The genus <i>Scincella</i> Mittleman, 1950 of the family Scincidae currently includes 50 species. However, due to challenges in sample collection, the taxonomy and phylogeny of this genus remain poorly resolved. This study conducted a taxonomic study of the genus <i>Scincella</i> based on three mitochondrial gene fragments (12S, 16S, COI) combined with morphological comparisons. The results indicated the specimens collected in Heishui County, Sichuan Province, China, represented a previously undescribed species. This new taxon is formally described as <i>Scincella heishuiensis</i> <b>sp. nov</b>. Phylogenetically, the new species is most closely related to <i>S. wangyuezhaoi</i>, which is another species recently described in Wenchuan County, Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province. As a new species, the uncorrected genetic distance between this new species and its closest relative within the genus, as calculated based on 16S rRNA, is 5.45%. The new species can be distinguished from other closely related species by the following morphological characters: (1) 4 dorsal scale rows between dorsolateral stripes; (2) 5–7 superciliary; (3) 28 midbody scale-rows; (4) 24–25 gulars; (5) during the breeding season, the ventral scales and preanal exhibit a reddish-brown color; and (6) a black lateral stripe extends from behind the eye to the posterior third of the tail near the cloaca. In the phylogenetic analysis, the new species and <i>S. wangyuezhaoi</i> form an independent lineage, distinctly separate from all other taxa included in the study. The new species has currently been recorded and discovered in Heishui County in Sichuan Province, China. This description thus increases the number of members in the genus <i>Scincella</i> in China to 17 species.
Presentamos un intento de predación de un mono Capuchino Negro (Sapajus nigritus) sobre una rana (Boana albomarginata) en el área urbana del municipio de Río de Janeiro, sureste de Brasil. La observación fue realizada de manera incidental cuando dos capuchinos negros intentaron consumir la rana, pero liberaron el individuo. El intento fallido de predación probablemente ocurrió debido al mecanismo de defensa del anfibio, que posee olor y sustancias en la piel destinadas a disuadir a los depredadores.
Izabela Janus-Ziółkowska, Joanna Bubak, Massimiliano Tursi
et al.
Feline hyperthyroidism is the most frequent endocrinopathy in adult and senior cats, frequently leading to cardiac changes characterised by a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) phenotype, which may partially reverse with appropriate treatment. However, the structural and molecular alterations in the myocardium can persist and closely resemble those observed in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Despite this clinical overlap, protein expression patterns in the hearts of hyperthyroid cats remain poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate the myocardial expression of desmin, a key contractile protein, as well as calreticulin and interleukin-10 proteins involved in cardiac remodelling and response to injury. Left ventricular samples were obtained from 16 hyperthyroid cats, 12 cats with HCM, and 10 healthy controls. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to assess the expression patterns of the selected proteins. Our findings revealed that, despite median left ventricular dimensions not being significantly different from ones observed in healthy animals, cats with hyperthyroidism exhibited similar alterations in desmin and interleukin-10 expression to those seen in HCM-affected cats. These changes were associated with cardiomyocyte degeneration and coronary artery narrowing, suggesting a shared pathway of myocardial injury independent of the primary disease.
Wildlife rescue centres face considerable challenges in promoting animal welfare and enhancing the care and housing conditions of animals under professional supervision. These challenges are further compounded by the diversity of species admitted, each with distinct specific needs. In Colombia and other Latin American countries, primates are among the most frequently rescued and behaviourally complex mammalian taxa, requiring particular attention. In response, this study aimed to assess the content validity of proposed animal welfare indicators for <i>Cebus albifrons</i> through a Delphi consultation process and to develop two species-specific assessment protocols: a daily-use tool for keepers and a comprehensive protocol for professional audits. A panel of 23 experts in primate care and rehabilitation participated in two consultation rounds to evaluate and prioritise the indicators based on their content validity, perceived reliability, and practicality. Indicators were classified as either animal-based (direct measures) or resource- and management-based (indirect measures). After each round, experts received summarised feedback to refine their responses and facilitate consensus building. Of the 39 initially proposed indicators, 28 were validated for inclusion in the extended protocol and 10 selected for the daily-use checklist. Among these, 20 indicators in the extended protocol and 6 in the daily protocol were resource- or management-based—such as adequate food provision, physical enrichment, and habitat dimensions—highlighting their practical applicability and relevance in identifying welfare issues and risk factors. Although these indirect indicators were more numerous, the top-ranked indicators in both protocols were animal-based, including signs of pain, affiliative behaviours, and abnormal repetitive behaviours. These are essential for accurately reflecting the animals’ welfare state and are therefore critical components of welfare assessment in captive non-human primates. This study demonstrates that welfare assessment tools can be effectively tailored to the specific needs of wildlife rescue centres, providing a robust foundation for enhancing welfare practices. These protocols not only offer practical approaches for assessing welfare but also underscore the importance of embedding animal welfare as a priority alongside conservation efforts. Future research should aim to refine these tools further, assess their implementation, and evaluate inter- and intra-observer reliability to ensure consistency across different settings.
Pedro Pablo Alonso Sánchez-Dávila, Ruth Milagros Alejos-Cabrera, Wilmer Gaspar-Reyes
et al.
ABSTRACT Apocyclops spartinus is a subtropical resilient copepod from impacted Peruvian wetlands, widely used for marine fish larviculture and conserved as a strain at Instituto del Mar del Peru - IMARPE. This study was conducted to test the effects of three thermal conditions (16, 20 and 24 ºC) on the individual growth of conditioned nauplii. Sub-stage growth rates, three growth models and three growth rate-dependent models were evaluated. Considering these previous experiments, naupliar growth retardation and mortality were evaluated for cold shock stress (8 ºC lower). Results indicated a progressive increase in development time by reducing temperature from 24 to 20 ºC (1.75 times) and 20 to 16 ºC (4 times). Growth rates showed a tendency to decrease, prior to metamorphosis and independent of temperature. Gompertz was the best growth model by describing sigmoidal tendency of naupliar development. Arrhenius was the best growth rate-dependent model but slightly better supported than a simple allometric model. Naupliar growth retardation was noted in nauplii that were initially hatched at 24 ºC and then swiftly transferred to a culture at 16 ºC. This cold shock stress resulted in high mortality from day four onwards. In summary, A. spartinus nauplii exhibit potential as a live food source and it is recommended that targeted thermal treatments be employed to extend the time of optimal nauplii size and thereby enhance culture techniques of this species.
<p>The environment in which animals are kept must provide suitable conditions for their species. This includes ensuring that animals are healthy, well-fed, safe, able to exhibit species-specific behaviors, not experiencing fear or pain, and not under chronic or acute stress. Poultry welfare is achieved when birds are raised in environments that meet their physiological and ethological needs. Fear can significantly impact animal welfare. Chickens have been significantly altered by human artificial selection. Despite this, they exhibit reactivity towards humans and tend to avoid them. Poultry animals reared in environmentally controlled poultry houses and bred for superior productivity are more sensitive to fear factors and have lost their adaptability to a great extent. This study aimed to determine the effect of personnel clothing color on stress and fear in chickens in layer hen coops. The experiment involved 32-week-old laying hens of three different genotypes. A worker in the henhouse wore six respective different colors of workwear (dark blue, green, red, yellow, black, and white), and sound measurements were taken during this time. The results showed that the color of the worker's clothing influenced the sound intensity of the chickens (<span class="inline-formula"><i>P</i><i><</i>0.05</span>). White clothing elicited the least reaction, whereas black and dark blue elicited the most. The other three colors showed similar reactions. In conclusion, workers in layer hen coops wearing dark clothing, such as dark blue and black, can induce stress and noise in the animals. Additionally, chickens showed similar reactions to green, red, and yellow colors, with white being the color around which they felt the most secure.</p>
Mohamed Tharwat, Tariq I Almundarij, Madeh Sadan
et al.
Camels play important role in the pastoral mode of life by fulfilling basic demands of livelihood. Various pathologies, such as, tuberculosis, hemorrhoids, ascites, increase size of the of the abdomen, gas colic, anemia, and abdominal tumors were treated with animal's urine, including camels, horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, elephants, and buffalo. Thirty different compounds were analyzed in camel urine by gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS). For inductively coupled plasma (ICP) – mass spectrometry (MS) analysis 28 important elements were analyzed in urine of both camel and bovine. It was found that, the inorganic elements are almost similar except sodium, potassium, iron, zinc and magnesium are higher in levels in camel urine while chromium is high in bovine urine. Camel urine contains also different nanoparticles, crystals and nano-rods with varying shapes and sizes which offer potent selective cytotoxic activity against several lines of cancer cells. It is believed that the camel's urine has therapeutic effect for a wide range of diseases such as chill, fever, or even tumors; therefore, it has been consumed in the Arabian Peninsula for long time. Usually, Patients take it directly or by mixing few drops with camel milk. The camel urine is used also for therapeutic purposes most widely in Asia, Africa, United States, United Kingdom and other European countries. The religious aspect of using camel urine in treatment comes from the fact that there has been convincing evidence that the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) suggested use of camel urine to treat his companions who were suffering from abdominal pains at that time. The camel's urine has anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties. It has also hepato-protective and cardiovascular effects. [Open Vet J 2023; 13(10.000): 1228-1238]
The Himalayan marmot (<i>Marmota himalayana</i>) mainly lives on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and it adopts multiple strategies to adapt to high-altitude environments. According to the principle of convergent evolution as expressed in genes and traits, the Himalayan marmot might display similar changes to other local species at the molecular level. In this study, we obtained high-quality sequences of the <i>CYTB</i> gene, CYTB protein, <i>ND3</i> gene, and ND3 protein of representative species (n = 20) from NCBI, and divided them into the marmot group (n = 11), the plateau group (n = 8), and the Himalayan marmot (n = 1). To explore whether plateau species have convergent evolution on the microscale level, we built a phylogenetic tree, calculated genetic distance, and analyzed the conservation and space structure of Himalayan marmot ND3 protein. The marmot group and Himalayan marmots were in the same branch of the phylogenetic tree for the <i>CYTB</i> gene and CYTB protein, and mean genetic distance was 0.106 and 0.055, respectively, which was significantly lower than the plateau group. However, the plateau group and the Himalayan marmot were in the same branch of the phylogenetic tree, and the genetic distance was only 10% of the marmot group for the ND3 protein, except <i>Marmota flaviventris</i>. In addition, some sites of the ND3 amino acid sequence of Himalayan marmots were conserved from the plateau group, but not the marmot group. This could lead to different structures and functional diversifications. These findings indicate that Himalayan marmots have adapted to the plateau environment partly through convergent evolution of the ND3 protein with other plateau animals, however, this protein is not the only strategy to adapt to high altitudes, as there may have other methods to adapt to this environment.
In this study, a strain of <i>E. faecium</i> R1 with effective bacteriostatic activity, acid resistance, bile salt resistance, high-temperature resistance was screened. To study the effect of <i>E. faecium</i> R1 on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced intestinal and liver injury in piglets, twenty-four weaned female piglets were randomly assigned into one of three groups (8 piglets per group). Piglets in the control group and LPS group were fed a basal diet, piglets in the <i>E. faecium</i> group were fed the basal diet supplemented with <i>E. faecium</i> R1 (6.5 × 10<sup>6</sup> CFU/g). On day 21 of the trial, piglets in the LPS group and <i>E. faecium</i> group were intraperitoneally administered LPS (100 μg/kg), piglets in the control group were administered the same volume of saline. Subsequently, blood samples were collected at 3 h, and intestinal, liver, and pancreas samples were collected at 6 h. Results showed that <i>E. faecium</i> R1 supplementation significantly decreased the diarrhea rate and feed to gain ratio, and dramatically reduced LPS-induced intestinal and liver injury in piglets. Compared with the LPS group, <i>E. faecium</i> R1 supplementation significantly increased the content of glucagon in plasma and IL-1β in the liver, and the mRNA levels of <i>villin</i> in jejunum and ileum and <i>Bcl-xL</i> and <i>pBD-L</i> in the ileum, and significantly decreased the contents of prostaglandin 2 and malondialdehyde in the liver and the activities of myeloperoxidase and aspartate aminotransferase in plasma in piglets. Moreover, <i>E. faecium</i> R1 improved the pancreatic antioxidant capacity in piglets, which was indicated by a significant increase in catalase activity and a decrease in total nitric oxide synthase activity. In summary, dietary supplementation with <i>E. faecium</i> R1 alleviates intestinal and liver injury in LPS-challenged piglets.
Ramy Jhasser Martínez, Gabriel A. Villegas-Guzmán, Dora Isabel Quirós
et al.
Some species of pseudoscorpions perform a mechanism known as phoresy, attach themselves to other organisms for transportation. In this work, Americhernes oblongus (Pseudoscorpiones: Chernetidae) is reported as a phoront on a species of fly belonging to the genus Scipopus (Diptera: Micropezidae). A. oblongus is a new record for Panama and was collected in the town of Pirre,
Province of Darien. The pseudoscorpion was found attached to the coxa of the right hind leg of the fly. To our knowledge, there are no previous reports of phoresy between A. oblongus and Scipopus sp. as a dispersal method.
Las especies del género Lonchorhina presentan una distribución poco conocida especialmente en Colombia donde se ha asociado la presencia de formaciones rocosas aisladas conocidas como “lajas” o inselbergs, como elementos restrictivos en la dispersión de estas especies al oriente de la Cordillera de los Andes. Revisamos especímenes en colecciones de mamíferos de Colombia y Ecuador con el fin de conocer la distribución de las especies de Lonchorhina y su posible asociación al oriente de los Andes con la presencia de inselbergs y realizar una evaluación de su categoría de amenaza. Presentamos nuevos registros de murciélagos vulnerables a la extinción L. marinkellei y L. orinocensis, extendiendo la distribución de L. marinkellei más de 300 km de su distribución conocida. Demostramos que tres de las cuatro especies de Lonchorhina en Colombia tienen distribución restringida a los inselbergs, siendo L. aurita la única excepción con una distribución amplia en el país, sin embargo, su distribución al oriente de los Andes en Colombia puede estar restringida a la presencia de los mismos elementos. Encontramos simpatría entre varias especies del género en varias localidades, lo cual, junto con sus diferencias morfológicas, pueden indicar procesos de partición de nicho entre las especies del género. A pesar de la información recolectada se mantiene la categoría de Vulnerable para las especies de Lonchorhina con distribución restringida en Colombia. Finalmente, enfatizamos que las acciones locales de conservación pueden aportar a la conservación de varias especies del género.
Blue whales Balaenoptera musculus occur seasonally in the St. Lawrence Estuary, Canada, where they spend most of their time foraging. Their recurrent presence has stimulated the development of a large whale-watching industry. Here, we examine the effect of vessel distance on blue whale foraging behaviour by measuring changes in surface and diving patterns. Vessels were within 2000 m of blue whales during 70% of 33 follows, and 59% of total observation time. At vessel distances ≤400 m, surface and dive times were on average 49 and 36% shorter, respectively, and the number of breaths taken by the whales was reduced by 51% compared to control observations without vessel presence within 2000 m of whales. The consequent reduction in foraging time was likely greater than 36%, given that transit time is incompressible and foraging depth is dictated by where krill densities are located. We showed that the relative proportion of lost foraging time from vessel exposure increased exponentially with prey depth. Whales were unable to compensate for lost feeding opportunities by increasing diving rate or swim speed, except when feeding within 10 to 15 m of the surface. Our results indicate that preventing vessels from entering within a 400 m radius around blue whales can help reduce the negative effects of marine recreational activities on blue whale foraging.
U. S.C. Udagedera, Dinesh E. Gabadage, M. M.M. Najim
<p>There are 52 species of freshwater crabs in Sri Lanka and 51 of them are endemic. There are several species that are known only from a single locality. <em>Ceylonthelphusa armata</em> is such a species, and we have initiated a study to record the distribution of this species as its typical locality is heavily polluted at Kadugannawa. At present <em>C. armata</em> is known from six localities, and this information will be useful to facilitate the conservation of the species by assessing the Red List. </p><div> </div>
Ecology, General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution
The main question discussed in this article is: Can we re-interpret naturalism’s novels or short stories from a non-human perspective? The researchers of animal studies perceive the world as an ecosystem where humans, animals, and plants live in a symbiosis. They also perceive the human as a part of nature. Moreover, with regard to Charles Darwin’s discoveries, it is worth to mention that the theorists of naturalism called the human being an animal. Naturalists introduce a new protagonist into literature called the animal hero. Thanks to animal studies, he is perceived as a subject, not a thing (as was the case earlier). What is more, we can reconstruct different relations between species. One of the most important problems for naturalism and animal studies is empathy towards other creatures. Naturalists, as well as the researchers of animal studies, use different tools to analyse and interpret novels and short stories. First of all, they introduce different narrators in order to be objective. Furthermore, they indicate parallelisms between the human and animal world, they avoid subjective comments, and sometimes they use the strategy called the stream of consciousness to present other creatures’ thoughts.
Zoology, History of scholarship and learning. The humanities
Findings of Felis silvestris in autumn 2014 in Zalishchyky Dnister Area (Ternopil Region, Ukraine) are described. Locations of these findings are about 50–90 km distant from the nearest records of this species, logically fit into the overall pattern of the cat’s modern distribution.