Ape, monkey evolution discoveries in Tanzania

From Big News Network (ANI):

Oldest evidence of split between Old World monkeys and apes uncovered

Thursday 16th May, 2013

Discovery of two fossils from the East African Rift has provided new information about the evolution of primates, according to a study.

The team’s findings document the oldest fossils of two major groups of primates: the group that today includes apes and humans (hominoids), and the group that includes Old World monkeys such as baboons and macaques (cercopithecoids).

Geological analyses of the study site indicate that the finds are 25 million years old, significantly older than fossils previously documented for either of the two groups.

Both primates are new to science, and were collected from a single fossil site in the Rukwa Rift Basin of Tanzania.

Rukwapithecus fleaglei is an early hominoid represented by a mandible preserving several teeth. Nsungwepithecus gunnelli is an early cercopithecoid represented by a tooth and jaw fragment.

The primates lived during the Oligocene epoch, which lasted from 34 to 23 million years ago. For the first time, the study documents that the two lineages were already evolving separately during this geological period.

“The late Oligocene is among the least sampled intervals in primate evolutionary history, and the Rukwa field area provides a first glimpse of the animals that were alive at that time from Africa south of the equator,” said Nancy Stevens, an associate professor of paleontology in Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine who leads the paleontological team.

Prior to these finds, the oldest fossil representatives of the hominoid and cercopithecoid lineages were recorded from the early Miocene, at sites dating millions of years younger.

The new discoveries are particularly important for helping to reconcile a long-standing disagreement between divergence time estimates derived from analyses of DNA sequences from living primates and those suggested by the primate fossil record, Stevens said.

Studies of clock-like mutations in primate DNA have indicated that the split between apes and Old World monkeys occurred between 30 million and 25 million years ago.

“Fossils from the Rukwa Rift Basin in southwestern Tanzania provide the first real test of the hypothesis that these groups diverged so early, by revealing a novel glimpse into this late Oligocene terrestrial ecosystem,” Stevens said.

The new fossils are the first primate discoveries from this precise location within the Rukwa deposits, and two of only a handful of known primate species from the entire late Oligocene, globally.

The scientists scanned the specimens in the Ohio University’s MicroCT scanner, allowing them to create detailed 3-dimensional reconstructions of the ancient specimens that were used for comparisons with other fossils.

“This is another great example that underscores how modern imaging and computational approaches allow us to address more refined questions about vertebrate evolutionary history,” said Patrick O’Connor, co-author and professor of anatomy in Ohio University’s Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The study was published online in Nature this week led by Ohio University scientists.

See also here. And here. And here.

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Good African flamingo news

This video says about itself:

The Crimson Wing Mystery of The Flamingos HD Trailer

In a place like no other on the planet, the dramatic and desolate Lake Natron in northern Tanzania, you’ll witness a spectacle unlike anything you’ve seen before: a million crimson-winged flamingos arrive to continue the circle of life. Focusing on the adventures of a single chick set against a backdrop of never-before-filmed landscapes, The Crimson Wing is a visually stunning journey into the life and struggles of the mysterious and inspiring flamingo.

From BirdLife:

Successful Flamingo breeding reported at Lake Natron!

Thu, Apr 11, 2013

Whilst Lesser Flamingo (Phoeniconaias minor) can attempt breeding every year, the scale and success of the breeding events can vary enormously. At Lake Natron, the success rate is mainly due to rainfall which can swamp the nest sites, many of which are only centimeters above the water level, but how the success can be measured is a challenge in itself due lack of data on population dynamics and a understanding of survival rates in the first year of a fledged bird.

Lake Natron in northern Tanzania is the most important breeding site for Lesser Flamingos. The majority of hatching and egg laying takes place during the months of September to April although there is peak in October to early December. This period is characterized by receding water levels and provides opportunities for the colonies to spread out and follow the cracks found in the soda ash where suitable mud can be accessed for nest construction.

Between September 2012 and January 2013 intense activity reminiscent of successful breeding has been reported. Marc Baker, an environmental management specialist says that hatching began in late September with two crèches (congregation of young birds) being counted, one of 150 chicks and another of 2,000 chicks in the southern lagoon and Pinyinyi delta respectively.

“In order to understand the location and scale of this years (end 2012, beginning 2013) breeding event, we conducted several aerial and ground counts over a 2 month period. Of particular interest was where on the surface of the lake major colony development takes place, how predictable those areas might be, and once hatched in which direction the young birds move and congregate. Preliminary results suggest 175,000 eggs counted on nest cones and 120,000 young hatched,” said Marc.

Lake Natron provides the ideal breeding conditions for Lesser Flamingos found in few other soda lakes in Africa and around the world. Nesting sites are isolated from predator and humans disturbance; perennial springs provide freshwater for chicks; food is abundant and suitable matter for nest construction is readily available.

Leslie Brown who nearly died while trying to access the nesting places in 1970s described Lake Natron as “the foulest place on earth.”

Since 2006, the integrity of Lake Natron as a breeding site for the pink birds has been threatened by a proposal to construct a $450 million soda ash processing plant. It was initially proposed by Tata Chemicals Industries with the Government of Tanzania but the former withdrew following intense local and international pressure.

The Government, through the National Development, maintains a keen interest in developing soda ash mining infrastructure at the lake. However, a recent economic study commissioned by the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania (WCST) shows that soda ash mining is not economically viable while, tourism and livelihoods development, are better options (Read more).

WCST has also been working with local communities at Lake Natron to improve and expand livelihood options.

“This breeding activity is further evidence of the importance of Lake Natron for the survival of Lesser Flamingo as a species” said Kariuki Ngang’ang’a, the Species Programme Manager at the BirdLife International Africa Partnership Secretariat. “Flamingos face many challenges and every effort should go towards protecting the integrity of this globally significant site.”

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Good African wildlife news

This video says about itself:

Tana Delta – Nature Kenya

Jan 5, 2012

The delta, one of Kenya’s last wildernesses and one of the most important bird habitats in Africa, is the flood plain of the Tana river, which flows 1,014km from Mount Kenya to the Indian Ocean.

The delta’s people are trying to fight for their rights over the huge blocks of land being turned over to private companies for commercial biofuels production especially the cultivation of jatropha curcas.

From BirdLife:

Community-based management improves forest condition in an East African biodiversity hotspot… as more species continue to be discovered.

Wed, Apr 10, 2013

BirdLife and its Partners have compiled a report on the status and trends of biodiversity in the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya (EACF) between 2008 and 2012. The report is the second of its kind; the first ever EACF status and trends report was published in 2008. The new report is based on bringing together of data and information contributed from a wide range of sources. This process is particularly important for building strong cases for REDD+ projects at Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs).

What happened between 2008 and 2012?

Researchers assessing the effectiveness of the Participatory Forest Management (PFM) approach provided evidence for improving forest condition due to PFM. This was confirmed for Arabuko-Sokoke forest in Kenya, and in a study conducted in Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania, PFM was also credited with a 79% reduction in the number of active hunters in the PFM zone.

Some new forest areas were gazetted for protection; the 968 ha Derema Forest Reserve was gazetted in Tanzania’s East Usambara mountains in 2010 and over 120,000 ha of village forest reserves were established across the Tanzanian part of the Eastern Arc Mountains and coastal forest hotspot. However, indications are that large tracts of forest continue to be lost through charcoal extraction and conversion to agriculture in some coastal forests, e.g. through pineapple farming in Dakatcha Woodlands in Kenya.

Although there have been assessments of carbon storage in a few forests, this only provides partial knowledge, and further assessments need to be undertaken especially for purposes of establishing REDD+ projects.

An increase in illegal hunting for subsistence continues to be recorded each year since 2009 in the Kenyan coastal forests and is blamed for the localised disappearance of the Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew Rhynchocyon chrysopygus and the critically endangered Ader’s Duiker Cephalophus adersi in some sites e.g. in the Dakatcha Woodlands, Kenya. In addition, bans on commercial timber extraction appear to be ineffective.

New information on species occurrence continued to be availed in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania. About 300 new distribution records and approximately 70 undescribed endemic amphibian and reptile species were reported in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania. Also, a total of 17 species were up-listed to higher threat categories in the IUCN Red List between 2008 and 2012, while only six were down-listed to lower threat categories.

The report also highlights that invasive alien species are a more serious problem in the EACF than had previously been realized. In Kenya Prosopsis juliflora, a small tree native to South America is reported to have invaded the Tana River Delta. In Tanzania, 20 invasive plant species are recorded in the Eastern Arc Mountains; the Umbrella tree Maesopsis eminii, a large African tropical forest tree introduced to various parts of the tropics for timber production or as a shade tree is one of the three species considered as the most serious. The others are a genus of berry plants (Rubus sp.) and Cedrela odorata, a cedar grown for timber.

Although some protected areas (e.g. Irunda, Ngongwa-Busangi, Kibao, Mninga, Gulosilo, Sao Hill, Kigogo and Muhezangulu Forest Reserves in Tanzania) had ‘top’ management effectiveness scores, many sites faced management challenges. Chronic underfunding for conservation is identified as one of the drawbacks for effective management of protected areas in the Eastern Arc Mountains.

The report also highlights some positive developments regarding policy. These include: formation of the Tanzania Forest Service (TFS) in 2010, and development of the conservation strategy for the Eastern Arc Mountain Forests in Tanzania. In Kenya, the Kenya Constitution 2010 and the Land Policy 2009 came into operation, empowering local communities to take charge of land use decisions and contributing to communities being able to oppose the proposed biofuel projects in Tana River Delta and Dakatcha Woodland.

Several pilot REDD+ projects were initiated in Tanzania (by Mpingo Conservation and Development Initiative, WWF, Care Zanzibar, Tanzania Traditional Energy Development Organisation –TaTEDO, and the TFCG/MJUMITA) that are bound to benefit communities. In Kenya, the Kasigau Corridor REDD project that lies just outside the Taita Hills became the first ever REDD+ project to be issued Voluntary Carbon Units (VCUs) under the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS).

About the EACF

The Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests (EACF) hotspot runs 900 km along the Kenya-Tanzania coasts and includes Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia Islands off the Tanzanian mainland. The region is very important due to its biological diversity and richness. It is characterized by a high level of species endemism, a severe degree of threat and exceptional diversity of its plant and animal communities. It was previously classified as a global biodiversity hotspot by itself, but now lies within two hotspots (the Eastern Afromontane Hotspot and the Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa Hotspot). In the beginning of the year 2004, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) made a five-year investment of US$7 million in the EACF, which was allocated to 103 projects in this region. The investment focused on improving human wellbeing and scientific knowledge and reducing the extinction risk for 333 globally threatened species through improved protection for the sites where these species are found.

The project

This report is a result of a project that aims at availing biodiversity and forest change data to among other things, leverage REDD+ and REDD Readiness for the EACF. The project is implemented by the BirdLife Africa Partnership Secretariat and BirdLife partner NGOs in Kenya (Nature Kenya) and Tanzania (Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania – WCST). The project is funded by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), which is a joint initiative of l’Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation, and the World Bank. A fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation.

For more information and copy of the full report, contact birdlife-africa@birdlife.org.

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UAE princely hunters threaten Tanzanian people and wildlife

This video from Tanzania is called Nduara Loliondo Camp | Serengeti migration area | Expert Africa.

From Wildlife Extra:

Maasai banned from their land in favour of an Arabian hunting company

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Maasai locked out of Loliondo, written by Ian Michler - OUR THANKS TO AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE FOR PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS ARTICLE.

April 2013. The Loliondo Game Controlled Area (LGCA), one of Tanzania’s most well-known Maasai community concessions and wildlife destinations is in the spotlight as local stakeholders and outside financial interests clash over its natural resources.

Foreign hunting company at the centre of the row
These tensions are not new, and given the location of Loliondo and the bounty of wildlife and grazing it carries, such tussles over competing land-use options are not surprising – what is surprising though is the manner in which the Tanzanian government has chosen to deal with the crisis. By choosing to side with a notorious foreign hunting company over a local Maasai community, they have shown a blatant disregard for traditional land-use rights and exposed the contradictions in their stated conservation goals.

It is suggested that the ‘Ortello Business Corporation’ want a new hunting block as they have killed most of the wildlife on their old one. Photo courtesy of Paul Goldstein

Adjacent to the Serengeti
Lying adjacent to the north-eastern portion of the Serengeti National Park, the significant array of wildlife found in this 4 000sqkm concession has over the last two decades attracted increasing numbers of hunters and ecotourists. The current dispute involves a United Arab Emirates (UAE) based hunting company called Ortello Business Corporation (OBC) with strong links to the royal family and military leaders of this tiny Arab state – they want their own private hunting grounds within Loliondo.

Maasai not consulted
But tourism is a very recent arrival to these verdant ancestral lands of the Maasai who have been living and grazing cattle here for the past 200 years or so. More recently, this historical tenure was formalized in a 1959 compensatory agreement when the Maasai were moved here for permanent settlement after being banished from the Serengeti when it was declared a national park. Back in 1993 when OBC first muscled its way into Loliondo, Tanzania had just emerged from decades of heavy socialism that brought state control to every aspect of life. Quick to take advantage of the transition, the Arabs approached the then government and in the negotiations the Maasai were never consulted in any way over the granting of a long term lease. By all accounts this came as a Presidential decree offering extremely favourable terms to the new leaseholder.

Read more articles by Ian Michler

• Walking with lions – Conservation or abuse?
• Wildlife as a commodity – South Africa’s lack of ‘ecological intelligence’
• Conservation quandary -What conservation works?
• Rhino poaching- the poacher tells all.
• Follow Ian’s take on other environmental issues here

Allegations of illegal and unethical hunting practices
Without consent or any form of buy-in from the traditional landowners, this was always going to be an acrimonious relationship. And the Arabs case has not being helped by allegations of illegal and unethical hunting practices, including the use of aircraft and machine-guns as well as baiting wildlife from the nearby Serengeti. Other accusations against them include the theft of wildlife from the concession, acts of intimidation and threats and bribes paid to silence people from within the community and government. This has all led to numerous public clashes between community residents and OBC and the authorities, who the Maasai accuse of being in cohorts with each other.

Africa Geographic is a wildlife, conservation and travel magazine that showcases the animals, people and landscapes that make this continent so special. We communicate with readers, blog fans, twitter followers and Facebook devotees from all over the world, from our native South Africa (where the magazine is published) to Europe, the US and Asia – diversepeople with diverse views, but all connected through a shared passion for Africa.Click Africa Geographic for details

New hunting block
While the official government line for dealing with the disputes at this moment revolves around securing wildlife corridors in Loliondo, the inside view is that the Arabs are looking for new and better hunting grounds as they have pretty much blighted what they had. And it would seem they may just get their way again. In a recent announcement, the Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism proposed that Loliondo be split into two sections – 2 500sqkms for the Maasai and a 1 500sqkm ‘wildlife corridor’ to be reclaimed as the Minister put it “for the benefit of the nation.” With this move however, government has in essence served the Maasai with an eviction order by expropriating almost one-third of their ancestral land, and in the process made provision for the Arabs to get a new lease on an exclusive hunting bloc running alongside the Serengeti.

The issue here is not about refuting the Minister’s wish to protect the country’s wildlife – all would agree this is imperative. Rather, it’s about the continuation of policies that entrench historical land injustices and a mindset that cannot accept the ownership, empowerment and conservation credentials of traditional communities living on the edges of Africa’s protected areas. The marginalization began with the arrival of colonial powers and the dispossession and impoverishment processes were completed during the creation of the continents national parks and reserves. Post-independence governments inherited the mess, but barring a few notable exceptions, they have only served to compound the injustices.

‘For the benefit of the nation’
And the great irony here is that ‘for the benefit of the nation’ may actually mean for the benefit of a few wealthy foreign hunters with an appalling conservation record – and this will come at the expense of Tanzanian citizens that have historical rights to Loliondo and a belief system and pastoralist lifestyle in keeping with being natural conservators of wildlife.

This decision points to one of three scenarios.
1) The Tanzanian government simply has no regard for the traditional land rights of their citizens
2) They again have failed to understand the dynamics and direct links between alienated and impoverished rural communities and many of the conservation battles taking place in and around protected areas or
3) Both of the above are correct and this has led to high-level politicians believing the financial takings on offer are acceptable. It’s a decision that must be questioned at every level.

This battle is far from over. As a local Maasai councillor has said, “We are not ready to surrender even one meter of our land to investors for whatever reasons.”

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• Tanzania: Land grab could spell ‘the end of the Maasai and the Serengeti’ (survivalinternational.org)
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Trophy hunting banned in Botswana and Zambia

This video is called Botswana wildlife expedition 2012.

From Wildlife Extra:

Seeing the light – Benefits to banning hunting in Botswana and Zambia

The recent decision by the governments of Botswana and Zambia to halt trophy hunting has been praised in some conservation circles in southern Africa. Ian Michler explains why.

Towards the end of last year the Botswana Government announced that trophy hunting will no longer be allowed on any state or community land from the end of 2013. The ban extends to what is known as ‘citizen hunting’ for the pot and covers all species, including elephants. And then in early January this year the government of Zambia annulled the tender process for hunting concessions in 19 Game Management Areas (GMAs) and cancelled all hunting licences and quotas for at least one year. It also introduced an immediate and indefinite ban on the hunting of lions and leopards and committed to a thorough review of the hunting industry.

These are extremely sensible stands and both governments should be congratulated for their vision. Although taken independently, the decisions are based on similar factors that clearly indicate a further loss of support for trophy hunting as an effective wildlife management option.

Little benefit to communities

On the economic front, the contribution of hunting has always been overplayed. In most countries the industry has only a six-month season and the benefits delivered to local economies by the small camps, with their limited complements of staff and clients, are insubstantial. The real money goes into the pockets of the operators and is often collected outside the home states.

Photo safaris replacing hunting

In the case of Botswana, the photographic sector has steadily replaced hunting over the past two decades. In the process, the ecotourism industry as a whole has grown significantly and its comparative advantages have become increasingly evident. The government now has records relating to concession fees, employment numbers and opportunities, wages and taxes paid, contributions to conservation and a host of other criteria that enable them to make direct comparisons between the two industries.

Hunting contributes just US$3 million to Zambia

In Zambia, where approximately US$3- million is earned annually from trophy hunting, Tourism and Arts Minister Sylvia Masebo said it loud and clear: ‘Why should we lose our animals for US$3-million a year? The benefits we get from [photographic] tourist visits are much higher.’ And as reported in a number of stakeholder meetings held after the bans were announced, remuneration to local people from hunting is simply not materialising; communities located within or on the borders of GMAs are as impoverished as ever.

Hunting bad for the ecology

The ban on hunting makes just as much sense when it comes to ecological considerations. The primary claim in this regard is the industry’s much-touted anti-poaching role, but this is totally misrepresented. Poaching occurs in all protected areas and the intensity of it is driven by factors such as the prevailing socioeconomic conditions and levels of policing.

Protection from poachers

It is certainly true that the presence of tour operators and their clients acts as a deterrent to poaching, and while hunting concessions claim the same advantage, the protection they offer to wildlife is no better. If anything, it could be argued that whereas the hunting season lasts only six months, most photographic operators are in business year round, which translates into a far more significant presence on the ground. In both Botswana and Zambia, the hunters have occupied concessions around the perimeters of national parks and reserves, and this is where the poaching starts.

Selous suffers terribly from poaching

Further afield, Tanzania’s Selous Game Reserve serves as a more obvious example of the connection between hunting and poaching. Almost 95 per cent of its land is parcelled out among more than 40 hunting concessions yet, as reported by conservation agencies and the Tanzanian government, thousands of elephants are being lost to ivory poachers each year. Another spurious claim put forward by advocates of hunting pertains to the gene pool. Rather than targeting the old and infirm, as they assert, trophy hunting is actually all about pursuing the prime animals within the gene pool of individual species. That is why record books are kept and why every operator aims to get as many entries in them as possible and thus obtain a marketing edge. The loss of established animals year after year hammers the breeding stock and is extremely disruptive to the social systems and behavioural patterns of the different species.

Given the existing pressures on wildlife in most protected areas, this is why trophy hunting is at odds with conservation. How can any activity that seeks to kill what everyone else is so diligently trying to protect be making a contribution? When viewed comparatively, there is no contest as to which land-use option for nationally protected areas is superior. The money involved and a powerful lobby will no doubt keep hunting grounds open in some countries for years to come, but Botswana and Zambia, by breaking ranks, at the very least have laid down a marker to the conservation world – the role of trophy hunting as a conservation tool needs to be thoroughly reviewed.

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Almost-extinct Tanzanian toads reintroduced to wilderness

This video is called Kihansi Spray Toads Return to the Wild.

From Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam):

Tanzania: Kihansi Toads Reintroduced in the Wilderness

By Abdulwakil Saiboko, 12 March 2013

Kilombero — TANZANIA has gone down in history as the world’s first country to successfully reintroduce into the wild amphibians that had been in danger of extinction.

This has been revealed during the release of the second batch of 1,500 Kihansi Spray Toads (KST) into their natural habitat at Kihansi gorge at the weekend. A health complication known as chytrid fungus led to massive deaths of the species in the early 2000s.

A researcher from the University of Utah in the US, Dr William Newmark, said shortly after the release that the occasion was the first in the world and that many countries will have to learn from Tanzania. “This is the first time in Africa as well as the world, where we have witnessed a successful reintroduction of amphibians into the wild. This is the result of careful experiments,” he said.

Dr Newmark, who is also a consultant with the World Bank, noted that local and international scientists working in the reintroduction process have agreed to release a significant number of toads every year. “We will learn as we go along. The first release came with challenges that we tried to address in this second round.

Likewise, the coming round will be improved further as we will be having new ideas to bank on,” he said. He added that plans were underway to reintroduce another 3,500 toads as soon as possible. The University of Dar es Salaam Head of Zoology and Wildlife Conservation, Dr Felister Urasa, said that the first batch of 2,000 toads was released into the wild on October 30, last year.

“Those introduced in the first batch are doing fine and this is due to the fact that researchers have made efforts to see into it that there is enough food at the gorge and that their habitat is free from diseases,” she said. She added that tireless efforts made by National Environment Management Council, Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, University of Dar es Salaam, Sokoine University of Agriculture and World Bank have seen the toads going back home.

The Lower Kihansi Environmental Management Project Co-ordinator, Ms Amina Kibola noted that Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) has also contributed greatly in the process. “Tanesco has put an artificial sprinkler in place, trained ten officials who work in ensuring that the spray system works properly.

Kihansi stands as a successful story of Tanesco’s environment management efforts,” she said. Ms Kibola noted that a lot of efforts have been made in educating villagers in the vicinity of the gorge in ensuring that they are not involved in activities that are detrimental to the welfare of the toads.

The Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWRI) Eastern and Southern Zonal Coordinator, Dr Denis Ikonda, noted that his institute would ensure the sustainability of the toads in the wild. “We have the role of ensuring that the toads are not getting extinct once again and this will be done by ensuring that all the detrimental elements are prevented,” he said.

Dr Ikonda, who led the reintroduction exercise, noted further that objectives will be achieved given a reputable background TAWRI has in dealing with cases of that nature. He pointed out the recent reintroduction of wild dogs into Serengeti National Park as vivid example.

Wild dogs disappeared from the Serengeti in the 1980′s. During the construction of Lower Kihansi Dam, the population of KST which are unique of Kihansi declined due to the reduction of the amount of wetland habitat receiving natural spray. The toads’ population was attacked by a fungal disease called chytridiomycosis that threatened to wipe out the rare species from the face of the world.

About 500 of the toads, scientifically known as Nectophrynoides Asperginis, were in the year 2000 taken to the United States, because they were in danger of extinction. At Bronx and Toledo Zoos in the US the toads are said to have multiplied to over 6,000. The scientists have noted that the successful study will see many more toads being flown back home from the US.

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New Mozambique snake discovery

From the Mozambique News Agency:

Mozambique: New Venomous Snake Discovered in Cabo Delgado

15 January 2013

Maputo — A researcher at Lurio University, based in the northern Mozambican province of Nampula, has discovered a species of highly venomous snake not previously known in the country.

The species is Thelotornis usambaricus, which belongs to a group of snakes commonly known as twig snakes. Previously, this species was only known from Tanzania, but the researcher, Harith Farooq, discovered it when he was undertaking a survey of terrestrial wild life on Vamizi island, in the Quirimbas archipelago, off the coast of Cabo Delgado province.

Farooq caught two of the snakes, which he could not immediately identify.

He sent one of the animals to the Natural History Museum in Zimbabwe to ascertain its taxonomic classification. This work was done by the zoologist Donald G. Broadley, who discovered the species in Tanzania in 2001.

The second of the snakes is now in the reptile collection kept in the branch of Lurio University in the Cabo Delgado provincial capital, Pemba.

Thelotornis Usambaricus is a member of the Thelotornis genus of back-fanged snakes. Its venom is hemotoxic – which means that it destroys red blood cells. This type of venom can disrupt blood clotting, and cause generalized tissue damage.

It is much slower acting than the neurotoxic venom (poison that affects the nervous system) of snakes such as the black mamba. However, no anti-venom has yet been developed for Thelotornis poison, and although bites are rare, fatalities have been recorded in Tanzania.

This snake usually conceals itself in trees, from which it strikes at its favoured prey – lizards, frogs and sometimes birds.

With this discovery, the number of snake species known to exist in Mozambique has risen to 96.

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New African fish species gets biologist’s name

From Leiden University in the Netherlands:

A new fish species from Lake Victoria named in honor of the author of Darwin’s Dreampond

Two new species of cichlid fish from Lake Victoria are described by biologists from Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Research Department Marine Zoology) and the Institute of Biology Leiden (Section Integrative Zoology), the Netherlands. One of these species is named in honour of Tijs Goldschmidt, author of Darwin’s Dreampond. This book, published in nine languages, describes the dramatic extinction of hundreds of cichlid species in Lake Victoria in the 1980s due to the introduced Nile perch and other human induced environmental changes.

In 1985, Leiden biologists made a survey in the Tanzanian part of the lake, with an old ferry as floating lab, to establish the status of the rapidly declining cichlids. During this expedition Tijs studied the egg spots on the anal fin of cichlids for their possible role in the rapid speciation of these fish. In the Emin Pasha Gulf, among a species nicknamed Haplochromis “argens”, individuals were found with aberrant egg dummies and lacking red in the fins. Just the kind of example Tijs was looking for to test his theory of speciation by sexual selection. The aberrant individuals were provisionally named H. “dusky argens”.

Both “species” play a part in Tijs’ PhD thesis and in other studies. However, a taxonomic description was never made and whether H. “dusky argens” was a separate species or a colour morph remained unclear. In 1987, most cichlid species from the offshore waters of the lake had disappeared, and with them the urge of taxonomic descriptions.

Now, 25 years later, about a quarter of the cichlid species have recovered in the “Nile perch desert”, some of them became even more abundant than in the past, but the former common H. “argens” is still extremely rare. The status of H. “dusky-argens” is unknown as it was only caught in the remote Emin Pasha Gulf, which is not sampled nowadays. Research on successfully resurgent species shows that they were able to adapt morphologically to the new environmental conditions. Their body shape, for instance, changed, so that burst swimming to escape predators improved. Preliminary results suggest that such a response is not found in H. “argens”.

The above observations triggered the present taxonomic study as a baseline for further research. It shows that several taxonomic characters differ more between the co-occurring populations of H. “argens” and H. “dusky argens” in the Emin Pasha Gulf, than between populations from different locations. This suggests that they are indeed two species, which are morphologically driven apart at places where they co-occur. In case of H. “argens” the nickname was upgraded to the formal name, while H. “dusky-argens” is now named H. goldschmidti.

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Original source

de Zeeuw MP, Westbroek I, van Oijen MJP, Witte F (2013) Two new species of zooplanktivorous haplochromine cichlids from Lake Victoria, Tanzania. ZooKeys 256: 1–34. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.256.3871

About ZooKeys

ZooKeys is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal launched to support free exchange of ideas and information in biodiversity science, issued by Pensoft Publishers. All papers published in ZooKeys can be freely copied, downloaded, printed and distributed at no charge for the reader. ZooKeys implemented several cutting-edge innovation in publishing and dissemination of science information and is considered a technological leader in its field.

Additional Information

Goldschmidt T, de Visser J (1990) On the possible role of egg mimics in speciation. Acta Biotheoretica 38: 125-134.

van Rijssel JC, Witte F (2012) Adaptive responses in resurgent Lake Victoria cichlid over the past 30 years. Evolutionary Ecology. doi: 10.1007/s10682-012-9596-9

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African wild dogs freed in Tanzania

This video is about African wild dogs.

From Tanzania Daily News (Dar es Salaam):

Tanzania: President Frees Captive Wild Dogs

By Mugini Jacob, 25 December 2012

Serengeti — PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete has set free 11 more wild dogs in Serengeti National Park (Senapa), a move that is aimed at bringing back the endangered species in one of the country’s major tourist destinations.

“They (wild dogs) are so beautiful. This is an additional tourist attraction in the Serengeti. Let us make sure that they are safe”, President Kikwete said on Sunday shortly after setting free the wild dogs at Nyamuma area inside the world famous park.

The wild dogs were captured at Loliondo a few months ago and kept in a special sanctuary as part of the ongoing project meant to bring back the wild dogs in the park. Loliondo is part of the Serengeti eco-system but it is outside the park.

In August this year the first family (group) comprising 15 wild dogs captured in Loliondo was set free and allowed to roam within the park’s vicinity, according to Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) Director General Dr Simon Mduma.

“The first group is doing very well. All the wild dogs are alive”, Dr Mduma told President Kikwete in his brief remarks about the project. The project is being implemented by TAWIRI in collaboration with the Tanzania National Parks (Tanapa), Wildlife Division under the sponsorship of Vodacom Tanzania and Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS).

…

The head of the nation hailed the initiatives and called for continued support from other stakeholders. “I have been visiting Senapa quite often but the absence of wild dogs in the park is one of the things that have not impressed me.

“These are commendable initiatives but the journey is still long”, President Kikwete said. Wild dogs are at the top of the list of most endangered species internationally as is the case of black rhinos, according to Dr Mduma. The animals started disappearing from Senapa in the 1980s when diseases that included rabies struck, decimating animals in the dog family.

“There were about 500 wild dogs in Serengeti at that time. “But they started dying or disappearing in the 1980s and the last wild dog in the park was seen in 1992 at Kirawira,” Dr Mduma said. Tanapa Director General Allan Kijazi said that efforts will be made to protect as well as increase the number of wild dogs. “We are expecting these wild dogs to remain in the park and flourish,” Mr Kijazi said without going into details.

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World’s oldest dinosaur discovery in Tanzania?

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From Discover magazine:

Scientists Discover the Oldest Dinosaur Yet…Maybe

By Breanna Draxler

December 6, 2012 11:13 am

Paleontologists in Tanzania have unearthed fossils from a new species of prehistoric reptile. The bones may have belonged to the world’s oldest dinosaur—or they may be from a reptile that kind of looks like a dinosaur.

Currently, the oldest confirmed dinosaur fossil dates back 230 million years. By this point in time, dinosaurs had grown in size and population to dominate the Earth. But when exactly did dinosaurs first enter the prehistoric picture, and how long did it take them to rise to such prominence? Paleontologists have narrowed the timeline down to the early or middle Triassic—the period of 20 million years before the oldest known dinosaur came to be.  The newfound species, dubbed Nyasasaurus parringtoni, predates this fossil by another 10 to 15 million years, and falls right in the middle of paleontologists’ projected timeframe for the first appearance of dinosaurs.

With only one upper arm bone and six vertebrae to work with, the researchers were able to glean a surprising amount of information about the newly discovered two-legged creature. It measured between 6 and 10 feet from head to tail, and only weighed between 45 and 130 pounds. Certain indicators in the fossils are unique to dinosaurs, namely an “elongated deltopectoral crest”—the attachment necessary to support strong chest muscles. Without more material the researchers cannot definitively declare the creature a dinosaur, rather than a silesaurid, the dinosaurs’ closest relative. Still, scientists say the fossils are the best available evidence of the presence of dinosaurs in the middle Triassic period, and regardless of how it ends up being classified, the new species offers a valuable view of the lives of early reptiles.

Image courtesy of Sterling J. Nesbitt, et. al.

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