6,855 research outputs found
Lankascincus sripadensis Wickramasinghe, Rodrigo & Dayawansa, 2007, sp. nov.
No full textLankascincus sripadensis sp. nov. (Fig. 8–12). Holotype: Adult male 58.27 mm SVL NMSL 200705001. Sripada Sanctuary (Adam’s peak), Nuwara Eliya District, Central Province. (N 0 6 48 24.63, E 0 80 30 41.21) Alt. 1825 m. Coll. R. K. Rodirigo, D. Jayantha, and L. J. M. Wickramasinghe. 0 7. 11. 2006. Paratypes: Adult male 56.62 mm SVL NMSL 200705002, Adult female 54.85 mm SVL NMSL 200705003. Sripada Sanctuary (Adam’s peak), Nuwara Eliya District, Central Province. (N 0 6 48 24.63, E 0 80 30 41.21) Alt. 1825 m. Coll. R. K. Rodirigo, D. Jayantha, and L. J. M. Wickramasinghe. 0 7. 11. 2006. Diagnosis: Lankascincus sripadensis sp. nov. is distinguished from known congeners by possessing the following combination of characters: A large sized Lankascincus 56–58 mm SVL; Prefrontals are fused or narrowly in contact; three loreal scales, the anterior loreal is touching the prefrontal, frantonasal, nasal, 1 st and 2 nd supralabial scales; the posterior loreals are larger than the anterior loreal in longitudinal axis, the upper anterior loreal is touching the prefrontal and upper anterior preocular; the lower posterior loreal is touching 2 nd, 3 rd supralabials and 1 st subocular scale; the nasal is not fused; 7 supralabials, the last supralabial scale is single, 5 th at the mid orbit point; 26 smooth scale rows at mid body; 56 to 58 paravertebral scales; 56 – 57 scales between mental and vent; median preanals are enlarged, outer preanals overlap with inner; lamellae under the fourth finger 12–13, and fourth toe 17–19, the lamellae formulae including fingers and toes are 4> 3> 5> 2> 1 and 4> 3> 5> 2> 1. Description of Holotype: Adult male (Fig. 8). Snout to vent length (SVL) 58.27 mm. body moderately elongate and robust. Head depressed and narrow (HD / HW ratio 0.66 and HD / HL ratio 0.41); elongated and large (HD / NE ratio 0.54 and HL / SVL ratio 0.24); distinct from the neck; snout long (SE / HW ratio 0.54); longer than the eye width (EW / SE ratio 0.64); eye relatively lager than the ear (EW / EL ratio 2.11 and EW / EaW ratio 2.93); ear opening small (EL / HL ratio 0.10); snout to eye distance greater than the width of eye (SE / EW ratio 1.56). Tail longer than the body length (SVL / TL ratio 0.65), and round in cross section (TD / TW ratio 0.98). Rostral convex (Fig. 9), posterior margin of mid point slightly curved towards the frontonasal; no supranasal and postnasal; frontonasal larger than the prefrontals, lateral border touching anterior loreal; prefrontals in contact, touching anterior loreal and upper posterior loreal from the lower border, slightly in contact with first supraocular from the posterior border; frontal longer than its distance to tip of snout, and approximately equal or longer than frontoparietals and interparietal combined; no supraciliaris; five supraoculars, first one being the longest in the longitudinal axis, second one widest in the transverse axis, first two in contact with frontals, third in contact with frontoparietal, fourth in contact with frontoparietal and parietal, fourth touched by upper postocular scale and upper pretemporal scale; frontoparietals distinct, larger than interparietal; parietals touching each other behind interparietal, parietal touching pretemporal scales laterally, three or four small scales touching parietal post laterally; non fused nasal; three loreal scales, anterior loreal touching prefrontal, frontonasal, nasal, 1 st and 2 nd supralabials scales, anterior loreal widest in the transverse axis; posterior loreals longer than the anterior loreal in the longitudinal axis, upper posterior loreal touching prefrontal and upper anterior preocular; lower posterior loreal touching 2 nd, 3 rd supralabials and 1 st subocular scale; six preocular scales, anterior ones lager than the others; seven supralabials, the last supralabial single, 5 th at the mid orbit point; eight subocular scales, smaller than the supralabial scales; the subocular row touching 3 rd to the 6 th supralabial scales and anterior temporal scale, the first subocular scale touching the lower posterior loreal scale, the last subocular scale touching the lower posterior postocular and lower primary temporal scale; four anterior and four posterior postocular scales, anterior postoculars smaller than posterior postocular scales; two pretemporal scales, the upper smaller than the lower and very small than the primary temporal scale; single primary temporal, the primary temporal touching 6 th and 7 th supralabial scales; single secondary temporal scale, the secondary temporal larger than the primary temporal scale; six infralabials, the fourth infralabial smaller than the first, and the rest smaller than the fourth; mentals wider than postmental in transverse axis but shorter in longitudinal axis, touching first infralabial only; two pairs of chinshields behind postmental, the first pair meeting in midline, the first chinshield in contact with first and second infralabial scales, the second pair in contact with second and third infralabials, the third pair of chinshields separated from infralabial row; body scales smooth, 26 rows around mid body; 58 paravertebral scales; 56 scales between the mental and vent; the median preanals enlarged, outer preanals overlap with inner; the fourth finger and fourth toe longer than others; the fourth finger having 13 smooth lamellae; the fourth toe having 18 smooth lamellae; the lamellae formulae for both fingers and toes 4> 3> 5> 2> 1 and 4> 3> 5> 2> 1 (Fig. 10). Digits having single row of scales dorsolaterally; scales of palm and sole elevated; palatal rami of pterygoids slightly expanded posterior medially. Colour in life: (Fig. 11 and 12) Dorsal head, olive brown. Lateral and ventral head light brown, with very few white spots randomly oriented. Dorsal body is olive brown, with a longitudinally oriented mid-dorsal dark brown line starting from the neck and diminishes beyond the base of tail. A dorso-lateral dark brown line is present. It starts from the back of the eye and diminishing towards the mid tail. Both lateral and temporal regions of the body are light brown in colour. The ventral body is light brown. Dorsal and lateral tail, olive brown, and ventral tail light brown. The limbs are dorsally dark brown with intermittent white dots, and ventrally light brown. Colour in alcohol: The colour pattern is preserved with a little fading. Etymology: The species epithet sripadensis is derived from the latin for “Sripada range” (Fig. 13) referring to the forest where the species nov. was found. Sripakandu duburu hekanala, Sivanolipathmalai arene and Sripada forest skink are the vernacular names given in native languages Sinhala, Tamil and English respectively. Comparisons. The following combination of characters clearly distinguishes the new species from all sympatric members of genera Lankascincus and Sphenomorphus in Sri Lanka: a large SVL, three loreal scales, two posterior loreals larger than the anterior loreal in longitudinal axis, the prefrontal and upper anterior preocular touching the upper border of posterior loreal and the 2 nd and 3 rd supralabials and the 1 st subocular scale touching the lower posterior loreal. The new species is morphologically similar to Lankascincus deignani (Taylor 1950) by possessing the following combination of characters: frontoparietals distinct; anterior loreal touching 1 st and 2 nd supralabial scales, prefrontal, frontonasal and nasal; single primary and secondary temporal (Table 2); seven supralabials, with the fifth in subocular position; and a single last supralabial; The new species can be distinguished from the aforementioned species by the following characters: having three loreal scales, posterior loreals larger than the anterior in longitudinal axis, prefrontal and upper anterior preocular touching upper posterior loreal, 2 nd, 3 rd supralabials and 1 st subocular scale touching lower posterior loreal; 2 pretemporals; 12 or 13 subdigital lamellae on fourth finger, and 17 or 19 on fourth toe. males with pale brown throat on the ventral head; a dark brown stripe in a light brown background on the dorsal body; divided nasal; and large SVL length (58 mm). (vs two loreals of nearly equal size and height; of which posterior loreal touching prefrontal and upper anterior preocular, lower border touching 2 nd supralabial scale; 3 pretemporal; 9 or 10 subdigital lamellae on fourth finger, and 14 or 15 on fourth toe; males with black ventral head; dark brown dorsal body; single nasal; medium sized, 40.00 mm) Counts L. sripadensis L. deignani Holotype Paratype Paratype Voucher specimen NMSL 20070501 20070502 20070503 20072301 20072302 20072303 The following combination of characters clearly differentiates the new species from Lankascincus deraniyagalae Greer 1991: single primary temporal, large SVL length (vs primary temporal double and small SVL length), the new species is differentiated from L. fallax (Peters, 1860) by the distinct frontoparietals, the larger SVL and the throat pale brown in colour (vs frontoparietals fused, small SVL and red ventral head); from L. gansi Greer 1991 by having single last supralabial, single primary temporal, 56 to 58 paravertebral scales, fourth toe with 17 or 19 smooth subdigital lamellae, larger body size (SVL 58 mm), and having pale brown throat in colour, (vs the split last supralabial, two primary temporal, 42 to 50 paravertebral scales, fourth toe with 16 smooth subdigital lamellae, small body size (SVL 40 mm) and having dark red or black colour throat). L. sripadensis differs from L. taprobanensis (Kelaart, 1854) by following combination of characters: seven supralabials, 5 at the mid orbit point; prefrontals in contact; fourth toe with 17 or 19 smooth subdigital lamellae; larger SVL length, (vs six supralabials, 4 at the mid orbit point; prefrontals widely separated; fourth toe with 13 or 15 smooth subdigital lamellae; small SVL length). L. taylori Greer 1991, is distinguished from the new species by small size (maximum SVL, 43 mm), fourth toe with 12–18 subdigital lamellae; 24– 26 mid body scale rows and male with black throat, (vs large size 58 mm maximum SVL, fourth toe with 17 or 19 subdigital lamellae; mid body scale rows 26 and male with pale brown colour throat). The comparison of Lankascincus sripadensis sp nov. with all sympatric members of the genus Sphenomorphus in Sri Lanka is as follows. Sphinomorpus dorsicatenatus Deraniyagala, 1953, differs from the new species by the following combination of characters: preanal scales not enlarged, small size 46.5 mm maximum SVL, an irregular dark line in light brown background on dorsal body (vs median preanals enlarged, large size 58 mm maximum SVL); from S. dussumieri (Dumeril and Bibron, 1839) by having a postonasal, prefrontals separated by frontal, 38–40 scales around midbody, (vs postonasal absent, prefrontals in contact, 26 scales around midbody); from S. megalops (Annandale, 1906) by having an undivided nasal, interparietal completely separating parietals, ventrals feebly keeled, (vs nasal divided, parietal meeting behind interparietal, ventrals smooth).Published as part of Wickramasinghe, Mendis, Rodrigo, Roshan & Dayawansa, Nihal, 2007, Two new species of Lankascincus (Squamata: Scincidae) from Sripada Sanctuary (Peak Wilderness), in Sri Lanka, pp. 1-24 in Zootaxa 1612 on pages 11-18, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17897
Aspidura desilvai Mendis Wickramasinghe & Bandara & Vidanapathirana & Wickramasinghe 2019, sp. nov.
No full textAspidura desilvai sp. nov. (Figures 1–7) Holotype. NMSL-NH 2019.01.0 2, adult male, 168 mm SVL (Figure 2), from Riverstone, Knuckles, Matale District, Central Province, Sri Lanka (07°31’39” N, 80°44’01” E, elevation 1420 m). Collected by L.J.M. W and D.R.V. on 0 7 July 2018. Paratypes. NMSL-NH 2019.01.0 1, adult female, 208 mm SVL, from Panwila in Knuckles Mountain Range, Kandy District, Central Province in Sri Lanka (07°22'00.36’’ N, 080°41'00.10’’ E, elevation 995 m). Collected by L.J.M. W and I.N.B. on 13 March 2011; DWC 2019.05.0 1, adult female, 157 mm SVL, from Dotulugala, Knuckles Mountain Range, Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka (07°27'00.30” N, 080°45'00.20” E, elevation 1700 m). Collected by L.J.M. W and I.N.B. on 17 March 2011; DWC 2019.05.0 2, juvenile male, 93 mm SVL, from Gombaniya Mountain, Knuckles Mountain Range, Matale District, Central Province, Sri Lanka (07°27'51.76’’ N, 080°45'51.79’’ E, elevation 1375 m). Collected by L.J.M. W and I.N.B. on 13 March 2011. Diagnosis. SVL 94–216 mm; snout to eye distance 2.5 times the eye width (SE/EW); prefrontals touching eye; preocular small, does not touch supraocular; postoculars 2, lower one larger than the upper; temporal 1+2/1+2; supralabials 6/6, 4 th touching eye; infralabials 6/6, first pair in contact, progressively increasing in size from 1 st to 6 th; anterior chin shields 2, large, touching 1–4 infralabials; posterior chin shields 2, anterior half in contact while the posterior half separated by 1 st ventral; ventrals 124–139; subcaudals 16–29; dorsal scale rows 15–15–15; laterally spine like tubercles present on two scale rows nearest to the subcaudals of the ischiadic, anal and tail base regions in adult males, feeble in juvenile males, and absent in females; entire dorsum brown colour, much paler towards anterior; three irregular dotted lines on dorsum. Description of holotype. Adult male; SVL 168 mm; TaL 25.1 mm; TL 193.1 mm; TaL/TL 0.13; body elongate and cylindrical; head short (SVL/HL 18.3), elliptical, indistinct from thick neck; snout long, narrowing anteriorly, pointed in dorsal aspect, snout to nostril distance about 2.8 (EW/SN) times as long as nostril width; nasal divided; small, triangular nostril, touching divided nasal and first supralabial, not touching rostral; eye larger than horizontal diameter of nostril, distance between snout to eye about 2.6 (SE/EW) times the eye width, round pupil; snout to eye distance 0.3 times head length (SE/HL); tail short (TaL/SVL 0.1), robust at its base, tapering progressively to a single point. Head scalation. Head scalation includes 1 internasal, 2 prefrontals, 2 supraoculars, 1 frontal, and 2 parietals (Figure 3A). Rostral small, convex, wider than long and rounded in lateral, dorsal and ventral aspects. Nasal vertically divided by a groove above nostril (Figure 3B). Internasal large, irregular hexagonal; widely in contact with prefrontals. Two large prefrontals, longer and wider than internasals, largest distance along the longitudinal axis of prefrontals shorter than frontal (Figure 3A) in length, anterior-most corner of prefrontals touching nasal, bordered by 2 nd and 3 rd supralabial, preocular scale, eye, supraocular and frontal. Preocular small, not in contact with supraocular. Loreal and subocular scales absent. Supraocular smaller than frontal. Two postoculars, lower one larger than upper. Two parietals; largest scales on head. Temporals 1+2/1+2. Supralabials 6/6, 4 th touching eye, progressively increasing in size from 1 st to 6 th (Figure 3B). Mental small and triangular, wider than long. Infralabials 6/6, first pair in contact, progressively increasing in size from 1 st to 6 th. Anterior chin shields 2, large, touching 1–4 infralabials. Posterior chin shields 2, anterior half in contact, posterior portion separated by 1 st ventral (Figure 3C). Body scalation. Ventrals 124, 1 st ventral longer than wide; subcaudals 24, all single; anal single and large; dorsal scale rows 15–15–15; laterally prominent spine like tubercles present on two scale rows nearest to the subcaudals, and its protrusion reducing towards upper scale rows in the ischiadic, anal and tail base regions (Figure 4); vertebral rows and first coastal not enlarged; no apical pit. Hemipenis morphology. Based on Holotype specimen: right everted hemipenis extends for length of 3 subcaudals. Everted organ single subcylindrical, globular, sulcus spermaticus simple. Basal to apex region bearing prominent spines which are evenly distributed and are in uniform length (Figure 5). Colour in life. Supralabials and infralabials light yellow, with dark margins separating each scale (Figure 6A). Entire dorsum reddish brown colour, much paler towards anterior and each scale having tiny dark spots (Figure 2). Three irregular dotted lines on dorsum (Figure 6B). These are symmetrically placed and continues from neck to tail end. Prominent light brown stripe continues dorsolaterally from neck to tail end, marked due to much darker regions which constitutes of dotted lines below and above this region. These lines continue from neck to tail end. Venter primarily peach, with black blotching all over; gular region yellow. Colour in alcohol. Colour pattern remains unchanged. Pupil changes to off white. Darker regions fades to a light brown. Variations in colour. In an unpreserved male specimen (Figure 7D) except the head region and ventre the entire body was black. Natural History. Aspidura desilvai sp. nov. have been observed commonly in its habitat (Figure 1). The species is confined to Knuckles conservation area, and is found in and above the lower montane forests of Knuckles. Authors have observed the snake from 995 m up to 1700 m above sea level (Figure 8). The habitat of A. desilvai sp. nov. is closed canopy forests dominated by Syzigium sp. (Figure 9). The moist-cooler habitat is densely occupied with large and medium sized trees which are heavily covered with epiphytes. No direct sunlight falls to the forest floor, and the undergrowth was not well established where the individuals were found. Relatively thin litter cover was observed in the habitat. Commonly observed under leaf litter and loose soil while they were also observed under rocks, boulders, and decaying logs. Individuals come out to the surface during the day time. Reddish brown latosolic soil in the locality is more or less similar to the body colour of the snake. Etymology. The species is named in honor of Pilippu Hewa Don Hemasiri de Silva (Dr. P. H. D. H. de Silva), a former Director (1965-1981) of the National Museums of Sri Lanka. In recognition of his tireless services to the country, while in service and through his many publications specially as the author of the book titled “ Snake Fauna of Sri Lanka, with special reference to skull, dentition and venom in snakes ”. The species epithet desilvai is a noun in the genitive case. Suggested common names. desilvage madilla, and de Silva’s Rough-Side Snake in native Sinhala language and English language respectively. Comparison. The new species was compared with all known congeners of the genus Aspidura and the species most closely resembles A. ravanai, and A. trachyprocta, due to the following combination of characters: one preocular, two postoculars, 1+2 temporals, supralabials 6, 4 th supralabial in contact with the eye, infralabials 6, coastals 15, single cloacal scale, and overlapping ventral and subcaudal counts, but can easily be distinguished by the following morphological characters: from A. ravanai: entire dorsum brown colour, much paler towards anterior and each scale having tiny dark spots in Aspidura desilvai sp. nov. (vs. entire dorsum jet black in Aspidura ravanai), ventrolaterally darker region which constitutes of irregular longitudinal dotted lines (vs. ventrolaterally an irregular longitudinal yellow stripe), laterally prominent spine like tubercles present on two scale rows nearest to the subcaudals, and its protrusion reducing towards upper scale rows (vs. entire coastal rows coarsely keeled, with 1–3 peaks on each scale) in males (Figures 4 & 10 A–C), entire coastal rows of the ischiadic, anal and tail base regions smooth (vs. feebly keeled) in females, snout to eye distance about 2.5 times its eye width (vs. 3.2 times in A. ravanai) (Figures 3 & 10 D–E); from Aspidura trachyprocta: entire dorsum brown colour, much paler towards anterior and each scale having tiny dark spots in A. desilvai sp. nov. (vs. reddish-yellow to brown with a longitudinal black stripe on mid dorsum in Aspidura trachyprocta), ventrolaterally darker region which constitutes of irregular longitudinal dotted lines (vs. black stripe), laterally prominent spine like tubercles present on two scale rows nearest to the subcaudals, and its protrusion reducing towards upper scale rows (vs. bulging spine like tubercles prominent laterally which reduces towards dorsum) of the ischiadic, anal and tail base regions in males (Figures 4 & 11 A–C), entire coastal rows of the ischiadic, anal and tail base regions smooth (vs. feebly keeled) in females, snout to eye distance about 2.5 times its eye width (vs. twice in A. trachyprocta) (Figures 3 & 11 D–E); from A. brachyorrhos Boie, 1827, by having 15 coastals (vs. 17), preocular not in contact with supraocular (vs. contact), prefrontal contact with eye (vs. separate), single subcaudals (vs. paired); from A. copei Günther, 1864 by having coastals 15 (vs. 17), single subcaudals (vs. paired), single preocular (vs. absent); from A. deraniyagalae Gans & Fetcho, 1982 by having 15 coastals (vs. 17), ventrals 124–139 (vs. 117–122), single subcaudals (vs. paired); from A. drummondhayi Boulenger, 1904, by having single subcaudals (vs. paired), single preocular (vs. absent); from A. guentheri Ferguson, 1876 by having 15 coastals (vs. 17), ventrals 124–139 (vs. 100–127); from A. ceylonensis (Günther, 1858), by prefrontal touching eye (vs. not touching eye), preocular does not touch supraocular (vs. touches), lower postocular larger than the upper (vs. vise versa), mid body coastals not keeled (vs. coarsely keeled).Published as part of Mendis Wickramasinghe, L. J., Bandara, Imesh Nuwan, Vidanapathirana, Dulan Ranga & Wickramasinghe, Nethu, 2019, A new species of Aspidura Wagler, 1830 (Squamata: Colubridae: Natricinae) from Knuckles, World Heritage Site, Sri Lanka, pp. 265-280 in Zootaxa 4559 (2) on pages 266-272, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4559.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/262697
Lankascincus munindradasai Wickramasinghe, Rodrigo & Dayawansa, 2007, sp. nov.
No full textLankascincus munindradasai sp. nov. Fig. 2 to 7. Holotype: Adult male 40.16 mm SVL NMSL 20072101. Sripada Sanctuary (Adam’s peak), Nuwara Eliya District, Central Province. (N 0 6 48 24.61, E 0 80 30 41.19) Alt. 1825 m. Coll. R. K. Rodirigo, D. Jayantha and L. J. M. Wickramasinghe. 0 7. 11. 2006. Paratype: Adult male 34.97 mm SVL NMSL 20072102, Sripada Sanctuary (Adam’s peak), Nuwara Eliya District, Central Province. (N 0 6 48 24.61, E 0 80 30 41.19) Alt. 1825 m. Coll. R. K. Rodirigo, D. Jayantha, and L. J. M. Wickramasinghe. 0 7. 11. 2006. Diagnosis: Lankascincus munindradasai sp. nov. is distinguished from known congeners by possessing the following combination of characters: A medium sized Lankascincus 35–40 mm SVL; Prefrontals widely separated; one loreal scale, the loreal is touching the prefrontal, frontonasal, nasal, 1 st, 2 nd supralabial scales, upper and lower preoculars; the loreal is larger than the longitudinal axis, the nasal is fused; 6 supralabials, the last supralabial scale is single and lager than the others, 4 th at the mid orbit point; 28 smooth scale rows at mid body; 53 to 54 paravertebral scales; 56 to 58 scales between mental and vent; median preanals are enlarged, outer preanals overlap with inner; lamellae under the fourth fingers and toes 8 and 12 respectively, the lamellae formulae for both fingers and toes are 4> 3> 2> 5> 1 and 4> 3> 5> 2> 1. Description of Holotype: Adult male (Fig. 2,). Snout to vent length (SVL) 40.16 mm, body moderately elongate. Head depressed and narrow (HD / HW ratio 0.68 and HD / HL ratio 0.40); elongated and (HD / NE ratio 0.53 and HL / SVL ratio 0.22); distinct from the neck; snout long (SE / HW ratio 0.53); longer than the eye width (EW / SE ratio 0.66); eye relatively lager than the ear (EW / EL ratio 2.32 and EW / EaW ratio 3.89); ear opening small (EL / HL ratio 0.08); snout to eye distance greater than the width of eye (SE / EW ratio 1.52). Tail longer than the body length (SVL / TL ratio 0.80), and round in cross section (TD / TW ratio 1.13). Rostral convex (Fig. 3), posterior margin of mid point slightly convex; no supranasal and postnasal; frontonasal larger than the prefrontals, lateral border touching loreal; prefrontals separated by frontal, lower bor- der touching a loreal scale and widely in contact with first supraocular from the posterior border; frontal longer than its distance to tip of snout, and approximately equal or longer than frontoparietals and interparietal combined; no supraciliaris; five supraoculars, first one being the longest in the longitudinal axis, second one widest in the transverse axis, first two in contact with frontals, third in contact with frontoparietal, fourth in contact with frontoparietal and parietal, fourth touched by upper postocular scale and upper pretemporal scale; frontoparietals distinct, larger than interparietal; parietals touching each other behind interparietal, parietal touching pretemporal scales laterally, three or four small scales touching parietal post laterally; fused nasal; one loreal scale, loreal touching prefrontal, frontonasal, nasal, 1 st, 2 nd supralabials scales, lower preocular and upper preocular scales. loreal longer than the longitudinal axis. two preocular scales, lower ones lager than the others; six supralabials, the last supralabial single, 4 th at the mid orbit point; eight subocular scales, smaller than the supralabial scales; the subocular row touching 2 nd to the 5 th supralabial scales and primary temporal scale, the first subocular scale touching the lower preocular scale, the last subocular scale touching the lower posterior postocular and lower primary temporal scale; two anterior and two posterior postocular scales, anterior postoculars smaller than the posterior postocular scales; two pretemporal scales, the upper smaller than the lower and very small than the primary temporal scale; single primary temporal, the primary temporal touching 5 th and 6 th supralabial scales; single secondary temporal scale, the secondary temporal larger than the primary temporal scale; six infralabials, the third infralabial smaller than the first, and the rest smaller than the third; mentals wider than postmental in transverse axis but shorter in longitudinal axis, touching first infralabial only; two pairs of chinshields behind postmental, the first pair meeting in midline, the first chinshield in contact with first and second infralabial scales, the second pair in contact with second and third infralabials, the third pair of chinshields separated from infralabial row; body scales smooth, 28 rows around mid body; 53 paravertebral scales; 56 scales between the mental and vent; the median preanals enlarged, outer preanals overlap with inner; the fourth finger and fourth toe longer than others; the fourth finger having 8 smooth lamellae; the fourth toe having 12 smooth lamellae; the lamellae formulae including fingers and toes 4> 3> 2> 5> 1 and 4> 3> 5> 2> 1 (Fig. 4). Digits having single row of scales dorsolaterally; scales of palm and sole elevated; palatal rami of pterygoids slightly expanded posterior medially. Colour in life: (Fig. 5 and 6) Dorsal head, dark brown with randomly distributed black spots. Lateral and ventral head except the loreal region scales, light blue with black out line in the front side of each scale. Dorsal body is olive brown. Four longitudinally oriented, irregular, broken lines that starts from nuchal area diminishes beyond the base of tail. These broken lines are clearly seen in the mid dorsal area. A dorso-lateral thick black line is present and it starts from the back of the eye and diminishes towards the mid tail. Body laterally light brown, ventro-laterally brownish yellow, and ventrally golden yellow. Dorsal tail, dark brown with intermittent black spots. Lateral tail light brown with intermittent dark brown spots. Ventral tail golden yellow at the beginning, which fades to dark brown on moving down the tail. Limbs dark brown with intermittent light brown spots dorsally and laterally, and golden yellow in colour ventrally. Colour in alcohol: The colour pattern is preserved with a little fading. Colour changes from dark brown to light brown, light blue to whitish blue, golden yellow to off white. Etymology: The species is named after the late Dr. D. I. Amith Munindradasa, (Fig. 7) scientist who worked to the betterment of the country, although an electronic engineer by profession worked in various disciplines, a lover of nature, who was also involved in the discovery of five Cnemaspis species, and worked as a silent yet effective conservationist in the country. The vernacular names assigned for the species nov. Munindradasage lakhekanala, Munindradasavin arene and Munindradasa’s Lanka skink in native languages Sinhala, Tamil and English respectively. Comparisons: The following combination of characters clearly distinguishes The new species from all sympatric members of genera Lankascincus and Sphenomorphus in Sri Lanka. One loreal scale, the loreal is touching the prefrontal, frantonasal, nasal, 1 st and 2 nd supralabial scales, upper, and lower preoculars; the loreal is larger than The new species is morphologically similar to Lankascincus taprobanensis (Kelaart, 1854) by following combination of characters, six supralabials, 4 at the mid orbit point; prefrontals widely separated; two pretemporals and single secondary temporal; similar body sized and overlapping scale count around mid body (26 or 28) (Table 1). But the new species can be distinguished from the aforementioned species by the following characters: having one loreal scale and loreal is larger than the longitudinal axis; the loreal is touching the prefrontal, frantonasal, nasal, 1 st and 2 nd supralabial scales, upper and lower preoculars; single primary temporal; subdigital lamellae on fourth finger 8 and fourth toe 12; males with light blue throat and the ventral head; (vs two loreals of nearly equal size and height; of which the anterior loreal is touching the prefrontal, frantonasal, nasal, 1 st, 2 nd supralabials and posterior loreal scale; two primary temporal; subdigital lamellae on fourth finger 9 or 10 and fourth toe 11 or 12; males with black ventral head). Counts L. munindradasi L. taprobanensis Holotype Paratype Voucher specimen NMSL 20072101 20072102 20072201 20072202 20070903 The following combination of characters clearly differentiates the new species from Lankascincus deraniyagalae Greer 1991: single primary temporal, six supralabials, 4 at the mid orbit point; prefrontals widely separated; (vs primary temporal double, seven supralabials, 5 at the mid orbit point; prefrontals in contact). The new species is differentiated from L. fallax (Peters, 1860) by the distinct frontoparietals, six supralabials, 4 at the mid orbit point; prefrontals widely separated; males with light blue throat in colour (vs frontoparietals fused, seven supralabials, 5 at the mid orbit point; prefrontals in contact or narrowly separated and males with light or dark red throat in colour). L. gansi Greer 1991 by having six supralabials, 4 at the mid orbit point and single last supralabial; prefrontals widely separated; single primary temporal; paravertebral scales 53 to 54; fourth toe with 12 smooth subdigital lamellae and males having light blue throat in colour. (vs by having seven supralabials, 5 at the mid orbit point and split last supralabial; prefrontals in contact; two primary temporal; paravertebral scales 42 to 50; fourth toe with 16 smooth subdigital lamellae and having dark red or black colour on throat). L. taylori Greer 1991, is distinguished from the new species by having seven supralabials, 5 at the mid orbit point and prefrontals in contact; fourth toe with 12–18 subdigital lamellae; mid body scale rows 24–26 and male with black throat colour, (vs by having six supralabials, 4 at the mid orbit point and prefrontals widely separated; fourth toe with 12 subdigital lamellae; mid body scale rows 28 and male with light blue in colour on throat) The comparison of Lankascincus munindradasai sp nov. with all sympatric members of the genus Sphenomorphus in Sri Lanka is as follows. Sphinomorpus dorsicatenatus Deraniyagala, 1953, differs from the new species by the following combination of characters: large size 46.5 mm maximum SVL; having seven supralabials, 5 at the mid orbit point; prefrontals in contact or narrowly separated; (vs small size 40mm maximum SVL; six supralabials, 4 at the mid orbit point and prefrontals widely separated); from S. dussumieri (Dumeril and Bibron, 1839) by having seven supralabials, fifth and sixth are at the mid orbit point; postonasal present, 38 – 40 scales around midbody, (vs by having six supralabials, 4 at the mid orbit point; postonasal absent, 28 scales around midbody); from S. megalops (Annandale, 1906) by interparietal completely separating parietals, ventrals feebly keeled, 24 to 26 scales around midbody (vs parietal meeting behind interparietal, ventrals smooth; 28 scales around midbody).Published as part of Wickramasinghe, Mendis, Rodrigo, Roshan & Dayawansa, Nihal, 2007, Two new species of Lankascincus (Squamata: Scincidae) from Sripada Sanctuary (Peak Wilderness), in Sri Lanka, pp. 1-24 in Zootaxa 1612 on pages 4-10, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17897
Dendrelaphis sinharajensis Wickramasinghe, 2016, sp. nov.
No full textDendrelaphis sinharajensis sp. nov. Holotype. NMSL 2016.06.0 1 NH, adult female, SVL 672 mm, TL 323 mm, Mideripitiya, Sinharaja Forest, Deniyaya, Matara District, Southern Province (N 06º 21' 24.72’’, E 080º 29' 21.63’’), 285 m (Figure 1). Coll. L. J. M. Wickramasinghe. Diagnosis. I assign the new species tentatively to the genus Dendrelaphis because it possesses the following characteristics: slender body; rounded pupil; enlarged vertebral scales; head distinct from body; diurnal; predominantly arboreal. Within the genus, Dendrelaphis sinharajensis has a unique colour pattern of prominent cross bars in black and white and a red neck; black bars are paired, and create the margins of the white cross bars from neck to tail; vertebral stripe, postocular stripe, and ventrolateral stripe absent; prominent white patch on lateral head over eye region and neck, upper margin outlined by a black zigzag line; parietal stripe present; throat white with black blotches; venter off-white with irregular black spots all over. It further differs from all other species of this genus in the combination of the red neck and the conspicuous red/white cross bars. In addition to its colouration, the species can be readily distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characteristics: loreal scales absent; prefrontals large, contacting 2nd and 3rd supralabials; postoculars three, central scale smallest; anterior temporal large, contacts all three postaculars; posterior temporals three, central one largest, larger than anterior temporal, dorsally contacts parietal and ventrally contacts 8th supralabial; dorsal scale rows 13 at midbody, a small apical pit on each costal scale; ventral scales 174; subcaudal scales 139; vertebral scales slightly longer than the first costal row. Description of holotype. Body slender, SVL 672 mm; tail long, (TL/SVL 48.1%; TL/ToL: 32.5%); head long (HL/SVL 3.36%), distinct from the neck. Eye large, ED/HL 22.6%. Pupil round. Nostril small, (ND/ED 5.88%); snout moderate (NE/HL 20.8%) (Figure 2 A). The dark purplish tongue is protruded. Internasals two; prefrontals large (Figure 2 B), contacting nasal, 2nd and 3rd supralabials and preocular; postoculars three, central one smallest; supraocular single; loreal absent. Preocular single, not reaching dorsal surface of head; postoculars three; temporals 1:3 (anterior temporal large, contacts all three postoculars; posterior temporals three, central one largest, larger than anterior temporal, dorsally contacts parietal and ventrally contacts 8th supralabial); supralabials eight, 4th and 5th contacting eye (Figure 2 A); infralabials 11, first pair in medial contact at the mental groove; 1st to 5th contacting anterior chin shield; 5th and 6th contacting posterior chinshield, 6th the largest; first sublabial short, touches infralabials 6 and 7 (L), or infralabials 6, 7 and 8 (R) (Figure 2 C); dorsals 13:13:09; dorsal scales oblique (Figure 3 A), smooth and with a single apical pit; vertebral scales enlarged (Figure 3 B), slightly larger or equal to first row of dorsals, hexagonal in shape and with clearly concave posterior margin; ventrals 174 (+2 preventrals), laterally sharply keeled with a notch on each side; anal shield divided; subcaudals 138 divided, plus one terminal scale. Measurements (to the nearest 0.1 mm): CL 4.1; ED 5.1; HD 7.3; HL 22.6; HW 9.4; IN 4.9; IO 10.6; NE 4.7; ND 0.3; SE 7.5; SS 19.3; SN 2.6. Colour in alcohol (holotype). Head dorsum brown, with a prominent black line between parietals. A prominent white patch on lateral head over eye region and neck, with upper margin outlined by a black zigzag line. Background body colour brown, with prominent paired narrow black cross bands (about one costal scale wide) throughout body, with a light brown band (1–2 costal scales wide) between them. Venter off-white with irregular black spots all over. Colour in life (based on photographed unpreserved specimen). Kudawa, Sinharaja Forest, Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province (N 06º 26' 52.07’’, E 080º 24'58.33’’). Head dorsum brown, with a prominent black line between parietals (Figure 4). A prominent white patch on lateral head surrounding eye region and neck, with its upper margin outlined by a black zigzag line (Figure 5). Tongue dark purple. Dorsum background red anteriorly (Figure 6) and earthy brown posteriorly, with prominent cross bars in black and white. The black bars are paired, and create the margins of the white cross bars from neck to tail (Figure 7). Venter off-white with irregular black spots all over. Etymology. The species epithet sinharajensis is derived from “ Sinharaja ”, referring to the forest where the species was discovered. The specific name is an adjective from the geographical name. Suggested vernacular names. The vernacular names recommended for the species are Sinharaja haldanda, Sinharaja komberi muken, and Sinharaja tree snake in the languages Sinhala (native), Tamil, and English respectively. Comparison. The new species can clearly be distinguished from all known congeners of the genus Dendrelaphis by the presence of a large central posterior temporal scale, and from all except D. oliveri (Taylor, 1950) by the absence of a loreal scale; prefrontals contacting 2nd and 3rd supralabials. Dendrelaphis sinharajensis sp. nov. additionally differs from D. oliveri by its prefrontals contacting the 2nd and 3rd supralabials only (vs 2nd, 3rd and 4th), three postoculars (vs two), temporals 1:3 (vs 1:1) (Figure 8 A); parietal stripe present (vs absent) (Figure 8 B), and throat white with black blotches (vs blotching absent) (Figure 8 C), ventrolateral stripe absent (vs ventrolateral stripe present) (Figure 9 & 10). Although the new species is sympatric with D. caudolineolatus, and can be confused due to; similar dorsal scale rows at midbody 13, and fairly similar body colouration (Figure 11), D. sinharajensis sp. nov. can readily be distinguished from D. caudolineolatus, by the absence of a loreal scale (vs present), prefrontals contacting 2nd and 3rd supralabials (vs prefrontals and supralabials separated by a loreal scale), three postoculars (vs two) (Figure 12 A); temporals 1:3 (vs 1:1 or 1:2) (Figure 12 A & 13B); posteriormost point of frontal and posteriormost points of supraoculars not aligning in a straight line (vs aligning) (Figure 12 B), infralabials 1st to 5th contacting anterior chin shield (vs 1st to 4th), 5th and 6th contacting posterior chinshield (vs 4th and 5th), 6th the largest (vs 5th) (Figure 12 C), combination of the red neck and the conspicuous red/white cross bars (vs oblique black stripes on anterior bronze body, that meets mid dorsally forming a ‘V’ shape) (Figure 13 A), postocular stripe absent (vs present) (Figure 13 B), parietal stripe present (vs absent) (Figure 13 C), throat with black blotches (vs blotching absent) (Figure 13 D). Dendrelaphis sinharajensis sp. nov. can clearly be distinguished from all other Sri Lankan congeners in colour pattern, since this is the only species in the genus characterized by conspicuous red/white cross bars around its body, where the black bands appear to be paired, and with a distinct white patch on lateral head covering eye region and neck, with its upper margin outlined by a black zigzag line on all individuals. Habitat, ecology and conservation. Dendrelaphis sinharajensis sp. nov. was first discovered from Sinharaja World Heritage Site, located in the lowland wet zone of the island. Four additional individuals of this species have been sighted, from Horagasmandiya, Palenda, Kalutara District, Western Province (N 06º 33' 51.11’’, E 080º 15' 44.23’’), Kukuleganga, Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province (N 06º 34' 27.84’’, E 080º 19' 44.28’’), Athwelthota, Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province (N 06º 32' 38.39’’, E 080º 16' 53.77’’), and Rusigala- Mannawaththa, Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province (N 06º 30' 21.89’’, E 080º 19' 00.34’’), all to the north-west of the type locality, but still in the vicinity of the Sinharaja WHS. All four individuals were identified on the basis of both its unique colour pattern, and the presence of the diagnostic features specially the absence of a loreal scale. The known localities for the species cover an area of 57.96 km 2, of which 49.25 km 2 is dense forest, 6.33 km 2 is moderately dense forest, 0.91 km 2 is pine plantation, 0.37 km 2 is scrub-land, and 1.10 km 2 is sparse open forest and tea plantation (Figure 1). The species is rarely sighted, and may be rare. The first specimen collected was a road kill. The photographed individual was found in the canopy at around 15 m above ground level. The rarity of sightings may be due to a highly arboreal nature in the higher canopy of the lowland wet zone. Probable threats to this species are habitat loss and forest fragmentation through deforestation. The species is sympatric with D. caudolineolatus and D. schokari. Remarks. Absence of loreal scales sometimes (but rarely) occurs as an anomaly in Dendrelaphis. However the lack of a loreal scale was consistently observed in all live individuals sighted as well as in the photographed live individual, of the new species. This suggests that it is an important characteristic feature of the species and not an anomaly of the holotype of D. sinharajensis sp. nov.. The holotype and only known specimen of Dendrelaphis oliveri (Taylor, 1950) is deposited in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. Although Dendrelaphis oliveri (Taylor, 1950) lacks a loreal scale (Figure 8 A), similar to the new species, they are geographically well separated with the type locality of D. oliveri, 12 miles north of Trincomalee, Eastern Province, in the dry zone of the island. In addition to the characters mentioned above that distinguish it from D. sinharajensis, the holotype of D. oliveri has a pale ventrolateral line bordered by black lines (Figure 9 & 10), a character absent in all other known species found in Sri Lanka. Taylor’s handwritten specimen catalog (pg. 115, EHT-HMN No: 30388) notes that the original field tag on the holotype was missing (Figure 14), but has clearly mentioned in the same catalog as, “Certainly 12 km N Trincomalee Ceylon E H T Coll”. The species has not been recorded since Taylor’s 1950 description, and our studies at this locality and in its vicinity over a period of two years have also failed to locate the species. Hence, it is possible that the holotype of D. oliveri was not collected at the stated type locality, and may not even be from Sri Lanka. Further studies of this enigmatic species are needed.Published as part of Mendis Wickramasinghe, L. J., 2016, A new canopy-dwelling species of Dendrelaphis (Serpentes: Colubridae) from Sinharaja, World Heritage Site, Sri Lanka, pp. 504-518 in Zootaxa 4162 (3) on pages 506-513, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4162.3.5, http://zenodo.org/record/26452
Cnemaspis rammalensis Rajeev, Fernando & Wickramasinghe, 2014, sp. nov.
No full textCnemaspis rammalensis sp. nov. Holotype. NMSL 2013.25.0 1 NH, Adult male, 52.9 mm SVL (Figure 2), from Rammalakanda, Hambanthota District, Sri Lanka, (06° 14 ' 26.66 "N, 80 ° 38 ' 4.19 "E, elevation 470 m), 23 December 2011, collected by Dulan Ranga Vidanapathirana, Gehan Rajeev, and L. J. Mendis Wickramasinghe. Paratype. DWC 2013.05.0 0 1, Adult female, 53.8 mm SVL (Figure 3), 13.01. 2012, the same data as holotype. Diagnosis. A large-sized Cnemaspis (adult snout to vent length 52–54 mm) (Table 1), which can be distinguished from all known congeners by the following combination of characters: Postmentals separated by a small scale; nostrils not in contact with first supralabial; supralabials (to mid orbital position) 8; supralabials (to angle of jaws) 10; interorbital scales across midpoint 48–50;throat scales smooth; dorsal tubercles 94–96; spinelike tubercles present on flanks; ventral scales smooth and imbricate; ventrals across mid body 28; ventrals 186– 207; mid-subcaudals large; no precloacal pores; 15 femoral pores on each side; 22–23 and 23–25 subdigital lamellae on finger IV and on toe IV respectively; tail dorsum bearing smooth scales. Cnemaspis rammalensis sp. nov., was compared with all 21 extant species of the genus Cnemaspis known from Sri Lanka and the species can be readily distinguished from the diagnostic characteristics, especially by its large size and the number of ventral scales, which is the highest amongst members of the genus (Table 2). Description of Holotype. Adult male, snout to vent length 52.94 mm, body elongate and depressed; head large (HL/SVL 0.3) (Figure 4), distinct from the neck (Figure 4 A & C); head depressed and narrow (HD/HL 0.3), snout long (SE/HW 0.8), longer than the eye width (EW/SE 0.4) (Figure 4 B); eye relatively small (EW/HL 0.2); ear opening small (EL/HL 0.1), bigger than nostrils, smaller than eyes, eye to ear distance is greater than the width of the eye (EE/EW 1.6) (Figure 4 B). Rostral large, with a groove extending ½ of the scale; nostril separated by two enlarged supranasals (2) and a single internasal scale (1); two postnasals (2), smooth, larger than the nostril;scales on snout and forehead granular, and flattened, larger than those in interorbital region, much larger than those on occiput; interorbital scales across midpoint 48 (50), mid-interorbital scales long, larger than the outer ones; supraciliaries large, rectangular anterior to midpoint of orbit; scales around ear smooth, smaller and granular; nostrils oval, each surrounded by two postnasals, one supranasal, and rostral; several rows of scales separate orbit from supralabials; loreal region convex and covered with large scales; supralabials (to midorbital position) 8 (8); supralabials (to angle of jaws) 10 (10); infralabials (to angle of jaws) 9 (9), infralabials (to midorbit) 6 (6); Mental large, sub-triangular, wider than long, concave medially; two pairs of postmentals, smaller than the mental, anterior pair separated by one small scale, in contact with the first infralabial, posterior postmentals in contact with the 1 st and 2 nd infralabials, bounded by three juxtaposed, smooth scales (Figure 4 C); dorsal scales tiny, conical, with pointed, slightly enlarged tubercles scattered on the lateral and dorsolateral surfaces, where they form short spines; tubercles not in regular rows (Figure 5 A); scales on dorsum across mid body 94 (96), spine-like tubercles scattered on lower and upper flanks (Figure 5 B); scales on dorsal forelimb and hind limb granular; ventrally, scales decrease in size from chin to anterior gular region; ventrals 186 (207), ventrals across mid body 28 (28), ventral scales smooth, imbricate and smaller than the postmentals (Figure 5 C); scales in ventral portion of fore and hind limbs smooth, scales in the hind limb larger than forelimb; femoral pores (left: right) 15: 15 (0:0); precloacal pores absent; preanal scale larger than the anal scale (Figure 6); scales on dorsal and lateral tail, imbricate, large, and smooth, edges truncate or circular (Figure 7 A & B); a groove on mid dorsal tail (from base to mid region);few spine-like tubercles at the base of tail; mid subcaudals very large (Figure 7 C); 20 rows of small scales between the 1 st large subcaudal and cloaca, mid subcaudals hexagonal, without keels; tip of the tail shows signs of regeneration; subcaudals between cloaca and tip of tail 78 (89); digits slender, elongate and clawed, inter-digital webs absent; basal lamellae entire and enlarged than distal series; distalmost of basal series largest, basalmost lamellae of distal series sometimes fragmented; basal and distal series of lamellae separated by a single scale of intermediate width; total subdigital lamellae (left: right), finger I 17: 16 (16: 16), II 18: 20 (18: 21), III 21: 21 (21: 21), IV 22: 23 (22: 22), V 21: 21 (22: 22), toe I 15: 15 (17: 3 broken), II 20: 20 (21: 20), III 23: 22 (24: 22), IV 25: 23 (24: 23), V 24: 23 (23: 24), relative length of digits IV>V>III>II>I (fingers) (Figure 8 A), and IV>V>III>II>I (toes) (Figure 8 B). Colour in life. Dorsum dark brown with five prominent cream colour markings from neck to vent, which are trilobate shaped pointing towards head and all of them having a zigzag band below the base of the trilobate marking. The gap between the band and the base of the trilobate marking gradually decreases towards the vent which has resulted in a digitated appearance on the fourth one (Figures 2, 5 A). Nine cream coloured cross bands from vent to tail tip (Figure 2). Dorsum of head with cream coloured blotching (Figure 4 A). Lateral side of body with faint yellowish bars (Figure 5 B). Infralabials yellow (Figure 4 B). Venter of head white (Figure 4 C), of body and tail golden yellow (Figure 5 C & 7 C). Limbs dark brown with irregular cream cross bars dorsally, ventrally golden yellow except forearm, which is yellowish-white (Figure 6). Colour in alcohol. Colour pattern in preservative similar to that in life with some fading, but dorsal background colour darker and all yellow areas faded to white. Etymology. The species epithet rammalensis is derived from “Rammalakanda” referring to the forest where the species was discovered. The specific name is an adjective derived from the geographical name. Suggested vernacular names. The vernacular names assigned for the species are Rammale diva huna, Rammale pahalpalli and Rammale day gecko in Sinhala, Tamil and in English, respectively. Natural history. Cnemaspis rammalensis sp. nov., is a cave and crevice dweller, and can only be found within well shaded caves, on rock surfaces and inside rock crevices. The species was well camouflaged in lichen rich rock surfaces. It was found to inhabit only the primary rain forest in its type locality and was not observed in adjacent secondary forest or well wooded home gardens and was not seen in association with trees. Two eggs were observed in live gravid females. Eggs were seen in clusters of 10–20, possibly belonging to several individuals.Published as part of Gehan Rajeev, Dulan Ranga Vidanapathirana M. D., Fernando, Nethu Wickramasinghe Samantha Suranjan & Mendis Wickramasinghe, L. J., 2014, Cnemaspis rammalensis sp. nov., Sri Lanka's largest day-gecko (Sauria: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis) from Rammalakanda Man and Biosphere Reserve in southern Sri Lanka, pp. 273-286 in Zootaxa 3755 (3) on pages 275-280, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3755.3.5, http://zenodo.org/record/22775
Colourful children’s author visits Notre Dame
No full textOne of Australia’s most cherished authors, Morris Gleitzman, spoke about his passion for writing, the impacts of his literature on children and the enjoyment he receives from exploring his imagination every day to a vast audience at Notre Dame’s Fremantle Campus on Monday 21 May.
Author of more than 30 books, including the timeless classics Worry Warts, Two Weeks with the Queen and Adults Only, Mr Gleitzman said his stories reflected the essential qualities and values each person held dear in their lives.
“I wanted to suggest that stories, while we use them often for entertainment, have been around the centre of human culture for millennia,” Mr Gleitzman said.
“These stories are modelling exactly the same skills, abilities and cultural traits via the main characters as teachers hope to develop in their students in the classroom.”
The British-born author was an avid reader as a child and soon found a love for writing after migrating to Australia in 1969. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Mr Gleitzman’s colourful career included working as a department store Santa Claus, a frozen chicken defroster and as a paperboy.
Mr Gleitzman also worked as a television screenwriter for the popular Norman Gunston Show in the 1970s.
However, it was not until a publishing company presented Mr Gleitzman with an opportunity to turn his script about a schoolboy who drove his family and friends “bonkers” into a book that his vocation as an author was realised.
He says that, for him, writing is a technical process that is assisted by a love of language and the ability to explore and evolve characters in any given setting.
“The aspect of writing that I most enjoy is going into my imagination, a place free of all the constraints of the physical and social world where I can have adventures in the context of that freedom,” Mr Gleitzman said.
“When I’m looking for, as I do with each new character, the biggest problem in their life, the problem is almost always timeless and universal.
“The biggest problems we face in our lives today are problems that humans have faced forever and everywhere. Everyone has a need for love, friendship, recognition, validation and, sometimes, survival in their lives.”
Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the Fremantle Campus, Dr Angeline O’Neill, said Mr Gleitzman exemplified the power and importance of children’s literature in contemporary society.
Notre Dame was indeed fortunate to host the first week of Morris Gleitzman’s Perth visit,” Dr O’Neill said.
“He is a major Australian author with a significant global readership, ranging from child readers to adults.
“We see literature in action through Mr Gleitzman’s work. His novels simultaneously entertain and inform young readers, promoting social awareness through the pleasure of reading.
While in Perth, Mr Gleitzman was sponsored by Notre Dame to conduct a series of school visits which included Mercedes College and John XXIII College. These visits provided students with the opportunity to hear about his new book titled After and the chance to speak to the highly acclaimed author.
MEDIA CONTACT: Shelley Robinson: Tel (08) 9433 0610; Mob 0408 959 138 Leigh Dawson: Tel (08) 9433 0569; Mob 0405 441 09
Defining simple nD operations based on prismatic nD objects
No full textAn alternative to the traditional approaches to model separately 2D/3D space, time, scale and other parametrisable characteristics in GIS lies in the higher-dimensional modelling of geographic information, in which a chosen set of non-spatial characteristics, e.g. time and scale, are modelled as extra geometric dimensions perpendicular to the spatial ones, thus creating a higher dimensional model. While higher-dimensional models are undoubtedly powerful, they are also hard to create and manipulate due to our lack of an intuitive understanding in dimensions higher than three. As a solution to this problem, this paper proposes a methodology that makes nD object generation easier by splitting the creation and manipulation process into three steps: (i) constructing simple nD objects based on nD prismatic polytopes—analogous to prisms in 3D—, (ii) defining simple modification operations at the vertex level, and (iii) simple postprocessing to fix errors introduced in the model. As a use case, we show how two sets of operations can be defined and implemented in a dimension-independent manner using this methodology: the most common transformations (i.e. translation, scaling and rotation) and the collapse of objects. The nD objects generated in this manner can then be used as a basis for an nD GIS.Urban Data Scienc
Executing convex polytope queries on nD point clouds
No full textEfficient spatial queries are frequently needed to extract useful information from massive nD point clouds. Most previous studies focus on developing solutions for orthogonal window queries, while rarely considering the polytope query. The latter query, which includes the widely adopted polygonal query in 2D, also plays a critical role in many nD spatial applications such as the perspective view selection. Aiming for an nD solution, this paper first formulates a convex nD-polytope for querying. Then, the paper integrates three approximate geometric algorithms – SWEEP, SPHERE, VERTEX, and a linear programming method CPLEX, developing a solution based on an Index-Organized Table (IOT) approach. IOT is applied with space filling curve based clustering and advanced querying mechanism which recursively refines hypercubic nD spaces to approach the query geometry for primary filtering. Results from experiments based on both synthetic and real data have confirmed the superior performance of SWEEP. However, the algorithm may lag behind CPLEX due to pessimistic intersection computation in high dimensional spaces. In a real application, by properly transforming a perspective view selection into a polytope query, the solution achieves a sub-second querying performance using SWEEP. In another flood risk query, SWEEP also leads the others. In general, the robust and efficient solution can be immediately used to address different polytope queries, including those abstract ones whose constraints on combinations of different dimensions are formed into a polytope model. Besides, the knowledge of high-dimensional computations acquired also provides significant guidance for handling more nD GIS issues.GIS Technologi
Award winning Indigenous author speaks at Notre Dame
No full textMultiple Miles Franklin Literary Award winning Indigenous author, Kim Scott, discussed the role of language in developing and exploring relationships between people of different cultures with guests at Notre Dame’s Fremantle Campus recently.
Scott spoke of the background and inspiration behind his recent publication That Deadman Dance to community members and Notre Dame’s Study Abroad students from the United States of America.
The event was hosted by the College of St Benedict (CSB) and St John’s University (SJU), Minnesota, with support from Notre Dame’s Study Abroad Office.
The students had been studying That Deadman Dance to further their understanding of Australia’s diverse and continually evolving culture.
The book explores the first contact between the Noongar people, European settlers and American whalers in a 19th century setting in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
It follows the story of young Noongar man, Bobby Wabalanginy, and decisions that lay before him which could have potentially affected not only the lives of his ancestors, but the lives of his new-found settler friends in Australia.
Study Abroad Director from CSB and SJU, Janelle Hinchley, said the Study Abroad students responded well to the issues presented in the novel surrounding cultural diversity in Australia.
“He challenged our students to look at the layered dynamics involved in these early cultural exchanges and the propensity that the Aboriginal people had in the facilitation of multiculturalism in Australia,” Ms Hinchley said.
Study Abroad student Christine Schneider said That Deadman Dance provided her with an artistic outlook of the Aboriginal heritage in WA.
“After hearing Kim Scott speak, I realised how poetic and insightful he is which lent itself to the discovery of all the hidden meanings within his novel,” Ms Schneider said.
“It was a great example of being able to take written work and further develop our understanding of its impact on our lives.”
That Deadman Dance won several awards in 2011, including the Miles Franklin Literary Award for the best Australian novel or play which portrays the beauty, challenges and characteristics of Australian life. The novel also collected the Premier’s Prize and the Best Fiction Book prize at the Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards.
MEDIA CONTACT: Shelley Robinson: Tel (08) 9433 0610; Mob 0408 959 138 Leigh Dawson: Tel (08) 9433 0569; Mob 0405 441 09
Fundamentals, implementations and experimental benchmarks of nD-polytype queries on point cloud data sets
No full textAs an extension to 2D polygonal queries, the nD-polytope queries on point clouds also play a crucial rolein nD GIS applications such as the perspective view selection. This report rst denes the nD-polytopemathematically, and then develops an ecient nD-polytope querying solution by extending an index-organized table (IOT) approach. The solution integrates four novel intersection algorithms includingCPLEX, SWEEP, SPHERE and VERTEX, each of which can be used to realize the primary lteringfor polytope querying. The performance of these algorithms is then measured and compared using anrepresentative nD-simplex and an nD-prism query region, respectively. It turns out that SWEEP performsthe best over all, but it may degrade signicantly as dimensionality goes up. On the other hand, thelinear programming algorithm CPLEX although takes more time on intersection computation, performsmore stable. Besides, the experiments also reveal that the properties of a same geometry can changesignicantly across dierent dimensionality, and thus optimal strategies developed in 2D/3D may not beapplicable in high dimensional spaces.GIS Technologi
- …
