Rediscovery of the enigmatic Andean frog Telmatobius halli Noble (Anura: Telmatobiidae), re-description of the tadpole and comments on new adult's characters, type locality and conservation status.

We report the rediscovery of Telmatobius halli (Hall's water frog), which had not been found since its description (over 80 years) since its type locality was not clearly established. "Aguas Calientes" near Ollagüe is hypothesized as the original type locality where Frank Gregory Hall collected the type material in 1935. The tadpole is re-described, and new data on the external and internal morphology of adults is provided. These new morphological data are compared with Telmatobius spp. inhabiting geographically close to T. halli in Chile and Bolivia. In addition, comments on its ecology, conservation, and taxonomic status in relation with other Telmatobius spp. inhabiting nearby areas in Ascotán and Carcote salt pans are provided. No evidence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and Ranavirus infection was found in T. halli and a sympatric amphibian species. Our work supports the validity of T. halli and suggests this species should be considered as Data Deficient in the IUCN Red List assessment until taxonomic issues are resolved.

Population genetics of the Chilean frog Batrachyla leptopus (Leptodactylidae)

A variaçäo eletroforética de proteínas codificadas por 14 loci foi analisada em oito populaçöes (5 continentais e 3 insulares) da rä leptodactilídea chilena Batrachyla leptopus. A proporçäo geral de loci polimórficos foi estimada como sendo de 18,7 por cento e o número médio de alelos por loco, 1,2, enquanto que as heterozigosidades observada e esperada foram 1,7 e 5,1 por cento, respectivamente. O coeficiente esperado de identidade genética foi 0,940; o número correspondente para a distância genética foi 0,063. A análise estatística F mostrou um coeficiente de endogamia total (Fit) de 0,855 e altos níveis de subdivisäo genética (Fst=0,596), assim como de endogamia dentro das populaçöes (Fis=0,640). Contudo, houve apenas um nível moderado de diferenciaçäo genética (Fst=0,181) entre o grupo insular de populaçöes e o grupo continental.

Heteromorphic sex chromosomes in Eupsophus insularis (Amphibia: Anura: Leptodactylidae).

The chromosomes of the Chilean frog Eupsophus insularis are described for the first time. This species has a chromosome number of 2n = 30, and based on the karyotype it is concluded that E. insularis is closely related to E. migueli. E. insularis has an XX/XY system of sex determination, and pericentromeric constitutive heterochromatin is present in all chromosomes except in the Y chromosome. It is postulated that the Y chromosome is derived from a small ancestral metacentric chromosome that lost its heterochromatic segment.