A hallmark of the Anthropocene is global increases in population losses and species' extinctions. Threats to biodiversity will grow with continued human impacts on land use, climate change, and the emergence of wildlife infectious diseases (Johnson et al., 2017). Amphibians are a particularly vulnerable group with many species already showing population declines, shrinking distributions, and presumed extinctions (Becker, Fonseca, Haddad, Batista, &

The Brazilian Atlantic coastal forest is one of the most heterogeneous morphoclimatic domains on earth and is thus an excellent region in which to examine the role that habitat heterogeneity plays in shaping diversification of lineages and species. Here we present a molecular phylogeny of the rock frogs of the genus Thoropa Cope, 1865, native to the Atlantic forest and extending to adjacent campo rupestre of Brazil. The goal of this study is to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the genus using multilocus molecular phylogenetic analyses. Our topology reveals 12 highly supported lineages among the four nominal species included in the study. Species T. saxatilis and T. megatympanum are monophyletic. Thoropa taophora is also monophyletic, but nested within T. miliaris. Populations of T. miliaris cluster in five geographically distinct lineages, with low support for relationships among them. Although all 12 lineages are geographically structured, some T. miliaris lineages have syntopic distributions with others, likely reflecting a secondary contact zone between divergent lineages. We discuss a biogeographic scenario that best explains the order of divergence and the distribution of species in Atlantic forest and adjacent areas, and outline the implications of our findings for the taxonomy of Thoropa.

Amphibian parasites of the Order Dermocystida (Ichthyosporea) are widespread pathogens known mainly from Europe and North America, which cause primarily a disease of skin and subcutaneous tissue in their hosts. The taxonomy of these organisms has been problematic given their conserved morphology, similar clinical disease and pathology. Currently recognized taxa belong to the three closely related genera, Amphibiocystidium, Amphibiothecum, and Rhinosporidium, whereas species of Dermocystidium and Sphaerothecum destruens include fish parasites. Here, we review the taxonomy of Dermocystida based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis, principally of amphibian parasites, including DNA sequences obtained from amphibian hosts collected in the central-eastern region of South America. A new taxonomic arrangement is proposed, which includes the designation of type material for Dermocystidium pusula, synonymization of Amphibiothecum with Dermocystidium, and the restriction of Amphibiocystidium to its type species A. ranae. We also review the taxonomic status of Dermosporidium hylarum until the present work included in the synonymy of the human and animal pathogen R. seeberi, and considered herein as a valid taxon, however. In addition, a new species of Sphaerothecum parasitic to amphibians is described, being the first record of this genus in the southern hemisphere and in an amphibian host.

Abstract:We surveyed anuran amphibians in a riparian forest fragment of the Córrego do Espraiado, located at the Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Municipality of São Carlos, state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. During March 2009 and February 2010 we did weekly surveys in which we recorded 13 anuran species. The species showed a seasonal reproductive activity. In addition, we found a positive correlation between the number of reproductively active species and photoperiod. We also found that the studied community was more similar to those of transitional areas between the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado than those of the nearby Cerrado fragments.

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The evolutionary success of anurans can be partially explained by the occurrence of free-living larvae. Tadpoles occupy several distict habitats, including the terrestrial environment. Semiterrestriality appears to have evolved seven times in anurans, and tadpoles of distantly related lineages have converged in a set of phenotypic characters, such as a depressed body, ventral mouth, massive, well-keratinized and laterally compressed jaw sheaths, low fins, and well-developed hind limbs. The semiterrestrial tadpoles of the South American family Cycloramphidae remain poorly studied. In this work, we perform a comparative analysis of the external and internal morphology of these larvae, we comment on the systematic and evolutionary implications for the family, and finally, we discuss the convergent evolution of semiterrestrial tadpoles in anurans. We studied the external, buccopharyngeal, and musculoskeletal morphology of semiterrestrial tadpoles of 14 species of Cycloramphidae. These tadpoles are highly modified and present several character-states associated with semiterrestrial life.Most of them are unique and restricted to the family, such as the novel configuration of the muscles subarcualis rectus I, rectus abdominis, and levator arcuum branchialium III. We propose 13 new synapomorphies for Cycloramphidae and one for Thoropa.The presence of similar, homoplastic, character-states in all semiterrestrial tadpoles of unrelated phylogenetic lineages seems to suggest that these character-states are adaptations for semiterrestriality. K E Y W O R D Sbuccopharyngeal cavity, chondrocranium, Cycloramphus, larval muscles, Thoropa ResumoO sucesso evolutivo dos anuros pode ser parcialmente explicado pela ocorrência de larvas de vida livre. Os girinos ocupam vários habitats distintos, incluindo o ambiente terrestre. A semiterrestrialidade parece ter evoluído sete vezes em anuros, e girinos de linhagens distantemente relacionadas apresentam uma série de caracteres Cycloramphus bandeirensis Verdade et al. (2019) Cycloramphus boraceiensis Heyer (1983a), this study This study This study This study Cycloramphus brasiliensis Heyer (1983a), this study This study This study This study Cycloramphus fuliginosus Heyer (1983a) This study This study This study Cycloramphus izecksohni (as Cycloramphus duseni)

Two of the most fundamental questions in tadpole biology, also applicable to most small, under‐studied organisms are: (1) ‘Why are they built the way they are?’ and (2) ‘Why do they live where they do?’ Regrettably, despite significant progress in most aspects of tadpole biology, the answers to these questions are not much better now than they were in the last century. We propose that an autecological approach, that is the careful observation of individuals and how they interact with the environment, is a potential path towards a fuller understanding of tadpole ecomorphology and evolution. We also discuss why more attention should be given to studying atypical tadpoles from atypical environments, such as torrential streams, water‐filled cavities of terrestrial plants and wet rock surfaces neighbouring streams. Granted, tadpoles are rare in these settings, but in those unusual habitats the physical environments can be well described and characterized. In contrast, the more common ponds where tadpoles are found are typically too structurally complex to be easily delineated. This makes it difficult to know exactly what individual tadpoles are doing and what environmental parameters they are responding to. Our overall thesis is that to understand tadpoles we must see exactly what they are doing, where they are doing it, and how they are doing it. This takes work, but we suggest it is feasible and could greatly advance our understanding of how anuran larvae have evolved. The same strategies for studying tadpoles that we encourage here can be applied to the study of many other small and fast‐moving animals.

Semiterrestrial tadpoles live on wet rock surfaces and have evolved independently in at least seven anuran families. They have a flat venter, laterally compressed keratinized jaws and elongated, largely finless tails. When threatened, they can jump. Here, we describe the kinematics of locomotion for semiterrestrial tadpoles of the genera Cycloramphus and Thoropa (Cycloramphidae). Forward locomotion can be accomplished solely by the upper jaw cyclically engaging and disengaging from the substrate. Undulating tail movements, in contrast, cause the tadpoles to move laterally, like sidewinding snakes, rather than forwards. Jumping is an explosive escape behaviour with an unpredictable trajectory. Jumping requires rapid elevation of the head and extension of the torso and tail. This is made possible by epaxial musculature that extends onto the cranium and movement of the tail in the sagittal plane. Tadpoles near metamorphosis extend their hindlimbs symmetrically when jumping, even when the limbs are too small to provide thrust. The rapid rostral elevation of the snout, extension of the trunk and symmetrical extension of the hindlimbs is a kinematic pattern shared with post-metamorphic frogs when they jump. This suggests that semiterrestrial tadpoles use essentially the same neural programme as that used by frogs to jump.