A new species of the Iguanian genus Liolaemus, member of the montanus series, is described. The species inhabits altitudes above 4000 meters and is endemic to the Provincial Reserves of Laguna Brava, province of La Rioja, and San Guillermo, province of San Juan, areas located in the Andes mountains of Argentina. Liolaemus sp. nov. has a medium-sized body (maximum SVL = 76.9 mm) with tail subequal in length to the SVL; unkeeled, juxtaposed dorsal scales, in high number around midbody (86–106); precloacal pores in males (4–7), mostly absent in females or in very low number (up to 2 pores); head and body strongly melanic; evident sexual dichromatism, and a distinctive color pattern. Liolaemus sp. nov. lives geographically close but in allopatry to L. andinus, L. eleodori and L. vallecurensis, all species of the montanus series, morphologically alike and probably phylogenetically related to the new species.

Locality data available for many, if not most, species of Neotropical frogs are based on written descriptions of the collecting sites, not on GPS device determined coordinate data. The pre-GPS device data are imprecise relative to GPS data. Niche modeling is a powerful technique for predicting geographic distributions that provides the best results when the locality data are precise. The purpose of this study is to determine whether imprecise historical locality data are sufficient such that niche modeling techniques can yield realistic new insights to species-level distributions. Two sets of frogs of the genus Leptodactylus that have known different kinds of distributions are evaluated: two species with broad, presumably continuous distributions, and four species known to occur in patchy, disjunct habitats in South America. BIOCLIM, a presence-only environmental niche modeling algorithm,was used to define suitable occupancy areas based on multiple sets of environmental parameters that include: monthly mean, max, and min temperatures, and monthly precipitation. A Nature Conservancy — Natureserve ecoregion layer and a high resolution elevation layer were also included in the analyses. Our analyses yield new realistic insights and questions regarding distributions of the Leptodactylus species we evaluated. We recommend incorporation of the Nature Conservancy — Natureserve layer to evaluate Neotropical distributions, as the layer gave much more robust results than use of only the climatic variable analyses.

We describe the external morphology and the internal oral features of the tadpole of Phyllomedusa itacolomi (Anura, Hylidae) from Serra de Ouro Branco, Municipality of Ouro Branco, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Tadpoles were found at mid water in a temporary pool, in an open montane meadow. Phyllomedusa itacolomi (Gosner's stage 37) is characterized by a tooth row formula 2(2)/3(1), labial tooth row P3 smaller than P1 and P2, marginal papillae of oral disc with wide dorsal and narrow ventral gaps. External morphological features were compared with other tadpoles of the Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis species group. Additionally, we provide information on egg clutches of P. itacolomi and P. megacephala.

We describe three new species of Bryophryne from the Region of Cusco in southern Peru, increasing the number of currently known Bryophryne to six. One of the new species differs from all species of Bryophryne in having a tympanic annulus and tympanic membrane. Males of this species have vocal slits, a vocal sac, and produce a call, which we analyze herein. This species is found at San Luis, a montane cloud forest along the road from Abra Malaga to Quillabamba at elevations between 3272 and 3354 m. The second new species has an orange throat and groin and is found along the Ericsson trail that connects Acjanaco to Pillahuata in Manu National Park and near Abra Acjanaco along the Paucartambo-Pilcopata road at elevations between 3266 and 3430 m. The third new species has the throat and chest mottled pale gray and tan, whereas the belly is black with white flecks. This species is only known from the upper Marcapata valley along the road from Abra Huallahualla to Quincemil at elevations between 3129 and 3285 m. Ecological observations for all new species are described and a map showing the type localities of all currently known species of Bryophryne is presented.

Herein we describe two new species of the Ischnocnema lactea species series. The new species were collected in Itatiaia highlands, located in Itatiaia National Park, southeastern Brazil. Ischnocnema melanopygia sp. nov. is characterized by dorsal stripes generally present; dark stripe on the cloacal area, tarsus and feet; calcar well developed; green yellowish and dark coloration on the inguinal region and posterior area of thigh in life. Ischnocnema concolor sp. nov. is characterized by absence of calcar; presence of well developed supernumerary tubercles on hands and feet; dorsum smooth, brown in preservative, without any observable pattern. These species are allocated in the Ischnocnema lactea species series and are compared to all other species of the group.

This study deals with the histology and histochemistry of the oviducts of three species of frogs that lay their eggs embedded in a foam nest (Leiuperidae: Physalaemus biligonigerus and Pleurodema borellii; Leptodactylidae: Leptodactylus chaquensis). In all of them the oviducts show five sections [in cephalic-caudal direction, the Pars Recta (PR), Intermediate Proximal Zone (IPZ), Preconvolute Part (PCP), Convolute Part (CP) and Ovisac (O)] identifiable on anatomical and histological basis, and on the peculiarities of their secretions and joined biomolecules. In the section encompassed between the distal portion of PPC and O of the three species it was possible to identify glandular areas that produce glycoconjugates with a dominance of proteins joined to lipids or to glucids that constitute the precursor of the foam. These histologically differentiated glandular aggregations, not yet recorded in species with other modes of oviposition, are named here as “albumin glands”.

In this study we describe the morphological variation of Ischnocnema ramagii from a population sample within the Municipality of Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil, and characterize two extremely distinct morphotypes within this taxon (striped vs. non-striped dorsum); we describe its karyotype, and compare the karyotypic structure of the distinct morphotypes recognized herein. Specimens with striped dorsa were less common (13–18%) than those with non-striped dorsa (81–86%), the latter group comprising a mix of discrete color pattern states, whose frequencies were not different among juveniles, males, and females. The PCAs on morphometric data resulted in a strong degree of superposition between striped and non-striped dorsa, for both genders. We encountered a diploid number of 30 chromosomes for both males and females, with chromosome pairs 1 to 15 being telocentric. The karyotypic comparison between specimens with striped and non-striped dorsa did not show any noticeable difference. Nevertheless the karyotype of I. ramagii from Salvador, Bahia, differed from the karyotype described for I. paulodutrai from Ilhéus, Bahia, which showed a submetacentric chromosome pair. This result supports the presence of two full “sibling” species in Bahia State, one from the south (I. paulodutrai) and another from the north (I. ramagii), validating the identity of I. paulodutrai as a full species, and refuting the recognition of Salvador samples as I. paulodutrai. The high number of telocentric chromosomes suggests a closer relationship between I. ramagii and “Eleutherodactylinae” species from Central America and the northern region of Brazil.

We describe the tadpole morphology, the advertisement and courtship calls, and reproductive characteristics of Rupirana cardosoiHeyer 1999, an endemic species from rocky mountain fields in Chapada Diamantina, Bahia State, Brazil. Females of Rupirana cardosoi deposit pigmented eggs in shallow backwaters or ponds. The body of tadpoles is ovoid in dorsal and ventral views and depressed in lateral view. The oral disc is ventral and the labial tooth row formula is 2(2)/3(1). Eyes are dorsal. The advertisement call has one pulsed note, with dominant frequency approximately 1.3 kHz. The courtship call presents three note types with dominant frequency ranging from 0.7 to 1.4 kHz. Females are larger ( = 34.4, SD = 1.6, 31.4–37.4 mm, n = 12) than males ( = 30.9, SD = 1.5, 28.8–33.8, n = 9; t = 5.1; p < 0.001) and males present nuptial excrescences located on the base of the thumbs. The eggs are medium sized ( = 2.47 ± 0.52 mm, N = 27) and mean clutch size was 120.44 ± 74.38 eggs (N = 11 clutches).

Although Ameiva exsul is among the most common species of lizard found throughout the Puerto Rican Bank, studies examining the thermal ecology of the taxon remain scarce. In order to better understand the daily activity cycle and thermoregulatory behavior of A. exsul, daily activity and microhabitat data were analyzed along with thermal data including weather, air temperature, and relative humidity. A relative significant relationship was found between number of encounters and time of day, month, or weather. However, significantly more individuals were encountered active on the ground during the morning hours, whereas at night more were found sleeping under various substrates. Although no significant relationship between microhabitat, activity, and weather was detected, more individuals were encountered sitting under substrate during clear and cloudy/rainy conditions, whereas during partly cloudy weather lizards were more active. Significantly more individuals were encountered during warmer temperatures with less humidity. There was no significant relationship between air temperature, relative humidity, microhabitat use, and activity. However, there was a significant relationship between temperature and the number of individuals active on the ground. Future studies are needed that examine the physiological ecology of the species more closely, which include other potentially relevant environmental variables such as body temperature and wind velocity. This will provide a more comprehensive analysis on the daily activity patterns and thermal ecology of the species, which may in turn be applicable to other congeners distributed throughout similar environments.

A population of the treeboa Corallus grenadensis was studied (PIT-tagged) at Pearls, Grenada for two years (February 2002–February 2004). The site was one of mixed orchard and native trees, cultivated fields, one rustic house, and a well maintained trail. It became apparent that the population was in sharp decline in June 2004, and Hurricane Ivan drastically altered the site shortly thereafter (September, 2004). Subsequent searches over the next five years yielded no adult boas, and only a small number of young-of-the-year or yearling boas. As Hurricane Ivan hit after the decline, it cannot be identified as the proximate cause. Rather, as C. grenadensis is an edge species, we suggest that a decline in human activity (overgrown trail thereby reducing edge habitat) at the study site may have been the major contributor to the decline. Although treeboas, in general, may not be as common on Grenada as they were 100–150 years ago (or 5–20 years ago), it is still possible to encounter them on virtually any night in a wide variety of habitats.