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Made available in DSpace on 2020-12-12T02:06:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2020-05-19 Members of the Leptodactylus mystaceus species complex are widely distributed in forests and open formations of South America east of the Andes. Species of the complex are morphologically similar or indistinguishable among each other, but acoustic data have been the cornerstone for species discrimination across their geographic ranges. In this paper, we re-examine the monophyly, species diversity, and relationships in the L. mystaceus complex on the basis of morphology, coloration, acoustics, and DNA sequences. Morphological and color patterns originally used to the allocation of species to the L. mystaceus complex are also reassessed. Our results revealed three new species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and Cerrado, which are named and described herein, based mainly on acoustic and molecular data. Populations assigned to the lineage widely distributed across the South American Dry Diagonal (DD), reported in this study as L. cf. mystaceus, is likely paraphyletic with respect to the nominal species (Amazonian lineage), but additional data are still needed to address the taxonomic status of the DD lineage. Centro de Ciências Exatas e da Natureza Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB) Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) Departamento de Botânica e Zoologia Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Norte (UFRN) Departamento de Engenharia Florestal Universidade de Brasília (UnB) Departamento de Biodiversidade e Centro de Aquicultura Instituto de Biociências Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Naturais Do Pontal Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU) Departamento de Biodiversidade e Centro de Aquicultura Instituto de Biociências Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)

Made available in DSpace on 2018-12-11T17:23:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2017-01-01 Protected areas (PAs) are essential for biodiversity conservation, but their coverage is considered inefficient for the preservation of all species. Many species are subdivided into evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) and the effectiveness of PAs in protecting them needs to be investigated. We evaluated the usefulness of the Brazilian PAs network in protecting ESUs of the critically endangered Pithecopus ayeaye through ongoing climate change. This species occurs in a threatened mountaintop ecosystem known as campos rupestres. We used multilocus DNA sequences to delimit geographic clusters, which were further validated as ESUs with a coalescent approach. Ecological niche modeling was used to estimate spatial changes in ESUs' potential distributions, and a gap analysis was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the Brazilian PAs network to protect P. ayeaye in the face of climate changes. We tested the niche overlap between ESUs to gain insights for potential management alternatives for the species. Pithecopus ayeaye contains at least three ESUs isolated in distinct mountain regions, and one of them is not protected by any PA. There are no climatic niche differences between the units, and only 4% of the suitable potential area of the species is protected in present and future projections. The current PAs are not effective in preserving the intraspecific diversity of P. ayeaye in its present and future range distributions. The genetic structure of P. ayeaye could represent a typical pattern in campos rupestres endemics, which should be considered for evaluating its conservation status. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais Brasil Programa de Desarrollo Universitario Centro Universitario de Rivera Universidad de la República - UdelaR Rivera Uruguay Laboratório de Herpetologia Departamento de Zoologia Instituto de Biociências de Rio Claro Universidade Estadual Júlio Mesquita Filho - UNESP Rio Claro, São Paulo Brasil Centro de Sensoriamento Remoto Instituto de Geociências Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais Brasil Laboratório de Fauna e Unidades de Conservação Departamento de Engenharia Florestal Faculdade de Tecnologia Universidade de Brasília - UnB Brasília, Distrito Federal Brasil Graduação em Ciências Biológicas Instituto de Ciências Biológicas Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - UFMG Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais Brasil Laboratório Sagarana Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde Universidade Federal de Viçosa - UFV Florestal, Minas Gerais Brasil

We update the known geographic distribution of the snake species Trilepida jani , extending its northernmost record to Parque Estadual de Grao Mogol, state of Minas Gerais, 260 km from the closest record. We also correct literature records of Trilepida koppesi from the Atlantic Forest of Minas Gerais, re-identifying the specimens as T. salgueiroi . Finally, we present a list of leptotyphlopid specimens deposited at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.

The Neotropical genus Aparasphenodon Miranda-Ribeiro is composed of five recognized species commonly referred as “casque-headed frogs” (Frost 2018). Aparasphenodon brunoi Miranda-Ribeiro occurs in Atlantic Forest lowlands from the states of São Paulo to Bahia, Brazil (Feio et al. 1998; Mollo Neto & Teixeira Jr. 2012; Ruas et al. 2013). The biology of most Aparasphenodon species is poorly known. Within the genus, until now only Aparasphenodon arapapa Pimenta, Napoli & Haddad has its call formally described (Lourenço-de-Moraes et al., 2013, Forti et al., 2018, Guerra et al., 2018). Herein, we describe the advertisement call of Aparasphenodon brunoi Miranda-Ribeiro.

Rhachisaurus brachylepis is a poorly known lizard species that was described from Serra do Cipo in the southern portion of the Serra do Espinhaco (Espinhaco Mountain Range), Minas Gerais, Brazil. Almost 50 years after its original description, the species remains known from only a few specimens and brief comments in the literature. Here, we present new data on morphological variation (meristics, morphometrics, and color pattern) within the species on the basis of the reexamination of old specimens housed in herpetological collections and recently collected material. We also provide an emended diagnosis, as well as diagnostic characters relative to other genera of Brazilian gymnophthalmids. We provide additional information on the species' geographical distribution and an updated distribution map, extending its range and filling in some gaps. We also establish the precise placement of the type locality. The new records of R. brachylepis indicate that the size of its geographical distribution is greater than previously thought. Further, we discuss the controversial record of the species from northern Brazil.

Protected areas (PAs) are essential for biodiversity conservation, but their coverage is considered inefficient for the preservation of all species. Many species are subdivided into evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) and the effectiveness of PAs in protecting them needs to be investigated. We evaluated the usefulness of the Brazilian PAs network in protecting ESUs of the critically endangered Pithecopus ayeaye through ongoing climate change. This species occurs in a threatened mountaintop ecosystem known as campos rupestres. We used multilocus DNA sequences to delimit geographic clusters, which were further validated as ESUs with a coalescent approach. Ecological niche modeling was used to estimate spatial changes in ESUs’ potential distributions, and a gap analysis was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the Brazilian PAs network to protect P. ayeaye in the face of climate changes. We tested the niche overlap between ESUs to gain insights for potential management alternatives for the species. Pithecopus ayeaye contains at least three ESUs isolated in distinct mountain regions, and one of them is not protected by any PA. There are no climatic niche differences between the units, and only 4% of the suitable potential area of the species is protected in present and future projections. The current PAs are not effective in preserving the intraspecific diversity of P. ayeaye in its present and future range distributions. The genetic structure of P. ayeaye could represent a typical pattern in campos rupestres endemics, which should be considered for evaluating its conservation status.