Herpetofauna of protected areas in the Caatinga II: Serra da Capivara National Park, Piauí, Brazil

We provide a list of amphibians, lizards, chelonians, and snakes collected during a 30-day expedition to the Serra da Capivara National Park, Piauí State, Brazil. Thirty-seven pitfall trap arrays composed of 4 buckets each, along with glue traps, funnel traps, and haphazard searches, were used to sample the herpetofaunal diversity. We recorded 17 species of lizards, 1 caecilian, 1 chelonian, 7 frogs, and 11 snakes. Rarefaction curves suggest that local biodiversity is still underestimated. An atypical drought during the period of study may have contributed to lower captures of certain groups, especially amphibians and snakes. The presence of water-dependent and forest-dependent species within local canyons (“Boqueirões”) suggests that these areas harbor faunas associated with relictual rainforest fragments and need to be better studied and managed accordinglyFil: Barbosa de Queiroga Calvacanti, Lucas. Universidade Federal Da Paraiba; BrasilFil: Borges Costa, Tais. Universidade Federal Da Paraiba; BrasilFil: Rinaldi Colli, Guarino. Universidade Do Brasilia; BrasilFil: Corrêa Costa, Gabriel. Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Norte. Centro de Biociencias. Departamento de Boanica, Ecologia E Zoologia; BrasilFil: Rodrigues França, Frederico Gustavo. Universidade Federal Da Paraiba; BrasilFil: Oliveira Mesquita, Daniel. Universidade Federal Da Paraiba; BrasilFil: Silva Palmeira, Cristiane Nikely. Universidade Federal de Alagoas; BrasilFil: Pelegrin, Nicolas. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Cs.exactas Fisicas y Naturales. Centro de Zoologia Aplicada; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Cordoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecologia Animal; ArgentinaFil: Soares, Ana Hemínia Bello. Universidade Do Brasilia; BrasilFil: Tucker, Derek B.. University Brigham Young; Estados UnidosFil: Garda, Adrian Antonio. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte; Brasi

A ultra-estrutura do espermatozoide de anuros das familias dendrobatidae, microhylidae e pseudidae

Orientadores : Sonia Nair Bao, Guarino Rinaldi ColliDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de BiologiaResumo: As relações filogenéticas entre anuros permanecem mal resolvidas, qualquer que seja o nível taxonômico em questão. Reconstruções baseadas em dados. Morfológicos tradicionais não foram capazes de fornecer soluções consistentes para uma compreensão da história evolutiva do grupo. Recentemente, a ultra-estrutura do espermatozóide tem sido utilizada para avaliar as relações entre as famílias de muitos grupos de vertebrados, inclusive anfíbios. Todavia, a ausência de dados para muitas famílias impede uma reconstrução filo genética com base nesses novos caracteres. A presente tese descreve pela primeira vez a ultra-estrutura de anuros de três famílias neotropicais (Dendrobatidae, Microhylidae e Pseudidae) e as implicações evolutivas derivadas dessas observações. Ainda que o número de famílias descritas não possibilite a utilização desse rol de dados para uma análise de parcimônia das famílias de anuros, um grupo de 22 caracteres pôde ser proposto para a classe com base nos presentes dados e na literaturaAbstract: Phylogenetic relationships among anurans remain poor1y resolved, regardless of the taxonomic level under study. Reconstructions based on traditional morphological data did not result in well corroborated solutions. Recent1y, sperm ultrastructure has been used to evaluate relationships among several vertebrate families, including anurans. Nevertheless, the lack of descriptions for several families hinders the possibility of using such data in phylogenetic reconstruction. This thesis describes, for the first time, the ultrastructure of three neotropical anuran families (Dendrobatidae, Microhylidae, and Pseudidae) and evaluates the evolutionary implications for these families. Even though the number of families described is still small for a good phylogenetic analysis, we present 22 characters that can be used in phylogenetic reconstructionMestradoBiologia CelularMestre em Biologia Celular e Estrutura

Biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in the Amazon

The Amazon Forest is the most biodiverse region on earth and is central in the struggle to conserve biodiversity and control global warming. Biodiversity is not homogeneously distributed in the region, but concentrated within areas of endemism (AOE) that vary in size, degree of deforestation and human pressure. Unfortunately, these differences have not been used to guide governmental policies, land occupation and conservation. Instead, a violent occupation process started 40 years ago and marked by a frontier economy pattern is still under way. To change this course and truly promote a sustainable development mode in the Amazon region, we argue that an ambitious plan that includes completely halting illegal deforestation is needed. This plan should start by resolving land tenure issues and correctly assigning specific land uses. The three major land-use types in the region include protected areas (49% of the region), unprotected forests (39%) and altered lands (12-17%). Changing the current model of development implies shifting future uses and increasing support for these areas. This translates into three major goals: (1) adequately maintaining the integrity of the current protected areas, (2) protecting unprotected forests and (3) promoting higher productivity in deforested areas. The proportion of land-use types directed to each of these goals will depend on local socio-economic needs and conservation status, but must consider the AOE where it is present. Regional biodiversity corridors for each AOE should be planned and integrated into a large, Pan-Amazon biodiversity corridor to maintain the equilibrium of climatic and hydrological cycles. Politically, this corridor should aim at the integration of development and conservation plans beyond each country's boundary, minimizing impacts of infrastructure development and maximizing social and environmental benefits

The Tadpole of \u3cem\u3eLeptodactylus caatingae\u3c/em\u3e Heyer & Juncá, 2003 (Anura: Leptodactylidae): External Morphology, Internal Anatomy, and Natural History

We describe and illustrate the external morphology, oral disc, chondrocranium, and internal oral anatomy of Leptodactylus caatingae larvae. We analyze the internal oral anatomy using scanning electron microscopy of a larva in Gosner, stage 38 and chondrocranial anatomy is reported for Gosner stage 34. The tadpole at Gosner stage 38 has a globular body shape with low tail fins and a ventral oral disc bordered by two rows of marginal papillae on most of the disc, except for the anterior labium and a medial portion of the posterior labium where papillae are simple; a wide rostral gap is present, labial tooth row formula: 2(2)/3(1). Observations on the natural history of adults and tadpoles are also reported. The external morphology of these tadpoles is compared with available descriptions for larvae of L. latinasus and other congeners that occur in sympatry with L. caatingae. Internal oral morphology and chondrocranial anatomy are discussed in relation to available data for other species in the L. fuscus species group

The tadpole of Scinax camposseabrai (Bokermann) (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae)

Barreto, Gilvana Santos, Grande, Maria Lúcia Del, Napoli, Marcelo Felgueiras, Garda, Adrian Antonio, Juncá, Flora Acuña (2019): The tadpole of Scinax camposseabrai (Bokermann) (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae). Zootaxa 4674 (3): 393-396, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4674.3.

Revising the taxonomy of Proceratophrys Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920 (Anura: Odontophrynidae) from the Brazilian semiarid Caatinga: Morphology, calls and molecules support a single widespread species

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. © 2019 Blackwell Verlag Gmb