Pedro L. V. Peloso

Frogs of the state of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil — The need for looking at the ‘coldspots’

We present a list of the anuran amphibians of the state of Espirito Santo, southeastern Brazil. The list was compiled from data gathered from fieldwork over the course of the past 20 years in different localities, and from literature records and voucher specimens deposited in scientific collections. Our list comprises 133 species. Patchy sampling efforts and recent species descriptions suggest that the list may increase significantly with further sampling, considering the presence of several geographical gaps. The need for adequate sampling in these gap areas is highlighted.

An extraordinary new species of Melanophryniscus (Anura, Bufonidae) from southeastern Brazil

ABSTRACT We describe a new species of bufonid from a lowland, sandy soil, restinga habitat in the state of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. Based on the shared occurrence of putative morphological synapomorphies of Melanophryniscus and the results of a phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences of a broad sample of bufonids, and other anurans, we assign the new species to Melanophryniscus. The new species possesses several peculiar character states that distinguish it from all other Melanophryniscus including, but not limited to: fingers II, III, and V much reduced; nuptial pad with few enlarged, brown-colored spines on medial margin of finger II; seven presacral vertebrae, the last fused with the sacrum; and ventral humeral crest prominent, forming a spinelike projection.

A New Species of Clown Tree Frog, Dendropsophus leucophyllatus Species Group, from Amazonia (Anura, Hylidae)

Abstract. We describe a new species of Dendropsophus (Anura: Hylidae: Hylinae: Dendropsophini) from the Amazon river (= Rio Amazonas) basin, state of Amazonas, northern Brazil. The new taxon is included in the D. leucophyllatus group based on its phylogenetic position and on the presence of a pair of pectoral glands (a likely synapomorphy of the group). The species is distinguished from other species in the group by its color pattern and the morphology of hand and feet tubercles. In order to assess the phylogenetic relationships of the new taxon, we compiled a dataset including mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data for all but one species in the D. leucophyllatus group, plus a series of hylid outgroups. A tree-alignment (direct optimization) parsimony analysis firmly support the new species as the sister taxon of D. sarayacuensis. The monophyly of the D. leucophyllatus species group is not recovered in our analysis and the issue is discussed further.

A New Tropidurus (Tropiduridae) from the Semiarid Brazilian Caatinga: Evidence for Conflicting Signal between Mitochondrial and Nuclear Loci Affecting the Phylogenetic Reconstruction of South American Collared Lizards

ABSTRACT Tropidurus Wied, 1825, is one of the most ubiquitous lizard genera distributed in open habitats of tropical and subtropical South America. Nevertheless, the broad representation of specimens of this group in scientific collections is hardly reflected in our knowledge of its taxonomic diversity. Most species currently assigned to Tropidurus began to be uncovered in the early 1980s and additional populations in need of formal taxonomic treatment have been cataloged ever since. Herein, we name Tropidurus sertanejo, n. sp., a new species of the T. torquatus group endemic to the semiarid Brazilian Caatinga. Tropidurus sertanejo, n. sp., is currently known from two isolated populations in the municipalities of Caetité and Ibotirama, State of Bahia, Brazil. This is the only species of the T. torquatus group lacking granular mite pockets on the lateral neck, and it is also diagnosable by having a conspicuous bronze-colored head, a light-brown dorsal body with small pale salmon spots, and small body size in comparison with most congeners. Phylogenetic analyses recovered a paraphyletic Tropidurus, but firmly supported T. sertanejo, n. sp., as member of a monophyletic T. torquatus species group. Trees generated by independent analyses of nuclear and mitochondrial sequence data conflicted with our total evidence phylogenetic hypotheses. Since topological disagreements were detected among phylogenetic trees resulting from maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) reconstructions, and MP analyses do not require distinct evolutionary models or partition schemes to be defined prior to conduction of phylogenetic reconstruction, these factors were considered unlikely to explain all the variation in the observed results, favoring the interpretation of conflicting phylogenetic signal. Because detailed information on the distribution, population size, and ecological requirements of T. sertanejo, n. sp., are currently unavailable, we recommend the species to be listed as “data deficient” following the rules proposed by IUCN.

New record of the humming frog Chiasmocleis supercilialbus Morales and McDiarmid, 2009 (Amphibia: Microhylidae) in Brazil, the first outside its type locality

We provide the first record of Chiasmocleis supercilialbus for Brazil. Thre especimens were collected at Seringal Etelvi, Reserva Extrativista Chico Mendes, state of Acre, Brazil. This record extends the distribution of the species 200 km east from the type locality situated at Manu National Park, Manu River, Departamento Madre de Dios, Peru.

Multiple connections between Amazonia and Atlantic Forest shaped the phylogenetic and morphological diversity of Chiasmocleis Mehely, 1904 (Anura: Microhylidae: Gastrophryninae)

Chiasmocleis is the most species-rich genus of Neotropical microhylids. Herein, we provide the first comprehensive multilocus phylogeny for the genus, including all but 3 of the 34 recognized species and multiple individuals per species. We discuss cryptic speciation, species discovery, patterns of morphological evolution, and provide a historical biogeographic analysis to account for the current distribution of the genus. Diversification of Chiasmocleis from other New World microhylids began during the Eocene, app. 40 mya, in forested areas, and current diversity seems to be a product of recurrent connections between the Atlantic Forest and Amazonia. Small-sized species evolved independently three times in Chiasmocleis. Furthermore, the extremely small-bodied (i.e. miniaturized) species with associated loss of digits, phalanges, and pectoral girdle cartilages evolved only once and are restricted to Amazonia. Using the phylogeny, we recognized three subgenera within Chiasmocleis: Chiasmocleis Méhely, 1904, Relictus subg. nov., and Syncope Walker, 1973. The recognition of the subgenus Syncope informs future research on patterns of miniaturization in the genus, and the subgenus Relictus highlights isolation of an endemic and species-poor lineage to the Atlantic Forest, early (about 40 mya) in the history of Chiasmocleis.

Description of a New Species of Alopoglossus Boulenger, 1885 from Western Colombia (Gymnophthalmoidea)

Abstract. We describe and name a new species of Alopoglossus (Gymnophthalmoidea: Alopoglossidae) from western Colombia (Departamentos Cauca and Valle del Cauca: Chocó biodiversity hotspot). The new taxon is morphologically similar to Alopoglossus festae and A. viridis, from which it differs in having, among other things: strongly keeled imbricated temporal scales; strongly keeled scales on dorsum of hand; rhomboid, keeled, and heavily pigmented ventral scales. Specimens of this new taxon have been sitting in museum shelves for several decades (holotype collected over 40 years ago)—thus, we discuss the relevance of biological specimen collection and the importance of reexamination of old museum records, in search of unnamed biodiversity.

Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae, Chiasmocleis avilapiresae Peloso and Sturaro, 2008: first record for the state of Acre, southwestern Amazonia, Brazil

We record for the first time the presence of Chiasmocleis avilapiresae in the state of Acre, Brazil. This microhylid frog is found throughout Amazon in Brazil and no information about its distribution in the Acre state was reported previously. An increase on sampling efforts, revision of material housed in herpetological collections, and use of diverse herpetofauna sampling methods might reveal additional localities and more information about this species.

Reptilia, Squamata, Leiosauridae, Urostrophus vautieri Duméril and Bribon, 1837: distribution extension, new state record, and geographic distribution map

We present the first record of Urostrophus vautieri for the state of Espirito Santo and a distribution map for the species. This species was previoulsy known from the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Parana, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. The present record represent an extension of nearly 200 km to the North from the nearest published record for the species.