Tropical Zoology https://www.pagepress.org/biology/tz <p><strong>Tropical Zoology</strong> is an international zoological journal publishing original papers in the field of systematics, biogeography, phylogeny, ecology and conservation of all terrestrial and aquatic animal Phyla from tropical and subtropical areas. <br />Only papers with new information, high quality and broad interest are considered. Single species description and checklists are not normally accepted. Review papers are welcome. The journal is owned by the <strong><a href="https://www.iret.cnr.it/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri</a></strong> of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Florence, Italy (CNR-IRET) who performs research into the structure and functioning of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, focusing in particular on anthropogenic pressure and global change. The knowledge amassed forms the scientific basis for identifying the most appropriate protective and corrective interventions, and provides support for the bodies entrusted with formulating policies for environmental protection and recovery.</p> <p><strong>Tropical Zoology</strong> has an impact factor of <strong>0.7</strong> (2023; Science Citation Index Expanded) and it is present in many literature indexes and databases such as <a href="https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/24011" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scopus</a>, <a href="https://www.scimagojr.com/journalsearch.php?q=24011&amp;tip=sid&amp;clean=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Scimago</a>, <a href="https://www.ebsco.com/products/research-databases/biosis-previews" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BIOSIS Previews</a>, <a href="https://www.cabi.org/products-and-services/publishing-product/online-resources/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CAB Abstracts</a>, <a href="https://mjl.clarivate.com/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Web of Science</a>, <a href="https://clarivate.com/webofsciencegroup/solutions/webofscience-biological-abstracts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biological Abstracts</a>, <a href="https://clarivate.com/webofsciencegroup/solutions/webofscience-biosis-previews/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BIOSIS Previews</a>, Current Contents Agriculture, Biology &amp; Environmental Sciences, Essential Science Indicators, Zoological Record and many others.</p> <hr /> <p><small>Photo credits: Saulo Bambi, Sistema Museale dell'Università degli Studi di Firenze,<br />Sez. di Zoologia "La Specola", Florence, Italy</small></p> PAGEPress Scientific Publications, Pavia, Italy en-US Tropical Zoology 0394-6975 <p><strong>PAGEPress</strong> has chosen to apply the <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License</strong></a> (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.</p> Predicting the potential geographic distribution of geladas (<i>Theropithecus gelada</i>) in Ethiopia based on MaxEnt ecological niche model: implication for conservation https://www.pagepress.org/biology/tz/article/view/182 <div class="page" title="Page 1"> <div class="section"> <div class="layoutArea"> <div class="column"> <p>Predictive species distribution models allow identifying suitable areas of animal for their conservation. Gelada (<em>Theropithecus gelada</em>) is an endemic primate species to Ethiopia, and the exact distribution ranges and suitable habitats of this species are not well known due to limited surveys. The species distribution model was prepared using MaxEnt to predict the potential geographic distribution and to identify the environmental factors that influence the distribution of gelada in Ethiopia. To prepare the model, 23 occurrence records of the species were used along with 20 climatic and topographic variables. The results show that the distribution of gelada is influenced by climatic and non-climatic variables. The minimum temperature of coldest month, altitude and mean temperature of driest quarter were the most important predictor variables. The predictive map of the species shows that high habitat suitability is found in the northern highlands (a majority in the Amhara region and few parts of the Tigray region) and in the central highlands (Oromia region). The present study indicates that gelada has a potential distribution in the highlands of Ethiopia, and this requires further exploration for conservation and management.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> Alembrhan Assefa Teklay Girmay Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2024-12-31 2024-12-31 37 3-4 10.4081/tz.2024.182 First observation of mating behavior of the endangered forest musk deer <i>Moschus berezovskii</i> in the wild https://www.pagepress.org/biology/tz/article/view/186 <div class="page" title="Page 1"> <div class="section"> <div class="layoutArea"> <div class="column"> <p>We report the first observation of mating in the endangered forest musk deer (<em>Moschus berezovskii</em> Flerov, 1929) in the wild. The mating took place on 21 January 2023 at a latrine site within karst habitat in Huu Lien Nature Reserve, northern Vietnam. In total, we obtained around ten minutes of camera-trap video footage showing two different mating events of the same individuals. The event highlights the potential importance of latrine sites for interactions among forest musk deer. Our observation provides new insight into the ecology and behavior of this rare and elusive species.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> Dung Van Tran Dai Viet Phan Thinh Tien Vu Ky A Lau Nhung Thi Pham Hoa Thi Pham Thanh Chi Nguyen Thong Van Pham Andrew Tilker Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2024-12-31 2024-12-31 37 3-4 10.4081/tz.2024.186 New records and new species of the troglobitic genus <i>Xangoniscus</i> (Crustacea: Isopoda: Styloniscidae) https://www.pagepress.org/biology/tz/article/view/195 <div class="page" title="Page 1"> <div class="section"> <div class="layoutArea"> <div class="column"> <p>New collections from caves in Bahia state, northeastern Brazil, have revealed additional occurrences of <em>Xangoniscus</em> species. These findings have led to the identification of previously unknown, taxonomically significant morphological features for the genus, including the presence of a depression on the propodus and an expansion of the carpus in pereopod 6 in males of certain species. This study reports new records of <em>X. aganju</em> and provides updated illustrations of the genus’ type species. Moreover, four new species are described: <em>Xangoniscus paiabare</em> n. sp., collected from caves in the Padre Cave System in Santana municipality; <em>Xangoniscus tymaopeba</em> n. sp., from Serra Solta II and III caves; <em>Xangoniscus ykanhema</em> n. sp., from Google Cave, both in Serra do Ramalho municipality; and <em>Xangoniscus puku</em> n. sp., found in PEA- 445 Cave, in Santa Maria da Vitória municipality, all in Bahia state. The discovery of these new species underscores the remarkable diversity of <em>Xangoniscus</em> in subterranean habitats and highlights the Serra do Ramalho region as a significant center of endemism for the species of this genus. The descriptions of these taxa not only expand the known biodiversity of troglobitic isopods in Brazil but also shed light on their morphological variation, offering valuable insights into the evolutionary adaptations of these cave-dwelling organisms.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> Giovanna Monticelli Cardoso Rafaela Bastos-Pereira Leila Aparecida Souza Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2024-12-12 2024-12-12 37 3-4 10.4081/tz.2024.195 Life history of Mexican species of the genus <i>Tlaloc</i> (Cyprinodontiformes, Profundulidae) https://www.pagepress.org/biology/tz/article/view/160 <div class="page" title="Page 1"> <div class="section"> <div class="layoutArea"> <div class="column"> <p>Fish of the genus <em>Tlaloc</em> are distributed from southern Mexico to Central America and are a distinctive example of the endemic fauna of the Mesoamerican highlands, which has been scarcely studied in Mexico. The present study provides basic life-history data for the species <em>Tlaloc hildebrandi</em>,<em> T. candalarius</em>, and <em>T. labialis</em>, which are native to the headwaters of the Grijalva-Usumacinta basin in southeastern Mexico. We collected 918 specimens to determine their Length-Weight Relationship (LWR), Relative Condition Factor (Kr), sex ratio, Gonadosomatic Index (GSI), fecundity, and size at first sexual maturity. Both sexes of all species had positive allometric growth, except for <em>T. candalarius</em> females (isometric). Mean Kr and sex ratio values differed significantly among species. Females’ GSI values differed significantly among species but were highest during the dry season in all three species. Absolute fecundity was positively correlated with standard length and weight. Sexual maturity was reached at different lengths among species. Based on these results, we suggest that all three species present an opportunistic life strategy, which is very common in fish of the order Cyprinodontiformes. These results represent a first contribution on the life-history of this group of fish and provide basic information that is fundamental to ensuring their conservation.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> Manuel d.J. Anzueto-Calvo Blanca C. Valeriano-Cabrera Alejandra G. Aguilar-Decelis Ernesto Velazquez-Velazquez Genoveva Cerdenares Ladrón de Guevara Gorgonio Ruiz-Campos Guillermo Salgado-Maldonado Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2024-10-16 2024-10-16 37 3-4 10.4081/tz.2024.160 Different habitat condition proportions on farms affect the structure and diversity of dung beetle (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Scarabaeinae) communities https://www.pagepress.org/biology/tz/article/view/150 <div class="page" title="Page 1"> <div class="section"> <div class="layoutArea"> <div class="column"> <p>The continuous changes and increase of land use into ranching and agriculture have caused shifts in the composition and structure of dung beetle communities due to the modification of vegetation structure. The impact of these changes can be approached using dung beetles as ecological indicators. Agricultural, ranching, and forestry are often integrated into the same farm in different proportions (landscape level), and their degree of integration with habitats changes over time and space. We assessed if different habitat proportions of crop, pasture, and forest land on three farms affect the structure and diversity of dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) communities. Farms included from three to four habitat conditions each (plantations of timber species, banana-coffee plantation, living fences, pastures, secondary and riparian forest). Pitfall traps with dung and carrion as bait were placed across each habitat condition of each farm during three different sampling periods. Across all samplings, 1,198 dung beetle individuals belonging to 21 species were captured. Species diversity and composition vary according to the type of farm and the main factor that modifies this tendency is the proportion of pasture land composing the farm. Farms with a lower proportion of grazing land (11.96% for forestry farms and 32.19% for agricultural farms) and denser vegetation canopy, which cast more shadows, had greater beetle diversity. Conversely, farms having a greater proportion of grazing land had low diversity and a dominant tendency in the species abundance curve. Umbraphile species dominated the forest farm, indicating a strong affinity for shaded environments such as the one provided there, while species displaying no habitat preference exhibited higher abundance in the ranching farm. Additionally, a notable prevalence of small-sized species was observed in the ranching farm, contrasting with a relatively even distribution of sizes in the remaining landscapes. These tendencies suggest that shade positively influences biodiversity conservation. Riparian vegetation, living fences, and banana-coffee plantations are important connectivity elements in agricultural landscapes for shade-adapted dung beetle species.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> Rodrigo Tec Pardillo Lucrecia Arellano Silvia López-Ortiz Jesús Jarillo Rodríguez Ilse J. Ortega Martínez Martín Alfonso Mendoza Briseño Mónica de la Cruz Vargas Mendoza Copyright (c) 2024 The Author(s) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 2024-10-03 2024-10-03 37 3-4 10.4081/tz.2024.150