Amphibians are probably the most vulnerable group to climate change and climate-change associate diseases. This ongoing biodiversity crisis makes it thus imperative to improve the taxonomy of anurans in biodiverse but understudied areas such as Amazonia. In this study, we applied robust integrative taxonomic methods combining genetic (mitochondrial 16S, 12S and COI genes), morphological and environmental data to delimit species of the genus Amazophrynella (Anura: Bufonidae) sampled from throughout their pan-Amazonian distribution. Our study confirms the hypothesis that the species diversity of the genus is grossly underestimated. Our analyses suggest the existence of eighteen linages of which seven are nominal species, three Deep Conspecific Lineages, one Unconfirmed Candidate Species, three Uncategorized Lineages, and four Confirmed Candidate Species and described herein. We also propose a phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus and discuss its implications for historical biogeography of this Amazonian group.

The Pristimantis genus (Anura: Craugastoridae) is the most diverse among all vertebrates with 531 described species. The highest diversity occurs in Ecuador (215 species), followed by Colombia (202), Peru (139), Venezuela (60), Brazil (30), Bolivia (17), Guyana (6) Suriname and French Guiana (5). The genus is divided into 11 species groups. Of these, the P. conspicillatus group (containing 34 species), distributed in extreme southeastern Costa Rica, Isla Taboga (Panama), northern South America (from Colombia to eastern Guyana), south Bolivia, and is the best represented in Brazil (16 species). The main characteristics of this group are the tympanic membrane and tympanic annulus distinct (except in P. johannesdei); dorsum smooth or shagreen; dorsal lateral fold present or absent; usually smooth belly, but may be weakly granular in some species; toe V slightly larger than the toe III. Most of the taxonomic inconsistencies in species of Pristimantis could be due to its much conserved morphology and the lack of comprehensive taxonomic evaluations. Thus, an ongoing challenge for taxonomists dealing with the Pristimantis genus is the ubiquitous abundance of cryptic species. In this context, accurate species delimitation should integrate evidences of morphological, molecular, bioacoustics and ecological data, among others. Based on an integrative taxonomy perspective, we utilize morphological, molecular

In this study a new species of Pristimantis (Anura: Craugastoridae) of the P. conspicillatus species group is described. Pristimantis latro sp. n. is known only from the municipalities of Altamira, Anapu, Brasil Novo, Medicilândia, Uruará and Aveiro (Flona Tapajós, right bank of Tapajós river), in Pará state, Brazil. Morphologically, the new species distinguishes from known congeners in the group mainly by the presence of dorsal tubercles and absence of discoidal folds, smooth belly skin, as well as the presence of supernumerary tubercles on hands. The call of the new species consists of seven ascending notes, the first of which has a dominant frequency of 2635 Hz and the last 3272 Hz. Molecular analysis of the 16S mtDNA indicates a genetic distance of 8% to P. chiastonotus, its closet relative, and between 9% and 11% to populations of P. fenestratus.

The genus Atelopus is one of the most diverse of the Bufonidae family; because of their bright color, they are referred to as harlequin frogs. They occur in mature tropical forest areas and in this region, these forests are under anthropic pressure and limited to fragments, which facilitates the action of pathogenic fungi. One of these toad species, Atelopus hoogmoedi, is only found to the north and south of the Amazon River. Based on genetic data this species name represents more than one evolutionary unit. To explore this premise, we compared individuals of A. hoogmoedi collected south and north of the Amazon river in the state of Pará, Brazil. The DNA was extracted by the phenol chloroform method from eight individuals, seven ©FUNPEC-RP www.funpecrp.com.br Genetics and Molecular Research 19 (1): gmr18392 G.W.B. da Silva et al. 2 from Monte Alegre (north of Amazon River) and one from Anapu (south of Amazon River) and then amplified via PCR using a mitochondrial 16S rRNA marker. Phylogenetic analysis of maximum likelihood for A. hoogmoedi revealed a paraphyletic group with three lines: French Guiana 1 and 2, Guyana and Monte Alegre, and Anapu. The genetic distance between Anapu and Monte Alegre was 2.9%. According to the Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery in both Simple Distance and Kimura 2 Parameters models, A. hoogmoedi collected in Anapu is recognized as a distinct species from those of the Guiana Shield. Thus A. hoogmoedi to the south of the Amazon River was classified as an unconfirmed candidate species, requiring more collections and access to individuals from other localities of its occurrence for confirmation.

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