Paulo Christiano De Anchietta Garcia

The amphibians of São Paulo State, Brazil amphibians of São Paulo

The State of Sao Paulo is one of the most studied regions of Brazil in regard to amphibian species richness and distribution. However, we still do not have a list of species for the State. Therefore, we present here a list including 231 species of amphibians (225 anurans and six caecilians), of which 27 are endemic. We present data about previous and current taxonomists and speculate about future prospects in the study and conservation of amphibian biodiversity in Sao Paulo State.

Phylogeny of frogs from the genus Physalaemus (Anura, Leptodactylidae) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences.

Although some species groups have been recognized in the leiuperine genus Physalaemus, no phylogenetic analysis has previously been performed. Here, we provide a phylogenetic study based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences from 41 of the 46 species of Physalaemus. We employed the parsimony criterion using the software TNT and POY and the Bayesian criterion using the software MrBayes. Two major clades were recovered inside the monophyletic Physalaemus: (i) the highly supported Physalaemus signifer Clade, which included P. nattereri and the species previously placed in the P. deimaticus and P. signifer Groups; and (ii) the Physalaemus cuvieri Clade, which included the remaining species of Physalaemus. Five species groups were recognized in the P. cuvieri Clade: the P. biligonigerus Group, the P. cuvieri Group, the P. henselii Group, the P. gracilis Group and the P. olfersii Group. The P. gracilis Species Group was the same as that previously proposed by Nascimento et al. (2005). The P. henselii Group includes P. fernandezae and P. henselii, and was the sister group of a clade that comprised the remaining species of the P. cuvieri Clade. The P. olfersii Group included P. olfersii, P. soaresi, P. maximus, P. feioi and P. lateristriga. The P. biligonigerus Species Group was composed of P. biligonigerus, P. marmoratus, P. santafecinus and P. riograndensis. The P. cuvieri Group inferred here differed from that recognized by Nascimento et al. (2005) only by the inclusion of P. albifrons and the exclusion of P. cicada. The paraphyly of P. cuvieri with respect to P. ephippifer was inferred in all the analyses. Distinct genetic lineages were recognized among individuals currently identified as P. cuvieri and they were congruent with cytogenetic differences reported previously, supporting the hypothesis of occurrence of formally unnamed species.

Disentangling the Role of Climate, Topography and Vegetation in Species Richness Gradients.

Environmental gradients (EG) related to climate, topography and vegetation are among the most important drivers of broad scale patterns of species richness. However, these different EG do not necessarily drive species richness in similar ways, potentially presenting synergistic associations when driving species richness. Understanding the synergism among EG allows us to address key questions arising from the effects of global climate and land use changes on biodiversity. Herein, we use variation partitioning (also know as commonality analysis) to disentangle unique and shared contributions of different EG in explaining species richness of Neotropical vertebrates. We use three broad sets of predictors to represent the environmental variability in (i) climate (annual mean temperature, temperature annual range, annual precipitation and precipitation range), (ii) topography (mean elevation, range and coefficient of variation of elevation), and (iii) vegetation (land cover diversity, standard deviation and range of forest canopy height). The shared contribution between two types of EG is used to quantify synergistic processes operating among EG, offering new perspectives on the causal relationships driving species richness. To account for spatially structured processes, we use Spatial EigenVector Mapping models. We perform analyses across groups with distinct dispersal abilities (amphibians, non-volant mammals, bats and birds) and discuss the influence of vagility on the partitioning results. Our findings indicate that broad scale patterns of vertebrate richness are mainly affected by the synergism between climate and vegetation, followed by the unique contribution of climate. Climatic factors were relatively more important in explaining species richness of good dispersers. Most of the variation in vegetation that explains vertebrate richness is climatically structured, supporting the productivity hypothesis. Further, the weak synergism between topography and vegetation urges caution when using topographic complexity as a surrogate of habitat (vegetation) heterogeneity.

A New Species of the Bokermannohyla pseudopseudis Group from the Espinhaço Range, Central Bahia, Brazil (Anura: Hylidae)

Abstract We describe a new species of the Bokermannohyla pseudopseudis group from Chapada Diamantina, Espinhaço Range, central Bahia, northeastern Brazil. It is characterized by the following combination of traits: male snout–vent length (SVL) 60.0 ± 3.3 (51.9–65.3 mm, n = 14); female SVL (60.2–61.6 mm, n = 2); short snout, rounded in dorsal view, rounded to truncate in lateral view; head 1.07 ± 0.04 (1.01–1.14 mm, n = 14) times wider than long; tympanum diameter 0.07 ± 0.01 (0.06–0.08 mm, n = 14) times SVL; macroscopically evident glandular tissue irregularly distributed on the mental area; hypertrophied forearm; well-developed prepollex; nuptial pad between the distal free section of the prepollex and the base of finger I; dorsum light gray to light brown (background) with irregular-shaped brown marbled blotches (without a central light spot) formed by small dark brown dots; in life, small yellow dots on upper and lower lips, eyelids, loreal and gular regions, supratympanic fold, fingers, arms, forearms, flanks, feet, tibiae, thighs, and cloacal region.

Molecular and morphological evidence reveals a new species in the Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis group (Hylidae, Phyllomedusinae) from the Atlantic Forest of the highlands of southern Brazil.

The taxonomic status of a disjunctive population of Phyllomedusa from southern Brazil was diagnosed using molecular, chromosomal, and morphological approaches, which resulted in the recognition of a new species of the P. hypochondrialis group. Here, we describe P. rustica sp. n. from the Atlantic Forest biome, found in natural highland grassland formations on a plateau in the south of Brazil. Phylogenetic inferences placed P. rustica sp. n. in a subclade that includes P. rhodei + all the highland species of the clade. Chromosomal morphology is conservative, supporting the inference of homologies among the karyotypes of the species of this genus. Phyllomedusa rustica is apparently restricted to its type-locality, and we discuss the potential impact on the strategies applied to the conservation of the natural grassland formations found within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biome in southern Brazil. We suggest that conservation strategies should be modified to guarantee the preservation of this species.

The Tadpole and Vocalizations of Hypsiboas polytaenius (Cope, 1870) (Anura, Hylidae, Hylinae)

ABSTRACT. Herein we describe the tadpole and vocalizations of H. polytaenius (Cope, 1870) from populations of the Quadrilatáro Ferrífero highlands, state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, and compare them with other species of the H. polytaenius clade and closely related species in the H. pulchellus group. The tadpoles differ from those of other species of the H. polytaenius clade by the shape of the body and snout in dorsal view, the degree of attachment of the spiracle inner wall to the body, and the tooth row formula 2(1,2)/3(1). The major differences from the closely related species in the H. pulchellus group refer to oral disc characteristics. Two types of calls were identified for H. polytaenius: one composed by one pulsed note and the other composed by isolated notes. Nevertheless, a call composed by two pulsed notes, possibly a territorial call, was recorded once. Comparisons of our results with those previously published for H. polytaenius from Estação Biológica da Boracéia, state of São Paulo, show differences with important taxonomic implications. The main differences in vocalizations between species of the H. polytaenius clade rely on spectral parameters. The closely related species in the H. pulchellus group present calls with increase in the intensity and longer duration than H. polytaenius. Additionally, for the purpose of comparison of the vocalizations between species from the H. polytaenius clade, we analyzed a record available of the call of H. phaeopleura.

A New Species of Paratelmatobius (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae) from Atlantic Rain Forest of Southeastern Brazil

ABSTRACT. Anew species of Paratelmatobius is described from Parque das Neblinas at Serra do Mar in Bertioga Municipality, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The new species, included in the P. cardosoi species group, is diagnosed by its larger size among the species of the group; tympanum visible externally; vocal slits present in males; presence of tubercles on the upper eyelid; well developed tubercle at base of mandible; dorsolateral fold developed; large black spinous nuptial pad on thumb in males; first finger longer than second; belly, ventral surface of arm and forearm, and external margin of throat blotched with orange-reddish spots.

The advertisement call, color patterns and distribution of Ischnocnema izecksohni (Caramaschi and Kisteumacher, 1989) (Anura, Brachycephalidae)

Ischnocnema izecksohni habita as matas de galeria do Quadrilatero Ferrifero, sul da Cadeia do Espinhaco, estado de Minas Gerais, sudeste do Brasil e e considerada endemica desta regiao. Sua especie mais proxima, de acordo com a descricao original, e I. nasuta. Descreve-se o canto de I. izecksohni baseado em especimes gravados e coletados em Nova Lima, MG, que dista 10 km em linha reta da localidade tipo da especie. O canto de anuncio consiste em um grupo de notas emitidas esporadicamente sem um intervalo regular entre os cantos. A duracao do canto (n = 36 cantos em quatro individuos) variou de 1,03 ate 1,85 s (= 1,52 ± 0,21 s) e o tempo ate a amplitude maxima do canto de 0,66 to 1,52 s (= 1,16 ± 0,25 s), com 34-57 notas por canto (= 47.42 ± 6.03). A frequencia de pico variou de 2250 a 2625 Hz, a frequencia dominante de 1317,8 a 3128,0 Hz e o intervalo entre as notas de 22,00 to 41,00 ms (= 28,63 ± 0,03 ms). A partir do exame de colecoes herpetologicas, dados morfologicos e bioacusticos estendeu-se a distribuicao da especie para cerca de 200 km a leste, para mais dez localidades, todas elas fora do Quadrilatero Ferrifero, no complexo da Mantiqueira. Foram analisados padroes de coloracao e alguns padroes dorsais alem daquele presente na descricao original foram encontrados. Sao feitos comentarios acerca do status taxonomico de I. izecksohni e I. nasuta.

The Tadpole of the Microendemic, Bromeligenous Crossodactylodes itambe (Anura, Leptodactylidae) from the Endangered ‘Campo Rupestre’ of Southeastern Brazil, with Additional Comments on Natural History

Abstract. We describe the external larval morphology of the microendemic leptodactylid frog Crossodactylodes itambe from the ‘campo rupestre’ of the Espinhaço Mountain Range in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The species identity of the only previously described Crossodactylodes tadpole cannot be confirmed, making this the first description of a tadpole of known taxonomic identity for the genus. The tadpole of C. itambe differs from the previously described Crossodactylodes tadpole in total length, origin of dorsal fin, development of tail musculature, spiracle position, absence of inner wall of spiracle and shape, and direction of vent tube. Characters such as narrow lateral gaps of marginal papillae and the distinct medial serration on the oral face of the upper jaw are proposed as putative synapomorphies for the genus. Tadpoles of C. itambe occur exclusively in the axils of the rupicolous bromeliad Vriesea medusa. Observation on the natural history, eggs, and larvae are also reported.

The correct authorship and date of lizard names Teiinae, Tupinambinae, and Gymnophthalmidae.

Teiidae and Gymnophthalmidae are lizard families endemic to the Neotropical region (Vitt & Caldwell 2014), with about 150 and 245 valid living species, respectively (Uetz & Hošek 2015). Extinct teiid taxa are known from the Cretaceous to the Holocene (Albino 2005; Estes 1983b; Sullivan & Estes 1997). The authorship of Teiidae is undoubtedly attributed to Gray (1827) (ICZN 1985), but there is some confusion in literature regarding its subfamilies Teiinae and Tupinambinae. The same is true for Gymnophthalmidae. We investigated those issues through a literature review, found the source of mistakes and suggest what we consider be the correct authorship and dates for those family-group names.