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Family Corethrellidae has a worldwide distribution with most known extant species occurring in the Neotropics, many with only the adult stages described. Despite previous efforts, one remaining problem in the taxonomy of Corethrellidae is the challenge of delimiting species due to the current range of morphological characters included in descriptions to date. This paper discusses additional morphological evidence to distinguish species and their phylogenetic relationships. Together with fresh samples collected in Bahia, the only state in the Northeast Region with records of corethrellids, and slide-mounted specimens from other regions, five new species are described: Corethrella pindorama sp. nov., C. patasho sp. nov., C. fuscifimbria sp. nov. and C. unifasciata sp. nov. based on female adults; and C. bifida sp. nov. based on male and female adults, and larval and pupal exuviae. We also provide complementary descriptions comprising the novel characters for 33 previously described species, including the immature stages of nine. Fifteen species are newly recorded for Bahia and the Northeast Region, of which two are new records for Brazil. Additionally, we provide remarks about the biology of species, an updated list of species recorded in Brazil and an updated taxonomic key of New World species, modified from Borkent (2008).
We describe the frog species Diasporus citrinobapheussp. n. from the Cordillera Central of western Panama. The new species differs from all other species in its genus in coloration, disk cover and disk pad shape, skin texture, advertisement call, and size. It is most similar to Diasporus tigrillo, from which it differs in dorsal skin texture, relative tibia length, number of vomerine teeth, ventral coloration, dorsal markings, and relative tympanum size, and to Diasporus gularis, from which it can be distinguished by the lack of membranes between the toes, adult size, posterior thigh coloration, and position of the choanae. We provide data on morpho- logy, vocalization, and distribution of the new species, as well as brief information on its natural history.
During field work along a transect in the Cordillera Central of western Panama between 2008 and 2010, we detected several populations of amphibian species which are considered as “Endangered” or “Critically Endangered” by the IUCN. Some of these species had suffered from serious population declines, probably due to chytridiomycosis, but all are generally threatened by habitat loss. We detected 53% of the Endangered and 56% of the Critically Endangered amphibian species that have previously been reported from within the investigated area. We report on findings of species that have not been found in Panama for many years, and provide locality data of newly discovered populations. There is a need to create a new protected area in the Cerro Colorado area of the Serranía de Tabasará, where we found 15% of the Endangered and Critically Endangered amphibian species known to Panama.
In an elevational gradient, the mountain top generally presents a reduced species diversity. However, it is there where we often find microendemic and quite often still undescribed species. That prediction is very common in underexplored Neotropical mountains, like those of the Caparaó National Park – a protected area that includes the highest peak of the Atlantic Forest, a megadiverse domain. Up in its top, we found a dwarf frog of the genus Physalaemus (Anura, Leptodactylidae, Leiuperinae), belonging to the P. signifer clade. After an integrative (morphological, bioacoustical, and genetic) analysis, we were able to describe it as a new species and found it to be sister to P. maculiventris. Due to its very restricted distribution at a site with extreme environmental conditions (which includes fires and frosts) and current instability in national environmental policy, we suggest this to be classified as an endangered species. A brief description of its natural history and the description of the species itself will now enable its proper conservation status categorization and the future planning for conservation actions.
Atelopus is a species-rich group of Neotropical bufonids. Present knowledge on bioacoustics in this genus is relatively poor, as vocalisations have been described in only about one fifth of the ca. 100 species known. All studied members of the genus produce vocalisations although, with a few exceptions, most species lack a middle ear. Nonetheless, hearing has been demonstrated even in earless Atelopus making bioacoustics in these toads an inspiring research field. So far, three structural call types have been identified in the genus. As sympatry is uncommon in Atelopus, calls of the same type often vary little between species. Based on recordings from the 1980s, we describe vocalisations of three Venezuelan species (A. carbonerensis, A. mucubajiensis, A. tamaense) from the Cordillera de Mérida, commonly known as the Andes of Venezuela and the Tamá Massif, a Venezuelan spur of the Colombian Cordillera Oriental. Vocalisations correspond, in part, to the previously identified call types in Atelopus. Evaluation of the vocalisations of the three species presented in this study leads us to recognise a fourth structural call type for the genus. With this new addition, the Atelopus acoustic repertoire now includes (1) pulsed calls, (2) pure tone calls, (3) pulsed short calls and (4) pure tone short calls. The call descriptions provided here are valuable contributions to the bioacoustics of these Venezuelan Atelopus species, since all of them have experienced dramatic population declines that limit possibilities of further studies.