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In the present contribution, we revisited the taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships within the somuncurensis and spurcus clades of Phymaturus lizards. Based on 296 morphological characters and DNA sequences, we evaluated the taxonomic species status of each clade and of two populations sampled in a field trip. Based on this evidence, we describe two new taxa for the genus. We also studied the species recently described for Chubut province, we analyzed their phylogenetic relationships, and compared them with other Patagonian species. Here, we provide data of color in life, squamation, and measurements, and compare in detail the new taxa to other members of their respective clades. We found that the somuncurensis clade comprises nine species (plus two other candidate ones) distributed mostly peripherally to the Somuncurá plateau, and present on the margins of it in isolated creeks and small mountain chains. Recent molecular studies arrived to different conclusions about the taxonomic validity of closely related species of the spurcus clade of Phymaturus lizards. We decided to revisit this group and contribute with a more complete analysis for two reasons: none of these studies revisited carefully the overall morphology and type series, and the only article that revisited this complex of species studied only one color pattern character, without providing voucher information (matching color types-collection specimens-DNA samples-sites). We studied the type series of all species, revisited characters taken from squamation and measurements, revised the color pattern of all terminals, and performed statistical analysis. Our results discovered statistically significant characters, which provide enough morphological support to consider all species of the group as valid in congruence to the multilocus analysis that combined mitochondrial and nuclear data published recently. We also provide discrete color pattern characters that help to adequately differentiate these species., En la presente contribución, revisamos la taxonomía y las relaciones filogenéticas dentro de los clados somuncurensis y spurcus de las lagartijas del género Phymaturus. Con base en 296 caracteres morfológicos y secuencias de ADN, evaluamos el estado taxonómico de las especies de cada clado y de dos poblaciones muestreadas en un viaje de campo. Con base en este cuerpo de evidencia, describimos dos nuevos taxones. También estudiamos las especies recientemente descritas para la provincia de Chubut, analizamos sus relaciones filogenéticas y las comparamos con otras especies patagónicas. Aquí proporcionamos datos de color en vida, escamación y medidas, y comparamos en detalle los nuevos taxones con otros miembros de sus respectivos clados. El clado somuncurensis comprende nueve especies descriptas (más otras dos candidatas) distribuidas principalmente en la periferia de la meseta de Somuncurá, presentes en quebradas aisladas y pequeñas cadenas montañosas. Estudios moleculares recientes llegaron a diferentes conclusiones sobre la validez taxonómica de especies estrechamente relacionadas dentro del clado spurcus de Phymaturus. Decidimos revisar este grupo y contribuir con un análisis más completo por dos razones: ninguno de estos estudios revisó cuidadosamente la morfología general y las series tipos, y el único artículo que revisó este complejo de especies estudió solo un carácter de patrón de color, sin proporcionar información sobre vouchers (coincidencia de tipos de color-especímenes de recolección-muestras de ADN-lugares). Estudiamos la serie tipo de todas las especies, revisamos los caracteres tomados de la escamación y las medidas, revisamos el patrón de color de todos los terminales y realizamos análisis estadísticos. Nuestros resultados descubrieron caracteres estadísticamente significativos, que brindan suficiente apoyo morfológico para considerar válidas todas las especies en congruencia con el análisis multilocus que combinó datos mitocondriales y nucleares publicado hace poco tiempo. También proporcionamos caracteres de patrones de color discretos que ayudan a diferenciar adecuadamente estas especies., Asociación Herpetológica Argentina

The status of Elachistocleis pearsei, E. surinamensis, E. sikuani and E. tinigua Elachistocleissurinamensis and E. pearsei aretheoldest available names in this group. The former was named by Daudin (1802) as Bufo surinamensis, and the latter was named by Ruthven (1914) as Hypopachus pearsei. Both were considered synonyms of Elachistocleis ovalis by Parker (1934). Dunn (1944; 1949) commented on H. pearsei under the new combination Elachistocleis pearsei. Carvalho (1954) placed it into the new genus Relictivomer Carvalho, 1954 based on the presence of the posterior part of the prevomer and, recently, de Sá et al. (2012) reallocated it into Elachistocleis based on DNA data. Kenny (1969) redescribed E. surinamensis from specimens from Trinidad and cited a personal communication from A. Grandison, who had found no differences between specimens of E. surinamensis from Trinidad and a paratype of E. pearsei. Duellman (1997) also compared specimens of E. pearsei from Panama and specimens of Elachistocleis sp. from Gran Sabana, south-eastern Venezuela (which he did not assign to any species, but which falls in the range of occurrence of E. surinamensis; see Fig. 3) and did not find any noticeable difference in the external morphology of adults or in their advertisement calls. Jowers et al. (2021) recently redescribed and designated a neotype for E. surinamensis from Trinidad but, unfortunately, provided no comparisons of the species with E. pearsei. While the present paper was in review, two new species from Colombia were described and named: Elachistocleis sikuani and E. tinigua (AcostaGalvis et al., 2022). Although we did not access the vouchers and did not include the new sequences generated therein in our analyses, we confirmed that two lineages already represented in our tree correspond to them (based on genetic similarity, 99.8%). The authors made a brief comparison of the new species with E. pearsei and E. surinamensis, mentioning some differences in body size, quantity and colour of the blotches in live specimens, degree of conspicuousness of the post-commissural glands and presence/absence of the mid-dorsal white line (Acosta-Galvis et al., 2022). The latter feature was reported as absent in E. sikuani and E. tinigua but present (‘evident’) in E. surinamensis. However, as mentioned above in discussion about the variation of E. surumu, the presence of a mid-dorsal white line in E. surinamensis was not reported in its original description (see: Daudin, 1802) or in its redescription and neotype designation (see: Jowers et al., 2021). On the contrary, Jowers et al. (2021) used the absence of the mid-dorsal line in E. surinamensis to distinguish it from E. nigrogularis. We also have not observed a mid-dorsal white line in any examined specimens of E. surinamensis (Fig. 1). Acosta-Galvis et al. (2022) did not provide a comparison between E. pearsei and E. surinamensis. Instead, they added more pieces to the puzzle by giving new names to two allopatric lineages. They followed the prevailing tradition in the taxonomy of Elachistocleis of creating more and more nomina rather than conducting a thorough review addressing the validity and application of available names. We reiterate that a comprehensive morphological revision of Elachistocleis is needed and should take priority over the naming of additional new Elachistocleis species. Unfortunately, our sampling of specimens of those species is limited, and a reassessment of the taxonomic status of those species is beyond the scope of the present work. Therefore, for time being, we recognize E. pearsei, E. surinamensis, E. sikuani and E. tinigua as valid species., Published as part of Novaes-E-Fagundes, Gabriel, Lyra, Mariana L., Loredam, Vinicius S. A., Carvalho, Thiago R., Haddad, Célio F. B., Rodrigues, Miguel T., Baldo, Diego, Barrasso, Diego A., Loebmann, Daniel, Ávila, Robson W., Brusquetti, Francisco, Prudente, Ana L. C., Wheeler, Ward C., Orrico, Victor Goyannes Dill & Peloso, Pedro, 2023, A tale of two bellies: systematics of the oval frogs (Anura: Microhylidae: Elachistocleis), pp. 545-568 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 197 on page 560, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac057, http://zenodo.org/record/7695481, {"references":["Daudin FM. 1802. Histoire naturelle des rainettes, des grenouilles et des crapauds. Paris: Levrault.","Ruthven AG. 1914. Description of a new engystomatid frog of the genus Hypopachus. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 27: 77 - 80.","Parker H. 1934. A monograph of the frogs of the family Microhylidae. London: Trustees of the British Museum.","Dunn ER. 1944. Los generos de anfibios y reptiles de Colombia, 1. Primera parte: anfibios. Caldasia 2: 497 - 529.","Dunn ER. 1949. Notes on South American frogs of the family Microhylidae. American Museum NoVitates 1419: 1 - 21.","de Carvalho AL. 1954. A preliminary synopsis of the genera of American microhylid frogs. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology. UniVersity of Michigan 555: 1 - 22.","de Sa RO, Streicher JW, Sekonyela R, Forlani MC, Loader SP, Greenbaum E, Richards S, Haddad CFB. 2012. Molecular phylogeny of microhylid frogs (Anura: Microhylidae) with emphasis on relationships among New World genera. BMC EVolutionary Biology 12: 241.","Kenny JS. 1969. The amphibia of Trinidad. Studies on the fauna of Curacao and other Caribbean islands 108: 1 - 78.","Duellman WE. 1997. Amphibians of La Escalera region, southeastern Venezuela: taxonomy, ecology, and biogeography. Scientific Papers Natural History Museum the UniVersity of Kansas 2: 1 - 52.","Jowers MJ, Othman SN, Borzee A, Rivas GA, Sanchez- Ramirez S, Auguste RJ, Downie JR, Read M, Murphy JC. 2021. Unraveling unique island colonization events in Elachistocleis frogs: phylogeography, cryptic divergence, and taxonomical implications. Organisms DiVersity & EVolution 21: 189 - 206.","Acosta-Galvis AR, Tonini JFR, de Sa RO. 2022. Two new species of Elachistocleis Parker, 1927 (Anura: Microhylidae: Gastrophryninae) from Colombia. Zootaxa 5099: 527 - 548."]}

Elachistocleis surumu Caramaschi, 2010 as a junior subjective synonym of Elachistocleis surinamensis (Daudin, 1802) Although we do not have samples from the type locality of E. surumu (Vila Surumu, Municipality of Pacaraima, State of Roraima, Brazil), we sampled many specimens from nearby localities surrounding the type locality (Fig. 3) and all of them are recovered in a single lineage that is widespread in the eastern portion of the Guiana Shield (Figs 1, 3). The proposed morphological differences between E. surumu and E. surinamensis are subtle. Caramaschi (2010) differentiated E. surumu from E. surinamensis based on the alleged presence of a light vertebral stripe in E. surinamensis (absent in E. surumu) and minor details in the ventral colour patterns. However, neither the original description of E. surinamensis (Daudin, 1802) nor the recent species redescription and neotype designation (Jowers et al., 2021) stated that E. surinamensis has any kind of dorsal stripe or line. Caramaschi (2010) did not list any voucher specimens of E. surinamensis in his list of examined material. Ventral colour patterns of E. surumu are contained in the variation found herein for specimens of E. surinamensis (see also: Jowers et al., 2021). Therefore, we consider Elachistocleis surumu Caramaschi, 2010 as a junior subjective synonym of Elachistocleis surinamensis (Daudin, 1802)., Published as part of Novaes-E-Fagundes, Gabriel, Lyra, Mariana L., Loredam, Vinicius S. A., Carvalho, Thiago R., Haddad, Célio F. B., Rodrigues, Miguel T., Baldo, Diego, Barrasso, Diego A., Loebmann, Daniel, Ávila, Robson W., Brusquetti, Francisco, Prudente, Ana L. C., Wheeler, Ward C., Orrico, Victor Goyannes Dill & Peloso, Pedro, 2023, A tale of two bellies: systematics of the oval frogs (Anura: Microhylidae: Elachistocleis), pp. 545-568 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 197 on page 558, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac057, http://zenodo.org/record/7695481, {"references":["Caramaschi U. 2010. Notes on the taxonomic status of Elachistocleis oValis (Schneider, 1799) and description of five new species of Elachistocleis Parker, 1927 (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae). Boletim do Museu Nacional 527: 1 - 30.","Daudin FM. 1802. Histoire naturelle des rainettes, des grenouilles et des crapauds. Paris: Levrault.","Jowers MJ, Othman SN, Borzee A, Rivas GA, Sanchez- Ramirez S, Auguste RJ, Downie JR, Read M, Murphy JC. 2021. Unraveling unique island colonization events in Elachistocleis frogs: phylogeography, cryptic divergence, and taxonomical implications. Organisms DiVersity & EVolution 21: 189 - 206."]}

THE ELACHISTOCLEIS BICOLOR GROUP We recognize four nominal species in the E. bicolor group: E. bicolor, E. haroi, E. helianneae and E. nigrogularis. Except for E. nigrogularis, species of this group predominantly have an immaculate belly, but see comments below., Published as part of Novaes-E-Fagundes, Gabriel, Lyra, Mariana L., Loredam, Vinicius S. A., Carvalho, Thiago R., Haddad, Célio F. B., Rodrigues, Miguel T., Baldo, Diego, Barrasso, Diego A., Loebmann, Daniel, Ávila, Robson W., Brusquetti, Francisco, Prudente, Ana L. C., Wheeler, Ward C., Orrico, Victor Goyannes Dill & Peloso, Pedro, 2023, A tale of two bellies: systematics of the oval frogs (Anura: Microhylidae: Elachistocleis), pp. 545-568 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 197 on page 557, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac057, http://zenodo.org/record/7695481

Novaes-E-Fagundes, Gabriel, Lyra, Mariana L., Loredam, Vinicius S. A., Carvalho, Thiago R., Haddad, Célio F. B., Rodrigues, Miguel T., Baldo, Diego, Barrasso, Diego A., Loebmann, Daniel, Ávila, Robson W., Brusquetti, Francisco, Prudente, Ana L. C., Wheeler, Ward C., Orrico, Victor Goyannes Dill, Peloso, Pedro (2023): A tale of two bellies: systematics of the oval frogs (Anura: Microhylidae: Elachistocleis). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 197: 545-568, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac057

The (unsettling) status of Elachistocleis ovalis There has been a long controversy regarding the validity and applicability of this nomen, especially regarding whether it should be applied to immaculate or to maculate-bellied specimens of Elachistocleis [see Lavilla et al. (2003) and Caramaschi (2010) for lengthy discussions on the issue]. While some authors (e.g. Parker, 1927; Dunn, 1949; Kenny, 1969; De la Riva et al., 2000) applied this name to maculate-bellied specimens – thus conveniently distinguishing them from the immaculate-bellied E. bicolor – others did not. In a meeting abstract of his unpublished dissertation, Carcerelli (1992) regarded E. bicolor a junior synonym of E. ovalis; a view that was followed by a few other authors (e.g. Klappenbach & Langone, 1992; Olmos & Achaval, 1997; Kwet & Di-Bernardo, 1998). That decision was mainly grounded on the fact that Schneider (1799) stated that Rana ovalis had an ‘ inferne flavidus ’ (yellow venter). Lavilla et al. (2003) also remarked that, considering Schneider’s description, E. ovalis should be applied to the specimens with ‘immaculate, yellow, ventral colouration’; but they did not adhere to the idea of synonymizing E. ovalis and E. bicolor. Instead, they regarded E. ovalis as restricted to the ‘northern portion of the generic range’, whereas E. bicolor would be restricted to the ‘southern portion of the generic range’. Nevertheless, ventral patterns have been recorded idiosyncratically in the literature and ‘uniform’, ‘yellow’ and ‘immaculate’ bellies have often been treated as synonyms, although this is not necessarily the case. Some individuals of typically maculatebellied species can present the venter almost entirely covered by yellow blotches (e.g. Fig. 5G, J, L) and thus could also fit into the ‘ inferne flavidus ’ description. Thus, assuming that the type of E. ovalis had an immaculate venter, because Schneider (1799) stated that it has ‘ inferne flavidus ’, is not solid reasoning in itself. Moreover, as described above for our samples from Cuiabá (AAG-UFU 5953 and AAG-UFU 5954), sympatric specimens may present different ventral patterns and still be genetically similar, increasing the complexity of this puzzle. The identity of E. ovalis is still a conundrum, especially difficult to solve due to the lack of a type locality and the unknown whereabouts of the type specimen. For these reasons, among others, Caramaschi (2010) proposed an operational solution: he considered Rana ovalis Schneider, 1799 and the combination Elachistocleis ovalis a nomen dubium associated with a species inquirenda; a decision that was followed by Jowers et al. (2021). Since we could not find any new evidence on the contrary, we also adhere to that decision by Caramaschi (2010). AmphibiaWeb (2022) and Frost (2022), the two largest amphibian taxonomic catalogues, have essentially also followed this suggestion and, although both still include this species in their list of 22 recognized Elachistocleis species, the following notes are added for E. ovalis: ‘Nominally, Elachistocleis ovalis is a nomen inquirenda (see comment), not applied to a biological population. But, pending revision, this name is applied to populations from Bolivia, although a great deal of confusion surrounds the identification of specimens mentioned from other countries’ (Frost, 2022); ‘This ancient name (1799) lacks type material and there is no type locality. Despite wide usage it should be considered an invalid name and not used [...] Pending revision, AmphibiaWeb continues to use the name E. ovalis ’ (AmphibiaWeb, 2022)., Published as part of Novaes-E-Fagundes, Gabriel, Lyra, Mariana L., Loredam, Vinicius S. A., Carvalho, Thiago R., Haddad, Célio F. B., Rodrigues, Miguel T., Baldo, Diego, Barrasso, Diego A., Loebmann, Daniel, Ávila, Robson W., Brusquetti, Francisco, Prudente, Ana L. C., Wheeler, Ward C., Orrico, Victor Goyannes Dill & Peloso, Pedro, 2023, A tale of two bellies: systematics of the oval frogs (Anura: Microhylidae: Elachistocleis), pp. 545-568 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 197 on pages 561-562, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac057, http://zenodo.org/record/7695481, {"references":["Lavilla EO, Vaira M, Ferrari L. 2003. A new species of Elachistocleis (Anura: Microhylidae) from the Andean Yungas of Argentina, with comments on the Elachistocleis oValis - E. bicolor controversy. Amphibia-Reptilia 24: 269 - 284.","Caramaschi U. 2010. Notes on the taxonomic status of Elachistocleis oValis (Schneider, 1799) and description of five new species of Elachistocleis Parker, 1927 (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae). Boletim do Museu Nacional 527: 1 - 30.","Parker HW. 1927. The brevicipitid frogs allied to the genus Gastrophryne. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology. UniVersity of Michigan 187: 1 - 6.","Dunn ER. 1949. Notes on South American frogs of the family Microhylidae. American Museum NoVitates 1419: 1 - 21.","Kenny JS. 1969. The amphibia of Trinidad. Studies on the fauna of Curacao and other Caribbean islands 108: 1 - 78.","De la Riva I, Kohler J, Lotters S, Reichle S. 2000. Ten years of research on Bolivian amphibians: updated checklist, distribution, taxonomic problems, literature and iconography. ReVista Espanola de Herpetologia 14: 19 - 164.","Klappenbach MA, Langone JA. 1992. Lista sistematica y sinonimica de los anfibios del Uruguay con comentarios y notas sobre su distribucion. Anales del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de MonteVideo (2. a Serie) 8: 163 - 222.","Olmos A, Achaval F. 1997. Anfibios y reptiles del Uruguay. Montevideo: Barreiro y Ramos.","Kwet A, Di-Bernardo M. 1998. Elachistocleis erythrogaster, a new microhylid species from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and EnVironment 33: 7 - 18.","Schneider JG. 1799. Historia amphibiorum naturalis et literarariae. Fasciculus primus. Continens ranas, calamitas, bufones, salamandras et hydros in genera et species descriptos notisque suis distinctos. Jena: Friederici Frommanni.","Jowers MJ, Othman SN, Borzee A, Rivas GA, Sanchez- Ramirez S, Auguste RJ, Downie JR, Read M, Murphy JC. 2021. Unraveling unique island colonization events in Elachistocleis frogs: phylogeography, cryptic divergence, and taxonomical implications. Organisms DiVersity & EVolution 21: 189 - 206.","Frost DR. 2022. Amphibian species of the aeorld: an online reference, V. 6.1. New York: American Museum of Natural History. Doi: 10.5531 / db. vz. 0001. Electronic database available at https: // amphibiansoftheworld. amnh. org / index. php (accessed 2 April 2022)."]}

The status of Elachistocleis cesarii, E. piauiensis and E. magna Miranda-Ribeiro (1920) described two subspecies of Engystoma ovale based on maculate-bellied specimens from the state of São Paulo, Brazil, which were later synonymized by Parker (1934) with Elachistocleis ovalis. Toledo et al. (2010) recently resurrected and redescribed them under the new combination Elachistocleis cesarii. Herein we recognize E. cesarii as a species distributed in south-eastern and central-western Brazil (Fig. 3) and closely related to E. piauiensis and E. magna (Fig. 1). Elachistocleis piauiensis was described and named by Caramaschi & Jim (1983) from Picos, Piauí. We found four lineages distributed in north-eastern Brazil, but we could not confidently assign any to E. piauiensis, because we did not have access to data from the type locality. Specimens assigned to each of these four lineages are morphologically similar to each other and to the original species description of E. piauiensis. The ventral colour pattern varies widely and similarly along the clade composed of E. cesarii, E. magna and the four candidate species E. cf. piauiensis 1–4, with no clear difference between them. The presence/absence of the mid-dorsal line also varies, except for E. cf. piauiensis 3, in which all examined vouchers lack the line. The holotype of E. piauiensis also lacks the line, and this could be evidence to assign the name to this specific clade. However, we cannot rule out that the consistent absence in E. cf. piauiensis 3 is not an effect of our sampling, given the high variability of this character state in several of our delimited species (Fig. 1). Elachistocleis cesarii was distinguished from E. piauiensis by differences in the advertisement call, size of the post-commissural gland and details of the inguinal region colouration (Toledo et al., 2010) – phenotypic traits that we have not explored for the present contribution. On the other hand, E. magna was distinguished from E. cesarii and E. piauiensis solely by its size (male SVL above 31 mm in E. magna, against SVL below 29 mm in E. cesarii and E. piauiensis; Toledo, 2010). Among examined specimens, we observed a consistent difference in size between E. magna and E. cf. piauiensis 1–4, but not between E. magna and E. cesarii. Males of E. cesarii can have SVL up to 31 mm, whereas some males of E. magna have SVL below 29 mm. Therefore, a thorough evaluation of phenotypic data allied with a denser molecular sampling is needed to verify if the differential diagnoses among E. cesarii, E. piauiensis and E. magna will hold true with additional data., Published as part of Novaes-E-Fagundes, Gabriel, Lyra, Mariana L., Loredam, Vinicius S. A., Carvalho, Thiago R., Haddad, Célio F. B., Rodrigues, Miguel T., Baldo, Diego, Barrasso, Diego A., Loebmann, Daniel, Ávila, Robson W., Brusquetti, Francisco, Prudente, Ana L. C., Wheeler, Ward C., Orrico, Victor Goyannes Dill & Peloso, Pedro, 2023, A tale of two bellies: systematics of the oval frogs (Anura: Microhylidae: Elachistocleis), pp. 545-568 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 197 on pages 560-561, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac057, http://zenodo.org/record/7695481, {"references":["Miranda-Ribeiro A. 1920. Os engystomatideos do Museu Paulista (com um genero e tres especies novos). ReVista do Museu Paulista. Sao Paulo 12: 281 - 288.","Parker H. 1934. A monograph of the frogs of the family Microhylidae. London: Trustees of the British Museum.","Toledo LF, Loebmann D, Haddad CFB. 2010. Revalidation and redescription of Elachistocleis cesarii (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920) (Anura: Microhylidae). Zootaxa 2418: 50 - 60.","Caramaschi U, Jim J. 1983. A new microhylid frog, genus Elachistocleis (Amphibia, Anura), from northeastern Brasil. Herpetologica 39: 390 - 394."]}

The (mysterious) status of Elachistocleis corumbaensis Unfortunately, we have no samples confidently assignable to E. corumbaensis. We have two samples from two localities near (around 20 km and 80 km) but not from the type locality of the species (Parque Municipal de Piraputangas, Corumbá municipality; Piva et al., 2017) (Fig. 3). For one of these tissue samples (CFBHT 00078), we were unable to find the voucher specimen. The other (MAPT 1363) was identified by the collectors as E. matogrosso (see: Koroiva et al., 2020). So we assume, albeit tentatively, that it has an immaculate venter. Both samples fall with E. bicolor in our species delimitation (Fig. 1). However, E. corumbaensis was described as having a maculate belly (Piva et al., 2017). The closest locality that we have a sample of a maculate-bellied species (E. cesarii) is Campo Grande, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, 357 km from the type locality of E. corumbaensis. It is also worth remarking that E. corumbaensis has several similarities with E. haroi, particularly the dorsal pattern with a dark mark in the shape of a pine tree (Pereyra et al., 2013; Piva et al., 2017). Our closest sample of E. haroi is from Puerto Carmelo Peralta, Department of Alto Paraguay (Paraguay), 275 km south of the type locality of E. corumbaensis. For the moment, we consider E. corumbaensis a valid species, although it is unclear if this species belongs to the E. bicolor group or to the E. surinamensis group. The (unresolved) status of Elachistocleis erythrogaster This species is apparently restricted to the Centre of Research and Nature Conservation Pró-Mata, state of Rio Grande do Sul, above 900 m a.s.l. (Kwet & Di-Bernardo, 1998). It was distinguished from E. bicolor [treated as E. ovalis in Kwet & Di-Bernardo (1998)], which occurs in sympatry, by the unique red belly, larger size and other bioacoustic and reproductive characteristics (Kwet & Di-Bernardo, 1998). We have sampled some individuals from localities close to the type locality – although from the lowland – and they all fall with E. bicolor. This species has not been collected for nearly 20 years and is considered to be rare (Kwet et al., 2010)., Published as part of Novaes-E-Fagundes, Gabriel, Lyra, Mariana L., Loredam, Vinicius S. A., Carvalho, Thiago R., Haddad, Célio F. B., Rodrigues, Miguel T., Baldo, Diego, Barrasso, Diego A., Loebmann, Daniel, Ávila, Robson W., Brusquetti, Francisco, Prudente, Ana L. C., Wheeler, Ward C., Orrico, Victor Goyannes Dill & Peloso, Pedro, 2023, A tale of two bellies: systematics of the oval frogs (Anura: Microhylidae: Elachistocleis), pp. 545-568 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 197 on page 561, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac057, http://zenodo.org/record/7695481, {"references":["Piva A, Caramaschi U, Albuquerque NR. 2017. A new species of Elachistocleis (Anura: Microhylidae) from the Brazilian Pantanal. Phyllomedusa. Journal of Herpetology 16: 143 - 154.","Koroiva R, Rodrigues LRR, Santana DJ. 2020. DNA barcoding for identification of anuran species in the central region of South America. PeerJ 8: e 10189.","Pereyra LC, Akmentins MS, Laufer G, Vaira M. 2013. A new species of Elachistocleis (Anura: Microhylidae) from north-western Argentina. Zootaxa 3694: 525 - 544.","Kwet A, Di-Bernardo M. 1998. Elachistocleis erythrogaster, a new microhylid species from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and EnVironment 33: 7 - 18.","Kwet A, Lingnau R, Di-Bernardo M. 2010. Pro-Mata: anfibios da Serra Gaucha, sul do Brasil - Amphibien der Serra Gaucha, Sudbrasilien - amphibians of the Serra Gaucha, south of Brazil. Tubingen and Porto Alegre: Brasilien-Zentrum de Universitat Tubingen and EDIPUCRS."]}

Elachistocleis bumbameuboi Caramaschi, 2010 and Elachistocleis carvalhoi Caramaschi, 2010 as junior subjective synonyms of Elachistocleis magna Toledo, 2010 Caramaschi (2010) distinguished E. bumbameuboi and E. carvalhoi from E. magna based on subtle differences in the dorsal and ventral colour patterns, as follows: regarding the dorsal pattern, E. magna has ‘dorsum uniform dark greyish with scarce minute brighter dots in the outer boundaries’, whereas E. bumbameuboi and E. carvalhoi have, respectively, ‘dorsum uniformly dark grey or black without marks’ and ‘dorsum uniformly brown or dark grey without marks’; regarding the ventral pattern, E. magna has ‘venter grey with minute scattered white spots, mainly on the belly and ventral surfaces of legs’, whereas E. bumbameuboi and E. carvalhoi have, respectively, ‘venter grey with minute anastomosed whitish spots, producing a salt-and-pepper pattern’ and ‘venter greyish with large anastomosed yellow or whitish yellow blotches, producing a coarse marbled pattern, mainly in the chest area. Photographs of the holotypes of E. carvalhoi (Caramaschi, 2010: fig. 3) and E. bumbameuboi (Caramaschi, 2010: fig. 4) and a photograph of a paratype of E. bumbameuboi (Nunes et al., 2010: fig. 1) depict specimens with dorsa scattered with minute white dots. Thus, our examination of specimens of E. bumbameuboi, E. carvalhoi and E. magna show a broad overlap among the various shades of dorsal colour and the size and distribution pattern of ventral markings (e.g. see Fig. 5). Based on our phylogenetic hypothesis, on the broad geographic sampling, which included a paratype of E. bumbameuboi, topotypes of E. carvalhoi and E. magna, and on the examination of several voucher specimens, we consider that E. bumbameuboi Caramaschi, 2010 and E. carvalhoi Caramaschi, 2010 are junior subjective synonyms of E. magna Toledo, 2010., Published as part of Novaes-E-Fagundes, Gabriel, Lyra, Mariana L., Loredam, Vinicius S. A., Carvalho, Thiago R., Haddad, Célio F. B., Rodrigues, Miguel T., Baldo, Diego, Barrasso, Diego A., Loebmann, Daniel, Ávila, Robson W., Brusquetti, Francisco, Prudente, Ana L. C., Wheeler, Ward C., Orrico, Victor Goyannes Dill & Peloso, Pedro, 2023, A tale of two bellies: systematics of the oval frogs (Anura: Microhylidae: Elachistocleis), pp. 545-568 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 197 on pages 558-560, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac057, http://zenodo.org/record/7695481, {"references":["Caramaschi U. 2010. Notes on the taxonomic status of Elachistocleis oValis (Schneider, 1799) and description of five new species of Elachistocleis Parker, 1927 (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae). Boletim do Museu Nacional 527: 1 - 30.","Nunes I, Canedo C, Carvalho RR. 2010. Advertisement call and geographic distribution of Elachistocleis piauiensis Caramaschi & Jim, 1983 (Amphibia, Microhylidae), with notes on the presence of post-commissural gland in the genus. South American Journal of Herpetology 5: 30 - 34."]}

TAXONOMY OF ELACHISTOCLEIS – A COMPLEX MATTER Parker (1927) erected Elachistocleis to allocate Rana ovalis Schneider, 1799 and Engystoma ovale bicolor (Guérin-Méneville, 1838). As usual at the time, the descriptions of both species were brief and did not designate type specimens. Lavilla et al. (2003) suggested that these names apply to complexes of species, because species of this genus are morphologically similar, with few obvious external characters that can be used as reliable diagnostic characters (i.e. non-overlapping and fixed). Ultimately, as mentioned throughout our contribution, diagnoses in this genus rely heavily on the ventral colour pattern, head proportions and the presence/absence and extension of body lines, such as a mid-dorsal white line and lines on the hidden surface of hindlimbs (Parker, 1927; Lavilla et al., 2003; Caramaschi, 2010; Pereyra et al., 2013). Caramaschi (2010) and Piva et al. (2017) suggested the ventral colour pattern as a diagnostic character for two internal species groups: a group with immaculate bellies (uniformly clear, free of markings) and another with maculate bellies. We found that the groups proposed by the above-cited authors are not monophyletic. For example, Elachistocleis muiraquitan (immaculate-bellied) is not related to the remaining immaculate-bellied species; instead, it was recovered in the E. surinamensis species group, a clade composed of species with predominantly maculate bellies. Furthermore, whereas E. panamensis has a maculate belly (Dunn et al., 1948; Nelson, 1972), E. araios has an immaculate belly (Sánchez-Nivicela et al., 2020). Given their phylogenetic position as successive sistertaxa to the remaining species of the genus (but see our comments on the position of E. araios), the description of E. araios already rendered the immaculate-bellied species group as paraphyletic. Also, it implies that the optimization of the ventral pattern of the Elachistocleis ancestor is ambiguous, given our topology and that of Sánchez-Nivicela et al. (2020). More importantly, we found intraspecific variation of the ventral pattern in some species, such as E. bicolor and E. nigrogularis (Figs 1, 4). Ontogenetic variation of the ventral pattern has also been recently reported for E. haroi (Bueno-Villafañe et al., 2020). Therefore, the available phylogenetic and morphological evidence emphatically rejects the existence of groups diagnosed solely by the colour of their bellies. It is noteworthy that this discussion seems far from settled. Ventral patterns have been recorded idiosyncratically in the literature. Sánchez-Nivicela et al. (2020) cite E. cesarii as ‘having uniform, immaculate, ventral colouration’, although Toledo et al. (2010) when resurrecting the species clearly state that it has ‘ventral colouration white or yellow with grey marks and reticulations’, and their figure 3d depicts a specimen with a maculate belly. Jowers et al. (2021) state that E. cesarii has a ‘uniform’ belly. This same was said of E. erythrogaster and E. bicolor. While E. cesarii and E. erythrogaster are maculate (the latter comparatively less maculate), E. bicolor bellies usually present no markings whatsoever (but see discussion on E. bicolor below). Given the historical use of the ventral pattern in the taxonomy of Elachistocleis, we attempted to verify as many specimens as possible for this trait. We have not extensively checked our vouchers for other morphological diagnostic traits (male throat colour; presence and shape of the femoral stripe; post-commissural gland). Nevertheless, our preliminary data suggest that none of the above-cited morphological traits is as reliable as suggested in the literature [see also comments in Nunes et al. (2010) and Marinho et al. (2018)]. Data from other sources are scarce. Tadpoles of few species are described (e.g. Rossa-Feres & Nomura, 2006; Pereyra et al., 2013; Schulze et al., 2015; Ferreira & Weber, 2021), but it is difficult to confidently assign these descriptions to lineages recovered because most lack an association with available DNA sequences. Moreover, there is no comprehensive understanding of variation, although Gómez & Kehr (2012) reported some variability in larval morphology related to chemical cues in the presence of predators. Advertisement calls of several Elachistocleis have been described (e.g. Nelson, 1972; Duellman, 1997; Kwet & Di-Bernardo, 1998; Lavilla et al., 2003; Nunes et al., 2010; Toledo, 2010; Marinho et al., 2018; Pansonato et al., 2018; Jowers et al., 2021). Some of these are associated with vouchers present in our phylogeny (see: Marinho et al., 2018; Jowers et al., 2021). These are not adequately distributed in our topology and most are described from a few specimens and localities. Published data have already shown that even slight increases in sample size may affect recorded variation (see: Marinho et al., 2018). Finally, some localities present at least two sympatric species of Elachistocleis. For instance, both E. nigrogularis and E. surinamensis are syntopically found at the type locality of E. nigrogularis (Jowers et al., 2021), and both E. bicolor and E. erythrogaster are found at the type locality of E. erythrogaster (Kwet & Di-Bernardo, 1998) (also see Fig. 3). This makes it even more difficult to associate larvae with adults and advertisement calls of unvouchered specimens to named species without molecular data. A fine line A white or light yellow mid-dorsal line is present in many individuals of Elachistocleis, and other genera of Gastrophryninae, such as Chiasmocleis Méhelÿ, 1904 (e.g. Peloso et al., 2014), Ctenophryne Mocquard, 1904 (e.g. Duellman, 1978), Hamptophryne A.L. Carvalho, 1954 (e.g. Parker, 1927; Duellman, 1978), Hypopachus [e.g. Cope (1889); see also figure 5 in Greenbaum et al. (2011)], Dasypops Miranda-Ribeiro, 1924 and Stereocyclops Cope, 1870 (PP, personal observation). Many authors have noticed important intraspecific or intrapopulational variation (i.e. being present in some individuals and absent in others) in this character in other genera (e.g. Chiasmocleis, Peloso et al., 2014; Ctenophryne, Zweifel & Myers, 1989; Stereocyclops, GNF, personal observation) and in Elachistocleis (e.g. Nelson, 1972; Toledo, 2010; Toledo et al., 2010; Marinho et al., 2018). Notwithstanding, the occurrence of this line and the variation of its extension when present (e.g. from snout to vent or from post-cephalic fold to vent) were used in diagnoses of several Elachistocleis species (e.g. Caramaschi & Jim, 1983; Caramaschi, 2010; Nunes-de-Almeida & Toledo, 2012; Piva et al., 2017). We found a remarkable variation in the occurrence of the mid-dorsal white line in and among species (Fig. 1), similar to the variation reported for Chiasmocleis (Peloso et al., 2014). This variation challenges the reliability of the trait as a diagnostic feature and weakens the known diagnoses of several currently recognized species (see below). It was impossible to confidently evaluate the extension of the mid-dorsal line, thus we only scored the presence or the absence of the line. Hence, we recommend caution when using the mid-dorsal line in the systematics of Elachistocleis, especially for diagnostic purposes., Published as part of Novaes-E-Fagundes, Gabriel, Lyra, Mariana L., Loredam, Vinicius S. A., Carvalho, Thiago R., Haddad, Célio F. B., Rodrigues, Miguel T., Baldo, Diego, Barrasso, Diego A., Loebmann, Daniel, Ávila, Robson W., Brusquetti, Francisco, Prudente, Ana L. C., Wheeler, Ward C., Orrico, Victor Goyannes Dill & Peloso, Pedro, 2023, A tale of two bellies: systematics of the oval frogs (Anura: Microhylidae: Elachistocleis), pp. 545-568 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 197 on pages 554-555, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac057, http://zenodo.org/record/7695481, {"references":["Parker HW. 1927. The brevicipitid frogs allied to the genus Gastrophryne. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology. UniVersity of Michigan 187: 1 - 6.","Schneider JG. 1799. Historia amphibiorum naturalis et literarariae. Fasciculus primus. Continens ranas, calamitas, bufones, salamandras et hydros in genera et species descriptos notisque suis distinctos. Jena: Friederici Frommanni.","Guerin-Meneville F-E. 1838. Iconographie du regne Animal de G. CuVier ou representation d'apres nature de l'une des especes les plus remarquables et souVent non enVore figurees, de chaque genre d'animaux, aVec un texte descriptiff mis au courant de la science, Vol. 3 (Part - Reptiles). Paris: J. B. Balliere.","Lavilla EO, Vaira M, Ferrari L. 2003. A new species of Elachistocleis (Anura: Microhylidae) from the Andean Yungas of Argentina, with comments on the Elachistocleis oValis - E. bicolor controversy. Amphibia-Reptilia 24: 269 - 284.","Caramaschi U. 2010. Notes on the taxonomic status of Elachistocleis oValis (Schneider, 1799) and description of five new species of Elachistocleis Parker, 1927 (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae). Boletim do Museu Nacional 527: 1 - 30.","Pereyra LC, Akmentins MS, Laufer G, Vaira M. 2013. A new species of Elachistocleis (Anura: Microhylidae) from north-western Argentina. Zootaxa 3694: 525 - 544.","Piva A, Caramaschi U, Albuquerque NR. 2017. A new species of Elachistocleis (Anura: Microhylidae) from the Brazilian Pantanal. Phyllomedusa. Journal of Herpetology 16: 143 - 154.","Dunn ER, Trapido H, Evans H. 1948. A new species of the microhylid frog genus Chiasmocleis from Panama. American Museum NoVitates 1376: 1 - 8.","Nelson CE. 1972. Distribution and biology of Chiasmocleis panamensis (Amphibia: Microhylidae). Copeia 1972: 895 - 898.","Sanchez-Nivicela JC, Peloso PLV, Urgiles VL, Yanez- Munoz MH, Sagredo Y, Paez N, Ron S. 2020. Description and phylogenetic relationships of a new trans-Andean species of Elachistocleis Parker 1927 (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae). Zootaxa 4779: 323 - 340.","Bueno-Villafane D, Caballlero-Gini A, Ferreira M, Netto F, Fernandez Rios D, Brusquetti F. 2020. Ontogenetic changes in the ventral colouration of post metamorphic Elachistocleis haroi Pereyra, Akmentins, Laufer, Vaira, 2013 (Anura: Microhylidae). Amphibia-Reptilia 41: 191 - 200.","Toledo LF, Loebmann D, Haddad CFB. 2010. Revalidation and redescription of Elachistocleis cesarii (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920) (Anura: Microhylidae). Zootaxa 2418: 50 - 60.","Jowers MJ, Othman SN, Borzee A, Rivas GA, Sanchez- Ramirez S, Auguste RJ, Downie JR, Read M, Murphy JC. 2021. Unraveling unique island colonization events in Elachistocleis frogs: phylogeography, cryptic divergence, and taxonomical implications. Organisms DiVersity & EVolution 21: 189 - 206.","Nunes I, Canedo C, Carvalho RR. 2010. Advertisement call and geographic distribution of Elachistocleis piauiensis Caramaschi & Jim, 1983 (Amphibia, Microhylidae), with notes on the presence of post-commissural gland in the genus. South American Journal of Herpetology 5: 30 - 34.","Marinho P, Carvalho TR, Bang DL, Teixeira BFDV, Azarak PA, Campos CEC, Giaretta AA. 2018. Advertisement calls, intraspecific variation and species diagnosis of six Brazilian species of Elachistocleis (Anura: Microhylidae: Gastrophryninae). Zootaxa 4521: 357 - 375.","Rossa-Feres D de C, Nomura F. 2006. Characterization and taxonomic key for tadpoles (Amphibia: Anura) from the northwestern region of Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Biota Neotropica 6: 1 - 26.","Schulze A, Jansen M, Kohler G. 2015. Tadpole diversity of Bolivia's lowland anuran communities: molecular identification, morphological characterisation, and ecological assignment. Zootaxa 4016: 1 - 111.","Ferreira JS, Weber LN. 2021. A survey of the external morphology, internal oral morphology, chondrocranium and hyobranchial apparatus of Elachistocleis larvae Parker, 1927 (Anura, Microhylidae). Journal of Morphology 282: 472 - 484.","Gomez VI, Kehr AI. 2012. The effect of chemical signal of predatory fish and water bug on the morphology and development of Elachistocleis bicolor tadpoles (Anura: Microhylidae). Biologia 67: 1001 - 1006.","Duellman WE. 1997. Amphibians of La Escalera region, southeastern Venezuela: taxonomy, ecology, and biogeography. Scientific Papers Natural History Museum the UniVersity of Kansas 2: 1 - 52.","Kwet A, Di-Bernardo M. 1998. Elachistocleis erythrogaster, a new microhylid species from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and EnVironment 33: 7 - 18.","Pansonato A, Mudrek JR, Nunes CA, Strussmann C. 2018. Advertisement calls of topotypes of Elachistocleis matogrosso (Anura: Microhylidae). Salamandra 54: 92 - 96.","Peloso PLV, Sturaro MJ, Forlani MC, Gaucher P, Motta AP, Wheeler WC. 2014. Phylogeny, taxonomic revision, and character evolution of the genera Chiasmocleis and Syncope (Anura, Microhylidae) in Amazonia, with descriptions of three new species. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 386: 1 - 112.","Duellman WE. 1978. The Biology of an Equatorial Herpetofauna in Amazonian Ecuador. Lawrence: University of Kansas.","de Carvalho AL. 1954. A preliminary synopsis of the genera of American microhylid frogs. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology. UniVersity of Michigan 555: 1 - 22.","Cope ED. 1889. Batrachia of North America. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 34: 5 - 525.","Greenbaum E, Smith EN, de Sa RO. 2011. Molecular systematics of the Middle American genus Hypopachus (Anura: Microhylidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and EVolution 61: 265 - 277.","Zweifel RG, Myers CW. 1989. A New Frog of the Genus Ctenophryne (Microhylidae) from the Pacific Lowlands of Northwestern South America. American Museum NoVitates 2947: 1 - 16.","Caramaschi U, Jim J. 1983. A new microhylid frog, genus Elachistocleis (Amphibia, Anura), from northeastern Brasil. Herpetologica 39: 390 - 394.","Nunes-de-Almeida CHL, Toledo LF. 2012. A new species of Elachistocleis Parker (Anura, Microhylidae) from the state of Acre, northern Brazil. Zootaxa 3424: 43 - 50."]}

Atelognathus solitarius is probably the least-known species of its genus. The species was described in 1970 based on a single specimen from the Las Bayas Creek, Río Negro Province, Argentina; later publications that reported new specimens did not provide new localities. Here, we present an update of its distribution, describe the habitats it occupies, detail features of its natural history, and discuss conservation aspects. For this purpose, all available records were compiled from herpetological collections, literature, and new data obtained during field trips to the type locality and surroundings. We confirmed the presence of the species near its type locality and extended the known distribution about 30 km WSW and 30 km NW. Furthermore, we discovered that in addition to using small streams, A. solitarius uses lagoons in volcanic tablelands. Future studies on the biological and ecological aspects of the species are essential to update the current conservation category of ‘Insufficiently Known’ for Argentinean categorization or ‘Data Deficient’ for IUCN. Fil: Barrasso, Diego Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Área Zoología; Argentina Fil: Basso, Nestor Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina Fil: Sage, Richard David. Sociedad Naturalista Andino Patagónica (SNAP); Argentina Fil: Úbeda, Carmen. Universidad Nacional del Comahue; Argentina

The genus Atelognathus is currently composed of five species that occur in thesouthernmost region of Argentina and Chile. It belongs to the Batrachylidae along with Batrachyla, Chaltenobatrachus, and Hylorina, one of the few endemic anuran families from Patagonia. The first literature to mention the cytogenetics of Atelognathus was about 50 years ago, where it was stated that A. reverberii had a diploid chromosomal complement of 2N = 26, a feature later reported for other congenerics. Over the past two decades, we compiled cytogenetic information of all known species of Atelognathus: A. nitoi, A. patagonicus, A. praebasalticus, A. reverberii, and A. solitarius. Unexpectedly, our analyses showed that all of them have a diploid chromosomal complement 2N = 24, whichcontrasts with those observed by other authors. In this study, we describe thecytogenetics of all recognized Atelognathus species and two additional undetermined populations. We conclude that a karyotype of 2N = 24 is shared in Atelognathus, as a derived condition within Batrachylidae. Additionally, we describe and discuss other cytogenetics characters (i.e., NORs location and C-banding patterns) of Atelognathus and related genera of Batrachylidae in an evolutionary framework. Fil: Baldo, Juan Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical; Argentina Fil: Bunge, Maria Marta. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Barrasso, Diego Andrés. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina Fil: Boeris, Juan Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical; Argentina Fil: Ferro, Juan Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical; Argentina Fil: Cotichelli, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina Fil: Ubeda, Carmen Adria. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; Argentina Fil: Basso, Nestor Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina

Si bien en el plano nacional las contribuciones al conocimiento taxonómico de la fauna argentina de anfibios muestran un desarrollo exponencial desde comienzos de la década de 1980, y en el plano global se registra un particular interés desde mediados de la década de 2000, varios taxa de anfibios registrados en el país (endémicos o no) necesitan revisión. Entre los problemas detectados, y que se comentan más adelante, (1) persisten nombres asociados a descripciones morfológicas/tipológicas antiguas, que no contemplaban la variación y cuyos límites pueden ser difusos; (2) otros están asociados a uno o un número limitado de ejemplares coleccionados hace 50 años o más, y nunca registrados nuevamente en el país; (3) otros más tienen que ver con especies de amplísima distribución geográfica, en la que el conjunto de poblaciones debe ser reanalizado en acciones de cooperación internacional. Este trío de problemas no agota las dificultades a las que nos enfrentamos (las que se explicitan en extenso más adelante), pero brindan un panorama del estado actual de numerosos taxones.En tiempos en que los estudios taxonómicos y nomenclatoriales parecen pasados de moda, es imprescindible recordar que cada taxón correctamente delimitado expresa de manera palpable un genoma único e irrepetible, cuyo estado de conservación debe conocerse de manera fehaciente. Este conocimiento va más allá de la descripción de una serie más o menos larga de estados de carácter, o de secuencias moleculares, o de frecuencias de canto, para transformarse en el material imprescindible para la realización de estudios más complejos que llevan a la dilucidación de linajes, una de las nuevas categorías a considerar en la biología de la conservación. Fil: Ferraro, Daiana Paola. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”; Argentina Fil: Blotto Acuña, Boris Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”; Argentina Fil: Baldo, Juan Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas; Argentina Fil: Barrasso, Diego Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina Fil: Barrionuevo, Jose Sebastian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”; Argentina Fil: Basso, Nestor Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina Fil: Cardozo, Dario Elbio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Posadas; Argentina Fil: Cotichelli, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina Fil: Faivovich, Julián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”; Argentina Fil: Pereyra, Martín Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”; Argentina Fil: Lavilla, Esteban Orlando. Fundación Miguel Lillo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo; Argentina

Si bien en el plano nacional las contribuciones al conocimiento taxonómico de la fauna argentina de anfibios muestran un desarrollo exponencial desde comienzos de la década de 1980, y en el plano global se registra un particular interés desde mediados de la década de 2000, varios taxa de anfibios registrados en el país (endémicos o no) necesitan revisión. Entre los problemas detectados, y que se comentan más adelante, (1) persisten nombres asociados a descripciones morfológicas/tipológicas antiguas, que no contemplaban la variación y cuyos límites pueden ser difusos; (2) otros están asociados a uno o un número limitado de ejemplares coleccionados hace 50 años o más, y nunca registrados nuevamente en el país; (3) otros más tienen que ver con especies de amplísima distribución geográfica, en la que el conjunto de poblaciones debe ser reanalizado en acciones de cooperación internacional. Este trío de problemas no agota las dificultades a las que nos enfrentamos (las que se explicitan en extenso más adelante), pero brindan un panorama del estado actual de numerosos taxones. En tiempos en que los estudios taxonómicos y nomenclatoriales parecen pasados de moda, es imprescindible recordar que cada taxón correctamente delimitado expresa de manera palpable un genoma único e irrepetible, cuyo estado de conservación debe conocerse de manera fehaciente. Este conocimiento va más allá de la descripción de una serie más o menos larga de estados de carácter, o de secuencias moleculares, o de frecuencias de canto, para transformarse en el material imprescindible para la realización de estudios más complejos que llevan a la dilucidación de linajes, una de las nuevas categorías a considerar en la biología de la conservación., Asociación Herpetológica Argentina

Vision is one of the main sensory systems in amphibians, and the eye structure is highly associated with habitat conditions. The ontogeny, as well as the adult structure, of the eye has been studied in only a few species. The life change after metamorphosis is accompanied by changes in the visual environment. The aim of this work is to describe the eye ontogeny of Pleurodema bufoninum and to compare it with that of Pleurodema somuncurense. Specimens of both Pleurodema species were processed for histology analysis at different stages of development, including the tadpole, postmetamorphic, and adult forms. Eyes in both Pleurodema species are composed of the 3 tunics, tunica fibrosa, tunica vasculosa, and tunica interna, and the lens. Additionally, in both, the iris presents a projection on its dorsal and ventral free ends that screens the cornea. This structure has been reported in the eye of several anuran species and is called the umbraculum, meniscus or pupillary nodule. Our results show that the structures related to light capture (retina and lens) appear early in larval life, while the components of the terrestrial-life eye (scleral cartilage, specialized cornea, eyelids, nictitating membrane, and Harderian's gland) do not develop until the metamorphic climax, when the tadpole leaves the water. The adult eyes of P. bufoninum and P. somuncurense are very similar in structure and development. Fil: Volonteri, María Clara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; Argentina Fil: Barrasso, Diego Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina Fil: Cotichelli, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina Fil: Basso, Nestor Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina Fil: Hermida, Gladys Noemí. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental; Argentina

The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatídis (Bd) is one of the most important contributors for the decline of amphibian populations worldwide. Evidence indicates that the harmfulness of Bd infection depends on the species and life stage, the fungus strain, the season and environmental factors. In the present paper, we experimentally investigated (i) the susceptibility and sensitivity of five South American tadpole species (Rhinella fernandezae, Scinax squalirostris, Hypsiboas pulchellus, Leptodactylus latrans and Physalaemus fernandezae) to a foreign Bd strain (JEL423), (ii) the response of two populations of P. fernandezae to a native Bd strain (MLA1), and (Hi) the virulence of native and foreign Bd isolates on tadpoles of the same species. We also evaluated the relationship between Bd infection and the loss of keratinised mouthparts in P. fernandezae. We found that all species except L. latrans were susceptible to Bd infection with lethal consequences, with R. fernandezae being the most sensitive species. In P. fernandezae, sensitivity to infection depended on population as well as Bd strain, although no relationship was found between fungal infection and the loss of keratinised mouthparts. This is the first experimental study on mortality rates of South American tadpoles exposed to Bd., Instituto de Botánica "Dr. Carlos Spegazzini", Centro de Investigaciones del Medioambiente

Floating meadows known as "camalotales" are important way of biogeographical dispersal at the Río de la Plata basin. However, the fauna transported in these rafts is a scarce studied topic. This work presents a survey of this fauna, for which different localities of its coast were visited after the floods in the summer season from December 2015 to March 2016. Twenty species of tetrapods, eight arachnids and three hirudiniformes closely associated with floating vegetation were accounted. Also, fishes, insects, mollusks and tricladids were recorded. This provided better information about animals capable of supporting transport on floating rafts. It is proposed that in future studies emphasis should be placed on improving knowledge about invertebrates that are associated with camalotales transport. It is underlined that the events of camalotales are very important in the regulation of the biodiversity, and that therefore they must be taken into account when planning palliative measures against the economic problems that can cause the floating vegetation., Las balsas de vegetación flotantes llamadas camalotales, son un medio de dispersión biogeográfica muy importante en la cuenca del Río de la Plata. Sin embargo, la fauna transportada en estas balsas constituye un tópico muy poco estudiado. En este trabajo se presenta un relevamiento de dicha fauna, para lo cual se visitaron diferentes localidades de su costa luego de las inundaciones en la temporada estival de diciembre de 2015 a marzo de 2016. Se contabilizaron 20 especies de tetrápodos, ocho arácnidos y tres hirudiniformes íntimamente asociados a la vegetación flotante. También se registraron, peces, insectos, moluscos y tricládidos. Esto aportó una mejor información de la fauna capaz de soportar el transporte sobre balsas flotantes. Se propone que en futuros estudios se deberá hacer énfasis en mejorar el conocimiento sobre los invertebrados que están asociados al transporte por camalotales. Se remarca que los eventos de camalotales son muy importantes en la regulación de la biodiversidad, y que por ello deben ser tenidos en cuenta al planificar medidas paliativas contra los problemas económicos que pueda causar la vegetación flotante., Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo

The karyotypes of four South American Xenodontini snake species, Lygophis dilepis, L. meridionalis, L. flavifrenatus and L. anomalus, are here described for the first time. We studied specimens from northeastern Argentina using conventional and silver (Ag-NOR) staining. While the typical ophidian karyotype is 2n= 36, we found that the karyotype of the studied species is 2n=34, with metacentric and submetacentric chromosome pairs. The Ag-NOR staining revealed that nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) are located on one pair of microchromosomes. In L. dilepisand L. anomalus the 4th chromosome pair is heteromorphic, and we suggest that it might be considered as the ZW sex chromosome pair. The optimization of available karyological data on a molecular phylogenetic tree of the tribe Xenodontini shows that the diploid numbers of the three genera (2n= 28, 30 and 34) represent putative synapomorphies for Erythrolamprus, Xenodon and Lygophis, respectively. Our results provide new insights which fill gaps in our knowledge on the cytology in the genus Lygophis and identified a possible diagnostic character for the genus., Los cariotipos de cuatro especies de serpientes, Xenodontini dilepis Lygophis , L . meridionalis , L . flavifrenatus y L . anomalus , se describen aquí por primera vez. Estudiamos especímenes del noreste de Argentina usando tinción convencional y plata (Ag-NOR). Mientras que el cariotipo de ofidio típico es 2n = 36, encontramos que el cariotipo de la especie estudiada es 2n = 34, con pares de cromosomas metacéntricos y submetacéntricos. La tinción de Ag-NOR reveló que las regiones organizadoras nucleolares (NOR) se encuentran en un par de microcromosomas. En L . dilepis y L . anomalusel 4 ° par de cromosomas es heteromorfo, y sugerimos que se lo pueda considerar como el par de cromosomas sexuales ZW. La optimización de los datos disponibles cariológicos sobre un árbol filogenético molecular de la tribu Xenodontini muestra que los números diploides 2n = 28, 30 y 34 representan supuestas sinapomorfías para Erythrolamprus , Xenodon y Lygophis , respectivamente. Nuestros resultados proporcionan nuevos conocimientos que llenan las lagunas en nuestro conocimiento sobre la citología en el género Lygophis e identificaron un posible carácter de diagnóstico para el género., Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo

This paper describes the external and buccal cavity morphology, chondrocranium, hyobranchial apparatus and cranial muscles of Alsodes neuquensis in comparison with the sibling species A. gargola. The tadpole of A. neuquensis presents a shorter and higher tail, and a relatively smaller oral disc than A. gargola. The external larval morphology of Alsodes may be characterised as follows: (i) tooth row formula 2(2)/3(1), (ii) single row of marginal papillae with a wide rostral gap, (iii) single row of submarginal papillae in the mental region, (iv) both supra- and infraangular submarginal papillae present. The buccal features do not show marked intrageneric differences. The anterior and/or posterior pair of infralabial papillae may be simple or forked. All known tadpoles present one prenarial papilla accompanied or not by few pustules, and the lateral ridges of floor can be three to penta-armed. The chondrocranial features shared by the species of the genus Alsodes are (i) tetrapartite cartilage suprarostralis, (ii) chondrified adrostral tissue mass, (iii) processus anterolateralis of the larval crista parotica well developed or larval processus oticus, and (iv) large processus pseudopterygoideus that may be either completely fused to the basi cranii (A. vanzolinii, A. verrucosus and some A. neuquensis) or fused only at the tip (A. barrioi, A. gargola and some A. neuquensis). Larval cranial muscles are for the first time described for the genus Alsodes. They do not show differences between both species studied herein. Fil: Barrasso, Diego Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina Fil: Alcalde, Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Limnología ; Argentina Fil: Blotto Acuña, Boris Leonardo. Universidade de São Paulo; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ; Argentina Fil: Basso, Nestor Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral; Argentina

Lobo, Fernando, Barrasso, Diego A., Hibbard, Thomas, Basso, Néstor G. (2016): On the evolution and diversification of an Andean clade of reptiles: combining morphology and DNA sequences of the palluma group (Liolaemidae: Phymaturus). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 176 (3): 648-673, DOI: 10.1111/zoj.12335, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/zoj.12335

Phymaturus comprises 44 species mainly distributed along the south-west of South America on both sides of the Andes. In this study we present a phylogenetic analysis of Phymaturus of the palluma group, one of its two large clades, including almost all described species. This analysis duplicates the number of in-group taxa compared with previous contributions. We performed a total-evidence analysis, combining molecular and morphological characters: sequencing fragments of cytochome b (cytb), 12S, and ND4, for all terminals; describing 45 new morphological characters; and incorporating all DNA sequences available from GenBank. Separate analyses of morphology and DNA partitions are presented and discussed in detail. Seven subclades are recognized here. We named three new subclades and redefined another, found to be paraphyletic. In order to recognize lineages within the traditional Phymaturus palluma group we proposed to treat it as a natural group, containing within it the ranks of clade, subclade, and lineages, respectively. The palluma group is composed by the vociferator and the bibronii clades. The vociferator clade, composed of Chilean and Argentinean species, would be the most basal in the group. Within the bibronii clade, the roigorum subclade includes the Phymaturus verdugo lineage, whereas the mallimaccii subclade would consist of 13 terminal taxa, for which three Chilean species have been added. In this study, morphological apomorphies are identified for all clades and the evolution of ‘male head melanism’ is discussed. Fil: Lobo Gaviola, Fernando Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del Noroeste Argentino; Argentina Fil: Barrasso, Diego Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolucion Austral; Argentina Fil: Hibbard, Thomas Nathaniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del Noroeste Argentino; Argentina Fil: Basso, Nestor Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Instituto de Diversidad y Evolucion Austral; Argentina

El género Physalaemus está compuesto por 45 especies de anuros distribuidas desde las regiones más cálidas hasta las regiones templadas de Sudamérica. Physalaemus henselii y P. fernandezae son dos de las especies con distribución más austral del género, ocupan gran parte de la región pampeana pero, a su vez, presentan una distribución interrumpida o disyunta a nivel de la Cuenca del Río de La Plata. Su proximidad biogeográfica, la similitud en su morfología externa y osteología, sus características etológicas y la semejanza larval entre ambas especies sugiere que son formas evolutivamente muy próximas, pero hasta el momento su relación no ha sido evaluada bajo una hipótesis filogenética. La región pampeana constituye un gran ecotono que en parte, fue originado por pulsos históricos de avance y retroceso de una biota de estirpe guayano-brasileña y otra andinopatagónica. Estos pulsos han dejado huellas que hoy se pueden observar en el registro fósil, y en casos puntuales de especies aisladas o en distribuciones disyuntas; y pueden ser atribuidas a los intensos cambios climáticos ocurridos en la región. Adicionalmente a los cambios registrados en el clima, el litoral argentino y su inmediato uruguayo han sido afectados por transgresiones marinas ocurridas durante el Neógeno. En el presente trabajo se realizó un estudio filogenético y filogeográfico de dos especies de anuros: Physalaemus fernandezae (Müller, 1926) y P. henselii (Peters, 1872), con el objetivo principal de conocer los procesos históricos que actuaron sobre cada especie. Aunque el paisaje a ambos lados del Río de La Plata presente gran semejanza, el territorio uruguayo y el sur de Brasil son atravesados por sierras de poca altura (también llamadas cuchillas). Por el contrario la provincia de Buenos Aires es mayoritariamente una llanura deprimida levemente ondulada sujeta a periodos de sequías e inundaciones. Las principales hipótesis de trabajo son: 1- las transgresiones marinas que tuvieron lugar en el Neógeno actuaron como barrera geográfica, dando como resultado un evento vicariante entre P. fernandezae y P. henselii, y 2- P. fernandezae y P. henselii presentan diferentes patrones filogeográficos y ello se debe a diferentes características del terreno en donde se distribuyen. El estudio filogenético fue realizado utilizando exclusivamente caracteres moleculares, aplicándose análisis de máxima parsimonia y de inferencia bayesiana. Para los estudios filogeográficos se muestrearon poblaciones cubriendo la totalidad del área de distribución de cada especie. Con las muestras obtenidas se realizaron análisis de diversidad genética, estructura poblacional e historia demográfica. El análisis filogenético indica que P. fernandezae y P. henselii son especies hermanas y que su tiempo de divergencia coincide con la transgresión marina ocurrida hace 15 Ma. En cuanto a los resultados filogeográficos, cada especie presenta un patrón notablemente diferente. Physalaemus fernandezae, que se distribuye en los terrenos llanos de la provincia de Buenos Aires, no presenta una fuerte estructura filogeográfica. En cambio P. henselii con una distribución en terrenos más ondulados de Uruguay y el sur de Brasil presenta una fuerte estructura filogeográfica. Para esta especie existen tres linajes principales, uno distribuido desde el sureste de Brasil hasta el litoral argentino, llegando hasta “El Palmar”, otro que se distribuye en el centro y sureste de Uruguay, y un tercero únicamente hallado en el sudeste de Brasil. Las semejanzas morfológicas, etológicas y ecológicas entre las especies estudiadas sugieren que las diferencias de patrón filogeográfico pueden estar dadas por factores externos, como el clima o el terreno. Los análisis realizados para revelar la historia demográfica de las especies estudiadas muestran estabilidad demográfica histórica o indicios de expansión reciente. En ninguna de las especies fue detectado un cuello de botella, indicando que los cambios climáticos del Pleistoceno no causaron gran efecto sobre ellas. El análisis de filogeografía bayesiana mostró un centro de origen de P. fernandezae ubicado aproximadamente en el centro de su distribución, en el sudoeste de la bahía de Samborombón, y desde allí se dispersó hasta ocupar su área de distribución actual. En P. henselii el centro de origen fue propuesto para el sudeste de Brasil - noreste de Uruguay, y desde allí se dispersó utilizando tres rutas principales: una hacia el norte, la segunda hacia el sureste de Uruguay, y una tercera hacia el oeste, llegando hasta el litoral argentino., Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo

Homonota taragui sp. nov. Figs. 2, 3 Holotype. Fig. 2, 3 UNNEC 11293, adult female from Paraje Tres Cerros, Cerro Nazareno (29 º06'34,30"S, 56 º 55 '51,92"W, 168 m a.s.l.), Estancia “La Higuera Cue”, General San Martín Department, Corrientes Province, Argentina, collected by R. Cajade, E.G. Etchepare, C. Falcione, and D.A. Barrasso on 21 November 2010. Paratypes. All paratypes (21 specimens) from the same locality as the holotype, but collected in different hills and dates: Cerro Nazareno (29 º06' 34.30 "S, 56 º 55 ' 51.92 "W, 168 m a.s.l.), Estancia “La Higuera Cue”, collected by R. Cajade and E.G. Etchepare on 12 November 2010: UNNEC 11287 a juvenile, UNNEC 11289 a juvenile, UNNEC 11297 an adult female, MLP.S 5796 an adult female. Cerro Nazareno (29 º06' 34.30 "S, 56 º 55 ' 51.92 "W, 168 m a.s.l.), Estancia “La Higuera Cue”, collected by R. Cajade, E.G. Etchepare, C. Falcione, and D.A. Barrasso on 21 November 2010: UNNEC 11281 an adult female, UNNEC 11283 an adult male, UNNEC 11285 an adult female. Cerro Capará (29 °06’ 45.68 ’’S, 56 ° 55 ’ 13.10 ’’W, 143 m a.s.l.), Estancia “La Higuera Cue”, collected by R. Cajade, E.G. Etchepare, C. Falcione, and D.A. Barrasso on 21 November 2010: UNNEC 11277 an adult male, UNNEC 11278 an adult female, UNNEC 11279 an adult male, UNNEC 11282 an adult female, UNNEC 11284 an adult female, UNNEC 11288 a juvenile, UNNEC 11291 a juvenile, UNNEC 11292 a juvenile, UNNEC 11303 a juvenile, UNNEC 11304 a juvenile, MLP.S 5797 a juvenile. Cerro El Chico (29 °09’ 14.30 ’’S, 56 ° 55 ’09.80’’W, 140 m a.s.l.), Estancia “Las Marías”, collected by R. Cajade, E.G. Etchepare, and C. Falcione on 6 May 2011: UNNEC 11294 an adult female, UNNEC 11295 an adult female, UNNEC 11296 an adult male. Diagnosis.— Homonota taragui is a small species of Homonota (SVL= 41.86 mm; Table 1) that can be distinguished from other species of the genus by the following set of characters: a well-marked dorsal, reticulate, dark pattern contrasting with the lighter colored background; small, star-shaped chromatophores on the abdomen; presence of an internasal scale contacting the rostral scales; granular scales covering the post-orbital region of the head; granular scales forming smooth edges of the meatus auditory; presence of moderately keeled scales on the dorsal and lateral surface of the body; keeled scales contiguously disposed on the dorsal surface of the body; cycloid scales covering the dorsal surface of the arms; moderately keeled scales interspersed with cycloid scales covering the dorsal and anterior regions of the thighs. Homonota taragui differs from H. andicola in the following characters: presence of keeled scales on the dorsal and lateral surface of the body and dorsal surface of the thighs (keeled scales absent in H. andicola); the auditory meatus with smooth edges formed by granular scales (serrated edges formed by conical scales in H. andicola). Homonota taragui differs from H. borellii in the following characters: presence of keeled scales on the lateral surface of the body and dorsal surface of the thighs (keeled scales absent in H. borellii, Fig. 4); presence of an internasal scale contacting the rostral scales (internasal scales absent in H. borellii, Fig 5). Homonota taragui differs from H. darwinii in the following characters: keeled scales extended along the whole dorsal body surface (keeled scales only on the posterior half of the dorsal body surface in H. darwinii); presence of keeled scales on the lateral surface of the body and dorsal surface of the thighs (keeled scales absent in H. darwinii); subcaudal scales transversely rectangular (vertically rhomboid in H. darwinii, Fig 6); the auditory meatus with smooth edges formed by granular scales (serrated edges formed by conical scales in H. darwinii). Homonota taragui differs from H. fasciata in the following characters: rows of keeled scales on dorsal surface of the body composed by moderately keeled scales disposed contiguously (composed by strongly keeled scales separated from each other in H. fasciata); dorsal surface of the arms covered by cycloid scales (covered by keeled scales in H. fasciata); presence of an internasal scale contacting the rostral scales (internasal scale absent in H. fasciata, Fig. 5); subcaudal scales transversely rectangular (rhomboid vertically and transversely rounded in H. fasciata, Fig. 6); the auditory meatus with smooth edges formed by granular scales (serrated edges formed by conical scales in H. fasciata). Homonota taragui differs from H. rupicola in the following characters: presence of keeled scales on the lateral surface of the body and dorsal surface thighs (keeled scales absent in H. rupicola, Fig. 4); presence of an internasal scale contacting the rostral scales (internasal scale absent in H. rupicola, Fig. 5). Homonota taragui differs from H. underwoodi in the following characters: presence of chromatophores on the abdomen (chromatophores on abdomen absent in H. underwoodi); presence of keeled scales on the dorsal and lateral surface of the body and dorsal surface of the thighs (keeled scales absent in H. underwoodi); presence of an internasal scale contacting the rostral scales (internasal scales absent in H. underwoodi, Fig. 5); subcaudal scales transversely rectangular (vertically rhomboid in H. underwoodi); the auditory meatus with smooth edges formed by granular scales (serrated edges formed by conical scales in H. underwoodi). Homonota taragui differs from H. uruguayensis in the following characters: rows of moderately keeled juxtaposed scales on the dorsal surface of the body (strongly keeled imbricate scales in H. uruguayensis); dorsal surface of the arms covered by cycloid scales (covered by keeled scales in H. uruguayensis); the post-orbital region of the head covered only with granular scales (covered with granular scales interspersed with large keeled scales in H. uruguayensis, Fig. 7). Homonota taragui differs from H. whitii in the following characters: presence of keeled scales on the dorsal and lateral surface of the body and dorsal surface of the thighs (keeled scales absent in H. whitii); presence of an internasal scale contacting the rostral scales (internasal scale absent in H. whitii, Fig. 5); subcaudal scales transversely rectangular (rounded and longitudinally elongated in H. whitii, Fig. 6); the auditory meatus with smooth edges formed by granular scales (serrated edges formed by conical scales in H. whitii). Homonota taragui differs from H. williamsii in the following characters: presence of keeled scales on the lateral surface of the body and dorsal surface of the thighs (keeled scales absent in H. williamsii); subcaudal scales transversely rectangular (longitudinally elongated in H. williamsii, Fig. 6); the auditory meatus with smooth edges formed by granular scales (serrated edges formed by conical scales in H. williamsii). Description of holotype.—Body short, 3.9 times as long as the head. Head subtriangular, slightly widened, snout rounded, and neck moderately defined. Eyes diameter 4.1 times smaller than head length, and the pupil vertical with irregular edges. Measurements: SVL = 41.3 mm; TL = 53.8 mm; HL = 10.3 mm; HW = 8.5 mm; ED = 2.5 mm; EOD = 0.7 mm; END = 2.9 mm; EEOD = 3.6 mm; VW = 4.3 mm. Dorsal surface of the head covered by granular scales, with notably larger scales between the eyes and snout. Rostral scales pentagonal, wider than high, with two oblique grooves extending from the nostrils to the central region of the scale where end. Seven supralabial scales and five infralabial scales present on each side of the upper and lower jaws, respectively. One internasal scale in contact with the rostral scales. Nostril bordered by the first supralabial, rostral, supranasal and two postnasal scales. Thirty supraciliary scales forming a ruffle orbit edge. Auditory meatus small, elliptical, and oblique with respect to the sagittal plane, with smooth edges formed by 16 small granular scales on each meatus. Mental scale hexagonal, longer than wide. Three postmental scales. Post-orbital region covered by granular scales. Scales of the gular region contiguous and cycloid in shape. Scales of the throat region imbricated, cycloid, and larger than the scales of the gular region. Fifty scales around the midbody. One hundred fifty-six dorsal scales. Vertebral line formed by two series of contiguous granular scales. Dorsal surface of the body with four series of moderately keeled scales on each side of the vertebral line and extended onto approximately the first 4 mm of the dorsal tail surface. First three longitudinal keeled series on each side of the vertebral line separated by two series of smaller granular scales. Third series of longitudinal keeled scales separated from lateral scales by one series of both cycloid and granular scales. Lateral scales in four contiguous series of moderately keeled scales. The fifth series of moderately keeled scales interspersed with cycloid scales at the ventral margin of the flanks. Axillar and inguinal region covered by small granular scales. Ventral scales cycloid and imbricate, with the posterior edge 3-5 lobed. Dorsal and anterior region of the arm and forearm covered with imbricate cycloid scales. Posterior and inner region of the arms covered with very small granular scales. Dorsal and anterior region of the thighs covered by keeled scales interspersed with cycloid scales, both scale types imbricate. Dorsal and anterior region of the lower leg covered by keeled scales. Ventral and posterior region of the lower leg covered by cycloid scales. Subdigital lamellae of the hands imbricate, numbering: I: 7 / 7; II: 10 / 10; III: 14 / 13; IV: 16 / 14; V: 11 / 12. Subdigital lamellae of the foot imbricate, numbering: I: 7 / 7; II: 9 / 9; III: 12 / 12; IV: 12 / 11; V: 9 / 10. Dorsal and lateral surface of the tail covered by cycloid and imbricate scales. Subcaudal scales imbricate, enlarged, and transversely rectangular. Lateral margin of the vent bordered by two smaller scales. Coloration in vivo . Dorsal body side covered with irregular, dark brown spots with well-defined edges, which contrast sharply with the beige background, resulting in a well-marked reticulate pattern. Towards the flanks of the body, a continuous dark brown mark is extended from the posterior edge of the orbit to behind the insertion of the forelegs. Loreal regions covered with a dark spot extending from the snout tip to the anterior edge of the orbits. On the ventral body side, chest and abdomen immaculate gray; limbs, groin, neck, and head dirty brownish with dark chromatophores scattered on the scales. Coloration in fixed specimens. On the body dorsum, the reticulate pattern tends to become black and the beige background coloration tends to become gray. On the ventral body side, the coloration remains the same, but less intense. Variation. Based on ten adult females and four adult males (Tables 1, 2). UNNEC 11281 with six supralabial scales on left side and seven at right side, two postmental scales, and six infralabial scales on right side and five on left side. UNNEC 11277 with six infralabial scales on right side and five on left side. UNNEC 11297 with seven supralabial scales on left side and six on right side. UNNEC 11282 with seven supralabial scales on left side and eight on right side, two postmental scales. UNNEC 11283 with two postmental scales. UNNEC 11278 with six supralabial scales on left side and seven on right side. UNNEC 11284 with six supralabial scales on left side and seven on right side. UNNEC 11285 with two postmental scales, five infralabial scales on left side and six on right side. MLP. S. 5796 with six supralabial scales on each side, two postmental scales. UNNEC 11294 with six supralabial scales on left side and seven on right side, two postmental scales. UNNEC 11295 with six supralabial scales on left side and seven on right side, six infralabial scales on each side. UNNEC 11296 with two postmental scales, six infralabials on each side. Etymology. The species epithet derives from the language of the South American Guarani culture, which inhabited the area currently corresponding to Corrientes Province. The term is translated as “lizard” (Vázquez de Espinosa, 1948; Sorg, 2007), but current inhabitants use it to refer to the territory of the province. Distribution. Homonota taragui is currently only known from the hills at Paraje Tres Cerros, Corrientes Province, Argentina (Fig. 1). Field surveys around the base of the hills failed to find any specimens, suggesting that the new species is endemic in these hills. Habitat. Rocky grasslands in which grasses and cacti are the dominant elements (Fig. 8; Parodi, 1943). Individuals are found under rocks that lay on a rocky substrate, and especially in sites where the rocks lay on large, exposed outcrops of quartz sandstone. Reproduction. Gravid females of H. taragui where found during November and December, and the egg clutches in December. Egg clutches in the field and those laid by females in captivity consisted of a single egg (Fig. 9). This pattern is also observed in other species of the genus, such as H. borellii, H. fasciata and H. underwoodi (Gallardo, 1977; Abdala, 1997). In the field, egg clutches were laid under the rocks above cockroach droppings, and were always found with one to three adult individuals. Egg size (n = 4) were 9.82 mm ± 0.120 long (min = 9.72; max = 9.98), and had an average width of 7.7 mm ± 0.11 (min = 7.58; max = 7.86). Other lizard species. Four other lizard species were found to occur syntopically with H. taragui, Cercosaura schreibersii, Cnemidophorus sp., Teius ocullatus, and Tupinambis merianae. Conservation status. Individuals of H. taragui are common and easy to find on the hills of Paraje Tres Cerros. Yet, the extremely restricted range of distribution of this species indicates that it is potentially vulnerable to changes in environment. The rocky grassland of the hills is used as pasture for cattle. In surrounding areas, livestock activity with intentional fire set to promote grass growth for pasture represents the major threat for the hills’ fauna and flora. Provincial governmental authorities seem to be interested in protecting these hills by turning them into a nature reserve. We recommend that a monitoring study of the populations of H. taragui be included in the management plan of the future nature reserve. Such a study would allow us to understand population dynamics in this species, and accurately evaluate its conservation status. MLP. UNNEC UNNEC UNNEC UNNEC UNNEC UNNEC UNNEC UNNEC UNNEC UNNEC UNNEC S 5796 11277 11278 11279 11281 11282 11283 11284 11285 11294 11295 11296 f I 7 / 7 6 / 6 6 / 6 7 / 6 7 /- -/ 6 6 / 6 8 / 8 6 / 6 9 /- 7 / 8 7 / 7 f II 10 / 10 9 / 9 10 / 9 10 / 9 11 / 10 10 / 10 10 / 9 10 / 10 10 / 9 -/ 10 10 / 11 11 / 10 f III 10 / 11 -/ 9 12 / 12 13 / 12 12 / 12 12 / 12 11 / 11 11 /- 12 / 11 10 / 12 12 / 12 13 / 12 f IV 12 / 12 12 /- 13 / 13 13 / 13 13 / 13 13 / 13 13 / 12 11 / 12 12 / 13 12 / 13 13 / 13 -/ 13 f V 9 / 8 -/ 8 10 / 10 10 / 10 10 / 10 11 / 9 10 / 10 10 / 10 9 / 9 11 / 10 10 / 10 11 / 10 h I 7 / 7 6 / 6 6 / 6 6 / 7 7 / 7 8 / 8 7 / 8 8 / 8 7 / 7 8 / 8 7 / 8 8 / 8 h II 10 / 10 8 / 8 11 / 11 -/ 10 11 / 11 10 / 10 10 / 10 10 / 10 10 / 10 11 / 11 11 / 11 11 / 12 h III 13 / 13 -/ 12 14 / 13 14 / 14 12 / 12 13 / 14 12 / 13 13 / 13 13 / 13 14 / 15 -/ 11 14 / 14 h IV 10 / 8 14 / 14 15 / 13 15 / 17 17 / 16 - 16 / 16 14 /- 14 / 15 17 / 16 16 / 16 14 / 15 h V 12 / 12 11 / 12 13 / 13 14 / 14 14 / 14 14 / 14 -/ 12 12 / 13 13 / 11 14 / 14 13 /- 14 /

The genus Homonota comprises nine South American species of terrestrial and nocturnal lizards. Homonota lizards lack the femoral pores typical of other South American Phyllodactylidae, and their infradigital lamellas are not expanded. We here describe a new species, Homonota taragui sp. nov., exclusively found on a small group of three hills up to 179 meters above sea level in central eastern Corrientes Province, Argentina. The new species differs from other Homonota species by a combination of characters, including: a well-marked dorsal, reticulate, dark pattern contrasting with a lighter colored background; small, star-shaped chromatophores on the abdomen; the post-orbital region of the head covered by granular scales; the dorsal and anterior regions of the thighs covered by keeled scales interspersed with cycloid scales; and the internasal scale in contact with rostral scales. The conservation status of Homonota taragui sp. nov. may be vulnerable, due to its localized endemism with populations on three small hills surrounded by intense agricultural and livestock activity. Two endemic plant species are known from these hills, and this new lizard represents the first endemic animal species. Fil: Cajade, Rodrigo. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Cs.exactas Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Biologia. Laboratorio de Herpetologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Etchepare, Eduardo Gabriel. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Cs.exactas Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Biologia. Laboratorio de Herpetologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Falcione, Ana Camila. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Cs.exactas Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Biologia. Laboratorio de Herpetologia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Barrasso, Diego Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Fil: Álvarez, Blanca Beatriz. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Cs.exactas Naturales y Agrimensura. Departamento de Biologia. Laboratorio de Herpetologia; Argentina

The monotypic genus Somuncuria was erected by Lynch (1978) on the basis of external morphology and osteology of the adults of Telmatobius somuncurensis Cei, 1969. In addition, Lynch remarked a general resemblance between Somuncuria and Pleurodema. The recent phylogenetic analysis by Faivovich et al. (2012) recovered Somuncuria nested into Pleurodema and closely related to Pleurodema bufoninum. According to Faivovich et al. (2012), these species have nearly identical sequences and additional study is required to establish populations identity. Pleurodema somuncurensis inhabits thermal springs at mid altitudes (500–800 ma.s.l.) in a restricted geographic range at Meseta de Somuncurá, Río Negro Province, Argentina (Cei, 1969). Fil: Barrasso, Diego Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina Fil: Cotichelli, Leonardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Limnología "Dr. Raúl A. Ringuelet". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Limnología; Argentina Fil: Alcalde, Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Limnología "Dr. Raúl A. Ringuelet". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Limnología; Argentina Fil: Basso, Nestor Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina

We described the buccal cavity, chondrocranium, and cranial muscles in tadpoles of two species of Pseudopaludicola: P. boliviana (P. pusilla species group) and P. falcipes. The two species share states of only three relevant and informative characters: (1) absence of m. levator mandibularis lateralis, (2) absence of m. levator mandibularis externus superficialis at advanced premetamorphic stages, and (3) presence of long lateral arena papillae of both the roof and floor of the buccal cavity. The larvae of P. falcipes is diagnosed by (states of P. boliviana between parentheses): (1) three lingual papillae (four), (2) one-two pairs of short and blunt infralabial papillae (single pair of multifid papillae), (3) low median ridge (tall), (4) distal connection between pars corpora and pars alaris of the cartilago suprarostralis present (absent), and (5) m. subarcualis rectus II-IV inserted at ceratobranchiale I (ceratobranchiale II insertion). The combination of a processus pseudopterygoideus together with proximal and distal connections on the cartilago suprarostralis occurs in most species of Pleurodema as well. Absence of m. levator mandibularis lateralis is also known for Physalaemus fernandezae and absence of m. levator mandibularis externus superficialis at advanced stages of development (Stage 39 onward) is shared with Edalorhina perezi and Pleurodema diplolister. Fil: Alcalde, Leandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto de Limnología "Dr. Raul A. Ringuelet". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Instituto de Limnología; Argentina Fil: Barrasso, Diego Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentina

In Argentina, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is known from Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Misiones, Neuquén, San Luis, Salta, and Tucumán provinces (Arellano et al. 2009; Barrionuevo and Mangione 2006; Fox et al. 2006; Ghirardi et al. 2009; Gutierrez et al. 2010; Herrera et al. 2005). We provide the first record of Bd infection in a population of the pond-breeding anuran Physalae-mus fernandezae, from Punta Lara Natural Reserve (34.8033 ̊S, 58.0099 ̊W), Ensenada, Buenos Aires province, Argentina., Centro de Investigaciones del Medioambiente