Browsing by Author "Msuya, Charles A."
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Item Environmental Management and Biodiversity Conservation of Forests, Woodlands, and Wetlands of the Rufiji Delta and Floodplain A Preliminary Biodiversity (Fauna) Assessment of the Rufiji Floodplain and Delta(2000-07) Howell, Kim; Msuya, Charles A.; Kihaule, Philip M.Item A new species of Running Frog, (Kassina, Anura: Hyperoliidae) from Unguja Island, Zanzibar, Tanzania(2006-11) Msuya, Charles A.; Howell, Kim; Channing, AlanA new species of Kassina is described from Unguja Island, Zanzibar, East Africa. It is distinguished from other species in its genus by an advertisement call that is pulsed, frequency modulated, and with a longer duration than that of K. senegalensis or K. maculata, and its grey and white reticulated colour pattern. The gular strap, like that in K. senegalensis, is continuous with the thick, pleated skin of the vocal pouch, but unlike K. senegalensis, it is rounded and truncated posteriorly. In contrast, the gular gland of K. maculata is rounded and free at its posterior end. The finger and toe tips are not distinct disks, but are only very slightly rounded and truncated when viewed from above. In lateral view, the tips are noticeably flattened.Item Notes on the Ecology and Status of Some Forest Mammals in Four Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania(2004-12) Cordeiro, Norbert J.; Seddon, Nathalie; Capper, David R.; Ekstrom, Jonathan M. M.; Howell, Kim; Isherwood, Isabel S.; Msuya, Charles A.; Mushi, Jonas T.; Perkin, Andrew; Pople, Robert G.; Stanley, William T.From 1993 to 2000, observations were made of small to medium-sized mammals in seven poorly known submontane forest reserves and one village forest in the North Pare, South Pare, East Usambara and Nguu Mountains, Tanzania. Of 26 species recorded, three are Red-Listed as Threatened (Endangered: Zanj elephant shrew Rhynchocyon petersi; Vulnerable: red-bellied coast squirrel Paraxerus palliatus, and eastern tree hyrax Dendrohyrax validus) and five as Lower Risk (two dwarf galagos Galagoides spp., African buffalo Syncerus caffer, suni Neotragus moschatus, and Harvey's duiker Cephalophus harveyi). Most of our mammal records represent new distributions in the Eastern Arc Mountains, and one record of an unidentified squirrel in the Nguu Mountains is of conservation interest. Together with timber removal and cultivation, hunting appears to threaten the survival of mammals in these forests. There is an urgent need to establish long-term conservation programmes in these forests and more thorough surveys of mammals are necessaryItem Notes on the Ecology And Status of Some Forest Mammals In Four Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania(2004-12) Cordeiro, Norbert J.; Seddon, Nathalie; Capper, David R.; Ekstrom, Jonathan M. M.; Howell, Kim; Isherwood, Isabel S.; Msuya, Charles A.; Mushi, Jonas T.; Perkin, Andrew; Pople, Robert G.; Stanley, William T.From 1993 to 2000, observations were made of small to medium-sized mammals in seven poorly known submontane forest reserves and one village forest in the North Pare, South Pare, East Usambara and Nguu Mountains, Tanzania. Of 26 species recorded, three are Red-Listed as Threatened (Endangered: Zanj elephant shrew Rhynchocyon petersi; Vulnerable: red-bellied coast squirrel Paraxerus palliatus, and eastern tree hyrax Dendrohyrax validus) and five as Lower Risk (two dwarf galagos Galagoides spp., African buffalo Syncerus caffer, suni Neotragus moschatus, and Harvey's duiker Cephalophus harveyi). Most of our mammal records represent new distributions in the Eastern Arc Mountains, and one record of an unidentified squirrel in the Nguu Mountains is of conservation interest. Together with timber removal and cultivation, hunting appears to threaten the survival of mammals in these forests. There is an urgent need to establish long-term conservation programmes in these forests and more thorough surveys of mammals are necessary.Item Observations on nesting of shoebill Balaeniceps rex and wattled crane Bugeranus carunculatus in Malagarasi wetlands, western Tanzania(2013-02) John, Jasson; Nahonyo, Cuthbert L.; Lee, Woo S.; Msuya, Charles A.The populations of shoebill Balaeniceps rex and wattled crane Bugeranus carunculatus are listed as ‘vulnerable’ by IUCN and threatened by habitat destruction and trapping (BirdLife International, 2012a). They both have narrow and disconnected distribution in sub-Saharan Africa along major water basins (Hancock, Kushlan & Kahl, 1992; Meine & Archibald, 1996). Their global population is small (<8000 birds for each species), and in Tanzania, numbers are in low hundreds (Dinesen & Baker, 2006; Beilfuss, Dodman & Urban, 2007). But yet, there is virtually no published information on nesting in Tanzania. The first and the only published breeding of wattled crane is that of Elliott (1983) from Southern highlands where wattled crane has almost been extirpated (Beilfuss, Dodman and Urban, 2007). Small viable populations for both species are found in Malagarasi wetlands. Basic ecological information of these threatened-flagship species is needed for both scientific and management purposes. In this article, we report observations of the first ground study on nests of shoebill and wattled crane in Tanzania, made between 2005 and 2011.Item A remarkable young Scolecomorphus vittatus (Amphibia: Gymnophiona Scolecomorphidae) from the North Pare Mountains, Tanzania(2002-12) Loader, Simon; Wilkinson, Mark; Gower, David; Msuya, Charles A.A description is given of the external morphology of a single young caecilian (gymnophionan) amphibian from the North Pare Mountains, Tanzania, referable to Scolecomorphus vittatus (Boulenger, 1895). This is the smallest known free-living Scolecomorphus, and it is characterized by many remarkable features previously unrecorded for any life-history stage of any caecilian. The cheeks have conspicuous, posteroventrally divergent paraoral processes that border a concavity on the ventral surface of the snout. The mandibles are very flexible about their articulation with the cranium, and they have a broader curvature than the upper jaw. The dentition is heterogeneous, with adult-like monocusped teeth in single rows, but also some supernumerary teeth, some of which are bicornute. The posterior parts of the paraoral processes bear a small number of monocuspid teeth that lie outside, and project away from, the mouth. The nuchal region of the body bears a distinctive concavity on the underside of the throat, bordered by longitudinal ridges that terminate in fleshy nipples. All of these features are unknown in adult Scolecomorphus, and many are unique for caecilians, and they suggest a highly distinctive life-history stage. The discovery and description of this specimen adds substantially to the currently meagre information on the life history of scolecomorphids and of the diversity of caecilian reproductive biology. Two modes of viviparity in caecilians are identified, with S. vittatus resembling the caeciliid Geotrypetes in giving birth to small altricial young that seem to require extended post-parturition parental care.Item Results of a survey of small mammals in the Kwamgumi Forest Reserve, East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania(2004-12) Stanley, William T.; Rogers, Mary A.; Howell, Kim; Msuya, Charles A.The small mammals of Kwamgumi Forest Reserve, a habitat representing transition between coastal and Eastern Arc forest types, and one of the lower forest reserves of the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania, were sampled to gain a preliminary perspective on the diversity and abundance of the shrews, bats and rodents of this unique forest. While the species documented are reminiscent of those found at higher elevations in the East and West Usambara Mountains, the abundance of shrews and rodents, based on trap success, was much lower than in the montane forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains