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My colleagues and I published a 129-page taxonomic monograph of the diamond frogs, genus Rhombophryne\u2014a piece of work more than twelve years in the making. This yielded seven new species, and revised definitions of all of the now 27 species of the genus.<\/p>\n
Read more here<\/a><\/p>\n Read more here<\/a><\/p>\n Following on from our discovery of UV fluorescence in chameleons, my colleagues and I searched for fluorescence in other reptiles and amphibians. We found bright, neon-green fluorescence along the flanks of the web-footed gecko from Namibia, Pachydactylus rangei<\/em>. With the old team (David Pr\u00f6tzel, Martin He\u00df, Martina Schwager, and Frank Glaw), we looked into the histology and spectroscopy of this fluorescence. This remarkable case of fluorescence, amongst the brightest of all vertebrates, is produced by a unique mechanism, centred around fluorescent iridophores. The position of the fluorescence suggests that it may be used in communication across the dunes of the Namib, but a lot remains to be studied about this bizarre phenomenon.<\/p>\n Read more here<\/a><\/p>\n My colleagues and I have described five diminutive frogs from Madagascar, including the new genus\u00a0Mini<\/em> with three new species,\u00a0Mini mum<\/em>,\u00a0Mini scule<\/em>, and\u00a0Mini ature<\/em>. These frogs are amongst the smallest in the world. They highlight the dynamic history of size evolution in Madagascar’s narrow-mouthed frogs, and open up really interesting new avenues for exploration.<\/p>\n Read more here<\/a><\/p>\n Continuing our work on the small arboreal chameleons of the\u00a0Calumma nasutum<\/em>\u00a0species group, my colleagues and I described three new species from the\u00a0C. guibei<\/em>\u00a0complex. The new species,\u00a0Calumma uetzi<\/em>, C. lefona<\/em>, and\u00a0C. juliae<\/em>, are small but charismatic species, and all three are probably threatened with extinction.<\/p>\n Read more here<\/a><\/p>\n My colleagues and I described a new species of frog from northern Madagascar that is strongly distinct from all others. The new species,\u00a0Gephyromantis (Vatomantis) lomorina<\/em>, and it shares some characters with two different groups of frogs within the diverse genus\u00a0Gephyromantis<\/em>\u00a0that could turn the subgeneric taxonomy of these groups on its head.<\/p>\n Read more here<\/a><\/p>\n A few years ago, we discovered that some elements of the heads of many chameleons fluoresce under UV light. Following this discovery, our research group embarked on a mission to study how widespread this phenomenon is, the underlying physiology, and its potential significance. The results of our investigation into the phenomenon were published in Scientific Reports: the fluorescent structures are tubercles of the skull, jutting out through thin layers of dermis that are rendered transparent by their thinness and the displacement of all chromatophores. These structures are widespread in chameleons, and generally appear to be sexually dimorphic, and have diagnostic patterning. As for an implication and significance\u2026 the jury is still out.<\/p>\n Read more here<\/a><\/p>\n Recent research highlights Seven new diamond frogs unearthed in Madagascar My colleagues and I published a 129-page taxonomic monograph of the diamond frogs, genus Rhombophryne\u2014a piece of work more than twelve years in the making. This yielded seven new species, and revised definitions of all of the now 27 species of the genus. Read more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2291","page","type-page","status-publish","czr-hentry"],"featured_image_src":null,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markscherz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markscherz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markscherz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markscherz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.markscherz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2291"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.markscherz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6370,"href":"https:\/\/www.markscherz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2291\/revisions\/6370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.markscherz.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Scherz, M.D.<\/strong>, Glaw, F., Petzold, A., Andreone, F., K\u00f6hler, J., Raselimanana, A.P., Hutter, C.R., Belluardo, F., Rakotoarison, A., Hofreiter, M., Vences, M. & Crottini, A. (2026) A wealth of riches: a comprehensive revision of diamond frogs, genus\u00a0Rhombophryne<\/em>\u00a0Boettger, 1880 (Microhylidae: Cophylinae), with the description of seven new species.\u00a0Vertebrate Zoology<\/em>, 76:485\u2013610. DOI:\u00a010.3897\/vz.76.e172567<\/a>\u00a0[pdf<\/a>]<\/h6>\n
\n20 new frog species from Madagascar<\/a><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>My colleagues and I (a team of 22 coauthors!) published a 199-page taxonomic revision of the common small brown frogs in the Mantidactylus\u00a0<\/em>subgenus\u00a0Brygoomantis.<\/em> This yielded 20 species new to science, a new synonym, and two revalidated names, bringing the diversity of the clade from 14 to 35 species. Small brown frogs are surprisingly diverse, but have long been underestimated and overlooked. Harnessing cutting edge methods in taxonomy makes tackling these challenging groups more manageable than ever before.<\/p>\nScherz, M.D., Crottini, A., Hutter, C.R., Hildenbrand, A., Andreone, F., Fulgence, T.R., K\u00f6hler, G., Ndraintsoa, S.H., Ohler, A., Preick, M., Rakotoarison, A., Rancilhac, L., Raselimanana, A.P., Riemann, J.C., R\u00f6del, M.-O., Rosa, G.M., Streicher, J.W., Vieites, D.R., K\u00f6hler, J., Hofreiter, M., Glaw, F. & Vences, M. (2022) An inordinate fondness for inconspicuous brown frogs: integration of phylogenomics, archival DNA analysis, morphology, and bioacoustics yields 24 new taxa in the subgenus\u00a0Brygoomantis<\/em>\u00a0(genus\u00a0Mantidactylus<\/em>) from Madagascar.\u00a0Megataxa<\/em>, 7(2):113\u2013311. DOI:\u00a010.11646\/megataxa.7.2.1<\/a>\u00a0[high-resolution pdf, 336.8 MB<\/a>;\u00a0low-resolution pdf, 14.1 MB<\/a>]<\/strong><\/h6>\n
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<\/a>Fluorescence in Pachydactylus rangei<\/i><\/a><\/h3>\nPr\u00f6tzel, D., He\u00df, M., Schwager, M., Glaw, F. & Scherz, M.D. (2021) Neon-green fluorescence in the desert gecko Pachydactylus rangei<\/em> caused by iridophores. Scientific Reports<\/em>, 11:297. DOI: 10.1038\/s41598-020-79706-z<\/a> [pdf<\/a>]<\/strong><\/h6>\n
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<\/a>Mini<\/em> frogs from Madagascar<\/h3>\nScherz<\/span>, M.D.<\/strong>, Hutter, C.R., Rakotoarison, A., Riemann, J.C., R\u00f6del, M.-O., Ndriantsoa, S.H., Glos, J., Hyde Roberts, S., Crottini, A., Vences, M. & Glaw, F. (2019) Morphological and ecological convergence at the lower size limit for vertebrates highlighted by five new miniaturised microhylid frog species from three different Madagascan genera.\u00a0PLoS One<\/i>, 14:e0213314. DOI:\u00a010.1371\/journal.pone.0213314<\/a>\u00a0[pdf<\/a>]<\/h6>\n
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<\/p>\nThree new species of chameleon<\/a><\/h3>\n
Pr\u00f6tzel, D., Vences, M., Hawlitschek, O.,\u00a0Scherz<\/span>, M.D., Ratsoavina, F.M. & Glaw, F. (2018) Endangered beauties: three new species of chameleons in the\u00a0Calumma boettgeri<\/i>\u00a0complex (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae).\u00a0Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society<\/i>, advanced access, 1\u201328. [Request PDF<\/a>]<\/h6>\n
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<\/a>New mossy frog from Madagascar<\/a><\/h3>\nScherz, M.D., Hawlitschek, O., Razafindraibe, J.H., Megson, S., Ratsoavina, F.M., Rakotoarison, A., Bletz, M.C., Glaw, F. & Vences, M. (2018) A distinctive new frog species (Anura, Mantellidae) supports the biogeographic linkage of the montane rainforest massifs of northern Madagascar.\u00a0Zoosystematics and Evolution<\/i>, 94(2):247\u2013261. DOI:\u00a010.3897\/zse.94.21037<\/a>\u00a0[pdf<\/a>]<\/h6>\n
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<\/p>\nWidespread bone-based fluorescence in chameleons<\/a><\/h3>\n
Pr\u00f6tzel, D., He\u00df, M.,\u00a0Scherz, M.D.<\/strong>, Schwager, M., van\u2019t Padje, A. & Glaw, F. (2018) Widespread bone-based fluorescence in chameleons.\u00a0Scientific Reports,<\/em>\u00a08:698. DOI:\u00a010.1038\/s41598-017-19070-7<\/a>\u00a0[pdf<\/a>]<\/h6>\n
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