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Copyright of Conservation Biology 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.)

Herein, basel on novel data gathered by citizens scientists and specialists, we contribute to the improvement of scientific knowledge and conservation of the Near Threatened Proceratophrys paviotii in order to: 1) test for the first time the phylogenetic position and a species delimitation of P. paviotii through a molecular approach; 2) describe a larger sample of its advertisement call to properly encompass the species intraspecific variation; 3) describe for the first time the P. paviotii release call; and 4) provide novel insights on the species conservation status. Our 16S tree confidently grouped P. paviotii with P. cururu, P. renalis, and P. laticeps. The average sequence divergence between P. paviotii and its congeners ranged from 2.2% (P. laticeps) to 9.1% (P. redacta). Advertisement calls consisted of a single note with duration of 0.26–0.58 s, 17–41 pulses emitted at rate of 54.19–77.49 pulses/s and peak frequency of 775.19–947.46 Hz. Release calls consisted of a single note with duration of 0.04–0.43 s, 2–13 pulses emitted at rate of 21.17–81.58 pulses/s and peak frequency of 689.1–1,722.6 Hz. Additionally, our study strongly supports the notion that Citizen Science approaches can yield invaluable information concerning species' geographic distribution and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anurans exhibit a diverse acoustic repertoire, and the release call is emitted when an individual is improperly clasped, often by males mistakenly grasping other males or unreceptive females during amplexus. The release call also serves as a crucial source for taxonomic resolution. However, for certain widespread hylid genera like Trachycephalus, knowledge about their release calls is limited or non-existent. Trachycephalus comprises 18 species, yet only one has its release call described. This study presents the first description of the release call of T. typhonius from a population in the Cerrado of Central-Western Brazil. Its release call is composed of a multipulsed note, distinguishing it from the only other known call in the genus (T. 'vermiculatus'). Given the differences in the release call parameters between these species, such variations could serve as diagnostic criteria for distinguishing the two lineages. Additional descriptions of release calls, including from more T. typhonius and T. 'vermiculatus' populations, are essential for species diagnosis and taxonomic classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sky Islands present unique landscapes for organismal evolution because they comprise high mountain peaks separated by low valleys with vastly different environmental conditions. The Espinhaço Mountain Range in eastern Brazil is formed of groups of Sky Islands in the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia. Several phylogeographic studies have discovered strong genetic structure among populations of organisms occupying the campo rupestre (rupestrian fields) in the mountains of the Espinhaço. In this study, we aimed to test the hypothesis of spatio-temporal structuring of populations of Scinax curicica in the campo rupestre of the Espinhaço. We recovered three lineages of S. curicica : one lineage occurs in the north portion of the Espinhaço (North Lineage) in an area called Chapada Diamantina, and other two occur in the south portion of the Espinhaço (South 1 and South 2 Lineages) in Minas Gerais. All three lineages showed stable population sizes through time, probably due to the climatic stability of mountaintop areas, which was supported by ecological niche modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Caldasia is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia 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.)

Based on concordant differences in morphology, male advertisement call, and 16S mtDNA barcode distance, we describe a new species of Proceratophrys from southern Amazonia, in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará, Brazil. The new species is most similar to P. concavitympanum and P. ararype but differs from these species by its proportionally larger eyes and features of the advertisement call. Additionally, genetic distance between the new species and its congeners is 3.0–10.4% based on a fragment of the 16S rRNA gene, which is greater than the threshold typically characterizing distinct species of anurans. Using an integrative approach (molecular, bioacoustics, and adult morphology), we were able to distinguish the new species from other congeneric species. The new species is known only from the type locality where it is threatened by illegal logging and gold mining as well as hydroelectric dams. [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]

The combination of different approaches has successfully delimited new species within many Neotropical species complexes traditionally classified as a single nominal organism. Recent studies have shown that the Amazonian endemic genus Amazophrynella, currently composed of 12 small-sized species, could harbor several additional species. Based on morphology and molecular data, we describe a new species of Amazophrynella from east of the Guiana Shield, in Pará state, Brazil. The new species is characterized by having one of the biggest size of the genus (SVL of males 16.0-17.8 mm and females 22.9-24.4 mm), presence of a large palmar tubercle (occupying 2/4 of the palmar surface), 5.6-8.1% uncorrected p-distance from its sister clade (including A. teko, A. sp.1, and A. manaos) for the 16S mitochondrial gene, and 8.8% for the COI. The new species described here represents a newly discovered lineage. Of the 12 Amazophrynella species currently recognized, two were describe in the last century (A. bokermanni and A. minuta) and the remaining species were recently discovered and described (in the last six years), which underscores the degree to which species richness of Amazophrynella is underestimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Caldasia is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia 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.)

The use of larval and bioacoustical characters has been essential to solve taxonomic problems of many anuran species. Herein, we describe the advertisement call and tadpoles of Pseudis fusca and P. tocantins and compare them with descriptions of all other Pseudae. The advertisement calls of Pseudis species are formed by pulsed notes. In P. cardosoi and P. minuta all pulses within a single note are concatenated, while in P. bolbodactyla, P. fusca, P. paradoxa and P. tocantins the notes are formed by sets of concatenated pulses. Moreover, the calls of P. bolbodactyla, P. fusca and P. paradoxa are indistinguishable. Tadpoles of P. fusca and P. tocantins resemble other Pseudis tadpoles described so far: their body is oval-shaped in dorsal view and triangular in lateral view and higher than wide; they possess an anteroventral oral disc with five tooth rows (two anterior and three posterior) and well developed tail musculature. The large larval size is in agreement with other species in the genus. We evaluate which characters best distinguish species within Pseudis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]