Among the physiographic regions included in the central South American diagonal of open formations, the Chaco, with some endemic species, represents the southernmost dry area. In Brazil, the Chaco is found in southwestern corner of Mato Grosso do Sul state, mostly in the municipality of Porto Murtinho along the Paraguay and Apa rivers. From February 2008 to December 2009, we carried out an inventory of amphibians and reptiles in Porto Murtinho, using pitfall traps, time-limited searches, and occasional encounters. A total of 34 amphibian and 39 reptile species were registered. Although some typical Chacoan species were found, most of the species are open area dwellers that also occur in other open biomes, such as the Cerrado and Caatinga.

ABSTRACT. Amphibian diversity of Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. Amphibian species from Mato Grosso do Sul state were compiled and checked for the fi rst time. A total of 97 species were recorded, representing more than 10% of the known Brazilian amphibians. Twenty fi ve anuran genera in nine families and only one caecilian were recorded. Cerrado was the richest area followed by semideciduous forests, Chaco, and veredas (palm swamps). It was recorded 56 species in fl oodplain areas and 92 in the surrounding cerrados. The Serra da Bodoquena National Park and some Pantanal areas were better sampled than other regions in Mato Grosso do Sul, resulting in sampling gaps across the state. Important areas for future inventories were identifi ed: mountainous regions in Serra de Maracaju and those bordering the Apa river, Brazilian chacoan areas, the Taquari river alluvial fan, the broad Taquari-Itiquira fl at area, the Central Plateau scarps, wet areas from Parana river bordering São Paulo state, and inland areas from Pantanal.KEYWORDS. Amphibia, inventories, biodiversity, Biota-MS Program.RESUMO. A fauna de anfíbios do estado de Mato Grosso do Sul foi compilada e elaborada pela primeira vez, totalizando 97 espécies, o que representa pouco mais de 10% das espécies que ocorrem no Brasil. Nove famílias e 25 gêneros de Anura e apenas uma espécie de Gymnophiona foram registradas. As áreas de Cerrado apresentaram a maior riqueza, seguidas pelas fl orestas estacionais semideciduais, Chaco e veredas. Em relação às macrorregiões consideradas, foram registradas 56 espécies para a planície de inundação (majoritariamente representada pelo Pantanal) e 92 para o planalto. As regiões mais amostradas em Mato Grosso do Sul são o Parque Nacional da Serra da Bodoquena e algumas áreas do Pantanal, o que resulta em lacunas de amostragens por todo o estado, principalmente nas regiões norte, leste/sudeste e parte do oeste/sudoeste. Foram identifi cadas áreas consideradas importantes para amostragens em decorrência da complexidade de fi tofi sionomias e relevos encontrados no estado: Maciço do rio Apa, Serra de Maracaju, grande parte do Chaco brasileiro, leque do rio Taquari, planalto do Taquari-Itiquira, escarpas do planalto Central, áreas úmidas/fl orestas estacionais da planície do rio Paraná e áreas interioranas do Pantanal, onde o acesso é difícil.

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Artificial ponds or irrigated systems scattered throughout farmlands can offer important habitats for anurans and can be interesting sites for research on species resources use in a changing landscape. This study describes the diet and resource partitioning among anurans inhabiting irrigated rice fields in the Pantanal region. Twenty categories of prey were found in the stomachs of Leptodactylus chaquensis, L. elenae, L. podicipinus and Rhinella bergi, the most frequent being Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, larvae of Hexapoda, Hemiptera, Diptera and Orthoptera. The great differences found in the diet of these species in rice fields compared to other locations, according to available records in the literature, was the increased importance of Hemipitera and Orthoptera and the decrease in importance of Hymenoptera in the diet of leptodactylids. These differences might be attributed to changes in the availability of resources in response to habitat modification. Although diet composition was very similar among species, niche overlap was larger than expected by chance, suggesting that the competition for food resources is not, or has not been, a significant force in determining the structure of this frog community. Two non-exclusive hypotheses could be considered as a justification for this result: 1) the high niche overlap could result from resource availability, which is sufficient to satisfy all species without any strong competition; 2) or the high values of niche overlap could be a selective force driving species to compete, but there has not been enough time to express a significant divergence in the species diet because the study area is characterised as a dynamic habitat influenced by frequent and cyclical changes.Keywords: niche overlap, agroecosystems, Leptodactylidae, Bufonidae, diet. Dieta e partição de recursos entre anuros em campos de rizicultura no Pantanal, Brasil ResumoLagoas artificiais e sistemas irrigados em áreas de produção agrícola podem oferecer habitats importantes a anuros e ser significativos para investigações sobre o uso de recursos pelas espécies em ambientes modificados. Este estudo descreve a dieta e partição de recursos tróficos entre anuros de campos de rizicultura na região do Pantanal. Nos estômagos de Leptodactylus chaquensis, L. elenae, L. podicipinus e Rhinella bergi foram encontradas 20 categorias de presas, sendo Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, larvas de Hexápoda, Hemiptera, Diptera e Orthoptera as mais frequentes. Maiores diferenças encontradas na dieta dessas espécies em campos de arroz comparadas a de outros locais, de acordo com dados da literatura, foram o aumento da importância de Hemipitera e Orthoptera e a diminuição na importância de Hymenopteras na dieta dos leptodactilídeos. Essas diferenças talvez sejam reflexos de mudanças na disponibilidade de recursos de presas, em resposta às modificações ambientais. Apesar de as espécies apresentarem dietas bastante similares, a sobreposição de nicho foi maior que a esperada ao acaso, sugerindo que a competição por recursos aliment...

ABSTRACT. Reptiles of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Data is presented on richness and composition of reptiles from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), based on reviews of publications, examination of scientifi c collections and unpublished fi eld data provided by researchers. We recorded 188 species distributed in eight species of Testudines, three Crocodylia and 177 Squamata (16 amphisbaenians, 48 lizards and 113 snakes). Thirteen species have restricted distributions within the state, 13 are restricted to the state and nine are in the process of being described. The diversity of the MS reptiles, even if underestimated, accounts for 25% of the species known to occur in Brazil. The plateau presents 176 species, of which 30% are restricted to this location, while 131 species (6% exclusive) occur in the fl oodplain. The Cerrado is the richest domain in species, although it is the region with the highest sampling gap in the state. The most well-known section is the Midwest MS, which includes the Pantanal. About 40% of the species of reptiles of MS are widely distributed, occurring in at least fi ve of the seven Brazilian domains. The reptiles of MS are more similar to those of the Chaco, probably because the chacoan fauna is very similar to that of the Pantanal, which includes better inventoried portions of MS. Although the Cerrado is the predominant domain in the state, the fact of being poorly sampled justifi es the lower similarity of reptiles from this domain with those of MS, when compared with those of Chaco. Overall, the MS reptile fauna shows greater similarity to that found along the diagonal of open formations of South America. Only 18% of species were assessed by IUCN, which reinforces the need for an assessment of the conservation status of MS reptile species. The north, south and east of the state have not being adequately sampled, which is of concern since these sections have seen signifi cant anthropogenic alteration. For this reason, these areas, especially the north -including the headwaters of rivers which supply the fl oodplain -are indicated as priorities for the completion of inventories of reptiles and creation of areas to protect them.KEYWORDS. Biodiversity, Cerrado, Chaco, herpetofauna, Pantanal, Biota-MS Program.RESUMO. Informações sobre riqueza e composição de répteis pela primeira vez são apresentadas para o Mato Grosso do Sul (MS). A compilação de dados foi baseada em publicações, coleções científi cas e dados disponibilizados por pesquisadores. Foram registradas 188 espécies distribuídas em oito espécies de Testudines, três Crocodylia e 177 Squamata (16 anfi sbenas, 48 sáurios e 113 serpentes). Treze espécies, dentro do estado, possuem distribuição restrita, 13 não são encontradas em outros estados brasileiros e nove estão em processo de descrição. A riqueza de répteis do MS, mesmo que subestimada, corresponde a 25% das espécies conhecidas no Brasil. No planalto estão presentes 176 espécies, das quais 30% foram registradas somente neste local, enquanto que na planície de inundação ocorr...

Abstract:Lepidobatrachus asper is a large to medium frog known from the Chaco lowlands of Paraguay and Argentina. We provide the first species record for the Brazilian Chaco, which extends the species geographical distribution ca. 73 km northeast from Puerto Casado, Alto Paraguay Departament, Paraguay. We also provide a distribution map and information about the species habitat conditions and diet. The Brazilian Chaco is still poorly surveyed, and the rapid environmental degradation can lead to local extinctions of certain species.

This paper presents a checklist of anurans species and their distribution in a disturbed area in the municipality of Jarú, Rondônia state, Brazil. Nineteen species belonging to eight families were sampled with pitfall traps and time constrained searches. About 70% of the species were found in a secondary forest and 40% were found only in this environment, while about 57% were found in pastures, with 26% of species being registered only in this habitat. Our results were similar to those of previous studies in other disturbed areas of Rondônia. Species that can be found in different habits were unevenly distributed, with forested environments harboring more species. Despite its nearness to Cerrado and the large number of open areas available, most species found are typical of the Amazon forest.

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