecology
Anderson’s salamanders are totally aquatic and spend their whole lives in the same body of water. The species is paedomorphic (or permanently juvenile in physical characteristics), and reaches sexual maturity whilst still having the appearance of a larval salamander. This would be akin to a tadpole being able to breed without ever turning into a frog. It requires a clean, cool aquatic habitat and is found only in Lake Zacapu and the spring-fed streams and canals associated with the lake. Once the eggs are laid in water they are left to develop with no further participation by either parent. This species does not exhibit parental care.Anderson’s salamanders do not metamorphosise from larval to adult form in nature, and individuals that have been artificially induced to metamorphosise with thyroid hormone in the laboratory do not thrive. The diet consists largely of snails and crawfish.

Habitat
Its habitat is that of Lake Zacapu, a small lake near Zacapu, sitting at an altitude of 2000 meters above sea level. The lake is located within the Mesa Central portion of Mexico, an area home to many neotenic Ambystoma species. Lake Zacapu (or Lago de Zacapu) is temperate, with low salinity, and the Anderson’s salamander inhabits the main body of the lake and the spring-fed streams and canals associated with it, requiring a clean, cool aquatic habitat in order to survive.
Distribution
Lake Zacapu (Lago Zacapu) and its surrounding streams near Zacapu, located in north-western Michoacan within the Mesa Central portion of Mexico at an altitude of 2000 metres above sea level.
Population Estimate
Unknown.
Population Trend
Anderson’s salamander is not currently rare in its small area of occupancy, but it is considered to be in decline by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Status
Listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because its extent of occurrence is less than 100km sq. and its area of occupancy is less than 10km sq., all individuals are in a single subpopulation, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of the lake habitat around the city of Zacapu.
Threats
The major threat to the wild population is the pollution of Lake Zacapu, its sole habitat location. Additionally, the animals are heavily fished for food and predatory fish have been introduced into the lake which may pose a severe problem if they prey extensively on the declining populations of Anderson’s salamander.
Conservation Underway
Anderson’s salamander does not occur in any protected area but the species could undergo a population recovery if Lake Zacapu can be kept clean and its ecosystem restored, including the control of introduced predatory fish and general levels of resource extraction from the lake and its associated streams and canals. Studies are needed to evaluate the sustainability of the harvest as well as on the impacts of introduced predatory fish. The species is protected under the category Pr (Special Protection) by the Government of Mexico.

Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus)

This camel is probably the ancestor of all domestic two-humped camels. It is superbly adapted to life in the harsh Gobi Desert, one of the most hostile and fragile regions on the planet. The species can withstand drought, food shortages and even radiation from nuclear weapons testing. Less than 1,000 individuals survive today in only four locations. Classified as Critically Endangered, these animals continue to be threatened by hunting, habitat loss, and competition for resources with introduced livestock.

Evolutionary Distinctiveness
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Camelidae
Camelids (llamas, vicuñas, alpacas, guanacos and camels) evolved in North America during the Eocene Epoch, over 46 million years ago. They differ from all other mammals in the shape of their red blood cells, which are oval instead of circular. There are six living species in three genera (the Old World Camelus, and the New World Lama and Vicugna). The ancestors of the true camels migrated across the Bering Strait land bridge to Asia some 3-4 million years ago. Camelids also crossed to South America after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama around 3 million years ago. Camels disappeared from North America completely around 10,000 years ago. Today, only two species of camel are generally recognised to survive: Camelus bactrianus (Bactrian or two-humped camel) and C. dromedarius (dromedary or one-humped camel).
Description
Size:

Head and body length: 225-345 cm

Shoulder height: 180-230 cm

Tail length: 35-55 cm
Weight: 300-690 kg
The two-humped Bactrian camel is smaller and more slender than its domestic relative, and is superbly adapted to life in the harsh Gobi Desert. It has a double row of long eyelashes and hairs inside the ears to protect against damage from sand, and the camel’s long slit-like nostrils can be closed for further protection during sandstorms. The foot has a tough undivided sole consisting of two large toes, which spread apart widely for efficient travel across the shifting desert sands. The camel’s fur, which is a light brown or beige colour, is thick and shaggy during the harsh winters and is shed rapidly in the spring.

Ecology
Wild camels are diurnal, sleeping at night in open spaces and foraging for food during the day. Shrubs and grass form the bulk of the diet, with the animals being well adapted to feed on thorns, dry vegetation and salty plants, which other herbivores avoid. Excess fat is stored in the humps and used as a reserve when food is scarce. This enables the camels to go for several days at a time without eating or drinking. Upon finding water they will drink vast quantities rapidly to replace what is missing from their bodies - they can take in as much as 57 litres of water to restore the normal amount of body fluid. If no fresh water is available, the species can drink salty or brackish water with no ill effects (camels are the only land mammals adapted for this). Group size is largely dependent on the amount of food available. Usually the camels can be found travelling in small herds of between 6 and 20 related individuals, led by a single adult male, although larger groups will sometimes congregate around water. The distribution is normally widely scattered, with estimates of population density as low as 5/100 sq km. The camels are highly migratory, and will travel vast distances in search of food and water sources. Breeding usually occurs in winter, often overlapping with the rainy season. Females give birth to their first calf at around 5 years of age and the interbirth interval is usually at least 2 years. Wild camels are thought to live up to 40 years of age.
Habitat
The camels are migratory, and their habitat ranges from rocky mountain massifs to flat arid desert, stony planes and sand dunes. Conditions are extremely harsh – vegetation is sparse, water sources are limited and temperatures are extreme, ranging from as low as -40°C in winter to 40°C in summer. The camels’ distribution is linked to the availability of water, with large groups congregating near rivers after rain or at the foot of the mountains, where water can be obtained from springs in the summer months, and in the form of snow during the winter.

Distribution
The species has suffered a drastic reduction in its range. It now occurs only in three separated habitats in northwest China (Lake Lob, Taklimikan desert and the ranges of Arjin Shan) and one in the Trans-Altai Gobi desert of southwest Mongolia. The largest population lives in the Gashun Gobi (Lop Nur) Desert in Xinjiang Province, China, which was for 45 years used as a test site for nuclear weapons.
Population Estimate
There are approximately 600 individuals surviving in China and 350 in Mongolia. In contrast, there are over 2 million domestic Bactrian camels currently living in Central Asia.
Population Trend
Population size is decreasing. The Mongolian population has almost halved in the last twenty years and there is every indication that the situation is just as serious for the Chinese populations.
Status
Classified as Critically Endangered (CR A3de+4ade) on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Threats
The species has suffered greatly at the hands of humans. It has lost habitat to mining and industrial development, and has been forced to compete with introduced livestock for food and water. Farmers hunt the camel for this reason, and many individuals are lost every year when the camels migrate out of protected areas and onto land set aside for grazing. Domestic Bactrian camels are amongst the animals introduced to these areas. They graze alongside reserves containing their wild relatives, and there is much concern that interbreeding and subsequent hybridisation will lead to the loss of the genetically distinct wild camel.

Conservation Underway
The species is listed on Appendix I of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS or the Bonn Convention). The governments of China and Mongolia have agreed to cooperate in order to protect the species and its fragile desert ecosystem. Assisted by the Wild Camel Protection Foundation (WCPF), the two governments have adopted an ecosystem-based management programme which aims to protect the biodiversity of the Great Gobi Desert. Two reserves have been created – the ‘Great Gobi Reserve A’ in Mongolia in 1982, and the Arjin Shan Lop Nur Nature Reserve in China in 2000. These reserves provide a safe habitat for a wide range of endangered desert animals and plants, as well as the wild camels. The WCPF also aims to increase the population of the species through captive breeding. In 2003 it established a sanctuary in Zakhyn-Us, Mongolia, which has some of the last non-hybridised herds of Bactrian camels. Initial breeding attempts have been successful, with several calves having been born since the programme’s inception.

Black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)

Black rhinos and white rhinos are not named for their colours, but for the shape of their lips. The black rhino has a prehensile (or grasping) upper lip, which it uses to draw plant material into its mouth. This two-horned rhinoceros has a reputation for being unpredictable and dangerous. As a result it has suffered much more persecution than other rhinos. The total population decreased by a massive 96% between 1970 and 1992, the largest decline of any of the rhino species. Four subspecies are recognised, of which three are considered Critically Endangered.

Evolutionary Distinctiveness
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Together with equids (horses, zebras and asses) and tapirs, rhinos are the only surviving members of an ancient and formerly diverse group of ungulates, which originated in the Eocene around 50 million years ago. The ancestors of the black and white rhinos reached Africa about 10 million years ago, at the end of the Miocene. The black rhino diverged from the white rhino between four and five million years ago, and is considered to be the more primitive of the two. It is the only species in the genus Diceros.
Description
Size: Head and body length: 300-375 cm

Shoulder height: 140-180 cm

Tail length: 70 cm

Horn length: 500 mm (anterior horn)
Weight: 800-1,400 kg
The black rhino is not black at all, but a yellow-brown or grey colour. It acquired its name to separate it from confusion with the other African species, the white rhino. While it is slightly darker in colour than the white rhino, its main distinguishing feature is its prehensile, or grasping, upper lip. This hook-shaped lip sticks out beyond the lower one and is used to draw food into the mouth. The rhino has two horns made from keratin (the same protein found in human hair and nails). The longest of these horns can grow to over 50 cm in length.

Ecology
The species is a browser. Its diet is made up of a wide variety of plant material, such as leaves and twigs of woody plants and legumes, supplemented with minerals obtained from salt-licks. Individuals prefer to feed during the early morning and evening, and spend the day wallowing in mud or water holes to keep cool. The species is generally solitary, although small groups often congregate at wallows and salt-licks. Females often have overlapping home ranges and will sometimes form temporary groups that move and feed together. Females usually have their first calf at around 6 or 7 years old, and will give birth every 2-5 years thereafter. Life expectancy for the species is around 40-50 years.

Habitat
Found in a variety of habitats, including grasslands, savannas and shrublands, although the preferred habitat is the transitional zone between grassland and forest. The species is restricted to areas within 25 km of a permanent water source.
Distribution
Black rhinos were once found throughout sub-Saharan Africa with the exception of the Congo Basin. Today the main populations live in reserves in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Kenya.

Population Estimate
There are currently approximately 3,610 surviving black rhinos.
Population Trend
Population size collapsed during the last century, from an estimated 65,000 animals in 1970 to a mere 2,300 in the 1990s. Rhino numbers are now increasing, but recovery is slow and the western subspecies in particular is still very much in danger of becoming extinct.
Status
Classified as Critically Endangered (CR A2abc) on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Listed on Appendix I of CITES.
Threats
The black rhino has a reputation for being unpredictable and dangerous, and has suffered much persecution as a result. Over the years, it has been killed for sport, and for its hide and meat. However, the main threat to the rhino has been the demand for its horn, and this remains the case today. In the 1970s there was huge demand for rhino horn from Yemen, where it was used to make handles for traditional daggers worn by the wealthy as status symbols. Rhino numbers plummeted as a result of subsequent poaching. Although this demand has now subsided, rhino horn is still being illegally exported to Asia for use in traditional medicine. Currently almost all rhino deaths are caused by poaching to obtain the horn. It has a huge market value, and as a result of civil unrest and wars, many poverty-stricken African farmers have been left with little option but to turn to poaching as a means of survival.
Conservation Underway
Several organisations are working to help save this species. Conservation efforts are concentrating on reducing demand for rhino horn, while at the same time increasing protection for wild populations. At present, all trade in rhino horn is prohibited, and the extent of illegal trade is monitored by TRAFFIC (the wildlife trade monitoring network of the IUCN and WWF). Conservation organisations are also working in consumer countries to draw attention to the link between the use of rhino horn and the suffering of wild rhinos, and to investigate suitable alternatives for use in traditional medicine. At the same time, national and international conservation groups have been working with African governments to develop and implement effective national conservation and management strategies, under the co-ordination of the African Rhino Specialist Group of the IUCN which has developed a detailed Action Plan for conservation of the African rhinos. Most key wild populations are now protected in reserves, which are patrolled regularly by anti-poaching teams, and a de-horning programme has been introduced in some areas in an attempt to deter poachers. Regular monitoring takes place, and attempts to reintroduce rhinos to areas of their former range have been largely successful. A captive breeding programme is also underway to safeguard against any unforeseen catastrophes occurring within the vulnerable wild populations.

Blunt-headed Salamander (Ambystoma amblycephalum)

The blunt-headed salamander is a metamorphosing species of mole salamander, which means that it can make the full transition from aquatic larval form to a terrestrial adult form in its lifetime. The adult spends the majority of its time on land in a mosaic of natural grasslands and pine-oak forests. It is highly evolutionarily distinct, the family diverging from all other salamanders in the Early Cretaceous period over 140 million years ago, around five million years before the koala and dolphin lineages diverged from their common ancestor. Today, the desiccation, pollution and conversion of former ponds, small reservoirs, and open habitat to row crops, represents the main threat to the species’ survival.

Evolutionary Distinctiveness
Order: Caudata
Family: Ambystomatidae
The family Ambystomatidae or “the mole salamanders” is included within the four earliest or most primitive family lineages of the order “Caudata” (the salamanders), diverging from all other salamanders in the Early Cretaceous period over 140 million years ago, around five million years before the koala and dolphin lineages diverged from their common ancestor. The small number of species that represent the genus Ambystoma are highly evolutionarily distinct members of both the salamanders and the amphibians as a whole.The blunt-headed salamander is capable of reaching sexual maturity in its neotenous form, retaining its aquatic larval characteristics such as fins and gills throughout its life. However, it is also able to metamorphose into the adult form and live a terrestrial life. Although this species has been little-studied, there are a couple of theories that may explain why some populations of the blunt-headed salamander do not metamorphose. One idea is that the production or effectiveness of the hormone thyroxine is compromised, either by the species living in water bodies containing insufficient iodine (which is required in the manufacture of thyroxine by the body) or in water temperatures that are too cold for the thyroxine to be effective. This impacts upon the development of the species and sexually mature adults never develop adult characteristics but remain in the larval form. A second theory suggests that species evolving in pools surrounded by hostile terrestrial environments develop aquatic lives to obviate the need to exit the relative safety of their watery home. This is a common trait in species that inhabit high-elevation ponds. Since the blunt-headed salamander inhabits various ponds across its range, and is able to disperse between them in its metamorphosed form, it is possible that the conditions in some of these ponds are not conducive to metamorphosis.
Description
The blunt-headed salamander is an Ambystomatid or mole salamander from high elevations (2,000m above sea level) 15 miles west of Morelia in Michoacán, Mexico. Mole salamanders are medium to large, stocky salamanders, measuring between 90 to 350mm from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, which salamanders retain throughout their life. Males are often larger than females, partly due to their longer tails. Ambystomatids generally exhibit both aquatic “neotenic” larval (or aquatic and permanently juvenile in form with external, feathery gills) and terrestrial “metamorphosed” (or ground-dwelling, fully developed adult in form with reduced gills) stages in their wild populations. Ambystomatids are often boldly patterned as adults, with well-developed “costal” grooves (successive vertical grooves along the sides of the body), especially the metamorphosing varieties. They have a rather flattened body with a wide, flattened head, a large mouth and smooth skin with many glands. The tail is roundish or laterally compressed, and, during the breeding season, males display a very swollen cloacal zone (the region around the reproductory and excretory opening in amphibians located underneath the base of the tail).The blunt-headed salamander has both neotenic and fully developed terrestrial (or ground-dwelling) populations. Neotenic populations retain their gills and fins throughout their life, whereas metamorphosed individuals develop adult traits, such as the lack of gills, functioning lungs, eyelids and no fins. These so-called “neotene” individuals are very long with extremely short, blunt heads and round eyes. They are about 150-160 mm in length, with a tail length of around 60-70 mm. The neotenous adults have a dorsal fin along the tail and relatively short, thick gills, although metamorphosed adults lack both fins and gills. The digits are semi-webbed. The colouring of this species is blackish-brown on the dorsal (or upper) surfaces, with a lighter grey under-belly. The end of the tail is darker than the base. The chest and throat have some cream markings. They also display small, dark marks on their head and back.
Ecology
The blunt-headed salamander is a metamorphosing species of mole salamander, which means that it can make the full transition from aquatic larval form to a terrestrial adult form in its lifetime in the wild. The adult blunt-headed salamander spends the majority of its time on land in a mosaic of natural grasslands and pine-oak forests.Once the eggs are laid in water they are left to develop with no further participation by either parent. This species does not exhibit parental care.
Habitat
The blunt-headed salamander inhabits a mosaic landscape of natural grasslands and pine-oak forest, occurring at about 2,000m above sea level in its small range area around Tacicuaro, north-western Michoacan, to the west of the Morelia City in Mexico. Blunt-headed salamanders require ponds of moderate depth in which to breed, and are able to survive in some types of modified landscape, taking advantage of cattle ponds for larval development.
Distribution
Found in the neotropics in a small area around Tacicuaro, north-western Michoacan, to the west of Morelia City in Mexico. It occurs at about 2,000m above sea level.
Population Estimate
There is very little information on the species' population status; there has been limited fieldwork carried out on this species since the early 1980s.
Population Trend
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species indicates that the blunt-headed salamander’s total population size is generally in decline.
Status
Listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because its extent of occurrence is less than 100km sq. and its area of occupancy is less than 10km sq., its distribution is severely fragmented, and there is continuing decline in the number of mature individuals and in the extent and quality of its habitat around the city of Morelia.
Threats
The desiccation, pollution, and conversion of former ponds, small reservoirs, and open habitat to row crops, represents the main threat to the blunt-headed salamander, coupled with urban expansion of Morelia and Uruapan. Introduced predatory fish are also a major concern, both in ponds and small streams as these may prey extensively on the declining populations of blunt-headed salamanders.
Conservation Underway
The blunt-headed salamander does not occur in any protected areas, although it is protected under the category Pr (Special Protection) by the Government of Mexico.

Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)

The name “axolotl” is thought to have originated from the Aztecs, derived from two words: atl, meaning “water”, and xolotl meaning “monster”. Axolotls do not develop adult characteristics but retain their gills, fins and other larval characteristics throughout their life. They live permanently in water, in the wetlands and canals associated with Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco, adjacent to Mexico City. Once eaten as a delicacy in Mexico City, they are now a protected species in Mexico and Critically Endangered in the wild.

Evolutionary Distinctiveness
Order: Caudata
Family: Ambystomatidae
The family Ambystomatidae or “the mole salamanders” is included within the four earliest or most primitive family lineages of the order “Caudata” (the salamanders), diverging from all other salamanders in the Early Cretaceous period over 140 million years ago, around five million years before the koala and dolphin lineages diverged from their common ancestor. The small number of species that represent the genus Ambystoma are highly evolutionarily distinct members of both the salamanders and the amphibians as a whole.The axolotl exhibits some highly unusual and distinct features, indicative of its evolutionary distinctiveness, including its rare “neotenous” life history, whereby the species never develops into an adult but instead retains its juvenile characteristics throughout life, essentially achieving reproductive maturity whilst still in its undeveloped larval form. There are a couple of theories for why neoteny (also referred to a paedomorphosis) develops in some mole salamanders. One idea is that the production or effectiveness of the hormone thyroxine is compromised, either by the species living in water bodies containing insufficient iodine (which is required in the manufacture of thyroxine by the body) or in water temperatures that are too cold for the thyroxine to be effective. This impacts upon the development of the species and sexually mature adults never develop adult characteristics but remain in the larval form. A second theory suggests that species evolving in pools surrounded by hostile terrestrial environments develop aquatic lives to obviate the need to exit the relative safety of their watery home. This is a common trait in species that inhabit high-elevation ponds.

Description
The axolotl is an Ambystomatid or mole salamander found only in the Laguna Alchichica in eastern Puebla, Mexico at an elevation of 2,290m above sea level. Mole salamanders are medium to large, stocky salamanders, usually measuring between 90 to 350mm from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, which salamanders retain throughout their life. Males are often larger than females, owing to their longer tails. Ambystomatids generally exhibit both aquatic “neotenic” larval (or aquatic and permanently juvenile in form with external, feathery gills) and terrestrial “metamorphosed” (or ground-dwelling, fully developed adult in form with reduced gills) stages in their wild populations. Ambystomatids are often boldly patterned as adults, with well-developed costal grooves (successive vertical grooves along the sides of the body), especially the metamorphosing varieties. They have a rather flattened body with a wide, flattened head, a large mouth and smooth skin with many glands. The tail is roundish or laterally compressed, and, during the breeding season, males have a very swollen cloacal zone (the region around the reproductory and excretory opening in amphibians located underneath the base of the tail).Like all neotenic Ambystoma species, the axolotl retains its larval features into adulthood. A fully grown axolotl (at age 18–24 months) ranges in length from 150–450mm, although a size close to 230mm is typical and axolotls measuring more than 300mm nose to tail are rarely observed. The axolotl grows much larger than a normal larval or neotenic salamander species, and it reaches sexual maturity in this larval stage. Axolotls have distinctive fern-like gill structures that are uncovered or external – usually three stalks on each side of the head. They have tiny teeth which are used to grip food rather than to tear and chew it. In body colour, axolotls range from albino or white (the leucistic variety) to black, through greys, tans and browns. However, leucistic axolotls are rarely found in the wild.
Ecology
The most notable feature of the life history of the axolotl is that the species exhibits an extreme form of neoteny. Axolotls remain in their aquatic larval form throughout their entire lives, which means that when they reach sexual maturity at approximately one and a half years of age, they remain in all other respects a large larva. This would be akin to a tadpole being able to breed without ever turning into a frog. Neoteny involves the retention of “paedomorphic” features (referring to those features which pertain to the juvenile form) such as external gills that persist through life, a state described as “perennibranchiate”. The paedomorphic characteristics found in adult axolotls include the maintenance of external gills, fins, non-protruding eyes, no eyelids and an associated permanently aquatic lifestyle. Young axolotls feed on algae, but as adults their diet predominantly consists of aquatic insects.During reproduction in axolotls, the male releases sperm packets which are taken up by the female for internal fertilisation. Fertilised eggs are attached by the female to structures such as plants and hatching generally occurs after 2-3 weeks. In the wild, axolotls can live for ten to 12 years. The major predators of the axolotl are predatory birds such as herons.Axolotls famously have a fast regeneration rate which can allow them to regrow limbs and organs. In addition to respiring via their external fearthery gills, axolotls are able to breathe through their skin and also possess lungs.

Habitat
The axolotl is native to the ancient system of water channels and lakes in Mexico City. This species requires deep-water lakes and water bodies (including both natural and artificial canals) with abundant aquatic vegetation. The axolotl depends upon vegetation and other suitable structures for the attachment of their eggs, following fertilisation. Lake Xochimilco is known for its “floating gardens,” or “chinampas,” which are strips of land between drainage channels where local people grow vegetables and flowers for the market. Axolotls may be found in these channels, as well as remaining lake areas.

Distribution
The axolotl is known only from central Mexico, on the southern edge of Mexico City, in canals and wetlands in the general vicinity of Xochimilco (including outside of Xochimilco proper, around the Chalco wetland). The axolotl lives only in wetlands and canals associated with Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco, both adjacent to Mexico City. Xochimilco and Chalco are part of a complex of five lakes, among which the Aztecs built Mexico City and around which the city has since expanded. Axolotls are not regularly distributed throughout their range but instead congregate in places where the habitat is still conducive for the survival and breeding of the axolotl.
Population Estimate
An accurate population estimate is currently unavailable for the species, although the surviving wild population of axolotls is known to be very small despite a large captive population. Although populations are difficult to assess, recent surveys covering almost all of its known distribution range have usually captured less than 100 individuals and during 2002-2003, following more than 1,800 net casts along Xochimilco canals covering 39,173m2, the resultant catch was just 42 individuals. A recent scientific survey in 2004 revealed no axolotls in the species’ range. However, wild-caught animals are still found in local markets, indicating that the local fishermen still know where to find them. There has not been a density study of the Chalco population, but evidence suggests that this population is small and, furthermore, Chalco is a highly unstable system which runs the risk of disappearing in the near future.
Population Trend
Exact population data are currently unavailable for the axolotl, although the population trend is assumed to be in decline in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species based on notable declines in survey catches performed since 2002 along a 39,173m2 area of the Xochimilco canals.
Status
Listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because its area of occupancy is less than 10 km sq., its distribution is severely fragmented, there is a continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat and a sustained decline in the number of mature individuals.
Threats
Axolotl populations are suffering as a result of land drainage and the growth of Mexico City. Various efforts at flood control and sewage disposal starting in the seventeenth century have led to serious damage to the Xochimilco and Chalco lake complex. The digging of wells for the burgeoning population of Mexico City has also caused drying of the valley in which the lakes are located. The largest of these lakes, Texcoco, has been greatly diminished in size, while Lake Chalco has all but disappeared. Xochimilco has likewise suffered a decline in size and water quality. The major threat to the survival of the axolotl is therefore the desiccation, pollution and general degradation of the canal system and lakes in Xochimilco and Chalco, as a result of urbanization. The species is under pressure from traditional harvesting for consumption by local people and axolotls are also captured for medicinal purposes. The harvesting is targeted at animals that are less than one year old, and therefore generally before the individuals have had the opportunity to breed since axolotls reach sexual maturity at approximately one and a half years of age. Formerly, axolotls have also been captured for the international pet trade, although it is thought that no axolotls commercially available today are wild caught since doing so is strictly forbidden. The majority of axolotls currently available on the international market probably originated from captive or laboratory populations.Introduced predatory fish (such as tilapia and carp) have increased to high abundances – a recent study collected 600kg of tilapia in one small channel using a 100m net. These introduced fish species have had a negative impact upon axolotl populations through competition and predation. The species is also being adversely affected by poor water quality, arising from factors such as pollution and disease, probably spread via invasive species. Although the water regime has changed in the last ten years, and it is reported that pollution levels are decreasing, factors such as very high levels of bacterial contamination could still pose a serious threat to axolotls in the wild.
Conservation Underway
Conservation action to protect axolotl populations in the wild is focusing on raising the profile of Lake Xochimilco through conservation education and a nature tourism initiative, coupled with work on habitat restoration and bioremediation. A species action plan is in draft. This species is protected under the category Pr (Special Protection) by the Government of Mexico and is in the process of being amended to a higher risk category. The axolotl is currently on Appendix II of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), restricting its international trade to protect this species from over-harvesting in the wild, where it has been listed since 1975. However, it is currently under the process of "Periodic Review of Species included in CITES Appendices".A Darwin project was recently completed focusing on the conservation of the axolotl, led by the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology. This was designed to assist Mexico in the development of a sustainable development programme to conserve the axolotl and other endemic fauna and flora of Xochimilco through the promotion of nature tourism.

Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)

This two-horned rhino is the smallest and most threatened of the five living rhinoceros species. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘hairy rhino’ because of the long coarse hair that covers its body. The species leads a solitary life deep in the rainforests of South East Asia, where it has survived virtually unchanged for a million years. Sadly, human activities have brought the species to brink of extinction. Extensive deforestation and poaching for the horn have caused a dramatic decline in rhino numbers, and it is estimated that fewer than 275 individuals survive today in very small and highly fragmented populations.

Evolutionary Distinctiveness
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Together with equids (horses, zebras and asses) and tapirs, rhinos are the only surviving members of an ancient and formerly diverse group of ungulates, which originated in the Eocene around 50 million years ago. The Sumatran rhino is the only surviving member of the most primitive group of rhinos, the Dicerorhinini, which emerged during the Miocene, 15-20 million years ago. It is closely related to the extinct woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis), which lived in Europe and Asia until 10,000 years ago. Ancestral members of this clade are thought to have migrated into Africa and evolved into the two species now found in this continent, the black rhino and the white rhino. The Sumatran rhino is therefore thought to be more closely related to these species than to either of the one-horned Asian species.

Description
Size: Head and body length: 236-318 cm

Shoulder height: 112-145 cm
Weight: 600 - 950 kg
Often referred to as the ‘hairy rhino’, the Sumatran rhino is the smallest of the five living rhinoceros species. It has a sparse covering of long coarse hair on its body and tufts of hair on its ears. The skin is reddish-brown and deeply folded behind the front legs and in front of the hind legs. It is the only Asian rhino to have two horns, although the posterior horn is usually very small and often absent in females.
Ecology
The species is a browser, feeding on a wide variety of plant material, including fruit, leaves, bark, shrubs and vines. Most of the 50 kg of food the rhino consumes each day comes from saplings, which it breaks down in order to reach young leaves and shoots. The rhino is particularly fond of wild mangos, bamboo and figs, and obtains essential minerals from salt-licks. Individuals prefer to travel and feed at dawn or dusk or during the night, when it is cooler. Days are usually spent resting and wallowing in mud to keep the skin cool and insects at bay. The rhinos are solitary creatures and tend avoid each other, coming together only for breeding. Females maintain stable, partially overlapping home ranges, while males are slightly more nomadic. The large ranges of males overlap extensively, but there appear to be small, exclusive core areas. Both sexes mark their territories with faeces, urine and soil scrapes. In some areas the rhinos have been seen to exhibit seasonal movements, moving to higher ground during the wet season to escape flooding and descending again once the rains have finished. The lifespan of the Sumatran rhino is thought to be similar to that of other rhinos, at around 35-40 years. Sexual maturity is reached at 6-8 years of age and females give birth to a single calf every 3 to 4 years.

Habitat
Mainly found in hilly country near water. It inhabits both tropical rainforest and mountain moss forest. The species is thought to prefer lowland secondary forest, where the canopy is broken and the smaller shrubs and vines on which it feeds are more abundant. Individuals can, however, be found in a wide variety of habitats. An agile climber, it is sometimes forced up into higher altitudes due to lowland flooding or human pressures. The rhino is quite capable of surviving in such areas providing there is sufficiently thick undergrowth and a salt-lick (essential for every home range).
Distribution
Once found throughout south-east Asia, the species now exists only as small, highly fragmented populations scattered throughout its former range. The largest concentration of the western subspecies is thought to be in Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia (with possibly a few surviving in Thailand along the border with Malaysia). There have also been unconfirmed reports of the rhinos in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The eastern subspecies is currently found only in Sabah in Malaysian Borneo, although there is also speculation that it may exist in the neighbouring state of Sarawak and in Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). The subspecies D. s. lasiotis is probably extinct, although a few individuals may possibly survive in the forests of Burma.

Population Estimate
The population size is critically low. There are thought to be as few as 275 Sumatran rhinos surviving in the wild.
Population Trend
Numbers have halved over the last decade, although this decline appears to have been slowed and numbers seem to be stabilising in most of the core areas.
Status
Both the Eastern and Western Sumatran rhino are classified as Critically Endangered on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and D. s. lasiotis is classified as Extinct. The species is listed on Appendix I of CITES.
Threats
Hunting has been a major factor in the decline of the species. Rhino horn, along with various other body parts, has been used in traditional Asian medicine for centuries to treat a variety of ailments, including fevers and strokes. Although hunting is now illegal, poaching continues, with animals continuing to be trapped and killed for their horns. Loss of habitat as a result of logging and conversion of land to other uses is the other main threat. As areas of suitable habitat become fewer, the rhino populations are pushed together into small, fragmented subpopulations that may be too small to be viable. Stranded in these remaining pockets of forest, the rhinos become even more susceptible to disease, environmental disasters and poaching.
Conservation Underway
Surviving rhino populations are being intensively protected by anti-poaching patrol teams, which have proved very effective at reducing illegal poaching. The teams are also involved in monitoring rhino populations, with the information gathered being used by the Indonesian and Malaysian governments to develop effective management programmes. Some of these programmes have involved creating breeding sanctuaries where the rhinos can be protected and maintained under conditions most suitable for reproductive success. The governments are assisted in their work by several national and international conservation organisations which are also restoring habitat in heavily encroached areas.The IUCN/SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group (AsRSG), the co-ordinating body for rhino conservation work, has developed an Action Plan for conservating this species. This plan recognises the importance of involving local communities in their work, so that they can learn about the rhino's plight and benefit from its conservation. Such communities are also being encouraged to adopt sustainable methods by which they can effectively manage natural resources without causing further harm to the rhino or its habitat. In addition to these measures, conservation groups are trying to reduce the demand for rhino horn by conducting awareness campaigns in consumer countries, and investigating possible alternatives to rhino horn in traditional medicine. At present, all trade in rhino horn is prohibited, and the extent of illegal trade is investigated by TRAFFIC (the wildlife trade monitoring network of the WWF and IUCN).

Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus)

Resembling a scruffy, overgrown shrew, the ancestors of this West Indian insectivore separated from all other living mammal groups an incredible 76 million years ago. It is one of only a few species of mammal capable of producing toxic saliva, which it injects into its prey through special grooves in its incisors. Before European colonisation of Hispaniola, the species was one of the dominant predators on the island. As a result it has never evolved any ‘anti-predator’ defences. A slow, clumsy mover, it is poorly equipped to defend itself against introduced predators such as dogs, cats and mongooses.

Evolutionary Distinctiveness
Order: Insectivora
Family: Solenodontidae
Recent genetic studies have revealed that the solenodons diverged from all other living mammals during the Cretaceous Period, an incredible 76 million years ago. This separation occurred at least as long ago as the branching of many entire mammalian orders (e.g. pangolins versus carnivores, or manatees versus elephants).Fossil evidence shows that solenodon-like insectivores existed in North America 30 million years ago. They are thought to have originated from North American insectivores that colonised the Greater Antilles by overwater dispersal from Central America or the southeastern United States.There are only two species of solenodon alive today, the Cuban solendon (S. cubanus) and the Hispaniolan solenodon (S. paradoxus). Two additional species, S. arredondoi and S. marcanoi, are known only from skeletal remains collected from western Cuba and southwestern Hispaniola respectively.The two living solenodon species are believed to have diverged around 25 million years ago, when northern Hispaniola separated from eastern Cuba. This separation is comparable to the divergence between distinct mammalian families, for example, dolphins versus whales (30 Myr ago), or humans versus Old World monkeys (23 Myr ago). On this basis some researchers argue that the two species should be placed in different genera, with the Cuban solenodon being placed in a distinct genus, Atopogale.

Description
Size: Head and body length: approx. 280-390 mm

Tail length: approx. 175-255 mm
Weight: 1 kg
The Haitian solenodon is roughly the same size as a large brown rat, although its relatively large head and long cartilaginous snout give it a shrew-like appearance. The majority of the animal’s body is covered with black to reddish-brown fur, which is paler on the underside. The nose, ears, feet and thick, scaly tail are almost hairless. The eyes are very small and the vision is underdeveloped, although the species has very good senses of smell and hearing. The forelimbs are larger and more developed that the hindlimbs, but all the feet have powerful claws for digging.
Ecology
The species is nocturnal and finds shelter during the day by burrowing or hiding in hollow logs or crevices. Classed as an insectivore, the solenodon feeds mostly on spiders and insects found in the soil, although the diet may be supplemented with worms, snails and occasional plant material. The solenodon is one of the few species of mammal that can produce toxic saliva (along with some species of shrew). A special groove in the second incisor carries the venom to its prey.The reproductive rate of this species is low, with females producing two litters containing 1-3 offspring per year. The young stay with their parents for several months, while other offspring are born and raised. The lifespan of wild solenodons is thought to be relatively long, as one individual survived for more than eleven years in captivity.

Habitat
Found in forests and brush country.
Distribution
Endemic to the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic). S. paradoxus paradoxus occurs in northern Hispaniola. S. p. woodi occurs in the south of the island, as three distinct populations; two from the southwest Dominican Republic and one from Haiti. The Haitian population is thought to be almost extinct.
Population Estimate
No current estimates.
Status
Classified as Endangered (EN A1cde) on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Threats
The main threats are habitat loss due to increasing human activity and deforestation, and the introduction of exotic predators, such as dogs, cats and mongooses. Since the species had no natural predators before European colonisation of Hispaniola, and is a slow clumsy mover, it does not possess many defences against introduced animals.
Conservation Underway
The species is fully protected by law. It is known to occur in only two protected areas in the Dominican Republic, the Jaragua and Parque del Este National Parks. Both areas are threatened by deforestation for farming and charcoal production. The US Agency for International Development and the Nature Conservancy are currently working with local non-governmental organisations to improve protection and implement management plans for these parks (Parks in Peril programme).In 1975 a captive breeding programme was established to safeguard against extinction. One solenodon was kept at London Zoo in the 1960s. Unfortunately this programme was not a success, due to the difficulty of keeping the species in captivity.

Bullock's False Toad (Telmatobufo bullocki)

Bullock’s false toad is a rare and elusive species, usually found under logs in temperate beech woodland. It breeds in fast-flowing water, where its tadpoles develop by scraping algae from rocks. Bullock’s false toad has been found hiding under logs. The stomach contents of the first individual described by scientists were examined and found to comprise the remains of cockroaches, other insects and spiders, as well as a considerable mass of plant material. This species has only been sighted once since 1992 and, despite occurring in the Parque Nacional Nahuelbuta, is threatened by wood extraction and the establishment of pine plantations, which causes the siltation of its streams.

Evolutionary Distinctiveness
Order: Anura
Family: Calyptocephalellidae
The Calyptocephalellidae family is a recently defined group of amphibians. Its four members, comprising three false toads (genus Telmatobufo) and the helmeted water toad (genus Caudiverbera) are all found in Chile, and were formerly included in the much lager Leprodactylidae family (commonly known as the “Leptodactylid frogs”). As a group, the Leptodactylidae has been reorganised recently and split into a number of different families, including the Calyptocephalellidae. It is now thought that the redefined Leptodactylidae diverged from all other amphibian groups about 60 million years ago, five milllion years after the extinction of the dinosaurs. However, it seems the Calyptocephalellidae diverged around 70 million years before the Leptodactylid frogs – 130 million years before the present day. They started to evolve separately from all other modern amphibians 30 million years prior to the extinct common ancestor that gave rise to the elephant and the mouse, when dinosaurs were still in abundance! The false toads are a tiny and little-known genus, all members of which are endangered (Telmatobufo bullocki is Critically Endangered, Telmatobufo venustusis is Endangered, and Telmatobufo australis is Vulnerable). Their closest relative, the Vulnerable helmeted water toad, is a giant among amphibians, with females reaching lengths of over 300 mm. It feeds predominantly on other frogs and toads, although it is also capable of consuming small birds and mammals. Its huge tadpoles can grow to lengths of 15 cm and take about two years to metamorphose. The Calyptocephalellidae family is therefore a highly evolutionarily distinct, unusual and endangered group of amphibians.
Description
Bullock’s false toad is a toad-like frog, with a stocky body, long slender legs, and webbed toes. Adults have a total body length of 60-80 mm. The fingers are not webbed and the tips of all digits are pointed and not dilated into discs. The skin along the back is covered in raised, rounded glands and prominent parotoid glands are present either side of the head just behind the eyes, appearing as large, oval lumps. The ventral skin is smooth. This species is mottled greyish-brown in colour, with darker spots corresponding to the round, elevated glands along the back.
Ecology
Very little is known about this species. Since its formal discovery in 1952, it has been seen very infrequently, and there are records of just one sighting since 1992. Adults may be found hiding under logs in temperate beech forest, and it is known to breed in fast-flowing streams. The tadpoles are free-swimming and feed by scraping algae from submerged rocks. Bullock’s false toad has been found hiding under logs. The stomach contents of the first individual described by scientists were examined and found to comprise the remains of cockroaches, other insects and spiders, as well as a considerable mass of plant material. This diet indicates that Bullock’s false toad has terrestrial (or ground-dwelling) feeding habits.

Habitat
The habitat of Bullock’s false toad is fast-flowing streams that flow through temperate Nothofagus (southern beech) forest. It can be found hiding under logs and it thought to be tolerant of moderate habitat destruction.
Distribution
This species is known from only a few locations in the Coastal Range, Nahuelbuta in the Arauco Province of Chile, between 37° and 38°S. It has an altitudinal range of 800-1,200 metres above sea level.
Population Estimate
Bullock’s false toad is extremely rare. Extensive fieldwork by several herpetologists within the range of this species between 1992 and 2002 has turned up only a single adult (in 2002).
Population Trend
This species is thought to be in decline by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Status
Bullock’s false toad is listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, because its area of occupancy is probably less than 500 km sq., with all individuals in fewer than five locations, and there is a continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat in Arauco Province, Chile.
Threats
The major threat to the species is wood extraction from its temperate beech forest habitat and the establishment of pine plantations, which causes siltation of streams, making it difficult for the tadpoles to feed.
Conservation Underway
Bullock’s false toad occurs in the Parque Nacional Nahuelbuta, although there are no specific conservation measure ongoing for this species, and additional protection and maintenance of existing habitat is still urgently required.

Cuban solenodon (Solenodon cubanus)

This primitive insectivore resembles a large stoutly-built shrew. Like its relative the Hispaniolan solenodon (S. paradoxus), this species is thought to secrete toxic saliva to subdue its prey. The solenodons diverged from all other mammal groups an incredible 76 million years ago and were, until recently, among the dominant predators of the West Indies. The species was almost wiped out by introduced predators such as dogs, cats and mongooses following European colonisation of Cuba, and was believed to be extinct until a single individual was captured in 2003.

Evolutionary Distinctiveness
Order: Insectivora
Family: Solenodontidae
Recent genetic studies have revealed that the solenodons diverged from all other living mammals during the Cretaceous Period, an incredible 76 million years ago. This separation occurred at least as long ago as the branching of many entire mammalian orders (e.g. pangolins versus carnivores, or manatees versus elephants).Fossil evidence shows that solenodon-like insectivores existed in North America 30 million years ago. They are thought to have originated from North American insectivores that colonised the Greater Antilles by overwater dispersal from Central America or the southeastern United States.There are only two species of solenodon alive today, the Cuban solendon (S. cubanus) and the Hispaniolan solenodon (S. paradoxus). Two additional species, S. arredondoi and S. marcanoi, are known only from skeletal remains collected from western Cuba and southwestern Hispaniola respectively.The two living solenodon species are believed to have diverged around 25 million years ago, when northern Hispaniola separated from eastern Cuba. This separation is comparable to the divergence between distinct mammalian families, for example, dolphins versus whales (30 Myr ago), or humans versus Old World monkeys (23 Myr ago). On this basis some researchers argue that the two species should be placed in different genera, with the Cuban solenodon being placed in a distinct genus, Atopogale.
Description
Size: Head and body length: approx. 280-390 mm

Tail length: approx. 175-255 mm
Weight: 1 kg
With its small eyes and long snout, which is supported by a rod of cartilage, this primitive insectivore resembles a large stoutly-built shrew. It has a thick scaly tail and large ears which are almost hairless. The rest of the body is covered in patchy fur which is blackish brown in colour flecked with white or buff. Solenodons have tiny eyes and their vision is very poor, although their sense of smell and hearing are well developed. The front legs are longer than the hind legs and the five toes on each foot are equipped with powerful claws for digging.

Ecology
The species is nocturnal, spending the day hiding in rock clefts, hollow trees or burrows which they dig themselves. At night they come out to search for food. They use their long snouts to root around for invertebrates, and their claws to uncover or dig them up. Solenodons subdue their prey by injecting them with venom through special grooves in their incisors. They are the only mammals known to do this. Insects and spiders are the main prey species, although some small reptiles, roots, fruit and leaves are also eaten.Solenodons are relatively social animals and live in family groups of up to eight individuals in the same burrow. The species is relatively long-lived, with one individual surviving for more than six years in captivity. However, reproductive rates are low, with females giving birth to just two litters of typically a single young per year.
Habitat
Inhabits dense humid forests and brush country to elevations of 2000 m.
Distribution
Until relatively recently the species was widely distributed in both the eastern and western ends of Cuba, although it appears to have been largely absent from the centre of the island. Today it is limited to Oriente Province at the eastern end of Cuba.

Population Estimate
No current estimates, but probably very rare. The species has been considered extinct at various times during the past century. Individuals have been captured in 1974 and 1975, and as recently as 2003.
Status
Classified as Endangered (EN A1cde) on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Threats
Like many other Antillean animals, this species declined following European colonisation of the West Indies. Most of its preferred forest habitat has now been lost to agriculture and development, and only an estimated 15% of the island's original vegetation cover remains. The species is also an easy target for introduced predators, such as dogs, cats and mongooses. Since the species had no natural predators before European colonisation of Cuba, and is a slow clumsy mover, it does not possess many defences against introduced animals.
Conservation Underway
The species is protected by the USDI (United States Department of the Interior) and important populations occur within at least two National Parks (the Alejandro de Humboldt National Park in the north-eastern part of Cuba, and the Sierra del Cristal National Park, in Holguin province in eastern Cuba). A survey was conducted in the Sierra del Cristal National Park in 2002 by a multidisciplinary team from the Empresa Nacional para la Proteccion de la Flora y Fauna (ENPFF, Cuba) and the Instituto de Ecologia y Sistematica (IES, Cuba), in collaboration with the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (Jersey, UK). The results of this survey will form the basis for developing a long-term management plan for the species in this area.

Purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis)

The purple frog is the sole representative of an ancient lineage of frogs that has been evolving independently for over 130 million years. Its closest relatives are the Seychelles frogs, the ancestors of which were present on the Indo-Madagascan land mass with the purple frog’s predecessors when it broke away from the supercontinent of Gondwana 120 million years ago. Formally discovered in 2003, the purple frog spends most of the year underground, surfacing only to breed during the monsoon. It was the first new family of frogs to be discovered since 1926. This species is threatened by ongoing forest loss for coffee, cardamom and ginger plantations.

Evolutionary Distinctiveness
Order: Anura
Family: Sooglossidae
The purple frog is described as a “living fossil” and is the only surviving member of an ancient amphibian family called the Nasikabatrachidae. Up until around 120 million years ago in the early Cretaceous period, India was joined to the eastern part of the ancient southern supercontinent Gonwana, which subsequently split apart into Australia, Antarctica, India, Madagascar and the Seychelles over millenia of movement of the earth’s plates. The closest relatives of the purple frog are four tiny frog species found in the Seychelles in the Sooglossidae family. In their phylogenetic study of the purple frog in 2003, S. D. Biju and Franky Bossuyt (respectively of the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Kerala and the Free University of Brussels) reported that the origin of the Sooglossidae/Nasikabatrachidae lineage occurred around 182 million years ago. It is thought that these two amphibian lineages diverged an estimated 134 million years ago form a common ancestor that inhabited Gondwana prior to the break up of this land mass. These frogs were therefore sharing the earth with the dinosaurs for 70 million years and started to evolve independently before the common ancestor of the elephant and the human.The ancestors of the Seychelles frogs and the purple frog were present on the Indo-Madagascan land mass as it broke away from Gondwana and drifted through the movement of the earth’s plates for over 50 million years. Around 65 million years ago the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary, the Seychelles split away from India and the ensuring plate movements separated the purple frogs from their closest relatives by around 2,500 km of Indian Ocean. The purple frog is therefore the only representative of a lineage that has been evolving independently for over 130 million years, has survived the break up of a continent and the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Description
The purple frog is a relatively large burrowing frog with a distinct, bloated or plump appearance. The head is conical and short in comparison with the rest of the body, and has a white, protruding snout. The fore- and hind-limbs are short, ending in partially webbed feet with rounded toes and each hind foot possesses a large, white wart-like growth, most likely used for digging. The eyes are small, rounded, and have a horizontal pupil. This species has smooth, dark purple skin that fades into grey along the stomach. Purple frogs reach a total length of about 7 cm.
Ecology
The purple frog spends most of the year underground, surfacing only for about two weeks during the monsoon season in order to mate. It lives 1.3-3.7m below ground and the frog's reclusive fossorial (digging or burrowing) lifestyle is what caused the species to escape earlier detection by biologists. It comes to the surface for a few weeks a year to breed in temporary and permanent ponds and ditches. During the breeding season, local people reported seeing purple frogs in the vicinity of water pools or at the sides of the swelling streams in pairs clasping each other, especially at the beginning of the monsoon season. During mating, the male clasps the female from behind just above the legs in a behaviour termed “inguinal amplexus”. The bloated shape of both male and female purple frogs, and the smaller size of the male, may mean that males partially glue themselves onto females using sticky skin secretions, as occurs in “short-headed frogs” in the family Brevicipitidae. Eggs are laid in water that hatch into tadpoles, often in ponds close to streams.The diet of the purple frog predominantly consists of termites, and this species has a narrow mouth with a small gape, preventing it from catching and consuming larger prey items. Its strong head and pointed snout permits it to penetrate underground termite niches, and a fluted tongue may allow this species to suck up its prey from subterranean burrows. With its poor vision, this frog presumably depends on smell and tactile cues to detect and locate prey. It also consumes ants and small worms.The burrowing and mound-building activities of termites increase the rate of percolation of rainwater and aeration of both the top and subsoil keeping the underground soil temperature low and the moisture content high. It may therefore benefit burrowing amphibians like the purple frog to live in close proximity to termite colonies, which improve the quality of their habitat as well as providing a food source. In India, the purple frog from the southern Western Ghats may be the only known amphibian species that is a fully underground forager. All other burrowing frogs are either open burrow feeders or diurnal burrow dwellers that are open ground feeders in the night. Purple frogs require damp, loose soil to borrow into, and may dig themselves fully into appropriate soil within 3 to 5 minutes. When placed on hard ground, pebbled- or gravel-strewn soil, or areas with a thick mat of weeds, purple frogs are unable to borrow effectively and go in search of cover. The hind limbs have strong feet with wart-like structures that are primarily used for digging. This frog burrows downwards using its hind limbs like spades, throwing the soil over its back. They rest underground in a horizontal position with the limbs tucked under the body, although they do not remain idle underneath the soil, especially when foraging for their prey.
Habitat
The first purple frog was officially discovered in disturbed secondary forest near a cardamom plantation. It has also been found in disturbed secondary forest contiguous with montane evergreen forest. It presumably occurs in undisturbed forest as well and apparently does not survive in open, completely clear habitats. This species requires fairly loose, damp, well-aerated soil, especially in close proximity to termite colonies.

Distribution
This species is endemic to the Western Ghats in India, and is known from only two localities in the Idukki District in the Cardomom Hills, Kerala at an altitudinal range of 850 - 1,000m above sea level. These two areas are Kattapana and near Idukki town. It might occur more widely, but it seems that other reported localities probably refer to currently undescribed species.
Population Estimate
The purple frog is thought to be a rare species, although it is very hard to find which makes any population estimate difficult to determine. Only 135 individuals have so far been observed, and of these only three have been females. The plantation workers within the range of this species have reported that this frog is uncommonly found when they are cutting trenches during the monsoon period (June to October).
Population Trend
The purple frog is thought to be in decline by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Status
The purple frog is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because its extent of occurrence is less than 5,000 km sq., all individuals found are in fewer than five locations, and there is a continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat in the Cardomom Hills, Western Ghats.
Threats
The main threat to the purple frog is believed to be ongoing forest loss for coffee, cardamom, ginger and other species for cultivation.
Conservation Underway
It has not yet been found in any protected areas, although its range is an integral part of the peripheral hilly area that adjoins the Silent Valley National Park. There are no specific conservation measures ongoing for this species.

Sagalla Caecilian (Boulengerula niedeni)

The long, worm-like Sagalla caecilian is only found in an area equivalent to half the size of Manhattan Island on the isolated Sagalla Hill in south-eastern Kenya. It is a burrowing species that lays eggs, which the females subsequently guard until they hatch. Feeding primarily on earth worms and termites, this species detects its prey by picking up chemical signals through an acute sense of smell and taste, and it uses specialised sensory tentacles on either side of its head to feel it way. It is threatened by the clearance of native vegetation and subsequent soil erosion in its habitat, and by the Eucalyptus plantations on Sagalla Hill.

Evolutionary Distinctiveness
Order: Gymnophiona
Family: Caeciliidae
The modern caecilians, with their limbless, superficially worm-like or snake-like bodies, are perhaps the most unusual amphibians in appearance, and their behaviour can be equally strange. The order Gymnophiona (the caecilians) is thought to have diverged from other amphibian lineages about 370 million years ago in the Devonian period, over 150 million years before the first mammal. The earliest caecilian is sometimes reported to be known from the early Jurassic period in Arizona, U.S.A. 190 million years ago and was named Eocaecilia micropodia because it had very small legs and feet. It also had well-developed eyes, suggesting that it was not an entirely subterranean species and may have had more in common with salamanders than with the modern caecilians that became its descendents, and its status as a caecilian is in some doubt. Eocaecilia and Gymnophiona have long independent histories, and it is also thought that they may represent separate lineages that developed similar closed-roof skull morphology convergently, i.e. the same trait arose twice in different parts of the amphibian tree of life, which means that species possessing identical traits are not always closely related (e.g. both bats and birds have wings, but flight evolved independently in these two lineages). This means that the morphology of Eocaecilia may not be the best model for the ancestral caecilian. Modern caecilians certainly evolved from limbed ancestors however, and therefore underwent major changes in their evolutionary history as they developed elongated, externally-segmented bodies and much-reduced eyes, and lost their limbs, limb girdles and, in the case of the most recently evolved species, their tails. The only currently known fossils of ‘true’ caecilians are three records of isolated vertebrae (back bones) from the Late Cretaceous period (about 100-93 million years ago) of Sudan in Africa, and the Palaeocene (65-53 million years ago) of Brazil and Bolivia. Two older fossils from the Cretaceous of Morocco and the Jurassic of North America are not ‘true’ caecilians, but have been argued to be more closely related to caecilians than any other amphibians. The oldest of these two possible members of the caecilian ‘stem’ lineage is Eocaecilia macropodia. Its small fore- and hind-limbs are thought to have been retained from the last common ancestor of the caecilians and the frogs+salamanders lineage. Carl Linnaeus (the founder of modern taxonomy) described the first species of caecilian (Caecilia tentaculata) in 1758 and initially thought they were related to snakes. The taxonomic order name “Gymnophiona” is actually derived from the Greek words gymnos (meaning naked) and ophis (meaning snake). The caecilians where therefore originally refered to as “naked snakes” because they lack external scales covering their entire body and the first scientific efforts to classify them could not conceive that they were instead closely related to frogs and salamanders. Many caecilians do actually have scales, but these are small, more fish-like than snake-like, and hidden in folds in the skin, although the Sagalla caecilian and its close relatives (in the Boulengerula genus) have no scales. The family Caeciliidae (the “common caecilians”) are thought to have branched off from the rest of the amphibian tree over 160 million years ago in the upper Jurrasic period when dinosaurs were still abundant in the earth’s terrestrial ecosystems. Boulengerula (the genus of the Sagalla caecilian) diverged within this family almost 100 million years ago in the late Cretaceous period and there are now just seven described species in this genus (which is also referred to as “Boulenger's Caecilians”), all present in East and Central Africa. This means they are as separated in time from their closest relative as humans are from elephants. Despite there only being seven species of Boulengerula caecilians, this genus is thought to be the most species-rich of all the African caecilian groups and it is probable that more species are yet to be found. The Sagalla caecilian was only recently discovered as a new species in 2005 and was collected from Sagalla Hill, an isolated mountain block of the Taita Hills range in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya. This species differs substantially from its closest relative Boulengerula taitanus (the Taita African caecilian – which is also found in the Taita Hills) and from all other members of Boulengerula in its colouration, phallus (a penis-like organ – all caecilians have internal fertilisation) and other morphological features. The Eastern Arc Mountains are one of the earth's major biodiversity hotspots, and many species in this region are restricted to one mountain block within the arc.

Description
With its elongated body, “annuli” which resemble segments, lack of limbs and borrowing lifestyle, the Sagalla caecilian superficially resembles a large earthworm. This species has strongly pigmented skin, giving it a brownish appearance with a pinkish-red tinge, and whitish grooves that divide the body skin cross-ways into narrow segments or annuli. Sagalla caecilians grow to lengths of almost 300 mm. The body of this species is adapted for burrowing. Like other caecilians, the Sagalla caecilian has a bony skull which it uses to push through the soil, and the skin is very tough, with the underlying skin layers being closely in contact with the skull bones to stop them being sheared away during digging. The outer layers of the skin are also strengthened with keratin, which is the same material that forms our hair and fingernails. Sagalla caecilians also have very reduced eyes, which are not visible because they are covered by a layer of bone and a protective skin which is the same colour as the rest of the body. There is not even a conspicuous depression or elevation in the region where the eyes would be expected to lie. The common name caecilian is actually derived from the Latin word caecus (meaning blind) in reference to the small or sometimes vestigial eyes of these animals. The idea that caecilians are blind is a misconception, even when the eyes are covered by a layer of skin and bone. This skin and bone cover reduces their vision substantially but they are probably still capable of simple dark-light perception. They possess retractable tentacles located either side of the head between the nostril and the place where their eyes should be found, and close to the margin of the upper lip. The tentacles are short and globular, and emanate from small, circular holes. The function of these tentacles has not been studied in Boulenger’s caecilians, and it is thought they could be tactile (used to sense surroundings through touch), chemosensory (able to detect chemical cues from the environment), or both. The Sagalla caecilian has a relatively large mouth containing many teeth in three different rows (two in the upper jaw and one in the lower). Many caecilians have annuli right up to the posterior end of their bodies. However, Boulenger’s caecilians are unusual in having an unsegmented ‘terminal shield’ instead. One of the features that differentiates the Sagalla caecilian from its closest relative, the Taita African caecilian (Boulengerula taitanus), is that males possess a differently-shaped phallus or penis-like organ (also called the phallodeum), which has broad bumps aligned along the side ridges near its tip. Unlike frogs and salamanders, male caecilians use the phallus (which is actually an eversion of the single chamber into which the digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems empty, also called the cloaca) to copulate with and transfer sperm to females. Adult Taita African caecilians are also a different colour to the Sagalla caecilian, being bluish-black
Ecology
The Sagalla caecilian lives underground, burrowing through the soil using its strong, bony head to compact soil and produce a burrow. They move through the soil by body undulation, and search for their prey, possibly by collecting chemical and tactile signals. In addition to their sense of smell through their nose, retractable tentacle sensors either side of their head near to their nostrils may also function to transmit chemical messages from the environment to the nasal cavity, which aids the caecilian in finding prey. The feeding mechanism of the Sagalla caecilian’s close relative (the Taita Hill’s caecilian) has been closely studied. They were found to employ rotational feeding, which is where the caecilian grabs a prey item and then rotates about the long axis of their body. This is a common behaviour in gape-limited creatures, and would seem to serve a dual purpose in caecilians. First, it may aid the breaking up of oversized food items. However, it is thought that caecilian prey is not always oversized so a second function of rotation may instead help them to judge prey size through the detection of how much spin force is required to move the object. Caecilians spend their time in narrow, dark tunnels, so rotational feeding allows the caecilian to gauge more information about its surroundings and prey. The observation of caecilian behaviour is rendered difficult by their subterranean lifestyles. Many caecilian species are dietary generalists, feeding on earthworms and various species of other soil-dwelling invertebrate. Boulenger’s caecilians also feed on a range of prey items, most commonly termites and earthworms. Caecilians catch their prey using a variety of methods, which range from a “sit and wait” or stealth strategy, whereby they slowly approach the prey and then quickly seize it using a strong grab of the jaws, to active hunting of prey items using an acute sense of smell. Their main predators are probably snakes and birds, although they are thought to possess some defense mechanisms against predation. Their skin contains mucus and poison glands (as found in other amphibians), and caecilians are probably quite toxic to many potential attackers. They are often well camouflaged and spend the vast majority of their time underground away from a wide variety of potential predators. The principal predators of the Sagalla caecilian are thought to be driver ants (which are sometimes known as “killer” ants). Living in colonies of up to 20 million individuals, driver ants are a formidable force and may tackle prey up to the size of a zebra, although the bulk of their diet consists of earth worms. Since the Sagalla caecilian occupies a similar habitat to the earth worms, they too are hunted in their burrows. All caecilians are thought to have internal fertilisation, in that the eggs are fertilised by the male’s sperm inside the female and not when they are being laid. Virtually nothing is known of caecilian mate recognition or courtship, although some aquatic species have been observed performing an undulating dance before mating. During mating, the male everts and inserts his phallus into the cloaca (or reproductive opening) of the female for up to several hours. The Sagalla caecilian is egg-laying (or “oviparous”), and in caecilians this means that the female lays her eggs in an underground chamber and then guards them until they hatch. This species is presumed to resemble its close relatives in having direct development, so the young hatch out from the eggs without first passing through a free-living larval stage. Caecilians can produce clutches of two to more than 100 eggs, and a Sagalla caecilian female has previously been found bearing five eggs. It had been thought that following the hatching of the eggs in oviparous species, caecilian mothers provided little or no further care of their offspring. However, the Sagalla caecilian’s closest relative, the Taita African caecilian (Boulengerula taitanus), has recently been shown to exhibit the extraordinary behaviour of “maternal dermatotrophy” or skin feeding its young. The hatchlings possess special teeth that allow them to peel and eat their mother's skin, which contains a high level of fat and other nutrients. Indicated by the presence of special teeth in the hatchlings of other oviparous caecilians, skin feeding may have evolved in caecilians around 150 million years ago in the late Jurassic period. The young of the Taita African caecilian are therefore provisioned with both yolk whilst in the egg and, subsequently, a diet of the nutrient-rich skin of their mother when they hatch. This remarkable level of parental care has not yet been observed in the Sagalla caecilian. The specialised teeth have not been found in their independent young, but it is unclear whether this is because they had already been shed and replaced with the adult-like dentition in the observed stages or whether they do not skin-feed. More studies are needed to fully discover the life history of the Sagalla caecilian, although skin-feeding is expected to occur in the Sagalla caecilian based on its presence in its sister species and the possibly broader distribution of this trait among the closer relatives of Boulenger’s caecilians. Sagalla caecilians possess a single developed lung (the left lung being considerably reduced or missing as is often the case in snakes) and they are also capable of gaseous exchange (or respiration) through their skin and the lining of their mouth. Local farmers on Sagalla Hill have reported that the Sagalla caecilian is more commonly encountered during the wet seasons, which is also known to be the case for the Taita African caecilian. The rains may encourage the Sagalla caecilian to move up into the upper layers of the soil where it becomes more visible to the farmers that cultivate the land. The Sagalla caecilian requires moist soil, both to maintain their moist skin and to provide a suitable habitat for their prey

Habitat
This species is thought to have originally been present in montane forest soils, as well as that covered by bushy shrub vegetation, but this habitat has now been transformed into shambas (Kenyan smallholder farms). Most of the Sagalla caecilians observed by scientists so far have been unearthed from soil underneath banana plants or beneath decomposing organic debris within these farms, especially near to streams. The Sagalla caecilian therefore seems to be tolerant of small-scale farming activities. However, the density of animals is much higher near streams than in shambas away from streams, so the area of potentially preferred habitat within the possible range of the Sagalla caecilian is very small. Although Boulenger’s caecilians require moist soils, their reproductive mode (direct development of terrestrial eggs) has liberated them from a dependence on streams or other water bodies for their reproduction. The species has not been found in the Eucalyptus plantations that cover much of the Sagalla Hill area (due to soil desiccation, toxic accumulations of Eucalyptus leaf litter, and resultant limited prey), and is only found in very low abundance in the small remaining area of natural forest on the ridge of Sagalla Hill. This is potentially because this remnant forest is at a higher elevation than that apparently favoured by the species, or it could be due to the absence of suitable soil conditions or streamside habitat. Currently very little is known about what constitutes suitable or optimal habitat for caecilians. For example, specimens of the Taita African caecilian observed in shambas have been found to be significantly smaller but more abundant than those inhabiting naturally forested areas of the Taita Hills. It is therefore difficult to determine whether the human alteration of the Sagalla caecilian’s habitat is having a long-term effect upon this species.
Distribution
The Sagalla caecilian is known only from elevations of about 1,000 metres above sea level on Sagalla Hill (also spelt Sagala Hill), in the Taita Hills of the Eastern Arc mountains in south-eastern Kenya. This mountain block is isolated from other similar habitat by the arid Tsavo plains, and so the range of this species is believed to be restricted to the 29 km² within this block that are above 1,000 metres above sea level. This is an area about half the size of Manhattan Island.
Population Estimate
No population data are currently available for this species. However, within its extremely restricted range of about 29 km², the Sagalla caecilian is considered to be common in a small number of suitable habitats.
Population Trend
No population data are currently available for the Sagalla caecilian, but the population trend is assumed to be in decline by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Status
The Sagalla caecilian is listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because it has an extent of occurrence of less than 100 km², is restricted to one location, and its habitat is undergoing a continuing decline in quality.
Threats
Sagalla Hill has been significantly deforested and only a small amount of natural forest remains within the range of the Sagalla caecilian. However, it is not clear whether these caecilians might sometimes benefit from human modified or disturbed habitat. The Sagalla caecilian appears to be tolerant of small-scale farming activities such as those practiced in the shambas on Sagalla Hill. The continued expansion of these farming activities has in recent years resulted in the removal of streamside vegetation causing severe flooding and an increase in the erosion of river banks. The substantial loss of earth washed away in these floods has removed soil where the Sagalla caecilian is known to breed and occur at its highest densities. The main threats to the Sagalla caecilian would appear to be linked to the removal of native vegetation, with a number of negative consequences for this species. Clearance of native vegetation has increasingly led to the cultivation of steep slopes and the resultant erosion of good, thick soils for the Sagalla caecilian. Vegetation removal has also caused the drying out of soils in many areas of this species’ range, rendering the soil uninhabitable for the Sagalla caecilian because they probably require moist conditions. Shambas now extend all the way up to the streams in the area, which is drying out some of the best places for this species as they thrive in moist streamside soils. The conspicuous lack of Sagalla caecilians in the Eucalyptus plantations may also indicate that the species is unable to survive around this non-indigenous tree species. Eucalyptus trees probably affect the Sagalla caecilian in two main ways. Firstly these trees desiccate their surrounding, leading to compaction of the soil. Secondly, the presence of Eucalyptus trees has led to a thick accumulation of toxic leaf litter which decomposes very slowly and does not allow for the build up of communities of local insects and other soil invertebrates. This means not only is the soil rendered too dry and hard for Sagalla caecilians, but there are also no prey items. Eucalyptus plantations have been present on Sagalla Hill for many years and many belong to the Kenyan government, making their removal very difficult. Continued presence (and any expansion) of the Sagalla Hill Eucalyptus plantations will negatively impact remaining populations of the Sagalla caecilian. Chemicals used in farming on Sagalla Hill, as well as other pollutants, may also pose a threat to this species.
Conservation Underway
The Sagalla caecilian is not known from any protected areas, although there are some limited conservation initiatives occurring for this species. An important first step was to raise the profile of this species among the local people of Sagalla Hill. A competition was organised for people in the small Sagalla community to find a new name for the Sagalla caecilian in the local dialect, kisagalla. On Sagalla Hill, the local name of the caecilian has always been “ming’ori” or earthworm. Providing this species with its own identity is a critical component of raising awareness about its plight. Patrick Malonza of the National Museums of Kenya (co-describer of this species and one of the organisers of the competition) explained the importance of naming the species locally: “If the animal has a local kisagalla name, we think that Sagalla people may recognise it for the special endemic species that it is. They have something unique to be proud of.” Conservation International (CI), through its Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund (CEPF), supports conservation projects in the region of Sagalla Hill. The Taita Hills (including Sagalla, Dawida, Kasigau and Mbololo) are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains and coastal forests (in Kenya and Tanzania) hotspot of biodiversity, and are therefore a conservation focus of CI. Many of the unique species in this region are threatened by habitat loss and degradation. Funding from CEPF is being used to understand the amphibian biodiversity of the region, as well as looking for sustainable ways of conserving the environment for people, animals and plants. Local and international scientists are currently measuring and monitoring all of the amphibian species in the area in the remaining naturally indigenous forests, exotic plantations and shambas. Working thorough local counterparts, this project aims to train local field assistants with a view to developing a sustainable long-term monitoring program. However, much more can still be done to specifically conserve the Sagalla caecilian and its habitat.