LOTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE YY Ch eck Lis t the journal of biodiversity data Check List 11(1): 1549, January 2015 — doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15560/11.1.1549 ISSN 1809-127X ©2015 Check List and Authors The southernmost known locality for Kinosternon leucostomum (Reptilia, Testudines, Kinosternidae), El Oro province, southern Ecuador Dan Cogalniceanu'**, Jeronimo Torres-Porras’’, José Manuel Seoane’* and Cristobal Antonio Freire Lascano' 1 Universidad Técnica de Machala, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Av. Panamericana, Machala, El Oro, Ecuador 2 University Ovidius Constanta, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Agricultural Sciences, Al. Universitatii 1, Corp B, 900470 Constanta, Romania 3 University of Cordoba, Game and Fish Research Center, Campus de Rabanales, Colonia San José, Ctra. Nacional IV - A, km 396, 14071 Cérdoba, Spain * Corresponding author. E-mail: dcogalniceanu@univ-ovidius.ro Abstract: An adult female Kinosternon leucostomum was found in Buenaventura Forest Reserve, El Oro province, Ecuador, on 1 August 2014 at an altitude of 523 m above sea level. This is the first report for this species in the province and is about 130 km south of the previously southernmost known location. Key words: Buenaventura Reserve, El Oro, Ecuador, Kinosternon leucostomum, range extension The American mud or musk turtles (family Kinosternidae) are a New World clade of small aquatic to semi-aquatic spe- cies distributed from Canada to Argentina. This clade is represented by 4 genera and 24 or 25 species (de la Fuente et al. 2014; Iverson et al. 2013). Of the two species that occur in Ecuador, only one, Kinosternon leucostomum Cope, 1885, occurs along the Pacific Coast (Rodriguez-Guerra 2014). It ranges from Veracruz, Mexico through Central America, along both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, Colombia and western Ecuador. According to de la Fuente et al. (2014), it is probably not present in northwestern Peru as stated by Rodriguez-Guerra (2014). Two subspecies are recognized: a northern (K. leucostomum leucostomum) and a southern one (K. leucostomum postinguinale) (de la Fuente et al. 2014). The generic taxonomy, at present, is debated since Iverson et al. (2013), using both mitochondrial and nuclear markers, revealed the existence of three well-resolved clades within the Kinosterninae and K. leucostoma was placed in a new ge- nus, Cryptochelys. However, a subsequent analysis did not support the same three clades (Spinks et al. 2014). The species was reported in Ecuador from five northwestern and central provinces: Esmeraldas, Guayas, Los Rios, Pichincha and Cafar (Cisneros-Heredia 2006; Rodriguez-Guerra 2014). It is locally known as taparabo, tapaculo or jicotea. It is a semi-aquatic Figure 1. Adult female of Kinosternon leucostomum (photo: J. Torres-Porras). © Check List | www.biotaxa.org/cl Volume 11| Number 1 | Article 1549 Cogalniceanu et al. | Kinosternon leucostomum in southern Ecuador species that inhabits a variety of aquatic habitats, including brackish water, but can be often found on land (Rodriguez- Guerra 2014). Its altitudinal range extends from sea-level to 1,400 m (Carr and Almendariz 1989) or 1,700 m (Almonacid et al. 2007). The southernmost known location was reported in the province of Cafiar, at Manta Real (02°33'12" S, 079°21'51" W) (Almendariz and Carr 2012) was based on personal com- munications from locals and was later included in the detailed range map by Rodriguez-Guerra (2014). It is considered en- dangered in Ecuador (Carillo et al. 2005). On 1 August 2014 during fieldwork in the Buenaventura Reserve, El Oro province, an adult female (Figures 1 and 2; carapace length 112.1 mm) was found crossing the road about 300 m from the river Quebrada Buenaventura (15°45'00” S, 044°25'30" W, altitude 523 m above sea level). Another animal was seen on 26 May 2014 and was confirmed as K. leucostomum based on photographs (M. Galvez pers. comm.). This is the first report for this species in the province El Oro, and is about 130 km south of the previously southernmost known location Figure 2. Bottom of the adult female of Kinosternon leucostomum (photo: D. Cogalniceanu). Natural areas || Amazon tropical rainforest Eastern foothill forest ees Andean shrub =| Eastern montane forest Chocoan tropical rainforest |_| Paramo ell Deciduous forest |__| Dry shrub = Western foothill forest || Western montane forest Figure 3. The updated known distribution of Kinosternon leucostomum in Ecuador: previously known locations (blue dots) compiled by Torres-Carvajal etal. (2014) and the newly reported one (red star). © Check List | www.biotaxa.org/cl Volume 11 | Number 1 | Article 1549 Cogalniceanu et al. | Kinosternon leucostomum in southern Ecuador (Figure 3). We assume that this is close to the southern range limit of the species, since it is in the transition zone between the tropical and subtropical humid and the dry Tumbesian climate zone. The species was not reported previously despite intensive herpetological surveys done in the area (Yanez- Mufioz et al. 2013). Nevertheless, the site is only 55 km from the Peruvian border, and hence wetlands near Tumbes, Peru, should be surveyed for its presence. Cisneros-Heredia (2006) recommended that records of K. leucostomum from outside its currently known distribu- tion range must be evaluated carefully, as they can result from artificial introductions. Based on our discussion with the locals that confirmed its presence, we are confident that the Buenaventura Reserve supports a natural popula- tion of the species. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors are grateful to Prometeo Project of Secretaria de Educacién Superior, Ciencia, Tecnologia e Innovacién, Republic of Ecuador for funding this project and the Jocotoco foundation for providing access to Buenaventura Reserve. We are grateful to the staff working at the Reserve and especially to Marco Galvez for his support during our stay. We acknowl- edge the helpful comments of a reviewer. LITERATURE CITED Almendariz, A. and J. Carr. 2012. Lista actualizada de los Anfibios y Reptiles registrados en los Remanentes de Bosque de la Cordillera de la Costa y areas adyacentes del Suroeste del Ecuador. Revista Politécnica 30(3): 184-194. Almonacid, R., J. Vicente, J.L. Carr, R.A. Mittermeier, J.V.R. Mahecha, R.B. Mast, R.C. Vogt, A.G.J. Rhodin, J.O. Velazquez, J.N. Rueda, and C.G. Mittermeier. 2007. Las Tortugas y Cocodrilianos de los Paises Andinos del Tropico. Bogota: Conservacién Internacional. 538 pp. Carrillo, E., S. Aldas, M.A. Altamirano-Benavides, F. Ayala-Varela, D.F. Cisneros-Heredia, A. Endara, C. Marquez, M. Morales, F. Nogales-Sornosa, P. Salvador, M.L. Torres, J. Valencia, F. Villamarin-Jurado, M.H. Yanez-Mufoz and P. Zarate. 2005. Lista roja de los reptiles del Ecuador. Fundacié6n Novum Milenium, UICN-Sur, UICN-Comité Ecuatoriano, Ministerio de Educacion y Cultura, Serie Proyecto Peepe, Quito, Ecuador. 46 pp. © Check List | www.biotaxa.org/cl Carr, J. and A. Almendariz. 1989. Contribucién al conocimiento de la distribucién geografica de los quelonios del Ecuador occidental. Revista Politécnica 14(2): 75-103. Cisneros-Heredia, D.F. 2006. Turtles of the Tiputini Biodiversity Station with remarks on the diversity and distribution of the Testudines from Ecuador. Biota Neotropica 6(a): 16 pp. (http://www.biotaneotropica. org. br/v6n1/pt/abstract?inventory+bno0g06012006). Iverson, J.B., M. Le and C. Ingram. 2013. Molecular phylogenetics of the mud and musk turtle family Kinosternidae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 69: 929-939. (doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.06.011). de la Fuente, M.S., J. Sterli, and I. Maniel. 2014. Origin, Evolution and Biogeographic History of South American Turtles. Springer International Publishing. 168 pp. Rodriguez-Guerra, A. 2014. Kinosternon leucostomum; in: O. Torres- Carvajal, D. Salazar-Valenzuela and A. Merino-Viteri (eds.). ReptiliaWebEcuador, Version 2014.0. Museo de Zoologia QCAZ, Pontificia Universidad Catélica del Ecuador. Available at http:// zoologia.puce.edu.ec/vertebrados/reptiles/FichaEspecie. aspx?Id=1805. Accessed on 14 August 2014. Spinks, P.Q., R.C. Thomson, M. Gidis and H. Bradley Shaffer, 2014. Multilocus phylogeny of the New-World mud turtles (Kinostern- idae) supports the traditional classification of the group. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 76: 254-260 (doi: 10.1016/j. ympev.2014.03.025). Torres-Carvajal, O., D. Salazar-Valenzuelaand A. Merino-Viteri. 2014. ReptiliaWebEcuador, Version 2014.0. Museo de Zoologia QCAZ, Pontificia Universidad Catélica del Ecuador. Acessible at http:// zoologia.puce.edu.ec/Vertebrados/reptiles/reptilesEcuador. Accessed 14 August 2014. Yanez-Mufioz, M.H., M.A. Morales Mite, M.M. Reyes-Puig and P.A. Meza-Ramos. 2013. Reserva Bioldgica Buenaventura: entre la transicidn Himedo Tropical y la influencia Tumbesina, pp. 1-392; in: MECN, Jocotoco y Ecominga. Herpetofauna en areas prioritarias para la conservaci6n: El sistema de Reservas Jocotoco y Ecominga. Serie de publicaciones del Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales (MECN). Quito, Ecuador: Fundacion para la Conserva- cion Jocotoco, Fundacion Ecominga. Authors’ contribution statement: All authors contributed equally. Received: October 2014 Accepted: January 2015 Editorial responsibility: Diego José Santana Volume 11 | Number 1 | Article 1549