Maringma-tepui

Maringma-tepui
Maringma-tepui is located in Guyana
Maringma-tepui
Maringma-tepui
Location in Guyana
Highest point
Elevation2,147 m (7,044 ft)[1]
Coordinates05°13′N 60°35′W / 5.217°N 60.583°W / 5.217; -60.583[1]
Geography
LocationCuyuni-Mazaruni, Guyana

Maringma-tepui, also written Mount Maringma and historically known as Mount Marima,[2] is a small tepui of the Pacaraima Mountains in Cuyuni-Mazaruni, Guyana. It is known as Malaima-tepui in the local Akawaio language.[1] Most published sources place it just inside Guyanese territory, very close to the border with Brazil, and around 17 kilometres (11 mi) east of Roraima-tepui.[1][3][4][5][6][7] However, the mountain remains the subject of considerable toponymic confusion and its name has been applied to at least one other nearby peak.[nb a]

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.[3] Led by David Clarke, this was the first expedition to reach the mountain's summit.[5] It was followed by two further expeditions in February 2006 and late 2007, by Bruce Means and Philippe J. R. Kok et al., respectively.[5]

Maringma-tepui has a maximum elevation of around 2,147 m (7,044 ft)[1] or 2,134 m (7,001 ft).[3] 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.[5] 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.[1][5] The dominant plant families include Bonnetiaceae, Bromeliaceae, Clusiaceae, Orchidaceae, Rapateaceae, Sarraceniaceae, and Xyridaceae.[1] Temperatures vary widely on the summit plateau, with extremes of 13.5 and 37.5 °C recorded over a five-day period.[5]

Native herpetofauna include the lizard species Arthrosaura hoogmoedi[1] and Pantepuisaurus rodriguesi[5] (Gymnophthalmidae), as well as the frog species Adelophryne patamona (Eleutherodactylidae);[8] Anomaloglossus kaiei,[7] Anomaloglossus megacephalus,[9] and Anomaloglossus praderioi[7] (Aromobatidae); and Oreophrynella macconnelli and Oreophrynella seegobini (Bufonidae).[10]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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).]
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c 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.
  4. ^ BDG Plant Collectors: David Clarke. National Museum of Natural History.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g 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).]
  6. ^ 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).[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ a b c 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
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ 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).]
  10. ^ 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).]