Arzabe, C.

Vieira, K. S.

Vieira, W. L. S.

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       55 Check List 2006: 2(2) ISSN: 1809-127X  NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION Amphibia,  Leptodactylidae,  Leptodactylus caatingae: geographical distribution extension  Washington Luiz da Silva Vieira1 Cristina Arzabe2  Kleber da Silva Vieira1  1Programa  de  Pós-Graduação  em  Ciências Biológicas (Zoologia), Coleção Herpetológica do Departamento  de  Sistemática  e  Ecologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Campus I, João Pessoa,  PB,  Brazil;  e-mail: wlsvieira@yahoo.com.br; ksvieira@yahoo.com.br  2EMBRAPA  Meio-  Norte/UEP  Parnaíba,  Caixa Postal 341, CEP 64200-970, Parnaíba, PI, Brazil.   The unpredictable climate of the Caatinga and the poorly  studied  fauna  has  failed  to  produce sufficient information on the population status of many  species.  This  has  lead  to  difficulties involving conservation plans for this environment (NatureServe 2004). Great areas of Caatinga have never  been  sampled,  and  new  species  have recently  been  described.  The  museums  possess few  specimens  collected  in  this  biome,  which makes it difficult to analyze the biogeography of the  great  majority  of  anuran  species  from  the Caatinga (Borges-Nojosa and Arzabe 2005).  The  species  Leptodactylus  caatingae  was described  by  Heyer  and  Juncá  (2003)  based  on specimens  proceeding  from  Juazeiro,  State  of Bahia  (09o25'S,  40o30'W),  collected  by  A.J. Cardoso  in  March  1990.  This  species  is morphologically  similar  to  L.  latinasus  Espada 1875, however, the respective advertisement calls are  quite  different  (Heyer  and  Juncá  2003). According to these authors, L. caatingae is known from  a  few  areas  in  northeastern  Brazil,  the majority located in the Caatinga Domain, States of Bahia and Pernambuco, and from a locality in the Atlantic Forest of the State of Espírito Santo.  During fieldwork carried out from January, 2003 to June, 2005, temporary ponds were visited in the Estação  Experimental  de  São  João  do  Cariri  - EESJC (07o25'S, 36o30'W) and in the Olho D'água Farm  (07o22'S,  36o31'W),  both  located  in  the municipality of São  João do Cariri  (07º29'34"S, 36º41'53"W),  State  of  Paraíba,  northeastern Brazil. Individuals of L. caatingae (Figure 1) were found  in  these  temporary  ponds  and  identified based on the original description. The specimens were deposited in the Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro  (MNRJ40825,  MNRJ40826, MNRJ40827)  and  in  the  Coleção  Herpetológica do  Departamento  de  Sistemática  e  Ecologia  da Universidade Federal  da  Paraíba  (UFPB  4310  – 4314), Brazil.   Figure 1. Leptodactylus caatingae, MNRJ40825, at  municipality  of  São  João  do  Cariri,  state  of Paraíba, Brazil. Photo by Cláudio Sampaio.  This  record  for  L.  caatingae  in  the  State  of Paraíba extends the distribution of this species by 490 km northward from the type locality (Figure 2). Moreover, specimens of L. latinasus collected in  the  Bravo  Farm,  municipality  of  Cabaceiras, State  of  Paraíba  (7º22’S,  36º15’W),  located approximately  20  Km  from  the  municipality  of São  João  do  Cariri,  by  Cascon  (1987)  (UFPB 1935), are morphologically similar to individuals collected in the present study and can probably be assigned to L. caatingae.  The  geographic  distribution  of  L.  caatingae    is restricted to northeastern Brazil (Heyer and Juncá 2003), more specifically to the Caatinga domain. However, due to the samples collected in the State of Espírito Santo it is likely that L. caatingae is distributed throughout the Caatinga and may also occur in open areas of the Atlantic Forest.   Data  on  the  ecology  and  natural  history  of  L. caatingae  is  scarce.  In  the  studied  area, individuals were observed calling from the ground        56 Check List 2006: 2(2) ISSN: 1809-127X  NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION beneath  bromeliads  and  tree  trunks,  inside burrows built by the male and in cracks alongside lagoons  and  temporary  ponds.  The  vocalization period  was  restricted  to  the  rainy  season,  and occurred during four to  six  months of the year. The vocalization activity occurred exclusively at night, totaling ten hours, between 5:30 P.M. and 2:30  A.M.  of  the  following  day.  Larval characteristics  and  karyotype  are  still  unknown for this species.   Figure  2.  Map  of  the  distribution  of Leptodactylus  caatingae  indicating  the  localities of  register  of  the  species.  The  black  square indicates the area where it was first registered and the triangle indicates new register in the State of Paraíba, Brazil. Other localites by white square.   Acknowledgements We  thank  the  Programa  de  Pós-graduação  em Ciências  Biológicas  (área  de  concentração  em zoologia) of the Universidade Federal da Paraíba, the  Conselho  Nacional  de  Desenvolvimento Científico  e  Tecnológico  (CNPq)  and  the Pesquisas  Ecológicas  de  Longa  Duração (PELD/Caatinga:  estrutura  e  funcionamento)  for financial  support.  We  also  thank  the  Instituto Brasileiro  de  Meio  ambiente  e  dos  Recursos Naturais Renováveis (IBAMA) for authorizing the capture of the specimens (02016.002264/02 – 35). The Estação Experimental de São João do Cariri – EESJC  provided  logistic  support  during  the assessment  period  and  the  Cláudio  Sampaio  for the photograph of Leptodactylus caatingae.  Literature cited Borges-Nojosa,  M.D.  and  C.  Arzabe.  2005. Diversidade  de  anfíbios  e  répteis  em  áreas prioritárias  para  a  conservação  da  caatinga. Pp 234 – 295. In F.S. Araújo, M.J.N. Rodal, and  M.R.V.  Barbosa,  (eds.).  Análise  das variações  da  biodiversidade  do  bioma caatinga:  Suporte  a  estratégias  regionais  de conservação. Ministério do Meio Ambiente, Brasília, DF.  Cascon, P. 1987. Observações sobre Diversidade, ecologia e reprodução na anurofauna de uma área  de  caatinga.  Unpublished  M.Sc. Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Brazil. 64p. Heyer, W.R. and F.A. Juncá. 2003. Leptodactylus caatingae, a new species of frog from eastern Brazil  (Amphibia:  Anura:  Leptodactylidae). Proceedings  of  the  Biological  Society  of Washington 116 (2): 317-329. NatureServe.  (2004).  InfoNatura:  Birds, mammals, and amphibians of Latin America [web  application].  2004.  Version  4.1. Arlington,  Virginia  (USA): http://www.natureserve.org/infonatura. Captured on 01 June 2006.  Received June 2006 Accepted August 2006 Published online August 2006  

Amphibia, Leptodactylidae, <i>Leptodactylus caatingae</i>: geographical distribution extension

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