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The genus Scinax currently includes more than 120 species, recovered in two major clades, the S. catharinae and the S. ruber clades. The latter comprises 75 species, most of which remain unassigned to any species groups, while 12 are included in the S. rostratus and S. uruguayus groups. In this paper we present a taxonomic review of the two species currently included in the S. uruguayus group, discussing some putative phenotypic synapomorphies of this group. Although S. pinima and S. uruguayus have been considered as distinct species, this has been based on scant evidence, and several authors doubted of their distinctiveness. Our study of available specimens of S. pinima and S. uruguayus corroborates that both are valid and diagnosable species based on phenotypic evidence. Furthermore, our results show that S. pinima previously known only from its type locality, has a much widespread distribution than previously thought (including the Brazilian states of Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul), which, added to the biological information presented here allows to suggest the removal of this species from the "Data Deficient" IUCN Red List category to "Least Concern". Also, we describe a new species formerly reported as S. aff. pinima and S. uruguayus from NE Argentina and some localities from the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul. All species are diagnosed and characterized using adult and larval morphology, osteology, vocalizations, cytogenetics, and natural history., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Amphibian parasites of the Order Dermocystida (Ichthyosporea) are widespread pathogens known mainly from Europe and North America, which cause primarily a disease of skin and subcutaneous tissue in their hosts. The taxonomy of these organisms has been problematic given their conserved morphology, similar clinical disease and pathology. Currently recognized taxa belong to the three closely related genera, Amphibiocystidium, Amphibiothecum, and Rhinosporidium, whereas species of Dermocystidium and Sphaerothecum destruens include fish parasites. Here, we review the taxonomy of Dermocystida based on a molecular phylogenetic analysis, principally of amphibian parasites, including DNA sequences obtained from amphibian hosts collected in the central-eastern region of South America. A new taxonomic arrangement is proposed, which includes the designation of type material for Dermocystidium pusula, synonymization of Amphibiothecum with Dermocystidium, and the restriction of Amphibiocystidium to its type species A. ranae. We also review the taxonomic status of Dermosporidium hylarum until the present work included in the synonymy of the human and animal pathogen R. seeberi, and considered herein as a valid taxon, however. In addition, a new species of Sphaerothecum parasitic to amphibians is described, being the first record of this genus in the southern hemisphere and in an amphibian host.

Three new species of Melanophryniscus are described from the Serra do Mar mountain range of the state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. All species are found at intermediate to high altitudes and share phytotelm-breeding as their reproductive strategy. The new species are distinguished from other phytotelm-breeding Melanophryniscus based on different combinations of the following traits: snout-vent length, presence of white and/or yellow spots on forearms, mouth, belly and cloaca, pattern and arrangement of warts, and presence and number of corneous spines. The discovery of these species in a rather restricted geographical area suggests that the diversity of phytotelm-breeding species of Melanophryniscus might be severely underestimated. The conservation status of these species is of particular concern, given that one of them is at risk of extinction not only due to its restricted habitat, but also because of anthropogenic disturbances.

The main goal of this manuscript is the reevaluation of the taxonomic status of the teiid lizard Contomastix charrua, known only from Cabo Polonio, a small coastal rocky outcrop in southeastern Uruguay. This species was erected on the basis of the presence of a second pair of ceratobranchials and longer cornua in the hyoid bone, in addition to a reduced expression of the pattern of coloration as compared with C. lacertoides. Nevertheless, we found that both species have indistinguishable hyoid morphology, bearing C. lacertoides a noticeable second pair of ceratobranchials. Besides, we realized that the pattern of coloration in this species is more variable than previously considered. As a result of the present work, C. charrua is included in the synonymy of C. lacertoides. In addition, we provide some observations on the holotype of Cnemidophorus grandensis, a junior synonym of C. lacertoides.

We investigated the NOR distribution in ten populations of Physalaemus cuvieri from different regions of Brazil and Argentina. A high variability in NOR pattern was observed and provided a useful tool in grouping several populations. The specimens from the state of Tocantins, northern Brazil, could easily be distinguished from all the other analyzed populations, since its karyotype presented NORs in the chromosome pairs 1,3,4 and 10 (and sometimes also in chromosome 5), and several pericentromeric C-bands. A NOR-site in chromosome 9 characterized three populations from the northeastern region of Brazil. Interestingly, the P. cuvieri populations located in opposite extremes of the geographic distribution had, as a fixed condition, the presence of NORs in 8q int and llp. Besides interpopulational divergences, intrapopulational variability was observed in the number of NORs, except for populations from the states of Bahia and Minas Gerais, which are boundary states respectively in the northeastern and southeastern regions of Brazil. In relation to NOR size, interindividual variations occurred in all Brazilian and Argentinean populations. Additionally, intraindividual variability in NOR size was detected in specimens from Minas Gerais. The data presented herein revealed substantial geographic polytypic variation in P. cuvieri and indicated that a taxonomic reexamination of this species is necessary.