A new genus of Cophomantini, with comments on the taxonomic status of Boana liliae (Anura: Hylidae)

© 2018 The Linnean Society of London The non-monophyly of both the genus Myersiohyla and the Boana punctata group has been recovered in a number of published phylogenetic analyses. In this paper we report on the analysis of sequences of Boana liliae, a species originally assigned to the B. punctata group, in a dataset of Cophomantini that recovered novel phylogenetic relationships for this hylid tribe. Our results reveal Myersiohyla to be paraphyletic with respect to B. liliae. Support for the placement of Myersiohyla kanaima is poor, but this taxon is recovered as the sister taxon of the other Cophomantini genera (excluding Myersiohyla) or as the sister taxon of the remaining species of Myersiohyla (including B. liliae). These results lead us to propose two taxonomic changes in order to remedy the paraphyly of Myersiohyla: (1) a new genus is described for M. kanaima, and (2) Boana liliae is transferred to Myersiohyla. We further provide notes on the natural history and vocalizations of the new monotypic genus, a new diagnosis of the former B. liliae in the context of Myersiohyla, and discuss the evolution of tadpole morphology and biogeography of the earlier diverging clades of Cophomantini

A new species of Crossodactylodes from the Espinhaço mountain range, Southeastern Brazil (Anura: Leptodactylidae: Paratelmatobiinae)

The bromeligenous genus Crossodactylodes, endemic to the Atlantic Forest domain and the “campo rupestre” ecosystem in Brazil, currently comprises five named species. Three additional putatively new species have already been proposed in a recent study based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers. Here we employ phenotypic data to corroborate the distinctiveness of one of these lineages, and describe it as a new species, from the Espinhaço Mountain Range in the municipality of Itamarandiba, state of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. We also provide information on its natural history and conservation status. The new species is diagnosable from its congeners by a combination of characters, including the presence of vocal slits in adult males, the orange coloration of discs on fingers and toes, and the presence of vomerine odontophores. The new species is the second Crossodactylodes to be reported for the campo rupestre and it was only recorded in a small forest patch composed of low trees, shrubs, mosses, lichens, and a high density of bromeliads

Óxidos de ferro de solos formados sobre gnaisse do Complexo Bação, Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Minas Gerais Iron oxides of soils formed on gneiss of the Bação Complex geodomain, Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Minas Gerais, Brazil

O objetivo deste trabalho foi efetuar a caracterização mineralógica dos óxidos de ferro de horizontes B de três perfis de solos desenvolvidos sobre gnaisse do geodomínio do Complexo Bação, no Quadrilátero Ferrífero, em Minas Gerais. As amostras foram coletadas ao longo dos segmentos de alta, média e baixa vertente. As frações de terra fina (diâmetro médio, fi = 2 mm) foram separadas, em todas as amostras. A composição química dos elementos maiores foi determinada por meio da técnica de fluorescência de raios X; a análise mineralógica foi realizada com difratometria de raios X e espectroscopia Mössbauer. Todas as amostras têm composição mineralógica similar, cuja ocorrência geral corresponde à seqüência quartzo >> gibbsita > caulinita > goethita. Os resultados Mössbauer a 4,2 K confirmam a coexistência de goethita (majoritária) e hematita. Os conteúdos de alumínio isomórfico foram deduzidos dos valores de campos hiperfinos e correspondem às seguintes fórmulas químicas das goethitas: alfaFe0,79Al0,21OOH (alta vertente), alfaFe0,75Al0,25OOH (meia vertente) e alfaFe0,78Al0,22OOH (baixa vertente). A dinâmica de transformação dos óxidos de ferro nos horizontes B ao longo da vertente é um indicador das oscilações paleoclimáticas na área: goethita mais aluminosa é um indicador do paleoambiente úmido, e goethita menos aluminosa revela condições pedogênicas mais secas.<br>The objective of this work was to characterize iron oxides from B-horizons of three soil profiles developing on gneiss of the Bação Complex geodomain in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Samples were collected from the uppest, middle and lowest segments along the slope. The earth fine fractions (mean diameter, phi = 2 mm) were separated for all samples. The chemical composition of the major elements was determined with the X-ray fluorescence technique; the mineralogical analysis was performed with powder X-ray diffractomer and Mössbauer spectroscopy. All samples have similar mineralogical composition, with a general occurrence corresponding to the sequence quartz >> gibbsite > kaolinite > goethite. From the 4.2 K-Mössbauer results, the coexistence of goethite (major) and hematite is confirmed. The isomorphic aluminum contents, as they were deduced from the hyperfine fields, lead to the following chemical formulas for goethites: alphaFe0.79Al0.21OOH (upslope), alphaFe0.75Al0.25OOH (midslope) and alphaFe0.78Al0.22OOH (downslope). The iron oxides transformation dynamics in B horizons along the slope is a useful indicator of the paleo-climatic oscillations in this area: aluminous goethite is an indicator of humid paleo-environments, whereas aluminous-poorer goethite reveals drier pedogenic conditions