The ecological domain of the Atlantic Forest holds a remarkable diversity of anurans with a great degree of endemism, most of which are distributed in high altitude areas, mostly represented by the mountains along the Mantiqueira Complex and Serra do Mar. Despite its biological importance, the region still shows a gap of sampling concerning the amphibians. Thus, we present the first systematic survey of the anuran fauna from Área de Proteção Ambiental Boqueirão da Mira (APABM), in the region of Zona da Mata, Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Two fieldwork expeditions were performed where fifteen sample points were inventoried through active night search and day audiovisual survey in breeding and foraging sites. The anuran fauna of the APABM presented 43 species distributed in 12 families, with the Hylidae family being the richest (17 species). Besides, four species had their distribution increased due to our findings (Hylodes perere, Physalaemus rupestris, Bokermannohyla ibitipoca and Ololygon cosenzai), all of them as endemic to the Mantiqueira Complex. This study revealed that the APABM has a great diversity of anuran species, more representative than adjacent regions such as the Parque Estadual Ibitipoca and close to the richness presented for the Parque Estadual Serra Negra da Mantiqueira. This work demonstrates the great importance of the APABM for conservation, highlighting it as an area of high diversity of the regional anuran species.
Elapomorphus quinquelineatus (Raddi, 1820) is a fossorial snake endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest of southeastern to southern Brazil (Nogueira et al. 2019). It has cathemeral habits and is found even in disturbed habitats (Costa et al. 2010). Elapomorphus quinquelineatus is commonly found moving above the ground, although it also has fossorial habits (Hartmann et al. 2009; Costa et al. 2010), relying on crypsis to avoid predation (Martins et al. 2008), and may use cloacal discharge and erratic movements if handled (Marques et al. 2019). This rear-fanged snake is not known to bite as a defense, although having a highly hemorrhagic venom (Salomão et al. 2003). In this study, we report a specimen of E. quinquelineatus preyed by a Micrastur semitorquatus (Vieillot, 1817) (Falconidae), popularly known as Collared Forest-Falcon, and reviewed records of predation on the species. Between 8 and 9 a.m. on 10 November 2020, one of us (LL) was driving on a dirt road in Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Chapadão da Serra Negra (21.9634°S, 43.8014°W), a private protected area of Atlantic Forest in Santa Bárbara do Monte Verde, Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. LL saw a Collared Forest-Falcon (M. semitorquatus),
Genetic diversity and structure of two species of Enyalius (Squamata: Leiosauridae) from neotropical biodiversity hotspots. Enyalius, a lizard genus endemic to South America, is mostly distributed in the remains of the Atlantic Forest and in the Cerrado. The structure within and among populations of Enyalius. The genetic diversity and structure of populations of E. bilineatus (N = 20) and E. perditus (N = 28) are examined using a 234-bp fragment of the cytochrome b gene and compared with the sequences reported in other published data. Nineteen distinct haplotypes (eleven for E. perditus and eight for E. bilineatus diversities are highly similar for both species (0.684 for E. perditus and 0.647 for E. bilineatus). The genetic distance between the two species is 20.3% and the distance within species is 2.0% and 5.6% for E. perditus and E. bilineatus, respectively. Our data suggest that populations of E. bilineatus are genetically divergent and may reveal cryptic diversity.Enyalius from Neotropical biodiversity hotspots. These data facilitate a better understanding of both 100 Phyllomedusa -14(2), December 2015 within and among population variation, and highlight the distribution of genetic lineages of an endemic and poorly studied genus.Keywords: Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, cytochrome b (cyt b), Enyalius bilineatus, Enyalius perditus.Resumo Diversidade e estrutura genética de duas espécies de Enyalius (Squamata: Leiosauridae) em hotspots neotropicais de biodiversidade. Os lagartos do gênero Enyalius são endêmicos da América do Sul, sendo predominantemente encontrados no Cerrado e em fragmentos da Floresta Atlântica. Este é um gênero pouco estudado, e não foram encontrados dados relacionados à diversidade e à estrutura genética das espécies do gênero. Neste trabalho, investigamos a diversidade genética de populações de E. bilineatus (N = 20) e E. perditus (N = 28), usando um fragmento de 234-pb do citocromo b, e comparamos as sequências geradas com outras publicadas. Dezenove haplótipos distintos foram encontrados (11 de E. perditus e oito de E. bilineatus), sendo oito deles novos registros. Os valores de diversidade haplotípica foram muito similares para as duas espécies (0.684 para E. perditus e 0.647 para E. bilineatus). A distância genética entre as duas espécies foi de 20.3%, E. perditus e 5.6% para E. bilineatus. Nossos dados sugerem que as populações de E. bilineatus são altamente divergentes e que a espécie deve apresentar diversidade críptica. Este é o primeiro estudo medindo a diversidade genética de espécies do gênero Enyalius oriundas de regiões consideradas hotspots da biodiversidade neotropical e apresenta dados relevantes para um melhor entendimento das relações inter e intrapopulacionais, assim como a distribuição das linhagens genéticas desse gênero endêmico.
Palavras-chave:Cerrado, citocromo b (cit b), Enyalius bilineatus, Enyalius perditus, Floresta Atlântica.
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