A Missing Piece of the Puzzle: Re-Encounter of Aplastodiscus musicus, its Call, and Phylogenetic Placement (Anura: Hylidae: Cophomantini)

First description of the advertisement call of the rare treefrog Aplastodiscus flumineus (Cruz and Peixoto, 1985) (Anura: Hylidae: Cophomantinae)

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Cytogenetics of Four Species of the Green Clade Aplastodiscus Lutz, 1950 (Anura: Cophomantinae): New Insights into the Chromosomal Evolution of the Genus

The tree frog Aplastodiscus is a Neotropical taxon that encompasses 15 species in the Atlantic forest biome, with one isolated species in the Central Brazilian Cerrado. To date, only 8 species have been karyotyped, showing high levels of diploid number variation, which allowed clustering species in chromosome number groups: 2n = 24 (Aplastodiscus perviridis group), 2n = 22 (Aplastodiscus albofrenatus group), 2n = 20, and 2n = 18 (both within Aplastodiscus albosignatus group). This study aims to report karyotypic information on 4 species from the last 2 groups using classical and molecular cytogenetic techniques and hypothesize chromosomal evolutionary trends within the species groups. Aplastodiscus weygoldti showed 2n = 22; Ag-NOR and FISH 18S rDNA signals were located in the interstitial region of the short arms of chromosome pair 6. Aplastodiscus cavicola, Aplastodiscus sp. 4, and Aplastodiscus sp. 6 showed 2n = 18; Ag-NOR and FISH 18S rDNA bands were located in the terminal region of the long arm of chromosome pair 9. Our results support multiple and independent chromosome fusion events within Aplastodiscus, including a new chromosome fission event. Ag-NOR and FISH 18S rDNA patterns were restricted to the small chromosome pairs, similar to the other species within this genus, and confirm overall chromosome morphology conservation among the genera of Cophomantinae.

Lost and found: Frogs in a biodiversity hotspot rediscovered with environmental DNA

Declines and extinctions are increasing globally and challenge conservationists to keep pace with biodiversity monitoring. Organisms leave DNA traces in the environment, e.g., in soil, water, and air. These DNA traces are referred to as environmental DNA (eDNA). The analysis of eDNA is a highly sensitive method with the potential to rapidly assess local diversity and the status of threatened species. We searched for DNA traces of 30 target amphibian species of conservation concern, at different levels of threat, using an environmental DNA metabarcoding approach, together with an extensive sequence reference database to analyse water samples from six montane sites in the Atlantic Coastal Forest and adjacent Cerrado grasslands of Brazil. We successfully detected DNA traces of four declined species (Hylodes ornatus, Hylodes regius, Crossodactylus timbuhy, and Vitreorana eurygnatha); two locally disappeared (Phasmahyla exilis and Phasmahyla guttata); and one species that has not been seen since 1968 (putatively assigned to Megaelosia bocainensis). We confirm the presence of species undetected by traditional methods, underscoring the efficacy of eDNA metabarcoding for biodiversity monitoring at low population densities, especially in megadiverse tropical sites. Our results support the potential application of eDNA in conservation biology, to evaluate persistence and distribution of threatened species in surveyed habitats or sites, and improve accuracy of red lists, especially for species undetected over long periods.

Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos: the highest Amphibian diversity within an Atlantic Forest protected area

Abstract: We studied the amphibian community of the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos (PARNASO) for over thirty years. The area of 20,024 hectares has a steep altitudinal gradient (200-2,263 m a.s.l.), and it is located in the municipalities of Guapimirim, Magé, Petrópolis and Teresópolis, middle of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Most data were obtained from sampling sites in the municipality of Teresópolis, with additional data from zoological collections and bibliography. We recorded 83 amphibian species distributed in two orders, Anura, 13 families: Aromobatidae (1), Brachycephalidae (11), Bufonidae (5), Centrolenidae (2), Craugastoridae (2), Cycloramphidae (8), Hemiphractidae (7), Hylidae (28), Hylodidae (6), Leptodactylidae (5), Microhylidae (1), Odontophrynidae (3), Phyllomedusidae (3) and Gymnophiona, one family: Siphonopidae (1). In addition, we present six species that occurs in the buffer zone. Ten of these species are endemic of the park, 18 have PARNASO as its type locality, and five the type locality is at the buffer zone.