In the initial months of AH News, we mainly focused towards newly accepted manuscripts, granting our readers a preview of upcoming research. Today, however, we venture into the annals of Acta Herpetologica, peering back in time to rediscover notable publications. We commence this journey by presenting a paper that has garnered substantial attention over the years: "Descriptive Osteology of an Imperiled Amphibian, the Luristan Newt (Neurergus kaiseri, Amphibia: Salamandridae)" authored by Khoshnamvand et al.

Bones are much more than the single components of skeletons. Indeed, they provide a wealth of useful information regarding the individuals they once supported —ranging from sex, age, and motion to broader organismal condition. In addition, an in-depth analysis of osteological elements is sometimes necessary for species identification, and is always indispensable in the description of a new species. Bones even provide hints about an organism's dietary habits and its specific ecological niche.

The Luristan newt (Neurergus kaiseri) is a vulnerable amphibian endemic of the Zagros Mountains in Iran. While some aspects of its distribution and ecology are known, much remains to be described about this species. In 2015, dr. Khoshnamvand and collegues visited the home range of the species, in order to collect deceased newts. The carcasses were stained and analyzed under a stereomicroscope; after dissecting single skeletal elements, a scanner was used to scan lateral, dorsal and ventral view of each bone. 

In general, the Luristan newt was found to have a dense, ossified skull, with only the mobile facets featuring cartilaginous elements. The forelimbs have four fingers with cartilaginous tips; each finger has three phalanxes (with the exception of the biggest finger, having four phalanxes). The hindlimbs have five fingers, each with three phalanxes. The vertebral column is composed of 50 elements.

N. kaiseri skeletal structure resembles the one of the congener N. microspilotus.Both species, sharing a common mountain habitat, exhibit remarkable similarities in their osteological characteristics, suggesting parallel adaptations to analogous environmental pressures. Given the vulnerability of the Luristan newt, however, the analyses presented here were performed on a very limited number of specimens showing limited variation: further research is therefore needed to investigate adaptive variation in skeletal structure, both within this endangered species and across related taxa.

Read the full paper here.

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