A new species of the family Brachycephalidae, Brachycephalus alipioi, is described from the Atlantic forest of the State of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. The new species is characterized by having uniform orange body coloration in life (in preservative cream yellowish); absence of dermal ossification dorsal to the vertebrae; an external trace of a fourth finger; absence of the fifth toe. The discovery of this new species reinforces the importance of the mountain region in Espírito Santo for preservation of the biodiversity, including anurans.

One of the rarest of the Neotropical snakes, Ditaxodon taeniatus (Hensel, 1868) is known from only 18 specimens (including the holotype which has been lost). In this paper, we redescribe the species, designate a neotype, and discuss variation in morphology and color patterns. Its distribution appears to be discontinuous: it has been recorded only from the Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul. The little we know of the natural history of Ditaxodon indicates that it is grassland savanna dwelling, terrestrial, and oviparous. Its allocation to the xenodontine colubrid Tribe Philodryadini is supported.

A snake richness of 56 species was recorded at Espigão do Oeste (Rondônia), with a faunal composition very similar to that of the closely located area of the Hydroelectric Power Plant of Samuel (Rondônia). The most abundant species were Liophis reginae (18.6% of the total), Oxyrhopus melanogenys (8.4%), Chironius exoletus (6%), Boa constrictor (5.8%), Dipsas catesbyi (5.6%), and Drymarchon corais (5.6%). A smaller number of snakes was recorded during the driest months (from June to August). Most species feed on lizards (55.3% of the species), followed by anurans (48.2%), mammals (26.8%), birds (12.5%), and snakes (12.5%). A cluster analysis was carried out to produce a dendrogram with information on size (snout-vent length), feeding habits, activity time, and foraging substratum. Eight guilds of snakes were found, according to similarities in resources use. The cluster analysis grouped together both closely or distantly related species, showing that both historical and ecological factors were important in structuring the assemblage.

Seasonal abundance of four species of Micrurus in Southern and Southeastern Brazil was inferred from collection data for eight years at the Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil. For most species surface activity was significantly lower during drier and colder periods. Low temperature may considerably reduce snake metabolic rates and consequently constrain their activity. Year-round availability of prey may explain this activity pattern as well. Reproductive condition (duration of vitellogenesis and mating) may also influence activity patterns and explain some differences among species. One species (M. corallinus) shows vitellogenesis and mating restricted to the first half of the rainy season (spring), when activity peaked. Field data and activity patterns indicate that mating occurs from the end of the rainy season to the first half of the dry season (in autumn) in the other three species (M. altirostris, M. frontalis, M. lemniscatus), which belong to the same clade, and this sets them apart of M. corallinus. The data obtained here indicate that differential reproductive strategies occur in two distinct clades of Micrurus.

The diet of Pseudis cardosoi was studied in the Araucaria forest and adjacent grassland ecosystems of southern Brazilian highlands by stomach content analysis of 119 individuals. Frogs were collected in ponds surrounded by different grassland habitats. Besides diet composition, diet diversity and volume were explored. Stomach contents were compared among samples from different habitats and collection times. Male, female, and juvenile diets were also compared. A total of 29 prey categories were identified. The most frequent items in the diet of P. cardosoi were: Diptera (15.4%), Coleoptera (14.2%), Hymenoptera (14.3%), plant remains (12.5%), Hemiptera (5.5%), Odonata naiad (2.9%), Isoptera (2.4%), and Araneae (2.3%). There were no significant differences in diet composition among areas. Significant differences in diet composition among males, females, and juveniles were detected, whereas diet diversity and diet volume did not differ significantly among these groups. Diet diversity was higher during spring and summer (January, February and October) and lower in winter (June and July). Certain items showed frequency peaks along the year, suggesting that the diet of P. cardosoi could vary in response to prey temporal dynamics.

The use of glue traps as a method for sampling lizard communities is a recent technique in herpetology. However, despite potential benefits for catching elusive arboreal and semi-arboreal species, we currently have a poor understanding of the effectiveness of glue traps in studies of lizard ecology. The aim of this study is to evaluate how capture success can be influenced by trap placement in the study of a neotropical forest lizard fauna. We selected ten sites, five in primary rainforest and five in naturally regenerating secondary forest in the region of Jari, Pará, Brazil. In both forest types we set traps on tree trunks, fallen logs, and lianas. Trapping effort totaled 2096 trap nights, capturing 244 individuals comprising 12 species. Two species, Gonatodes humeralis and Anolis fuscoauratus, comprised more than 80% of the total number of captures, indicating that glue trapping is a useful technique for population studies of these species. Traps set on fallen logs recorded more species and a higher capture success than traps set on tree trunks or lianas, and success of traps placed on tree trunks did not vary with height above the ground. We found a negative correlation between trap success and the number of trap days, but animals were still being captured on the 12^th day of trapping. In an additional trapping campaign in a single primary forest site, traps were placed near a creek and on a dry plateau – distributed evenly between ground, shrub and trunk placements in each location. No differences were found in trap success with respect to either site location or trap placement, although traps placed on the ground exclusively captured two species of leaf litter lizards. Despite the fact that lizards represent an important component of tropical forest ecosystems, we have a very poor understanding of their ecology. The lack of data on tropical forest lizards is partly explained by the practical difficulties in sampling many species. Our results indicate that glue trapping can provide a useful addition to other sampling methods in the study of neotropical forest lizards.

We report the first fossil record of the living amphisbaenian Amphisbaena heterozonata, from the Late Pleistocene of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. The specimen consists of a nearly complete skeleton, including cranium, coming from the Late Pleistocene Luján Formation, at the Altos Verdes Lake, Buenos Aires province, Argentina. The specimen is referred to Amphisbaena heterozonata on the basis of several cranial and postcranial morphological features, including an enlarged second maxillary tooth. This specimen constitutes the first fossil record of a living species of the family Amphisbaenidae in South America, and also the first fossil record for Amphisbaena heterozonata.

The general features of testes change with reproductive maturity and in many species of reptiles show a seasonal pattern reflected in macroscopic and microscopic gonadal changes. In previous studies the sexual maturity and reproductive cycle of Boa constrictor occidentalis (Boidae, Appendix I of CITES, 1997) have been determined by testes and epididymis macroscopic differences using ultrasound scanning on live individuals. In this study, the gametogenic activity is studied histologically and the correspondence with previous studies analysed. Our results corroborate the age classification based on morphological features and support the reproductive cycle described for B. c. occidentalis based on live individuals.