Maringma-tepui
The village of Wayalayeng lies at the base of Maringma-tepui and it is from here that the mountain was explored in May–July 2004 by a botanical team of the Smithsonian Institution. Led by David Clarke, this was the first expedition to reach the mountain's summit. It was followed by two further expeditions in February 2006 and late 2007, by Bruce Means and Philippe J. R. Kok et al., respectively.
Maringma-tepui has a maximum elevation of around 2,147 m (7,044 ft) or 2,134 m (7,001 ft). The summit plateau has an area of roughly 170 hectares (420 acres) and is highly uneven, allowing water to collect in many deep, swamp-like pools. It is predominantly covered in low-growing "tepui meadow" vegetation, quaking peat bog, and some dwarf forests of Bonnetia roraimae, with few areas of exposed rock. The dominant plant families include Bonnetiaceae, Bromeliaceae, Clusiaceae, Orchidaceae, Rapateaceae, Sarraceniaceae, and Xyridaceae. Temperatures vary widely on the summit plateau, with extremes of 13.5 and 37.5 °C recorded over a five-day period.
Native herpetofauna include the lizard species Arthrosaura hoogmoedi and Pantepuisaurus rodriguesi (Gymnophthalmidae), as well as the frog species Adelophryne patamona (Eleutherodactylidae); Anomaloglossus kaiei, Anomaloglossus megacephalus, and Anomaloglossus praderioi (Aromobatidae); and Oreophrynella macconnelli and Oreophrynella seegobini (Bufonidae).
See also
Notes
- a. The maps provided in Sarraceniaceae of South America place Maringma-tepui on the Brazil–Venezuela border, some distance southeast of Roraima-tepui. The book's authors also state that Maringma-tepui was incorrectly called "Mount Yakontipu" by Fleischmann et al. (2007) in their description of Drosera solaris.
References
- ^ Kok, P.J.R. (20 October 2008). A new highland species of Arthrosaura Boulenger, 1885 (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) from Maringma tepui on the border of Guyana and Brazil. Zootaxa 1909: 1–15. ["first page" (PDF).]
- ^ Maguire, B. (March 1948). Plant explorations in Guiana in 1944, chiefly to the Tafelberg and the Kaieteur Plateau—II. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 75(2): 189–230. JSTOR 2485397
- ^ Kelloff, C.L., S.N. Alexander, V.A. Funk & H.D. Clarke (2011). Smithsonian Plant Collections, Guyana: 1995–2004, H. David Clarke. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 97: i–viii, 1–307.
- ^ BDG Plant Collectors: David Clarke. National Museum of Natural History.
- ^ Kok, P.J.R. (2 February 2009). Lizard in the clouds: a new highland genus and species of Gymnophthalmidae (Reptilia: Squamata) from Maringma tepui, western Guyana. Zootaxa 1992: 53–67. ["first page" (PDF).]
- ^ Kok, P.J.R., R.D. MacCulloch, D.B. Means, K. Roelants, I. Van Bocxlaer & F. Bossuyt (7 August 2012). "Low genetic diversity in tepui summit vertebrates" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-05. Current Biology 22(15): R589–R590. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.06.034 "supplementary information" (PDF).
- ^ Kok, P.J.R. (2010). A redescription of Anomaloglossus praderioi (La Marca, 1998) (Anura: Aromobatidae: Anomaloglossinae), with description of its tadpole and call. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 50(4): 51–68. doi:10.1590/S0031-10492010000400001
- ^ Fouquet, A., D. Loebmann, S. Castroviejo-Fisher, J.M. Padial, V.G.D. Orrico, M.L. Lyra, I.J. Roberto, P.J.R. Kok, C.F.B. Haddad & M.T. Rodrigues (November 2012). From Amazonia to the Atlantic forest: molecular phylogeny of Phyzelaphryninae frogs reveals unexpected diversity and a striking biogeographic pattern emphasizing conservation challenges. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 65(2): 547–561. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.07.012
- ^ Kok, P.J.R., R.D. MacCulloch, A. Lathrop, B. Willaert & F. Bossuyt (28 October 2010). A new species of Anomaloglossus (Anura: Aromobatidae) from the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana. Zootaxa 2660: 18–32. ["first page" (PDF).]
- ^ Kok, P.J.R. (14 April 2009). A new species of Oreophrynella (Anura: Bufonidae) from the Pantepui region of Guyana, with notes on O. macconnelli Boulenger, 1900. Zootaxa 2071: 35–49. ["first page" (PDF).]
- ^ McPherson, S., A. Wistuba, A. Fleischmann & J. Nerz (2011). Sarraceniaceae of South America. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole.
- ^ Fleischmann, A., A. Wistuba & S. McPherson (21 December 2007). Drosera solaris (Droseraceae), a new sundew from the Guayana Highlands. Willdenowia 37(2): 551–555. doi:10.3372/wi.37.37214
Further reading
- Strong, M.T. (17 January 2006). Taxonomy and distribution of Rhynchospora (Cyperaceae) in the Guianas, South America. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 53: 1–225.