Published Papers - Tominaga Atsushi

Chytrid pathogens trade off within the amphibian captive collections in Japan

González, DL; Shiroma, H; Nishikawa, K; Eto, K; Tamukai, K; Goka, K; Rodríguez, NV; Tominaga, A

BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS ( Biological Invasions )  27 ( 5 )   2025.05 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Genetic Diversity of and Differential Response to Sodefrin-Variant Pheromones in Subspecies of the Japanese Sword-Tail Newt Cynops ensicauda

Nakada, Tomoaki, Fumiyo Toyoda, Atsushi Tominaga, Koji Mochida, Makoto Yokosuka, and Sakae Kikuyama

Animals ( MDPI )  15 ( 7 ) 947   2025.03 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Description of a new music frog (Anura, Ranidae, Nidirana) critically endangered in Taiwan

Chun-Fu Lin, Chunwen Chang, Masafumi Matsui, Chin-Chia Shen, Atsushi Tominaga, Si-Min Lin

ZooKeys ( Pensoft Publishers )  1299   245 - 273   2025.02 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Nidirana okinavana (Boettger, 1895) is a small-sized ranid species belonging to the East Asian genus Nidirana Dubois, 1992. Previous studies have indicated that this species was exclusively distributed on Ishigaki and Iriomote islands in the southern Ryukyus, as well as two extremely small wetland habitats in central Taiwan. Such a restricted distribution makes it one of the most endangered frog species in both Taiwan and Japan. By using molecular, morphological, and acoustic analyses, our study reveals significant divergence between the Taiwanese and Japanese clades, supporting the recognition of the Taiwanese clade as a distinct species, described herein as Nidirana shyhhuangi sp. nov. Compared to Nidirana okinavana sensu stricto from the southern Ryukyus, the Nidirana shyhhuangi sp. nov. is characterized by a significantly smaller and non-overlapping body size, relatively longer forelimbs and hindlimbs, smaller internostril and interorbital distances, with a higher number of cross bands on thigh and shank. Acoustic analyses reveal that the Nidirana shyhhuangi sp. nov. produces calls with a rapid tempo and higher pulse number, with a higher dominant frequency compared to the Japanese clade. Due to the extremely limited distribution of this species to two small sites on Taiwan, and continuing decline in quality of its habitat, we propose that it should be classified as Critically Endangered (CR) under the IUCN criteria. Immediate and comprehensive in situ and ex situ conservation actions are necessary to ensure the sustainable viability of the population.

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Comparison of Head and Skull Shapes among Native Andrias japonicus, Introduced A. davidianus, and Their Hybrids in Japan (Urodela: Cryptobranchidae) based on Geometric Morphometrics

Hara, S; Yamamoto, K; Matsui, M; Tominaga, A; Yoshikawa, N; Eto, K; Fukutani, K; Ito, H; Nishikawa, K

CURRENT HERPETOLOGY ( 日本爬虫両棲類学会 )  44 ( 1 ) 14 - 23   2025.02 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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<p>The Japanese giant salamander, <i>Andrias japonicus</i>, is one of the largest extant amphibians. It is endemic to Japan and has been designated as a special natural monument by the Japanese government. The genus <i>Andrias</i> is also protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The Japanese giant salamander and one of the congeners, the Chinese giant salamander, <i>A. davidianus</i>, were recently found to hybridize in several areas in Japan, due to human-mediated introduction of <i>A. davidianus</i>. In this study, we found major differences in head and skull shapes between the Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders, using geometric morphometrics. The hybrids showed intermediate morphology between the two species, but also possessed a wider mouth, at the skeletal level, than either of the parent species. This unique characteristic of hybrids is suggested as one of the reasons for the current dominance of the hybrids in the introduced areas and may be an example of heterosis in urodeles.</p>

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Lotic specialization in modern Asian newts (Caudata: Salamandridae): Phylogeny, historical biogeography, and ancestral traits based on combined DNA data

Yan-Peng Shen, Kanto Nishikawa, Jian-Ping Jiang, Masafumi Matsui, Ding-Qi Rao, Natsuhiko Yoshikawa, Atsushi Tominaga, Daosavanh Sanamxay

Zoological Research: Diversity and Conservation   1 ( 3 ) 191 - 200   2024.08 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Contrasting nidification behaviors facilitate diversification and colonization of the Music frogs under a changing paleoclimate

Lyu, ZT; Zeng, ZC; Wan, H; Li, Q; Tominaga, A; Nishikawa, K; Matsui, M; Li, SZ; Jiang, ZW; Liu, Y; Wang, YY

COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY ( Communications Biology )  7 ( 1 ) 638   2024.05 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Diet of the nonnative southeast Asian treefrog Polypedates leucomystax on Okinawajima, Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan

Nakamura, Y., Tominaga, A.

Current Herpetology ( Herpetological Society of Japan )  2024 ( 43 ) 31 - 41   2024.02 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Discovery of ex situ individuals of Andrias sligoi, an extremely endangered species and one of the largest amphibians worldwide

Nishikawa, K., Matsui, M., Yoshikawa, N., Tominaga, A., Eto, K., Fukuyama, I., Fukutani, K., Matsubara, K., Hattori, Y., Iwato, A., Sato, T., Shimizu, Z., Onuma, H., Hara, S.

Scientific Reports ( Nature )  14   2575   2024.01 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Ecological niche modeling shed light on new insights of the speciation processes and historical distribution of Japanese fire-bellied newt Cynops pyrrhogaster (Amphibia: Urodela)

Dung Van Tran, Atsushi Tominaga, Lam Thi Pham, Kanto Nishikawa

Ecological Informatics ( Elsevier )  79   102443   2024.01 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Demographic imbalance in the hybrid zone led to asymmetric gene flow between two closely related geckos, Gekko hokouensis and Gekko yakuensis (Squamata: Gekkonidae)

Okamoto, K.、Tominaga, A., Toda, M.

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society ( Biological Journal of the Linnean Society )  141   118 - 132   2024.01 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Lack of variations in the salamander chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, at its alleged origin: Updating its Japanese distribution with new evidence.

Lastra González D, Nishikawa K, Eto K, Terui S, Kamimura R, Viñuela Rodríguez N, Yoshikawa N, Tominaga A

PloS one ( PLoS ONE )  19 ( 6 ) e0305228 - e0305228   2024 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans [Bsal] is causing declines in the amphibian populations. After a decade of mapping the pathogen in Europe, where it is causing dramatic outbreaks, and North America, where its arrival would affect to the salamander’s biodiversity hotspot, little is known about its current status in Asia, from presumably is native. Japan has several species considered as potential carriers, but no regulation is implemented against Bsal spreading. Previous Bsal known presence detected various cases on the Okinawa Island, southwestern Japan. Previous studies on its sister species, B. dendrobatidis presented a high genomic variation in this area and particularly on Cynops ensicauda. Here, we have done the largest monitoring to date in Japan on the Cynops genus, focusing on Okinawa Island and updating its distribution and providing more information to unravel the still unknown origin of Bsal. Interestingly, we have provided revealing facts about different detectability depending on the used molecular techniques and changes in its Japanese distribution. All in all, the Bsal presence in Japan, together with its low variability in the sequenced amplicons, and the lack of apparent mortalities, may indicate that this part of Asia has a high diversity of chytrids.

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Ongoing declines for the world’s amphibians in the face of emerging threats

Jennifer A. Luedtke, Janice Chanson, Kelsey Neam, Louise Hobin, Adriano O. Maciel, Alessandro Catenazzi, Amael Borzee, Amir Hamidy, Anchalee Aowphol, Anderson Jean, Angel Sosa-Bartuano, Ansel Fong G., Anslem de Silva, Antoine Fouquet, Ariadne Angulo, Artem A. Kidov, Arturo Munoz Saravia, Arvin C. Diesmos, Atsushi Tominaga, Biraj Shrestha, Brian Gratwicke, Burhan Tjaturadi, Carlos C. Martinez Rivera, Carlos R. Vasquez Almazan, Celsa Senaris, Chandramouli S. R., Christine Strussmann, Claudia Fabiola Cortez Fernandez, Claudio Azat, Conrad J. Hoskin, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Damion L. Whyte, David J. Gower, Deanna H. Olson, Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia, Diego Jose Santana, Elizah Nagombi, Elnaz Najafi-Majd, Evan S. H. Quah, Federico Bolanos, Feng Xie, Francisco Brusquetti, Francisco S. Alvarez, Franco Andreone, Frank Glaw, Franklin Enrique Castaneda, Fred Kraus, Gabriela Parra-Olea, Gerardo Chaves, Guido F. Medina-Rangel, Gustavo Gonzalez-Duran, H. Mauricio Ortega-Andrade, Ibere F. Machado, Indraneil Das, Iuri Ribeiro Dias, J. Nicolas Urbina-Cardona, Jelka Crnobrnja-Isailovic, Jian-Huan Yang, Jiang Jianping, Jigme Tshelthrim Wangyal, Jodi J. L. Rowley, John Measey, Karthikeyan Vasudevan, Kin Onn Chan, Kotambylu Vasudeva Gururaja, Kristiina Ovaska, Lauren C. Warr, Luis Canseco-Marquez, Luis Felipe Toledo, Luis M. Diaz, M. Monirul H. Khan, Madhava Meegaskumbura, Manuel E. Acevedo, Marcelo Felgueiras Napoli, Marcos A. Ponce, Marcos Vaira, Margarita Lampo, Mario H. Yanez-Munoz, Mark D. Scherz, Mark-Oliver Rodel, Masafumi Matsui, Maxon Fildor, Mirza D. Kusrini, Mohammad Firoz Ahmed, Muhammad Rais, N’Goran G. Kouame, Nieves Garcia, Nono Legrand Gonwouo, Patricia A. Burrowes, Paul Y. Imbun, Philipp Wagner, Philippe J. R. Kok, Rafael L. Joglar, Renoir J. Auguste, Reuber Albuquerque Brandao, Roberto Ibanez, Rudolf von May, S. Blair Hedges, S. D. Biju, S. R. Ganesh, Sally Wren, Sandeep Das, Sandra V. Flechas, Sara L. Ashpole, Silvia J. Robleto-Hernandez, Simon P. Loader, Sixto J. Inchaustegui, Sonali Garg, Soumphthone Phimmachak, Stephen J. Richards, Tahar Slimani, Tamara Osborne-Naikatini, Tatianne P. F. Abreu-Jardim, Thais H. Condez, Thiago R. De Carvalho, Timothy P. Cutajar, Todd W. Pierson, Truong Q. Nguyen, Ugur Kaya, Zhiyong Yuan, Barney Long, Penny Langhammer & Simon N. Stuar

Nature   622   308 - 314   2023.10 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Long-Term Rearing of Two Cynops Species and Fertility of Old Cynops ensicauda popei (Amphibia: Urodela)

Hiroki Shiroma, Tatsuhiro Tokuda, Ai Tokuda, Ryo Kamimura, Sen Takenaka, Atsushi Tominaga

Current Herpetology ( Herpetological Society of Japan )  42 ( 2 )   2023.08 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Geological history of the land area between Okinawa Jima and Miyako Jima of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, and its phylogeographical significance for the terrestrial organisms of these and adjacent islands

Nana Watanabe, Kohsaku Arai, Makoto Otsubo, Mamoru Toda, Atsushi Tominaga, Shun Chiyonobu, Tokiyuki Sato, Tadahiro Ikeda, Akio Takahashi, Hidetoshi Ota, Yasufumi Iryu

Progress in Earth and Planetary Science ( Springer Science and Business Media LLC )  10 ( 1 )   2023.07 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Abstract The modern and Late Pleistocene terrestrial fauna of Miyako Jima and adjacent islands (the Miyako Islands) in the southern Ryukyu Islands, southwestern Japan, includes some endemic taxa or genetically unique populations that exclusively have closest allies in the more isolated Okinawa Jima and adjacent islands (the Okinawa Islands) than in the Yaeyama Islands, which are located southwest of the Miyako Islands with much narrower intervening straits. Those taxa or populations include representatives of lineages that have physiologically highly limited ability for over-sea dispersal and the Miyako Islands are currently separated from the Okinawa Islands by at least 300 km of open water; therefore, the formation of this phylogeographical pattern is perplexing. In this study, we review the late Cenozoic geology of the Miyako Islands, southern Okinawa Jima, the Okinawa–Miyako submarine plateau (OMSP; a plateau located between Okinawa Jima and Miyako Jima), and the Kerama gap, which is a depression between the OMSP and Okinawa Jima. We then consider the origin of the modern and Late Pleistocene terrestrial animals, including a number of non-volant vertebrates on the Miyako Islands. Finally, we propose a new hypothesis (the OMSP hypothesis) to explain the enigmatic composition of modern and Late Pleistocene terrestrial vertebrate fauna of the islands. Southern Okinawa Jima was uplifted and emerged after ca. 2 Ma and was temporarily connected to the OMSP, which is likely to have emerged earlier than southern Okinawa Jima, to form a large island extending from Okinawa Jima to the Miyako Islands with a NE–SW direction of ~ 400 km. Subsequently, Okinawa Jima became separated from the OMSP when the Ryukyu Group—which is composed of Quaternary reef and associated fore-reef and shelf deposits—began to accumulate around the island at 1.7–1.4 Ma. During the interval from 2.0 to 1.7–1.4 Ma, numerous terrestrial animals, including flightless vertebrates, extended their distribution to the OMSP. Although the Miyako Islands repeatedly underwent complete submergence during deposition of the main part of the Ryukyu Group (1.25–0.4 Ma), they were uplifted and emerged to become a land area after ca. 0.4 Ma. In contrast, the OMSP subsided after ca. 0.4 Ma and was almost completely submerged after 0.27 Ma. During ca. 0.4–0.27 Ma, terrestrial animals migrated from the OMSP to the Miyako Islands.

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Identification and characterization of sperm motility-initiating substance-2 gene in internally fertilizing Cynops species.

Furukawa H, Mito S, Nishio J, Sato N, Ando Y, Tominaga A, Toyama F, Nakauchi Y, Takayama-Watanabe E, Watanabe A

Development, growth & differentiation ( Development Growth and Differentiation )    2023.03 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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Geographic Variation in Skull Morphology of the Japanese Crocodile Newt, Echinotriton andersoni (Amphibia: Urodela: Salamandridae), Inferred from Geometric Morphometrics

OZAKI Kotaro, TOMINAGA Atsushi, MATSUI Masafumi, HARA Sotaro, NISHIKAWA Kanto

Ｃｕｒｒｅｎｔ　ｈｅｒｐｅｔｏｌｏｇｙ ( 日本爬虫両棲類学会 )  42 ( 1 ) 9 - 16   2023 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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<p>The Anderson’s crocodile newt, <i>Echinotriton andersoni</i>, is an endangered species distributed in the islands of Central Ryukyus, Japan. This species is well known to show high intraspecific genetic variation among islands, but its morphological variation has not been explored. We examined the skull variation in this species including enigmatic specimens collected from Taiwan by using geometric morphometrics, and found sexual differences and geographic variation mainly between the Okinawa group (Okinawajima Island) and the Amami Group (Amamioshima and Tokunoshima Islands). We further found close resemblance between the Taiwanese specimens and the female specimens from Amamioshima Island.</p>

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Potential and Prospects for Interdisciplinary Research on Water Cycle and Biodiversity in Ryukyu Islands Watersheds

Satoshi WATANABE, Kunio ARAYA, Nobuyuki UTSUMI, Haruki KARUBE, Tadashi KITANO, Masaomi KIMURA, Nahoko SHIMADA, Atsushi TOMINAGA, Yasuyuki NAKAMURA, Yuichiro FUJIOKA, and Shin NAGAI

  10 ( 2 ) 58 - 71   2023 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

The emergence of a cryptic lineage and cytonuclear discordance through past hybridization in the Japanese fire-bellied newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster (Amphibia: Urodela)

Atsushi Tominaga, Natsuhiko Yoshikawa, Masafumi Matsui, Nobuaki Nagata, Yukuto Sato

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society ( Oxford Academic )  137 ( 4 ) 651 - 666   2022.12 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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ホンコンシロアゴガエルPolypedates megacephalusの沖縄県への侵入事例

上村亮，皆藤琢磨，小野宏治，富永篤

AKAMATA ( 沖縄両生爬虫類研究会 )  30   36 - 41   2022.12 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

Morphological and taxonomic reexamination on a crocodile newt recently described from Japan (Urodela, Salamandridae, Echinotriton)

KANTO NISHIKAWA, MASAFUMI MATSUI, ATSUSHI TOMINAGA

Zootaxa ( Magnolia Press )  5196 ( 2 ) 223 - 234   2022.10 [ Peer Review Accepted ]

Type of publication: Research paper (scientific journal)

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