Geographic Variation in Brazillian Species of Hyla

Contents: Abstract -- New Suspecies of Hula catharinae -- A New Suspecies of Hyla perpusilla -- Variation in Hyla polytenia Cope -- Literature Cited -- AcknowledgmentsUntil now, practically all Brazilian species of Hyla have been described or discussed exclusively under the nominative form, without regard for geographical variation. The subspecies is almost unknown in the systematics of Brazilian frogs. This paper is concerned with local variation in two difficult groups, that of Hyla catharinae and of the species Hyla polytaenia. Variation becomes apparent on extension of the known distribution, going from altitudinal forms to subspecies in isolated or peripheral parts of the range. Altitudinal variation was first pointed out by the author (1952) for Hyla circumdata Cope when specimens of this montane coastal species were collected above 1,800 meters on the Itatiaia Mountains. They were robust, and lacking the specific pattern of dark violet circles on a lighter blue-violet background on thigh parts which were concealed in repose. These colors were substituted by a uniform purplish-black, or slate colored surface. A new subspecies was not set up because some robust specimens from slightly lower elevations at Itatiaia, and elsewhere, showed vestiges of the circles.Texas Memorial Museu

Genetic diversity fuels gene discovery for tobacco and alcohol use

Tobacco and alcohol use are heritable behaviours associated with 15% and 5.3% of worldwide deaths, respectively, due largely to broad increased risk for disease and injury(1-4). These substances are used across the globe, yet genome-wide association studies have focused largely on individuals of European ancestries(5). Here we leveraged global genetic diversity across 3.4 million individuals from four major clines of global ancestry (approximately 21% non-European) to power the discovery and fine-mapping of genomic loci associated with tobacco and alcohol use, to inform function of these loci via ancestry-aware transcriptome-wide association studies, and to evaluate the genetic architecture and predictive power of polygenic risk within and across populations. We found that increases in sample size and genetic diversity improved locus identification and fine-mapping resolution, and that a large majority of the 3,823 associated variants (from 2,143 loci) showed consistent effect sizes across ancestry dimensions. However, polygenic risk scores developed in one ancestry performed poorly in others, highlighting the continued need to increase sample sizes of diverse ancestries to realize any potential benefit of polygenic prediction.Peer reviewe

New Brazilian Forms of Hyla

Contents: Text -- Photographs -- ReferencesThe author describes three new species and three new subspecies of Hyla, found during her work toward a monograph of the species of Hyla which occur in Brazil. The new species are: Hyla adenoderma from Rondonia territory; H. longilinea from the high mountains at Pogos de Caldas, Minas Gerais; and H. egleri from Belem do Para. The last-named is a northern representative of the forms belonging to the group of H. catharinae from the southern and southeastern serras. The new subspecies are: H. duartei caldarum from Pogos de Caldas; H. raddiana joaquini from the highest and most southern part of the state of Santa Catarina; and H. rubra orientalis from the Atlantic coastal area of Brazil.Texas Memorial Museu

Anfíbios Anuros da coleção Adolpho Lutz: III - Hyla claresignata Lutz & B. Lutz, 1939

<abstract language="eng">Hyla claresignata Lutz & Lutz, 1939, is a large species apparently not closely allied to the other known Brazilian hylas. It is characterized by the very small tympanum; the head is short and the snout rounded; the legs are long, the hands and feet unusually large, the latter extensively webbbed. The specific name is derived from the insular, irregular, or roughly triangular, dark spots, with a light halo, found mostly in the dorso-lateral region and on the legs. It belongs to the rain-forest fauna of the Marítime Range. The adult is a bromeliad-dweller and the tadpole rhyacophilous. DESCRIPTION. Vomerine teeth in two separate, oblique, groups, behind the large choanae, parallel to the posterior half of their inner border. Tongue entire, short, very broad and hardly free behind. Snout short, rounded, with distinct canthus rostralis and gradually sloping loreal region. Eye very large and prominent, its horizontal diameter almost equal to the distance between its anterior corner and the tip of the snout. Tympanum very small, less than one third of the diameter of the eye, but distinct, partly covered by a short, heavy ridge. Lateral fingers less than one third webbed; fourth finger slightly longer than the second, just reaching the base of the disk of the third; subarticular tubercles well developed; an angular pollex rudiment, more noticeable in the males. Toes almost completely webbed, the edge of the web inserted at the base of the disk on the third and the fifth; an inner metatarsal tubercle. Skin smooth above, granular beneath, on the throat minutely so. No dermal appendage on the hell. Habit robust, head broader than long, body rather heavy, slightly narrowed in the postaxillary region. Legs long, the tibiotarsal articulation reaching beyond the tip of the snout when adpressed. Type (female): 61 mm. (Fig. 1.) DIAGNOSIS of TADPOLE (by G. Orton). "A large specialized, mountain-stream tadpole, with wide head an elongated, flattened snout, greatly enlarged lips and high tooth formula. Eyes dorsal. Spiracle sinistral, projecting, situated far back on side. Anus dextral. Tooth formula 8/12 to 9/14 in fully grown larvae. Tail with a prominent, vertical dark band across musculature and fins; a second concentration of dark pigment near tip of tail, may or may not form a similar but narrower band. Maximum known total length: 60mm.; head and body length 25mm. (Figs. 6 e 7). For further details see Lutz & Lutz, 1939 and Lutz B. & Orton G. 1946