Amphibian Diversity: Where everything starts to flood, Cáceres Municipality, North Pantanal, Central-West Brazil

Faunal inventories contribute to our understanding of regional diversity, and are fundamental for policy and decision-making regarding the management and conservation of large natural areas. This study aimed to inventory and compile information on amphibian species occurring in the North Pantanal region, in the municipal limits of Cáceres, Mato Grosso, Brazil. We used three methods to inventory amphibian species: (1) fieldwork, (2) analysis of specimens deposited in scientific collections, and (3) literature reviews. We registered 49 amphibian species in Cáceres. Of them, 48 species belonged to the Anura order and were distributed across eight families and 20 genera, and one species belonged to the Gymnophiona order (Siphonops paulensis). The families Leptodactylidae (20 spp.) and Hylidae (17 spp.) were dominant in terms of richness, accounting for 75.5% of all species found in Cáceres. The remaining families had between four and one species each. The municipality is strongly influenced by non-forested formations (e.g., the Cerrado and Pantanal) and presents a high species richness for a non-forested location in Brazil. Our findings highlight Cáceres as one of the richest areas in amphibian species in the North Pantanal region, expanding our knowledge regarding frog diversity. This study provides a foundation for future conservation strategies and additional assessments of amphibian species in light of potential population declines and other emerging threats

Geographic range extension of Elachistocleis corumbaensis Piva, Caramaschi & Albuquerque, 2017 (Anura, Microhylidae) with new records in ecotonal zones in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil

Elachistocleis corumbaensis was documented in 2017 in the central region of the Brazilian Pantanal and no other record of the species has since been reported. In this study, we report on the extension of the geographic range of E. corumbaensis based on 4 new records found in the riparian forests of the Paraguay River, in the state of Mato Grosso. Of these, 1 specimen was collected in a protected area in the Pantanal. We also report on the presence of this species in the ecotones between the Pantanal, Cerrado, and Amazonia, which suggests that E. corumbaensis is associated with seasonally flooded forests but more widely distributed in western Brazil than previously reported

New records and distribution map of Gold-striped Frog, Lithodytes lineatus (Schneider, 1799) (Anura, Leptodactylidae), in an ecotonal zone in Mato Grosso, Brazil

Lithodytes lineatus (Schneider, 1799) is a small, litter-dwelling frog widely distributed in the Amazon Ecoregion and some transitional areas between the Amazon and Cerrado. Here we report seven new records of this species in a transitional zone between Amazon, Chiquitano Dry Forest and Cerrado ecoregions in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. These are the southernmost records of the species, expanding its distribution in 320 km from the nearest record in Bolivia

Amphibian Diversity: Where everything starts to flood, Cáceres Municipality, North Pantanal, Central-West Brazil

Silva-Alves, Vancleber Divino, Neves, Matheus Oliveira, Seba, Mariany de Fatima Rocha, Filho, Manoel dos Santos, Silva, Dionei José da (2023): Amphibian Diversity: Where everything starts to flood, Cáceres Municipality, North Pantanal, Central-West Brazil. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 63: 1-12, DOI: 10.11606/1807-0205/2023.63.033, URL: https://www.revistas.usp.br/paz/article/view/20134

New records of Apostolepis kikoi Santos et al., 2018 (Serpentes, Dipsadidae) in the state of Mato Grosso, Central-West Brazil

The fossorial snake Apostolepis kikoi Santos et al., 2018 is known only from its type locality, in Chapada dos Guimarães, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Here, we present the first records of this species after its description, expanding its distribution to transition areas between the Amazon and Cerrado biomes, in the southwestern portion of Mato Grosso. The new record expands the known distribution of A. kikoi by 297 km west from the type locality. In addition, we provide data on morphological variation by comparing our sample with the type series

New records amplify the geographical distribution of Rondonops biscutatus Colli et al., 2015 (Squamata, Sauria, Gymnophthalmidae) into the Paraguay river basin, Mato Grosso, Brazil

Rondonops biscutatus is a gymnophthalmid litter-lizard which occurs in the Amazon rainforests and the transitional areas between Amazonia and Cerrado. This species’ distribution is strongly biased by a lack of data, possibly because it was recently described, small-bodied, and living in cryptic habits. Here, we present occurrence data of six specimens from four locations in transitional areas between forests in Amazonia and Cerrado (central Brazil), in the upper Paraguay River, at the northern end of the Pantanal, midwestern Brazil. We expand the distribution of this species 507 km east from its original range.