The most recent lab contribution is the description of a new species of snakefrom the Andes Mountains of Peru and named after actor Harrison Ford in honor of his environmental advocacy efforts.
The snake, a slender species measuring about 16 inches long, has been named Tachymenoides harrisonfordi. It is a non-venomous constrictor that feeds on lizards and frogs. The snake is pale yellowish-brown with black blotches scattered on its skin, a black belly, and a vertical streak over its copper-colored eye. 

The snake was discovered by a team of scientists led by Edgar Lehr, a US-German biologist. The team was conducting research in the Otishi National Park when they found the snake sunbathing in a swamp. “We were all excited to find this new species,” said Lehr. “It’s a beautiful snake, and we thought it was fitting to name it after Harrison Ford, who has been a strong advocate for environmental protection.”
Ford has been a vocal supporter of conservation causes for many years. He is a board member of Conservation International, an environmental organization that works to protect biodiversity and ensure a sustainable future for people and nature. “I’m honored to have a snake named after me,” said Ford. “I hope this helps to raise awareness of the importance of protecting our planet’s biodiversity.”
The discovery of Tachymenoides harrisonfordi is a reminder of the rich biodiversity that still exists in the world, even in remote and protected areas. It is also a reminder of the importance of conservation efforts to protect these species from extinction.

Mongabay published a great article by Justin Catanoso about the ecological work in the Kosñipata Valley bordering Manu National Park, in the Amazonian Andes of southern Peru. The article documents the meeting organized for the 20th anniversary of ABERG, the Andean Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research Group, including a summary of the main findings from the different research teams of ecologists, botanists, zoologists, ecosystem and earth scientists composing the ABERG. 

Citation: ‘What we need to protect and why’: 20-year Amazon research hints at fate of tropics​
https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/what-we-need-to-protect-and-why-20-year-amazon-research-hints-at-fate-of-tropics/ 

The lab attended the annual Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Norfolk, VA from July 12 to 16. Anne, Rachel and Alessandro gave talks. 

Rachel explored whether chytrid avoidance is an innate or learned behavior in the strawberry poison frog. 

Alessandro talked about two years of mark-recapture of direct developing frogs in the Amazonian Andes (co-authors: Isabel Diaz, Hamlet Maza, William Ttito, Jon Adamski), i.e. preliminary results from the NSF-funded and ongoing research previously described here. 

Mo Donnelly (Alessandro's former doctoral advisor) received the Henry Fitch Award for Excellence in Herpetology! This is the highest distinction conferred by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Congratulations Mo!

A new species of frog has been discovered in the Peruvian Yungas ecoregion. The frog, named Pristimantis clarae, was found in a cloud forest in the Pampa Hermosa River basin at elevations from 2117 to 2199 m. Pristimantis clarae is a small frog, with adults reaching a maximum length of about 2.5 cm. The frog is brown in color with dark spots, and has a distinctive white stripe on its back.

Citation: ​Venegas, P. J. L. A. Garcia-Ayachi, A. Marchelie, J. R. Ormeño, A. Catenazzi.  A new species of terrestrial-breeding frog (Anura: Strabomantidae), from the Peruvian Yungas of central Peru. Taxonomy ​3(2): 331-345.

Scientists from Instituto Peruano de Herpetologia and Florida International University have discovered a new species of tree frog: Scinax pyroinguinis. The specific epithet pyroinguinis means "groins of fire" and refers to the bright orange blotched groins of the new species which reminds them of the flames of the wildfires threatening its habitat. Scinax pyroinguinis has a large head, rounded from dorsal view, large conical tubercles on upper eyelids and heels, and bright orange blotches on groins, thighs and shanks. It is genetically and morphologically distinct from other members of Scinax. With this discovery , there are now 130 recognized species of Scinax tree frogs.

Citation: Chávez, G., W. Aznaran, L. A. Garcia-Ayachi, and A. Catenazzi. Rising from the ashes: A new treefrog (Anura, Hylidae) from a patch of forest surrounded by burnt areas in the Amazon lowlands of central Peru. Evolutionary Systematics 7:183-194. doi: 10.3897/evolsyst.7.102425. ​

The FIU Latin American and Caribbean Center awarded Tinker Graduate Research Awards to PhD students Isabel and Gustavo to support their fieldwork in the Andes and Central America, respectively. Congratulations to both of them!

A team of researchers has discovered a new species of lizard in the montane forest of Huánuco Department in Peru. The team, led by Germán Chávez, collected three specimens of the new terrestrial lizard during a small field survey in June 2018. The team has named the new species Selvasaura candesi, honouring CANDES, a Peruvian organization that supported this research.
The discovery of Selvasaura candesi is significant because it expands the understanding of the neotropical lizards of the subfamily Cercosaurinae. 

Chávez, G., L. A. Garcia-Ayachi, A. Catenazzi. 2023. A new species of Microteiid Lizard (Gymnophthalmidae, Cercosaurini, Selvasaura) from a remote area in the Peruvian Andes. Evolutionary Systematics 7: 123-132.

Our collaborative study on Ranavirus in Colombia (see a previous blog post here), led by collaborator and first author Vicky Flechas (in the picture holding a copy of the newspaper) was featured on the front page of one of Colombia's most influential newspapers, El Espectador. The newspaper article reports the main findings of the study, along with extracts from interviews to Vicky and Alessandro. The study found Ranavirus in 14 of 274 individuals from 8 of 41 sampled localities, including highland and lowland sites. Little is known about the distribution and consequences of Ranavirus infection in tropical mountains and forests, where emergent diseases such as Ranavirus and chytridiomycosis threaten amphibian biodiversity. Frog species richness is highest in the humid slopes of the Andes, and Colombia is one of the countries with the highest number of amphibian species. 

Cara received an Honorable Mention for her research proposal submitted to the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. Although not funded (so close!), the mention indicates the reviewers and NSF officers highly rated her proposal. Congratulations Cara!

Isabel and Alessandro gave talks at the Segundo Simposio Peruano de Herpetologia at the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia. Isabel's talk entitled "Factores ambientales que determinan la abundancia relativa y riqueza de anfibios terrestres en el Parque Nacional del Manu, Cusco-Perú" explored the effects of abiotic and biotic variables associated with variation in frog species richness, abundance and biomass in the montane forests of the Amazonian slopes of the Andes.

Alessandro gave a plenary talk on the first day of the symposium, "Dos décadas de investigaciones herpetológicas en los Andes Amazónicos", summarizing some of the taxonomic, ecological and conservation work that the lab has conducted over the years, with special emphasis on the current project monitoring disease transmission in terrestrial-breeding frogs in the cloud forests of Manu National Park. Both talks were given remotely.