... americana e il serpente gatto bruno (Boiga irregula-ris), una delle 100 specie aliene più inv... more ... americana e il serpente gatto bruno (Boiga irregula-ris), una delle 100 specie aliene più invasive del mondo, secondo l'IUCN (Lowe et al ... B. irregularis ha causato a Guam anche ingenti danni economici (circa 4,5 milioni di dollari), dovuti ad oltre 1.600 interruzioni delle linee ...
A survey on the importance of Lacerta bilineata as host of Ixodes ricinus was conducted in Northe... more A survey on the importance of Lacerta bilineata as host of Ixodes ricinus was conducted in Northern Italy over a three-year period. A total of 202 western green lizards were captured and a total of 2349 ticks were collected. All ticks were identified as I. ricinus; 53.2% and 46.7% were at the larval and nymphal stages, respectively. Tick number and prevalence were higher in males than in females, especially from April to June during the host breeding period. The level of tick infestation increased with lizard age and size. The number of ticks collected on adult lizards peaked in June and in August. Infestation levels appear to be related to lizard activity patterns and behaviour. Tick number and prevalence also varied in relation to host habitat, infestation being higher in lizards from areas with hard vegetation cover.
ABSTRACT We present a detailed description of the type specimens of amphibians (frogs and salaman... more ABSTRACT We present a detailed description of the type specimens of amphibians (frogs and salamanders) held in the scientific research collections of the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale in Milan, Italy. These collections are historically important because of their rich sampling from the early 20th Century of present-day Libya, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, countries for which scientific collections are generally uncommon. Further, in the mid-19th Century the scientist Giorgio Jan amassed in Milan a diverse collection of amphibian and reptile specimens from institutions across Europe and the United States. There is a long history in the scientific literature stating that these specimens, brought together by Jan, were lost or destroyed due to the Allied bombing of Milan in 1943. We report the results of a thorough survey of the amphibian collection, revealing many type specimens previously thought lost, as well as several specimens from Jan’s mid-19th Century collection believed to have been destroyed. Among the latter are specimens corresponding to three nomina nuda created by Jan in an 1857 catalog. We provide details for all type specimens as well as a short synopsis of the history and taxonomic status of each. The scientific collections of amphibians in Milan contain type specimens of one salamander,Hydromantes italicus bonzanoi, and 17 frog species of which three are not currently considered synonyms of older names: Arthroleptis elegans, Arthroleptis–Phrynobatrachus sciangallarum, Arthroleptis–Phrynobatrachus zavattarii, Bufo gardoensis, Bufo incertus, Bufo sibilai, Fichteria somalica, Hyperolius zavattarii, Kassina somalica, Megalixalus parkeri, Rana (Pyxicephalus) cimmarutai, Rana cornii, Rana fichteri, Rana oxyrhynchus migiurtina, Rana somalica, Rana zavattarii, and Rappia rossii.
We analysed habitat choices of H. viridiflavus in a continental area of north - ern Italy and com... more We analysed habitat choices of H. viridiflavus in a continental area of north - ern Italy and compared our results with those reported from central Italy by other authors. We used two different field techniques, visual encounter surveys (VES) and radio tracking (RT), and both pointed out a clear preference for edges, while uniform habitats (like mature woods or meadow)
Abstract. The conservation status of the Western green lizard (Lacerta bilineata) in Italy is pro... more Abstract. The conservation status of the Western green lizard (Lacerta bilineata) in Italy is probably not favourable. In the Po plain the species is rapidly declining outside of the protected areas, mainly because of the loss of hedges and natural vegetation in general. ...
The throat and belly of both sexes of the common wall lizard Podarcis muralis exhibit a polymorph... more The throat and belly of both sexes of the common wall lizard Podarcis muralis exhibit a polymorphic coloration with three morphs (white, yellow and red). We documented the occurrence of this polymorphism in 11 populations of northern Italy, and investigated the morphometric features of the three morphs in both sexes. The white morph was more frequent (56.6%), while yellow and red morphs accounted for 28.7 and 14.7% of the lizards, respectively. Moreover, the red morphotype was more frequent among males while the white one was more frequent among females. The occurrence of the three morphs varied microgeographically from populations with a higher proportion of white individuals to those where all morphs were more equally represented. The comparisons of morphometry between morphs did not reveal any significant difference among males, while snout–vent length and head height in females increased from the white-throated to the yellow-throated morph, and from the yellow-throated morph to the red-throated one. Possible functions of this polymorphic coloration are discussed.
... FRANCA GUIDALI STEFANO SCALI ALESSIA CARETTONI Dipartimento di Biologia, Sezione Ecologia, Un... more ... FRANCA GUIDALI STEFANO SCALI ALESSIA CARETTONI Dipartimento di Biologia, Sezione Ecologia, Università di Milano, via Celoria 26, I-20133 Milano (Italy) e-mail: franca@imiucca.csi ... Study site The study area is 18 km NE of Bergamo, in the Adda Nord Re-gional Park. ...
In situations where badly burnt fragments of bone are found, identification of their human or non... more In situations where badly burnt fragments of bone are found, identification of their human or non-human origin may be impossible by gross morphology alone and other techniques have to be employed. In order to determine whether histological methods were redundant and should be superseded by biomolecular analyses, small fragments of artificially burnt bone (human and non-human) were examined by quantitative and standard light microscopy, and the findings compared with newer biomolecular analyses based on identifying specific human albumin by ELISA and amplifying human mitochondrial DNA by PCR. For quantitative microscopy, reference data were first created using burnt bones from 15 human and 20 common domestic and farm animals. Measured osteon and Haversian canal parameters were analysed using multivariate statistical methods. Highly significant differences were found between values for human and non-human bone, and a canonical discriminant function equation was derived, giving a predicted correct classification of 79%. For the main study, samples of cortical bone were taken from three fresh cadavers, six human skeletons and ten freshly slaughtered animals and burnt by exposure to temperatures ranging from 800 to 1200 degrees C; charred fragments of human cortical bone from two forensic cases were also tested. Quantitative microscopy and canonical discriminant function gave the correct origin of every sample. Standard microscopy falsely assigned burnt bone from one human skeleton and one forensic case to a non-human source, but otherwise gave correct results. Human albumin was identified in five individuals, including one of the forensic cases, but mitochondrial DNA could not be amplified from any of the human bone. No false positive test results were seen with either biomolecular method; and human albumin and mitochondrial DNA were correctly identified in all unburnt control specimens. It was concluded that histological methods were not redundant and that quantitative microscopy provided an accurate and consistent means of determining the human or non-human origin of burnt bone and was more reliable than standard microscopy or the newer immunological and DNA techniques tested here.
... americana e il serpente gatto bruno (Boiga irregula-ris), una delle 100 specie aliene più inv... more ... americana e il serpente gatto bruno (Boiga irregula-ris), una delle 100 specie aliene più invasive del mondo, secondo l'IUCN (Lowe et al ... B. irregularis ha causato a Guam anche ingenti danni economici (circa 4,5 milioni di dollari), dovuti ad oltre 1.600 interruzioni delle linee ...
A survey on the importance of Lacerta bilineata as host of Ixodes ricinus was conducted in Northe... more A survey on the importance of Lacerta bilineata as host of Ixodes ricinus was conducted in Northern Italy over a three-year period. A total of 202 western green lizards were captured and a total of 2349 ticks were collected. All ticks were identified as I. ricinus; 53.2% and 46.7% were at the larval and nymphal stages, respectively. Tick number and prevalence were higher in males than in females, especially from April to June during the host breeding period. The level of tick infestation increased with lizard age and size. The number of ticks collected on adult lizards peaked in June and in August. Infestation levels appear to be related to lizard activity patterns and behaviour. Tick number and prevalence also varied in relation to host habitat, infestation being higher in lizards from areas with hard vegetation cover.
ABSTRACT We present a detailed description of the type specimens of amphibians (frogs and salaman... more ABSTRACT We present a detailed description of the type specimens of amphibians (frogs and salamanders) held in the scientific research collections of the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale in Milan, Italy. These collections are historically important because of their rich sampling from the early 20th Century of present-day Libya, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, countries for which scientific collections are generally uncommon. Further, in the mid-19th Century the scientist Giorgio Jan amassed in Milan a diverse collection of amphibian and reptile specimens from institutions across Europe and the United States. There is a long history in the scientific literature stating that these specimens, brought together by Jan, were lost or destroyed due to the Allied bombing of Milan in 1943. We report the results of a thorough survey of the amphibian collection, revealing many type specimens previously thought lost, as well as several specimens from Jan’s mid-19th Century collection believed to have been destroyed. Among the latter are specimens corresponding to three nomina nuda created by Jan in an 1857 catalog. We provide details for all type specimens as well as a short synopsis of the history and taxonomic status of each. The scientific collections of amphibians in Milan contain type specimens of one salamander,Hydromantes italicus bonzanoi, and 17 frog species of which three are not currently considered synonyms of older names: Arthroleptis elegans, Arthroleptis–Phrynobatrachus sciangallarum, Arthroleptis–Phrynobatrachus zavattarii, Bufo gardoensis, Bufo incertus, Bufo sibilai, Fichteria somalica, Hyperolius zavattarii, Kassina somalica, Megalixalus parkeri, Rana (Pyxicephalus) cimmarutai, Rana cornii, Rana fichteri, Rana oxyrhynchus migiurtina, Rana somalica, Rana zavattarii, and Rappia rossii.
We analysed habitat choices of H. viridiflavus in a continental area of north - ern Italy and com... more We analysed habitat choices of H. viridiflavus in a continental area of north - ern Italy and compared our results with those reported from central Italy by other authors. We used two different field techniques, visual encounter surveys (VES) and radio tracking (RT), and both pointed out a clear preference for edges, while uniform habitats (like mature woods or meadow)
Abstract. The conservation status of the Western green lizard (Lacerta bilineata) in Italy is pro... more Abstract. The conservation status of the Western green lizard (Lacerta bilineata) in Italy is probably not favourable. In the Po plain the species is rapidly declining outside of the protected areas, mainly because of the loss of hedges and natural vegetation in general. ...
The throat and belly of both sexes of the common wall lizard Podarcis muralis exhibit a polymorph... more The throat and belly of both sexes of the common wall lizard Podarcis muralis exhibit a polymorphic coloration with three morphs (white, yellow and red). We documented the occurrence of this polymorphism in 11 populations of northern Italy, and investigated the morphometric features of the three morphs in both sexes. The white morph was more frequent (56.6%), while yellow and red morphs accounted for 28.7 and 14.7% of the lizards, respectively. Moreover, the red morphotype was more frequent among males while the white one was more frequent among females. The occurrence of the three morphs varied microgeographically from populations with a higher proportion of white individuals to those where all morphs were more equally represented. The comparisons of morphometry between morphs did not reveal any significant difference among males, while snout–vent length and head height in females increased from the white-throated to the yellow-throated morph, and from the yellow-throated morph to the red-throated one. Possible functions of this polymorphic coloration are discussed.
... FRANCA GUIDALI STEFANO SCALI ALESSIA CARETTONI Dipartimento di Biologia, Sezione Ecologia, Un... more ... FRANCA GUIDALI STEFANO SCALI ALESSIA CARETTONI Dipartimento di Biologia, Sezione Ecologia, Università di Milano, via Celoria 26, I-20133 Milano (Italy) e-mail: franca@imiucca.csi ... Study site The study area is 18 km NE of Bergamo, in the Adda Nord Re-gional Park. ...
In situations where badly burnt fragments of bone are found, identification of their human or non... more In situations where badly burnt fragments of bone are found, identification of their human or non-human origin may be impossible by gross morphology alone and other techniques have to be employed. In order to determine whether histological methods were redundant and should be superseded by biomolecular analyses, small fragments of artificially burnt bone (human and non-human) were examined by quantitative and standard light microscopy, and the findings compared with newer biomolecular analyses based on identifying specific human albumin by ELISA and amplifying human mitochondrial DNA by PCR. For quantitative microscopy, reference data were first created using burnt bones from 15 human and 20 common domestic and farm animals. Measured osteon and Haversian canal parameters were analysed using multivariate statistical methods. Highly significant differences were found between values for human and non-human bone, and a canonical discriminant function equation was derived, giving a predicted correct classification of 79%. For the main study, samples of cortical bone were taken from three fresh cadavers, six human skeletons and ten freshly slaughtered animals and burnt by exposure to temperatures ranging from 800 to 1200 degrees C; charred fragments of human cortical bone from two forensic cases were also tested. Quantitative microscopy and canonical discriminant function gave the correct origin of every sample. Standard microscopy falsely assigned burnt bone from one human skeleton and one forensic case to a non-human source, but otherwise gave correct results. Human albumin was identified in five individuals, including one of the forensic cases, but mitochondrial DNA could not be amplified from any of the human bone. No false positive test results were seen with either biomolecular method; and human albumin and mitochondrial DNA were correctly identified in all unburnt control specimens. It was concluded that histological methods were not redundant and that quantitative microscopy provided an accurate and consistent means of determining the human or non-human origin of burnt bone and was more reliable than standard microscopy or the newer immunological and DNA techniques tested here.
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