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Tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) are model systems for global biodiversity science, but continuing data gaps, limited data standardisation, and ongoing flux in taxonomic nomenclature constrain integrative research on this group and potentially cause biased inference. We combined and harmonised taxonomic, spatial, phylogenetic, and attribute data with phylogeny-based multiple imputation to provide a comprehensive data resource (TetrapodTraits 1.0.0) that includes values, predictions, and sources for body size, activity time, micro- and macrohabitat, ecosystem, threat status, biogeography, insularity, environmental preferences, and human influence, for all 33,281 tetrapod species covered in recent fully sampled phylogenies. We assess gaps and biases across taxa and space, finding that shared data missing in attribute values increased with taxon-level completeness and richness across clades. Prediction of missing attribute values using multiple imputation revealed substantial changes in estimated macroecological patterns. These results highlight biases incurred by nonrandom missingness and strategies to best address them. While there is an obvious need for further data collection and updates, our phylogeny-informed database of tetrapod traits can support a more comprehensive representation of tetrapod species and their attributes in ecology, evolution, and conservation research. Tetrapods are model systems for global biodiversity science, but continuing data gaps and limited data standardization potentially introduce biases. TetrapodTraits is a database of 33,281 tetrapod species, integrating taxonomic, spatial, phylogenetic and attribute data through phylogeny-based multiple imputation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Museum specimens and citizen science initiatives are valuable sources of information on how anthropogenic activities affect biodiversity and how species respond to rapid global change. Although tropical regions harbor most of the planet's biodiversity, investigations on species' phenological changes are heavily biased toward temperate regions. Such unevenness in phenological research is also taxonomically biased, with reptiles being the least studied group among tetrapod species regarding animal phenology. Herein, we used long‐term time‐series data to investigate environmentally driven changes in the activity pattern of tropical forest snakes. We gathered natural history collection and citizen science data for 25 snake species (five venomous and 20 non‐venomous) from an Atlantic Forest region in southeastern Brazil. Using circular mixed‐effects models, we investigate whether snake activity patterns followed the variation in environmental variables over a decade. Our results show that the activity pattern of Atlantic Forest snakes was seasonal and largely driven by average temperature and relative humidity. Since snakes are ectothermic animals, they are particularly sensitive to temperature variations, especially at small scales. Moreover, relative humidity can affect snake's seasonal activities through physiological constraints and/or prey availability. Most specimens were registered during the rainy season, with highly venomous snakes (lanceheads and coral snakes) emerging as the most abundant taxa. We highlight the importance of citizen science and natural history collections in better understanding biodiversity. Furthermore, our data obtained from local collectors underscore the need for environmental education programs and collaboration between researchers and local decision‐makers to raise awareness and reduce conflicts between people and snakes in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than two million species have been described so far, but our knowledge on most taxa remains scarce or inexistent, and the available biodiversity data is often taxonomically, phylogenetically and spatially biased. Unevenness in research effort across species or regions can interact with data biases and compromise our ability to properly study and conserve biodiversity. Herein, we assess the influence of biological, conservation, geographic and socioeconomic correlates of reptile research effort globally and across six biogeographic realms. We combine bibliometric data from the Scopus database with trait‐based approaches and provide research effort information for 10 531 reptile species, modelling it as a function of 10 putative correlates of species‐level variation in research effort through negative binomial generalised mixed effect models. We show that reptile research effort is highly skewed toward certain taxa and regions, such as turtles, crocodiles, tuatara, viperids, pythons and some anguimorph lizards, as well as for temperate compared to tropical regions. Our findings indicate that greater research attention is directed towards large‐sized and early described reptile species, particularly those whose geographic range overlap with biodiversity institutions. Although we demonstrate that biological and socioeconomic factors more strongly affect reptile research effort variation, geography and conservation‐related factors also matter. Global patterns are mostly consistent, but variation across realms were observed and likely reflects differences in socioeconomic attributes as well as in the amount of species to be studied in each realm. Directing researchers and citizen scientists' attention toward understudied taxa will contribute to alleviate this biased biodiversity knowledge, although the sheer amount of species in tropical regions inevitably makes it a long‐term solution. Performing comparative studies across species with similar levels of research attention could represent a more immediate and feasible alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A plethora of semi‐aquatic species perform seasonal migrations to reproduce, with migration timing often relating to several factors. Human‐induced environmental changes may disrupt the migration phenology of many taxa. Improving our knowledge on drivers of migration phenology helps to elucidate the impacts of climate change upon biodiversity. Herein, we applied circular analyses to investigate how biological and environmental factors affect the migration phenology of leaf litter frogs in an Atlantic forest remnant. We observed the synchronous arrival at ponds of adults Physalaemus, likely due to its short breeding period and opportunistic breeding strategy. Large‐sized females arrived earlier than small‐sized ones at the ponds likely due to their higher movement potential. Temperature, precipitation and photoperiod affected the immigration phenology of females, but not of males. Only photoperiod affected emigration phenology of male Physalaemus. The higher responsiveness of females to environmental cues suggests they migrate when environmental conditions are optimal. Lastly, the emigration phenology of juvenile Physalaemus occurred in 'bursts', with precipitation likely triggering departure from ponds. Overall, we showed that sex‐related differences in responses to environmental cues could exacerbate phenological shifts in amphibian migrations due to environmental changes, and potentially impact the mating success of forest‐dependent pond‐breeding species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present information on the reproduction of Gymnodactylus darwinii based on macroscopic analysis of its gonads. We found no sexual dimorphism in body size (SVL) between adult males and females, but males had, on average, wider heads and longer forearms. Both sexes had very similar sizes at sexual maturity and maximum body sizes, suggesting male–male competition for resources does not occur, and/or there are no sexual differences in survival rates. The smallest specimen had 24 mm SVL, and juvenile/immature specimens of similar or slightly bigger sizes were collected throughout the year suggesting a continuous turnover of individuals in the population. Adult males showed a continuous reproductive cycle, contrasting with a seasonal cycle of females, where maximum gonadal volume was observed from September to December. This is not uncommon and may be related to differential response to local environmental conditions, or because distinct investment in reproduction. Females have a small and fixed clutch size (two eggs per clutch), a pattern also observed in its congener G. amarali and in many geckonids, which is likely due to phylogenetic inertia. To compensate for a fixed clutch size, females may be able to lay more than one clutch per reproductive season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predator–prey interactions are important evolutionary drivers of defensive behaviors, but they are usually difficult to record. This lack of data on natural history and ecological interactions of species can be overcome through museum specimens, at least for some reptiles. When facing aggressive interactions, reptile species may exhibit the defensive behavior of autotomy by losing the tail, which is also known as "urotomy". The inspection of preserved specimens for scars of tail breakage can reveal possible ecological and biological correlates of urotomy. Herein, we investigated how the probability of urotomy in the worm lizard Amphisbaena vermicularis is affected by sex, body size, temperature, and precipitation. We found higher chances of urotomy for specimens with larger body size and from localities with warmer temperatures or lower precipitation. There was no difference in urotomy frequency between sexes. Older specimens likely faced – and survived – more predation attempts through their lifetime than smaller ones. Specimens from warmer regions might be more active both below‐ and aboveground, increasing the odds to encounter predators and hence urotomy. Probability of urotomy decreased with increased precipitation. Possibly, in places with heavier rainfall worm lizards come more frequently to the surface when galleries are filled with rainwater, remaining more exposed to efficient predators, which could result in less survival rates and fewer tailless specimens. This interesting defensive behavior is widespread in squamates, but yet little understood among amphisbaenians. The novel data presented here improve our understanding on the correlates of tail breakage and help us to interpret more tales of lost tails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most species remain unknown to science and might go extinct before we recognize their existence. Although specimens belonging to many of these unknown taxa may already be housed in scientific collections, they can remain 'shelved' for years bearing the wrong name or without a formal name. We investigate factors underlying variation in time lag between collection and description dates for 2356 reptile species described worldwide between 1992 and 2017. We modelled the time to description using biological and sociological variables in a time-to-event analysis. Time lag between collection and description varied from zero to 155 years (median = 5). More than one-quarter of species involved specimens 'shelved' for 12 years or more. The time lag was shorter when the collector of the holotype – specimen serving as the name-bearer of the species – was an author of the description, while taxonomic revisions uncovered species with longer time lags. Unknown species collected by non-taxonomists and 'shelved' in scientific collections remained incorrectly identified for a much longer time. Taxonomic revisions are crucial to reverse this trend and improve benefits of the collecting performed by non-taxonomists. Our findings reveal the kinds of preserved reptile specimens that most likely represent unknown species in scientific collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports a predation event by Trechalea species on a tadpole of Thoropa miliaris (military river frog) found in a permanent stream bordered with gallery forests in the Atlantic Forest biome in the Municipality of Cataguases, Minas Gerais, Brazil on December 29, 2013.