Disturbance caused by anthropogenic fires are increasingly affecting the biodiversity of fire-prone ecosystems worldwide. The Cerrado biodiversity hotspot suffers higher deforestation rates than Amazonia and concentrates most of the burned areas in South America. To support adequate fire-management decisions in Cerrado, knowledge on the effects of altered fire regimes upon its animal populations is necessary. Based on a long-term, large-scale fire experiment, we investigated the effects of different fire regimes on the demography of the gymnophthalmid Micrablepharus atticolus, an endemic lizard of the Cerrado. Because M. atticolus is more abundant in open habitats, we predicted that frequent burns should favor its populations. Over eight years, we conducted a mark-recapture study using pitfall trap arrays in five 10 ha plots of cerrado sensu stricto, subjected to prescribed burns. Using generalized linear mixed-models of time series data and an information theoretic approach to select demographic models, we describe the life history of M. atticolus and assess the response of apparent survival, detectability, and recruitment to burn regimes and climate variation. Micrablepharus atticolus has an annual life cycle, with complete annual population turnover; breeding takes place during the dry season, when activity is higher, and hatchlings appear in the wet season. Apparent survival, detectability, and recruitment increased in the short-run after the passage of fire in all experimental plots. In the long run, however, both fire-suppression and more severe fire regimes were seemingly detrimental, presumably by affecting microclimatic conditions and food availability. Short-term studies may not adequately describe the effects of fire on the demography of lizard populations. Adequate fire management is warranted for biodiversity conservation in Cerrado, both inside and outside protected areas, including a reduction in the frequency and severity of burns in open physiognomies and controlled, patch mosaic fires to prevent excessive fuel accumulation in denser physiognomies.

We studied the composition, richness, abundance, and influence of abiotic factors on the seasonal activity of a snake assemblage at a fragment of savanna enclave (tabuleiro forest) of the Atlantic Forest in northeastern Brazil. The sampling methods used were pitfall traps with drift fences, timed visual encounter survey, donations from local collectors, incidental encounters, and road sampling. We obtained a total of 164 individuals distributed across 29 snake species and six families over 2 years of study. The most frequently encountered species were the two blindsnakes Amerotyphlops paucisquamus and A. brongersmianus and the two false coral snakes Tantilla melanocephala and Oxyrhopus trigeminus. Monthly snake captures were significantly correlated only with the lowest temperatures. Our results show that the study area has a rich diversity of snakes of similar composition to other Brazilian open areas with a dominance of fossorial and cryptozoic species.

The Craugastor fitzingeri group is composed of eight species, four of which occur in sympatry in Colombia: C. crassidigitus, C. fitzingeri, C. longirostris, and C. raniformis. These four species frequently are confused due to their external similarity and extensive intraspecific variation, particularly between the species with disjunct populations in the middle and upper Magdalena River Valley, Colombia. Here we present the results of a revision of the variation in the morphological characters used to distinguish these four species. We confirm that the color patterns on the rear of the thigh and the degree of foot webbing are useful for distinguishing among these species; however, the color pattern on the throat was found to present extensive intraspecific variation. We show that C. fitzingeri and C. longirostris are restricted to the Pacific lowlands and upper basins of the Cauca River Valley in Colombia and that populations in the Magdalena River Valley previously identified as those species correspond a new species, which we describe herein. This new species and C. raniformis are the only species of C. fitzingeri group that reach the Magdalena River Valley. Finally, we provide a dichotomous key to identify the species of the Craugastor fitzingeri group.

Preliminary findings regarding black turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizii) occurrence in Lobos de Tierra Island, Northern Peru showed that 95% and 5% of turtles were juveniles and sub-adults, respectively, with an overall mean curved carapace length of 57.5 ± 7 cm (26.0–74.4 cm, n = 199). A total mean density of 180.4 turtles/km² was found with highest densities found in bays and inlets located in the southeast. Inshore densities in shallow waters (< 1.5 m) were almost one order of magnitude greater than offshore at ∼ 1.5 km. In addition, based on structured qualitative interviews with fishermen, sea turtle capture and consumption still exists in the island, though occasional and sporadic. Jellyfish (Chrysaora plocamia) and green algae (Ulva sp.) consumption plays an important role in black turtle aggregations in the island, where densities are quite high compared to other feeding grounds elsewhere. We conclude that Lobos de Tierra constitutes an important Peruvian feeding ground, with high black turtle aggregations, close to the northern limit of the cold Humboldt Current.

The members of the genus Ecnomiohyla from Mexico and Nuclear Central America have had their taxonomic names applied inconsistently in the literature, notably with much confusion surrounding specimens from the Maya Mountains of Belize. We refer those individuals to E. minera and, based on examination of almost all known specimens of Ecnomiohyla from Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras, provide revised diagnoses for the recognized species: E. echinata, E. minera, E. salvaje, and E. valancifer. These frogs are rarely encountered and some species have not been seen in many decades.

This study aimed to test the influence of different riparian habitats on the structure of anuran communities in southeastern Brazil. Nine stream stretches were selected representing three different riparian habitat types: Native Forest, Secondary Forest, and Sugarcane. A total of 223 individuals of 17 species and five families were captured. The Chao1 richness index indicated that after standardizing the sampling effort the Native Forest sites had higher richness than the Secondary Forests and Sugarcane sites, which presented similar richness. The Abundance and Biomass Curves for the Native Forest sites showed an overlap of the weight and abundance curves, suggesting that these sites presented lower disturbance levels. A disturbance gradient from Native Forest towards Sugarcane sites was observed. The Bray-Curtis similarity index showed a significant effect of riparian condition on species composition. Our results suggest that Sugarcane and Secondary Forest sites limit the distribution of certain species, such as those from the family Hylidae species related to litterfall, and enable colonization by open-habitat species that are capable of resisting anthropic pressure.

The anomalepidid Liotyphlops beui is a small blindsnake that is abundant in the city of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Data on body size, sexual size dimorphism, reproductive cycles, and food habits of this snake were obtained from the dissection of 177 specimens from this locality. The present paper compares basic aspects of the natural history of this anomalepidid with those of other Scolecophidia from Leptotyphlopidae and Typhlopidae to detect similarities or differences between these snakes. Females attain larger body size than males, whereas males have longer tails. Reproductive cycle in females is seasonal, with vitellogenesis occurring at the onset of the rainy season. Data on the diameter of deferent ducts indicate that mating occurred during this period. Clutch size ranged from 4–24 eggs. Liotyphlops beui feeds almost entirely on larvae and pupae of small ants, occasionally adult ants, and rarely termites. This snake gorges itself and seems to be able to eat a dozen different-sized prey in a meal. The availability of its main prey, the fire ant (Solenopsis spp.), may explain the high abundance of this blindsnake in the city of São Paulo. The data obtained in this study for L. beui indicate that the ecological traits of the three families of Scolecophidia are highly conservative.

We describe and illustrate the external morphology, oral disc, and oral cavity anatomy (OCA) of the larvae of Bokermannohyla flavopicta and the OCA of the tadpole of B. oxente. We collected tadpoles of B. flavopicta at Serra do Barbado, Abaíra municipality, Chapada Diamantina, Bahia state. At Gosner stage 36, the tadpole of B. flavopicta has a depressed body with low tail fins and a broad, ventral oral disc bordered by a single row of marginal papillae, with a narrow gap on the anterior labium; submarginal papillae present in small amounts mostly on the commissure and on the anterior labium of the oral disc. The most common labial tooth row formula is 2(2)/7(1). The overall OCA of both species is similar, but can be distinguished mainly by the number of buccal roof papillae per side, shape of pre-narial arena ridge, and infralabial and lingual papillae morphology. The internal and external morphology of these larvae are compared with available descriptions for larvae of other species placed in the B. pseudopseudis group, and we comment on characters that best distinguish species within this group. Finally, the anteroposterior row of papillae in the prenarial arena (proposed as putative synapomorphy for the B. pseudopseudis species group) was also observed in B. flavopicta and B. oxente tadpoles, reinforcing the importance of larval external and internal characters in anuran comparative morphology research.