Using data for 25,780 species categorized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, we present an assessment of the status of the world’s vertebrates. One-fifth of species are classified as Threatened, and we show that this figure is increasing: On average, 52 species of mammals, birds, and amphibians move one category closer to extinction each year. However, this overall pattern conceals the impact of conservation successes, and we show that the rate of deterioration would have been at least one-fifth again as much in the absence of these. Nonetheless, current conservation efforts remain insufficient to offset the main drivers of biodiversity loss in these groups: agricultural expansion, logging, overexploitation, and invasive alien species

We describe a new species of the Rhinella acrolopha group (previously Rhamphophryne) from mid-elevations (1800-2500 m) of the Cordillera Occidental of Colombia. It is found exclusively in cloud forest habitats and is not associated with streams or other bodies of water. The species is characterized by possessing eight presacral vertebrae, fusion of the sacrum and urostyle, and nuptial excrescences in adult males, and in lacking conspicuous cranial ornamentation and vocal slits. The most striking characteristic of this species is its middle ear, which lacks a tympanic membrane and annulus but possesses a short stapes that articulates with the palatoquadrate and squamosal in a manner similar to the middle ear of many salamanders. A population of this species in the Serranía de los Paraguas seems to be stable despite drastic declines in many sympatric species.RESUMEN: Describimos una nueva especie perteneciente al grupo Rhinella acrolopha (anteriormente Rhamphophryne) de elevaciones medias (1800-2500 m) en la Cordillera Occidental de Colombia. La nueva especie ha sido encontrada exclusivamente en hábitat de bosques nublados y no está asociada con quebradas u otros cuerpos de agua. La especie se caracteriza por poseer ocho vértebras presacrales, fusión del sacro y el uróstilo, excrecencias nupciales en machos adultos, ausencia de crestas craneales agrandadas y ausencia de hendiduras vocales en machos adultos. La característica más destacada de la nueva especie es su oído medio, el cual carece de membrana timpánica y anillo timpánico pero presenta un estribo reducido que se articula con el palatocuadrado y el escamoso, semejante a lo que se encuentra en salamandras. Una población de esta especie en la Serranía de los Paraguas al parecer se mantiene estable, a pesar de la disminución drástica de poblaciones de especies simpátricas.

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The facial pits of rattlesnakes, copperheads, lanceheads, bushmasters and other American and Asian pitvipers (Crotalinae) are highly innervated and densely vascularized infrared (IR) receptor organs. For over a century, studies have focused on a small sample of model species from North America and Asia. Based on an expanded survey of Central and South American crotalines, we report a conspicuous accessory structure composed of well-defined papillae that project from the anterior orbital adnexa. The papillae are continuous with the inner chamber of the IR receptor organ and our histological and ultrastructural data suggest that they possess a well-developed nervous network and extensive vascularization; however, they lack the characteristic IR-sensitive terminal nerve masses found in the IR-receptive pit membrane. The function of the IR receptor organ papillae is unknown.

Scinax ruber and Hypsiboas pugnax are nocturnal and arboreal species, and can be found typically in open areas with human disturbance. Here, we present the first record of S. ruber and H. pugnax from the departments of Valle del Cauca and Cauca, Colombia, and the southernmost record in the Rio Cauca valley.

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