Larval chondrocranial and internal oral morphology of the neotropical treefrog Boana crepitans (Wied-Neuwied, 1824; Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae).

We describe the internal oral morphology and chondrocranial anatomy for Boana crepitans tadpoles, and compare them with available descriptions for other species in the subfamily Cophomantinae. Among species of the Boana faber group, the chondrocranial anatomy has been reported only for one species internal oral morphology and cranial anatomy are similar to other described species of Boana and Cophomantinae. B. crepitans lacks unique features in the oral cavity and chondrocranium that would distinguish it from other congeneric species. We identify six characters from the internal oral anatomy of tadpoles unique for Cophomantinae. In addition, Boana has infralabial papillae projections, buccal floor arena papillae, and lateral ridge papillae projections shorter than those described for Aplastodiscus and Bokermannohyla.

Cytogenetic and genetic data support Crossodactylus aeneus Müller, 1924 as a new junior synonym of C. gaudichaudii Duméril and Bibron, 1841 (Amphibia, Anura).

The nominal anuran species Crossodactylus gaudichaudii Duméril and Bibron, 1841 and Crossodactylus aeneus Müller, 1924 are indistinguishable based on adult and larval morphology, being subject of taxonomic doubts. Here, we describe the karyotypes of C. gaudichaudii and C. aeneus, using classical and molecular cytogenetic markers. In addition, we used sequences of the H1 mitochondrial DNA to infer their phylogenetic relationships by Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Maximum Parsimony (MP) approaches and species delimitation test (by bPTP approach). The karyotypic data do not differentiate C. gaudichaudii and C. aeneus in any of the chromosome markers assessed. In both phylogenetic analyses, C. gaudichaudii and C. aeneus were recovered into a strongly supported clade. The species delimitation analysis recovered the specimens assigned to C. gaudichaudii and C. aeneus as a single taxonomic unit. Taken the cytogenetic and genetic results together with previous studies of internal and external morphology of tadpoles and biacoustic pattern, C. gaudichaudii and C. aeneus could not be differentiated, which supports the hypothesis that they correspond to the same taxonomic unit, with C. aeneus being a junior synonym of C. gaudichaudii.

Comparative analysis of the chondrocranium and hyobranchial skeleton of bromeliad arboreal frog larvae of the genus Phyllodytes Wagler, 1830 (Anura, Hylidae).

The genus Phyllodytes comprises 15 species, ten of them having their tadpole external morphology described in the literature. However, there are few descriptive studies on chondrocranium and hyobranchial skeleton. In this work, we describe the chondrocranium and hyobranchial skeleton of Phyllodytes larvae and discuss shared features and interspecific variation. Our findings suggest that the skeletal morphology is mostly conserved in the genus, with common features including a single suprarostral cartilage, short infrarostral cartilages, and overall short trabecular horns. Main intrageneric variations include the arrangement of the ascending process, the presence of larval otic process, and the configuration of the crista parotica. These variations are not correlated with the phylogenetic structure of the genus. Some distinctive aspects of P. praeceptor and P. gyrinaethes are also described in tadpoles of Osteopilus ocellatus, and could be related to oophagous habits in these tadpoles.

Anurans of the Parque Estadual do Mirador, a remnant of Cerrado in the state of Maranhão, Northeastern Brazil / Anfíbios anuros do Parque Estadual do Mirador, um remanescente de Cerrado no estado do Maranhão, nordeste do Brasil

Abstract The Cerrado is one of the most threatened biomes in Brazil. It is estimated that much of its original vegetation has been replaced by some type of human use. This is quite worrying, mainly in the northern part where the number of wildlife inventories is insufficient and creates the false impression of low diversity in the region. The Parque Estadual do Mirador-PEM, located in the south-central region of the state of Maranhão, presents vegetation typical of the Cerrado biome and corresponds to one of 46 priority areas for conservation in the state. Herein, we describe the species richness and composition of the anurofauna from the PEM and analyze the influence of different types of vegetation in its formation. Our inventory was conducted from December 2013 to February 2015, using the active search and auditory census methods on breeding sites in different water bodies of the park. We recorded 31 anuran species belonging to five families (species number in parentheses): Leptodactylidae (14), Hylidae (12), Bufonidae (3), Microhylidae (1) and Phyllomedusidae (1). The rarefaction curve and species richness estimators indicated that the sampling effort was enough to record most of the species in the region. The richness of anurans in the PEM was higher than reported by other authors for several areas of Cerrado. Most species have a wide distribution in Brazil or are strongly associated with the Caatinga or Amazon biomes. Only about 19% are endemic to the Cerrado biome. This study is the first to inventory the anurans species of the south-central region of state of Maranhão and provides important data on amphibian communities from the northern part of the Brazilian Cerrado.

Resumo O Cerrado é um dos biomas mais ameaçados do Brasil. Estima-se que grande parte da cobertura vegetal original deste bioma tenha sido substituída por alguma forma de utilização humana. Este fato é bastante preocupante, principalmente na porção norte, onde o número de inventários faunísticos é insuficiente e gera a falsa impressão de baixa diversidade na região. O Parque Estadual do Mirador-PEM, localizado na região centro-meridional do Maranhão, apresenta vegetação típica do Cerrado e corresponde a uma das 46 áreas prioritárias para conservação no estado. Aqui, nós descrevemos a riqueza e a composição da anurofauna no PEM, analisando a influência dos diferentes tipos vegetacionais na sua formação. Inventariamos a anurofauna de dezembro de 2013 a fevereiro de 2015, utilizando métodos de procura ativa e censo auditivo em sítios reprodutivos de diferentes corpos d'água do parque. Registramos 31 espécies de anuros, pertencentes a cinco famílias (números de espécies entre parênteses): Leptodactylidae (14), Hylidae (12), Bufonidae (3), Microhylidae (1) e Phyllomedusidae (1). A curva de rarefação e os estimadores de riqueza indicaram que o esforço amostral foi suficiente para registrar a maior parte das espécies da região. A riqueza de anuros no PEM foi maior que a registrada por outros autores em diversas áreas de Cerrado. A maioria das espécies possuem ampla distribuição no Brasil ou são fortemente associadas aos biomas Caatinga ou Amazônia. Somente cerca de 19% são endêmicas do bioma Cerrado. O presente trabalho representa o primeiro estudo a inventariar as espécies de anfíbios anuros na região Centro-Sul do Maranhão e fornece dados importante sobre as comunidades de anfíbios da porção norte do Cerrado brasileiro.

Evaluation of the taxonomic status of populations assigned to Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis (Anura, Hylidae, Phyllomedusinae) based on molecular, chromosomal, and morphological approach.

BACKGROUND: The taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships of the genus Phyllomedusa have been amply discussed. The marked morphological similarities among some species hamper the reliable identification of specimens and may often lead to their incorrect taxonomic classification on the sole basis of morphological traits. Phenotypic variation was observed among populations assigned to either P. azurea or P. hypochondrialis. In order to evaluate whether the variation observed in populations assigned to P. hypochondrialis is related to that in genotypes, a cytogenetic analysis was combined with phylogenetic inferences based on mitochondrial and nuclear sequences. RESULTS: The inter- and intra-population variation in the external morphology observed among the specimens analyzed in the present study do not reflect the phylogenetic relationships among populations. A monophyletic clade was recovered, grouping all the specimens identified as P. hypochondrialis and specimens assigned P. azurea from Minas Gerais state. This clade is characterized by conserved chromosomal morphology and a common C-banding pattern. Extensive variation in the nucleolar organizing region (NOR) was observed among populations, with four distinct NOR positions being recognized in the karyotypes. Intra-population polymorphism of the additional rDNA clusters observed in specimens from Barreiras, Bahia state, also highlights the marked genomic instability of the rDNA in the genome of this group. Based on the topology obtained in the phylogenetic analyses, the re-evaluation of the taxonomic status of the specimens from the southernmost population known in Brazil is recommended. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support the need for a thorough revision of the phenotypic features used to discriminate P. azurea and P. hypochondrialis. The phylogenetic data presented here also contribute to an extension of the geographic range of P. hypochondrialis, which is known to occur in the Amazon basin and neighboring areas of the Cerrado savanna, where it may be sympatric with P. azurea, within contact zones. The misidentification of specimens may have led to inconsistencies in the original definition of the geographic range of P. azurea. The variability observed in the NOR of P. hypochondrialis reinforces the conclusion that these sites represent hotspots of rearrangement. Intraspecific variation in the location of these sites is the result of constant rearrangements that are not detected by classical cytogenetic methods or are traits of an ancestral, polymorphic karyotype, which would not be phylogenetically informative for this group.

A survey of the internal oral morphology in larvae of the genus Hylodes Fitzinger, 1826 (Amphibia, Anura, Hylodidae).

From the 24 species allocated in the genus Hylodes, 16 have their tadpoles described, which five have information on the oral anatomy. Herein, the internal oral morphology of the tadpoles of H. dactylocinus, H. heyeri, H. aff. lateristrigatus, H. magalhaesi, H. meridionalis, H. phyllodes, H. sazimai, and H. uai is described, along with comparisons among all species in the genus with previously known oral morphology.

Internal oral morphology in larvae of the genus Rhinella Fitzinger, 1826 (Amphibia, Anura, Bufonidae) .

From the 86 species allocated in the genus Rhinella, 25 have their tadpoles described and only R. arenarum, R. chrysophora, R. icterica, R. ornata, R. schneideri and R. spinulosa have aspects of the internal oral morphology evidenced. Herein, the internal oral morphology from 12 species of Rhinella distributed between the morphological groups of R. crucifer, R. granulosa, R. marina and R margaritifera is described and compared. The internal oral morphology of Rhinella is little variable in many aspects. Despite the many similarities found between the tadpoles of Rhinella, the study showed that there are characteristics that exhibit interspecific variation that can be used in the taxonomy of the genus. Important features to distinguish species were: number of infrarrostral projections; number and shape of the infralabial papillae; size, arrangement, shape and apex of the lingual papillae; shape of the buccal floor arena papillae; number of projections of the ventral velum; shape of the prenarial ridge; choanae arrangement; number and apex of the postnarial papillae; number and shape of the secondary branches on the lateral ridge papilla; buccal roof arena papillae arrangement.