1. Threatened and extinct amphibians and reptiles in Italian natural history collections as useful conservation tools
- Author
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Franco Andreone, Ivano Ansaloni, Enrico Bellia, Andrea Benocci, Carlotta Betto, Gabriella Bianchi, Giovanni Boano, Antonio Borzatti, Rino Brancato, Nicola Bressi, Stefano Bulla, Massimo Capula, Vincenzo Caputo, Piero Carlino, Umberto Chalvien, Marta Coloberti, Pierangelo Crucitti, Maria Chiara Deflorian, Giuliano Doria, Simone Farina, Valeria Franceschini, Flavia Gallo5, Simona Guioli, Roberta Improta, Luca Lapini, Leonardo Latella, Giuseppe Manganelli, Stefano Mazzotti, Marta Meneghini5, Paola Nicolosi, Anna Maria Nistri, Nicola Novarini, Roberta Pala1, Edoardo Razzetti, Gianni Repetto, Roberta Salmaso23, Guido Cesare Salza, Stefano Scali, Giovanni Scillitani, Andrea Sforzi, Gionata Stancher, Maria Luisa Tavano18, Silvia Valenti5, Marco Valle, Giannantonio Zanata, Marco A. L. Zuffi26, Giulia Tessa1, 6, and Franco Andreone *, Ivano Ansaloni , Enrico Bellia , Andrea Benocci , Carlotta Betto , Gabriella Bianchi , Giovanni Boano , Antonio Borzatti , Rino Brancato , Nicola Bressi , Stefano Bulla , Massimo Capula , Vincenzo Caputo , Piero Carlino , Umberto Chalvien , Marta Coloberti , Pierangelo Crucitti , Maria Chiara Deflorian , Giuliano Doria , Simone Farina , Valeria Franceschini , Flavia Gallo5, Simona Guioli , Roberta Improta , Luca Lapini , Leonardo Latella , Giuseppe Manganelli , Stefano Mazzotti , Marta Meneghini5, Paola Nicolosi , Anna Maria Nistri , Nicola Novarini , Roberta Pala1, Edoardo Razzetti , Gianni Repetto , Roberta Salmaso23, Guido Cesare Salza , Stefano Scali , Giovanni Scillitani , Andrea Sforzi , Gionata Stancher , Maria Luisa Tavano18, Silvia Valenti5, Marco Valle , Giannantonio Zanata , Marco A.L. Zuffi26, Giulia Tessa1,6
- Subjects
Natural history museums, herpetological collections, Conservation, Biodiversity ,Animal Science and Zoology - Abstract
Natural history museums are irreplaceable tools to study and preserve the biological diversity around the globe and among the primary actors in the recognition of species and the logical repositories for their type specimens. In this paper we surveyed the consistency of the preserved specimens of amphibians and reptiles housed in the major Italian scientific collections, and verified the presence of threatened species according to the IUCN Red List, including the Extinct (EX), Extinct in the Wild (EW), Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), and Vulnerable (VU) categories. Altogether, we analyzed 39 Italian zoological collections. We confirmed the presence of one extinct reptile (Chioninia coctei) and five extinct or extinct in the wild amphibian species (Atelopus longirostris, Nectophrynoides asperginis, Pseudophilautus leucorhinus, P. nasutus, and P. variabilis). Seven CR amphibians, fourteen CR reptile species and the extinct skink C. coctei are shared by more than one institution. Museums which host the highest number of threatened and extinct amphibian species are respectively Turin (17 CR and 1 EX), Florence (13 CR and 1 EX), and Trento (15 CR and 1 EW), while for reptiles the richest museums are those from Genoa (15 CR and 1 EX), Florence (11 CR and 1 EX), and Pisa (7 CR). Finally, we discussed the utility of natural history museums and the strategies to follow for the implementation of their functionality.
- Published
- 2022