The disparity between species description and conservation assessment: A case study in taxa with high rates of species discovery

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Red List) details the extinction risk of the world's species and presents an important biodiversity indicator for conservation policy. Its continued utility relies on it containing up-to-date information on the extinction risk of species. This requires both regular reassessments and the timely assessment of newly described species. We provide an overview of the status of amphibian Red List assessments to highlight the difficulties of keeping assessments updated for species groups with high rates of species description. Since the publication of the IUCN's Global Amphibian Assessment in 2004, description rates of new species and assessment rates were initially similar; yet while the former has remained consistent, the latter has recently sharply declined. Currently 61.3% of amphibian species are either Not Evaluated or have out-of-date assessments. The situation is particularly problematic in countries with the richest amphibian diversity, which typically have the highest rates of amphibian species discovery and face the greatest threats. Efforts to keep the Red List up-to-date are primarily limited by funding, we estimate that an annual investment of US $170,478–$319,290 is needed to have an up-to-date Red List for amphibians. We propose suggestions to increase assessment rates by improving the availability of data relevant to the process: authors of species descriptions or taxonomic revisions should publish information relevant to Red List assessments. Taxonomic journals should suggest inclusion of such information in their author guidelines. We suggest that contributors with significant input into assessments should be rewarded with co-authorship of published assessments

Intoxicação por monofluoroacetato em animais

O monofluoroacetato (MF) ou ácido monofluoroacético é utilizado na Austrália e Nova Zelândia no controle populacional de mamíferos nativos ou exóticos. O uso desse composto é proibido no Brasil, devido ao risco de intoxicação de seres humanos e de animais, uma vez que a substância permanece estável por décadas. No Brasil casos recentes de intoxicação criminosa ou acidental têm sido registrados. MF foi identificado em diversas plantas tóxicas, cuja ingestão determina "morte súbita"; de bovinos na África do Sul, Austrália e no Brasil. O modo de ação dessa substância baseia-se na formação do fluorocitrato, seu metabólito ativo, que bloqueia competitivamente a aconitase e o ciclo de Krebs, o que reduz produção de ATP. As espécies animais têm sido classificadas nas quatro Categorias em função do efeito provocado por MF: (I) no coração, (II) no sistema nervoso central (III) sobre o coração e sistema nervoso central ou (IV) com sintomatologia atípica. Neste trabalho, apresenta-se uma revisão crítica atualizada sobre essa substância. O diagnóstico da intoxicação por MF é realizado pelo histórico de ingestão do tóxico, pelos achados clínicos e confirmado por exame toxicológico. Uma forma peculiar de degeneração hidrópico-vacuolar das células epiteliais dos túbulos uriníferos contorcidos distais tem sido considerada como característica dessa intoxicação em algumas espécies. O tratamento da intoxicação por MF é um desafio, pois ainda não se conhece um agente capaz de reverte-la de maneira eficaz; o desfecho geralmente é fata

Revision of Litoria rothii (Anura: Pelodryadidae) from northern Australia

Donnellan, S.C., Catullo, R.A., Rowley, J.J.L., Doughty, P., Price, L., Hines, H.B., Richards, S.J. (2023): Revision of Litoria rothii (Anura: Pelodryadidae) from northern Australia. Zootaxa 5352 (1): 73-108, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5352.1.3, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5352.1.

FIGURE 9 in Revision of Litoria rothii (Anura: Pelodryadidae) from northern Australia

FIGURE 9. Photos in life of Litoria ridibunda sp. nov. from A) Wyndham, WA (Marion Anstis); B) WAM R167789, Surveyors Pool, Mitchell Plateau, WA (Paul Doughty); C) Red Cone Creek, WA (Paul Doughty); D) Channel Island Road, outer Darwin, NT (Stephen Richards); E) Ringwood, NT (Stephen Richards); F) Fogg Dam, NT (Matt Greenlees); G) Mitchell Plateau, WA (Jen Francis).Published as part of <i>Donnellan, S.C., Catullo, R.A., Rowley, J.J.L., Doughty, P., Price, L., Hines, H.B. & Richards, S.J., 2023, Revision of Litoria rothii (Anura: Pelodryadidae) from northern Australia, pp. 73-108 in Zootaxa 5352 (1)</i> on page 100, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5352.1.3, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/8406992">http://zenodo.org/record/8406992</a&gt

FIGURE 8 in Revision of Litoria rothii (Anura: Pelodryadidae) from northern Australia

FIGURE 8. Holotype of L. ridibunda sp. nov. (NTM R36917) in life: A) latero-dorsal view (Stephen Richards), B) laterodorsal view of head (Stephen Richards), C) posterior of thigh (Stephen Richards), D) groin (Stephen Richards), E) plantar view of foot, F) palmar view of hand.Published as part of <i>Donnellan, S.C., Catullo, R.A., Rowley, J.J.L., Doughty, P., Price, L., Hines, H.B. & Richards, S.J., 2023, Revision of Litoria rothii (Anura: Pelodryadidae) from northern Australia, pp. 73-108 in Zootaxa 5352 (1)</i> on page 99, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5352.1.3, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/8406992">http://zenodo.org/record/8406992</a&gt

The tadpoles of five Megophrys Horned frogs (Amphibia: Megophryidae) from the Hoang Lien Range, Vietnam

Frogs in the genus Megophrys are an Asian radiation of stream-breeding frogs. The tadpoles of many Megophrys species are undescribed; those that are described are often dubiously allocated to species by association with post metamorphic specimens at collection sites and without supportive molecular data. We provide detailed descriptions of the larvae of five species of Megophrys from the Hoang Lien Range in northwest Vietnam: Megophrys fansipanensis, M. gigantica, M. hoanglienensis, M. jingdongensis and M. maosonensis. Tadpoles from different subgenera differ from each other via a combination of patternation in life, oral disc shape and tail morphology but given the small sample size, and limited number of species it is unlikely that these differences can be applied more widely to delineate subgenera. Morphological differences between tadpoles from species within the subgenus Panophrys were insufficient to clearly delineate all species. The ability to identify tadpoles is likely to advance our understanding of the frog fauna in mainland southeast Asia

The Vietnamese population of Megophrys kuatunensis (Amphibia: Megophryidae) represents a new species of Asian horned frog from Vietnam and southern China

The Asian frog genus Megophrys is a diverse group of morphologically conserved, forest-dwelling frogs. The genus harbours highly localised species diversification and new species continue to be described on a regular basis. We examined the taxonomic status of a population of Megophrys frogs from the Hoang Lien Range in northern Vietnam and southern China previously identified as M. kuatunensis (subgenus Panophrys). Preliminary phylogenetic analyses using a fragment of 16S rDNA places the species in question within the Megophrys (subgenus Panophrys) species group, a primarily Chinese radiation within the genus. On the basis of morphological, molecular and bioacoustic data, we conclude that this population does not represent M. kuatunensis, or any known species in the genus. We herein describe this species of Megophrys as new. Known only from Sa Pa District, Lao Cai Province in Vietnam and Jinping County, Yunnan Province in China, the new species is likely to be threatened by ongoing deforestation in the region. We provide an updated species description of M. kuatunensis based on type specimens, and suggest that M. kuatunensis is likely to be restricted to eastern China