The Taxonomy Thread

savethelephant said:
So I was in the chatroom last night and we got into an interesting discussion about recent splits in Cervus. It was a little too fast (and confusing) for me so I was wondering if perhaps someone on Zoochat can tell me all the species (as google is not helping whatsoever) and maybe even add pictures to help differeniate between the species. Thank you in advance to whoever helps me.
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I assume you are talking about Groves & Grubb, in which case this page is a very simple list of all of the splits that they discuss in Ungulate Taxonomy (though without the reasoning that they give which I find very interesting): A new perspective on Ungulate Taxonomy
 
More titi monkeys:
Article in Primate Conservation 2015 (29):
"The Distribution and Taxonomy of Titi Monkeys (Callicebus) in Central and Southern Peru, with the Description of a New Species."
Not only describes a new species Callicebus urubambensis, but also re-validates C. toppini (Thomas, 1914) which had previously been regarded as a synonym of C. cupreus.
 
Biodiversity Journal, 2015, 6 (1): 219–244
Hotspot of new megafauna found in the Central Amazon (Brazil): the lower Rio Aripuanã Basin Marc G.M. van Roosmalen

In this article www.biodiversityjournal.com/pdf/6(1)_219-244.pdf Roosmalen describes the Giant Striped Paca (Agouti silvagarciae), as well as providing a more detailed/formal description of the Pygmy Manatee (Trichechus pygmaeus).
 
Just read the whole paper. Still some questions that need to be answered. The skull photos, particularly those of the teeth, do look good for MVR with the Pygmy Manatee being a legit species.
 
an interesting paper. The dwarf manatee definitely looks good for being a distinct species though! How tiny was that male in the photos!!
 
Shame he is sticking with the junior synonym Agouti rather than the correct Cuniculus.......
 
Sorry about opening an old thread, but is there a consensus on the number of giraffe sub/species? As always, ever helpful google gives conflicting reorts.
 
savethelephant said:
Sorry about opening an old thread, but is there a consensus on the number of giraffe sub/species? As always, ever helpful google gives conflicting reorts.
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I believe the best person to field *that* question would be our very own David Brown :) if he doesn't pop into the thread within the next day or two maybe you should message him with the question.

As a general summary to tide you over, some authorities recognise one species with nine subspecies, but there is a growing consensus that many of these taxa merit full specific recognition; possibly leading to six species of giraffe with a handful of subspecies scattered throughout the group.
 
Last I heard, the 9 species will probably go down to 7. Rothschild and Nubian being a single species and Thornicroft and Masai being another.
 
Changes in the taxonomy of Elseya (Australasian snapping turtles):
The New Guinea taxon E. novaeguineae has been split into 3 species -
Elseya novaeguineae (Meyer, 1874) – Western New Guinea Stream Turtle
Elseya rhodini (Thomson et al., 2015) - Southern New Guinea Stream Turtle
Elseya schultzei (T. Vogt, 1911) – Northern New Guinea Stream Turtle

Ref.: Thomson, S., Amepou, Y., Anamiato, J. & Georges, A. 2015. 'A new species and subgenus of Elseya (Testudines: Pleurodira: Chelidae) from New Guinea' Zootaxa 4006(1):59-82
 
A new species of death adder - Acanthophis cryptamydros - has been described from the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Ref. Zootaxa 4007 (3): 301–326: A new species of death adder (Acanthophis: Serpentes: Elapidae) from north-western Australia
SIMON T. MADDOCK, RYAN J. ELLIS, PAUL DOUGHTY, LAWRENCE A. SMITH & WOLFGANG WÜSTER.
 
Changes to the taxonomy of horned lizards (Phrynosoma)
Short-horned lizards (Phrynosoma douglasii species complex) occur throughout the inter-montane West and Great Plains of western North America. The results of the morphological data analyses support the recognition of P. douglasii (Bell 1828) as a distinct species, and the resurrection of P. brevirostris and P. ornatissimum as species distinct from P. hernandesi. Two new species are described: P. bauri sp. nov. from the eastern plains of Colorado and northeastern New Mexico, southeastern Wyoming and southwestern Nebraska; and P. diminutum sp. nov. endemic to the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico.

Ref. A taxonomic revision of the Phrynosoma douglasii species complex (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae) - RICHARD R. MONTANUCCI, in Zootaxa 4015 (1): 001–177.
 
New species of dwarf lemur formally described
The Montagne d'Ambre Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus andysabini), from the Amber Mountain National Park and the surrounding area in northern Madagascar, was first identified in 2005 but only now formally described:

Ref. Lei, R. et al. (2015). "A New Species in the Genus Cheirogaleus (Cheirogaleidae)". Primate Conservation 29 (2): 1–12.
 
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