The genus Spondylosium Brebisson ex Kutzing in waterbodies of West Siberia (Russia)

The article generalizes data on the species diversity of the genus Spondylosium Brebisson ex Kutzing representatives in waterbodies of West Siberia, their distribution over zones and subzones. At present, 8 species and intraspecific taxa of the order Desmidiales are known in the region. These family representatives are mosaic spread throughout the territory of West Siberia. The largest numbers of taxa (5) are found in middle taiga, 1 and 3 taxa – in southern and northern taiga, respectively, from 2 to 4 taxa – in other zones. No species is recorded in the steppe zone. 6 species (7 taxa) of this genus are identified in lakes of diverse types, 4 species are known in streams, 2 species – in mires and temporary waterbodies. The analysis of the species confinement to environmental conditions has shown that the genus representatives can serve as indicators of acidic and slightly mineralized water. Indifferents (6 taxa) predominate as mineralization indicators, acidophiles (6 taxa) prevail among pH indicators.

Tadpole of Microhyla picta Shenkel (Anura: Microhylidae), an endemic narrow-mouthed frog from Vietnam

The Painted Rice Frog, Microhyla picta Schenkel, is one of the least studied species among narrow-mouthed frogs of the genus Microhyla. To date it is known only from Vietnam, where it is distributed mostly in eastern coastal areas in central and southern parts of the country (Nguyen et al. 2009; Nguyen & Hoang 2013). The species was also found in Con Dao archipelago (Poyarkov & Vassilieva 2011). No data are available on the ecology and reproductive biology of the species, and its larval morphology is also not described. Microhyla frogs are widespread and numerous in terrestrial ecosystems and microhylid tadpoles are known to play an important role in the aquatic communities of temporary waterbodies of monsoon ecosystems in Southeast Asia (Heyer 1973; Vassilieva et al. 2017). The ability to identify microhylid tadpoles in the field is pertinent for biodiversity and ecological studies. We provide a description of larvae of M. picta from various areas in southern Vietnam.