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Copyright of Molecular Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Biota Neotropica (Edicao em Iingles) is the property of Biota Neotropica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Wet and dry cyclical periods through the Pleistocene have been suggested as drivers of isolation and, consequently, divergence and expansions of populations associated with forest environments in the Neotropics. In northeastern Brazil, forests patches restricted to high altitudes led to the formation of regionally distinct ecosystems, known as "Atlantic Forest enclaves" or "brejos de altitude." Herein, we investigated the population history of the treefrog Dendropsophus oliveirai, a species associated with the Atlantic Forest and areas of enclaves in the Northeast region of the Brazil. We obtained sequences for one mitochondrial and two nuclear loci of 50 samples from 16 localities to investigate the population structure and demographic history across northeastern Atlantic Forest enclaves. Our data revealed that D. oliveirai exhibits three mtDNA haplogroups: low and highlands above the São Francisco River; low and highlands between Chapada Diamantina enclaves and northern populations of coastal Bahia and Sergipe States; lowlands below the Contas River. Divergence times estimates revealed that population splits occurred during the Pleistocene. Our data recovered low genetic differentiation between enclaves and lowland populations north and south of the São Francisco River, which supports a scenario of recent contact and repeated recolonization of enclaves by lowland populations during the humid Pleistocene phases. Species tree, and temporal and spatial population structures may indicate that D. oliveirai is actually a species complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, Proceratophrys cristiceps was redescribed along with the description of two species from the Caatinga biome: P. aridus and P. caramaschii. However, only a small fraction of the populations related to such species in Northeastern Brazil was examined, and most populations of central Caatinga were not contemplated in this analysis. Comparisons were also based exclusively on external morphology, precluding a more accurate delimitation of such taxa in the light of multiple characters. Such geographic paucity and reliance in only one data source caused the species status of most central Caatinga populations to be uncertain. Thus, the revision of Proceratophrys populations from the Caatinga biome is of utmost importance to establish a solid taxonomic background and to test the validity of the described species. Based on morphologic, morphometric, acoustic, and multilocus genetic data, we define the range of inter‐ and intrapopulation variation in the parameters we analyzed, establishing which ones are useful as diagnostic characters for Proceratophrys in the Caatinga. We found no evidence supporting P. aridus and P. caramaschii as distinct species and thus place them as junior synonyms of P. cristiceps. Our results reinforce the importance of using multiple lines of evidence to avoid taxonomic instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we evaluate the phylogenetic position, and revisit the generic allocation of Odontophrynus salvatori, which has for long been considered controversial because it exhibits intermediate morphological features between Odontophrynus and Proceratophrys. By assessing a fragment of the 16S mitochondrial gene from topotypical specimens, we confirm that O. salvatori is a member of the genus Proceratophrys and sister to P. moratoi, also forming a clade with P. concavitympanum and P. ararype. Therefore, we formally transfer O. salvatori to the genus Proceratophrys [Proceratophrys salvatori (Caramaschi 1996) comb. nov.]. Additionally, the calls of Proceratophrys salvatori and P. moratoi, formally compared for the first time, are shown to exhibit similar structures: they both emit single multi-pulsed notes that differ mainly in pulse repetition rate and dominant frequency. Finally, we summarise occurrence records for P. salvatori and P. moratoi and provide a new record of P. moratoi in Mato Grosso State, extending its distribution about 490 km to the north-west. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]