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Two species of the Leptodactylus latrans complex in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay (currently considered as Leptodactylus chaquensis and Leptodactylus latrans) are readily identifiable based on external morphological features. In contrast, analyses of external morphological features have not been successful in determining species limits of the complex in Brasil, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. The purpose of this study is to assess whether variation in a set of external morphological features is of value in determining species limits for a set of localities distributed throughout the range of the L. latrans complex. The morphological data as analyzed in this study provide some suggestions for delineating species limits, but overall, the data as analyzed are not sufficient to determine robust species limits within the L. latrans species complex.

The Leptodactylus bolivianus complex has recently been assessed and determined to be comprised of three species – L. bolivianus, L. guianensis, and L. insularum (Heyer & de Sa 2011). The aim of this study is to amplify data for L. insularum that were not included in the Heyer & de Sa (2011) publication. The earlier paper based distributional data only on specimens evaluated by Heyer. Later literature searches identified further information and a greater number of localities for Leptodactylus insularum resulting in a comprehensive summary and a more precise distribution for the species. The purpose of this paper is to summarize information for the currently understood single species Leptodactylus insularum. Pertinent literature is reviewed and summarized for biology, life history, systematics, nomenclature, conservation, and distribution.

Recent molecular studies demonstrate that the species Leptodactylus pallidirostris and L. validus are conspecific. Leptodactylus pallidirostris was previously considered to occupy portions of mainland South America (Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana), whereas L. validus was considered to occur only on the islands of Trinidad, Tobago, and certain Lesser Antillian islands. The purpose of this paper is to summarize information for the currently understood single species Leptodactylus validus.

Three types of advertisement calls of Leptodactylus chaquensis from the Cerrado of Minas Gerais, Brasil are described – growls, grunts, and trills. Additional variation includes calls that start with growls and end with trills. The growl call has not been reported previously. Tadpoles are described and agree with previous descriptions. A female was found associated with tadpoles for at least 20 d. The female communicated with the tadpoles by pumping behavior and also exhibited aggressive behavior toward potential predators. The data reported herein are the first conclusive evidence that L. chaquensis occurs in the Cerrado of Minas Gerais. Other reported Brasilian records for L. chaquensis come from the southern portion of the Cerrado. Additional field work is necessary to determine whether L. chaquensis occurs in the northern Cerrado (in the states of Bahia, Distrito Federal, Maranhao, Para, and Tocantins).

The advertisement calls of the frog species Leptodactylus lithonaetes and Pristimantis vilarsi are described for the first time based on calls recorded in the Venezuelan State of Amazonas. The call of L. lithonaetes bears an overall resemblance to that of L. rugosus, suggesting a sister-group relationship between the two species. The call of Pristimantis vilarsi is similar to those of other species in the P. conspicillatus species group.

A new species of frog is described from Rondonia, Brazil. The new species shares most features with the genus Leptodactylus, although externally it resembles species of Physalaemus as much as species of Leptodactylus. The new species is provisionally assigned to the genus Leptodactylus, the definition of which must be expanded to include an areolate belly and small osteoderms lying above the vertebral column in order to accommodate the new species. The new species is known only from a single cerrado enclave in a predominantly Amazonian rainforest landscape.