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Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciencias Biologicas e da Saude – CCBS, Universidade Estadual da Paraiba – UEPB, Rua Baraunas, 351, Bairro Universitario, CEP 58429-500, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil*e-mail: gindomar@yahoo.com.brReceived: November 22, 2014 – Accepted: March 4, 2015 – Distributed: May 31, 2016

Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciencias Biologicas e da Saude – CCBS, Universidade Estadual da Paraiba – UEPB, Rua Baraunas, 351, Bairro Universitario, CEP 58429-500, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil*e-mail: gindomar@yahoo.com.brReceived: October 10, 2014 – Accepted: April 6, 2015 – Distributed: November 30, 2015

Our main objectives were to verify the effect of climate change on distribution of frogs of the family Ceratophryidae and if the legal protection areas in South America will be effective or ineffective in ensuring the preservation of the toads this family in coming decades. The results showed that in the last 140,000 years, species of the family Ceratophryidae expanded and contracted their distribution areas, which naturally reflected the climate and vegetation changes in the Quaternary of South America. The maps of projections showed that changes in temperature determined the area of habitat suitability of 63.7% of the species of ceratophrids both during the last interglacial period and nowadays, and it seems that this will also be the case for the next 62 years. Given the current concerns about future extinctions in the tropics, it is prudent to examine, with special attention, the effects of climate fluctuations on the diversity and distribution of species, because the current estimates of reduction in biodiversity caused by habitat destruction and emission of greenhouse gases are comparable to estimated reductions during glacial intervals.

The Titanosauria were much diversified during the Late Cretaceous, but paleobiological information concerning these sauropods continues to be scarce and no studies have been conducted utilizing modern methods of community analysis to infer possible structural patterns of extinct assemblages. The present study sought to estimate species richness and to investigate the existence of structures in assemblages of the South American Titanosauria during the Late Cretaceous. Estimates of species richness were made utilizing a nonparametric estimator and null models of species co-occurrences and overlapping body sizes were applied to determine the occurrence of structuring in this assemblages. The high estimate of species richness (n = 57) may have been influenced by ecological processes associated with extinction events of sauropod groups and with the structures of the habitats that provided abundant support to the maintenance of large numbers of species. The pseudocommunity analysis did not differ from that expected by chance, indicating the lack of structure in these assemblages. It is possible that these processes originated from phylogenetic inertia, associated with the occurrence of stabilized selection. Additionally, stochastic extinction events and historical factors may also have influenced the formation of the titanosaurian assemblages, in detriment to ecological factors during the Late Cretaceous. However, diagenetic and biostratinomic processes, influenced by the nature of the sedimentary paleoenvironment, could have rendered a random arrangement that would make assemblage structure undetectable.

The species Proceratophrys cristiceps belongs to the genus Proceratophrys within the family Cycloramphidae. These amphibians are found exclusively in South America in the morphoclimatic domain of the semi-arid depression zones in northeastern Brazil known as the Caatinga. We examined intrapopulational variation using univariate and multivariate statistics with traditional and geometric morphometrics, which supported the existence of two morphotypes of this species. Our results indicated significant degrees of variation in skeletal characteristics between some natural populations of this species. Careful analyses of variability levels are fundamental to avoid taxonomic errors, principally in populations that demonstrate characteristics intimately associated with their area of occurrence, as is the case of Proceratophrys cristiceps.

Herpetofauna of an urban fragment of Atlantic Forest in Paraíba State, Northeast Brazil. The Herpetofauna of an urban fragment of Atlantic Forest was investigated in relation to species richness and habitat use. Fourteen species of amphibian anurans pertaining to the families Bufonidae, Brac- hycephalidae, Hylidae, Leptodactylidae, Leiuperidae, Microhylidae and Ranidae were recorded. The reptiles were represented by 37 species, distri- buted in the families Gekkonidae, Gymnophthalmidae, Polychrotidae, Scincidae, Teiidae, Tropiduridae, Amphisbaenidae, Boidae, Colubridae, Elapidae, Typhlopidae, Chelidae, Testudinidae and Alligatoridae. Most of the recorded species presented wide geographic distribution, although some of them had distributions that were restricted to the Atlantic Forest. The species richness of Mata do Buraquinho is relatively high for an urban fragment of Atlantic Forest, and the observed anthropogenic impacts show the urgent necessity of conservation in order to guarantee the viability of populations of amphibians and reptiles. A herpetofauna de um fragmento urbano de Floresta Atlântica foi estudada quanto à riqueza de espéciese à utilização do habitat. A coleta de espécimes foi realizada através de procura visual limitada por tempo e armadilhas de interceptação e queda. Foram registradas quatorze espécies de anfíbios anuros pertencentes às famílias Bufonidae, Brachycephalidae, Hylidae, Leptodactylidae, Leiuperidae, Microhylidae e Ranidae. Os répteis foram representados por 37 espécies, distribuídas nas famílias Gekkonidae, Gymnophthalmidae, Polychrotidae, Scincidae, Teiidae, Tropiduridae, Amphisbaenidae, Boidae, Colubridae, Elapidae, Typhlopidae, Chelidae, Testudinidae e Alligatoridae. A maioria das espécies registradas possui uma ampla distribuição geográfica, sendo que algumas delas têm distribuição restrita à Floresta Atlântica. A riqueza de espécies da herpetofauna da Mata do Buraquinho, relativamente alta para um fragmento urbano de Floresta Atlântica, e os impactos antrópicos observados ressaltam a necessidade urgente de implementação de medidas conservacionistas que visem garantir a viabilidade de suas populações de anfíbios e répteis.