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Background: Regular oral health assessment of older adults living in Long-term Care Facilities (LTCF) can improve their oral health., Aims: This study aimed to systematically review studies describing the development of instruments employed by nondental professionals to assess the oral health of older adults in LTCF and to evaluate their measurement properties., Material & Methods: Electronic searches were conducted in the MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, and LILACS databases. Measurement properties of the identified instruments were evaluated using the Consensus-based Standards to select health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) checklist. Studies assessing at least one measurement property (validity, reliability, or responsiveness) of instruments used to assess oral health of older adults living in LTCF by nondental professionals were considered. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) checklist was used to evaluate the quality of evidence., Results: Fifteen studies reporting measurement properties of seven instruments were selected. The ohr-interRAI and the OHAT were considered to have sufficient content validity, with high and moderate evidence quality, respectively. OHAT, BOHSE, and DHI showed acceptable results on reliability but with very low quality of evidence. DHI and OHSTNP also showed acceptable results for criterion validity, but, with low quality of evidence, insufficient or unclear results were observed for the remaining measurement properties. Studies evaluating the validity criteria of BOHSE and hypotheses testing of ohr-MDS were considered to have high evidence quality., Discussion and Conclusion: The ohr-interRAI can be provisionally recommended for use until further evidence is provided. Further methodologically rigorous studies are needed to assess the measurement properties of the existing instruments., (© 2022 Gerodontology Association and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

We describe a new species of Rain Frog from Brazils Atlantic Forest, which harbors high richness, endemism and threatened species of anurans. Ischnocnema crassa sp. nov. is a leaf litter breeder from the montane rainforest of Santa Teresa, state of Esprito Santo, southeastern Brazil. Remarkably, the new species is so far unique amongst Ischnocnema for having moderate hand webbing between fingers. Ischnocnema crassa sp. nov. is the third species belonging to I. parva series and we present a new phylogeny based on molecular data and propose a new diagnosis for the series. We provide field and laboratory observations regarding amplexus, antipredator mechanisms, microhabitat preferences and conservation remarks. Although Santa Teresa is one of the most sampled areas in Brazil, new species are often discovered. Santa Teresa is a priority for amphibian conservation because it harbors 109 species of anurans (9% of Brazils species).

The genus Proceratophrys Miranda-Ribeiro comprises 41 species distributed in South America, especially in Brazil (Nascimento et al. 2019). Proceratophrys species have been traditionally organized into four species groups based on morphology of supraocular and postocular swellings, and presence or absence of rostral appendage (Cruz Napoli 2010). However, these groupings are not supported by molecular data (Teixeira et al. 2012; Dias et al. 2013, Mângia et al. 2018).

We describe a new species of the Scinax catharinae group from one of the last remaining fragments of Atlantic Forest in northeastern Minas Gerais. The new species is distinguished from most species of the group mainly by having the mucronate snout in dorsal view, the unique light-yellow coloration on the gular surface in life contrasting with its overall color pattern, and the m. depressor mandibulae with an origin on the dorsal fascia at the level of the m. dorsalis scapulae. These two latter features are novelties in the diagnosis of Scinax species. The new species is currently known only from municipality of Santa Maria do Salto, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This locality is a remaining fragment of Atlantic Forest and has a peculiar geomorphic feature that has been poorly sampled so far.

Dendrophryniscus brevipollicatus Jiménez de la Espada is a Neotropical bufonid endemic to a small range of the Brazilian Coastal Atlantic Forest, with reduced body size for the family and bromeligenous habit. We reviewed the taxonomic status of populations of D. brevipollicatus from states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, including some continental islands, based on external morphology. We tested our morphological species by a DNA-barcoding approach with sequences of 16S RNA ribosomal gene fragment. DNA-barcoding analysis included other recognized Dendrophryniscus species and was concordant with morphological species diagnosed in our review. Intraspecific genetic distances ranged from 0 to 2.72 % (± 0.91 %). Interspecific distances ranged from 3.35 % (± 0.90 %) to 20.15 (± 2.23 %). Optimal threshold values ranged from 2.8 % to 3.0 % and barcode gap analysis showed that for all individuals the furthest intraspecific distances was always lower than the closest non-conspecific individual. Seven distinct species were recognized. A neotype for D. brevipollicatus was designated and described; the type locality was determined for the Açude da Solidão (22º57'S, 43º17'W, Datum WGS 84; 410 m altitude), Parque Nacional da Tijuca, Municipality of Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Two species were revalidated: D. imitator (Miranda-Ribeiro), with designation of a lectotype and descriptions of the lectotype and of a topotype from the restricted type locality, Alto da Serra (23o46'S, 46o19'W, Datum WGS 84, 800 m altitude), Municipality of Paranapiacaba, State of São Paulo, Brazil; and D. lauroi (Miranda-Ribeiro), with descriptions of the lectotype and of a topotype from the type locality, Municipality of Angra dos Reis (22o54'S, 44o20'W, Datum WGS 84; 25 m altitude), State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Four new species were described: D. davori sp. nov., from Baixo Caledônia (22º21'S, 42º35'W, Datum WGS 84; 1600 m altitude), Municipality of Nova Friburgo, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; D. haddadi sp. nov., from Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, Núcleo Santa Virgínia (23o21'S, 45o08'W, Datum WGS 84; 970 m altitude), Municipality of São Luís do Paraitinga, State of São Paulo, Brazil; D. izecksohni sp. nov., from Campo de Fruticultura da Bocaina (currently Núcleo Senador Vergueiro), Municipality of São José do Barreiro (22º38'S, 44º34'W, Datum WGS 84, 540 m altitude), State of São Paulo, Brazil; and D. jureia sp. nov., from Estação Ecológica da Juréia-Itatins-Núcleo Rio Verde (24º22'S, 47º04'W, Datum WGS 84; 32 m altitude), Municipality of Iguape, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Geographical distributions of all species are provided.

The original description of Ischnocnema lactea (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1923) was based on  two specimens and an inaccurate type locality. These circumstances have obscured the identity of this name. Moreover, the I. lactea species  has had a complex taxonomic history and, in general, specimens of species in this group are poorly represented in amphibian collections. The diagnosis of the series is confusing, with many non-exclusive and variable characters barely useful. An accurate diagnosis for the series requires a precise characterization of I. lactea, its type species. Recently discovered populations, museum data, and new information on the collector of the type specimen allowed the elucidation of important issues related to this species. Here we provide the redescription of Ischnocnema lactea based on the lectotype, and intraspecific variation based on newly collected specimens. Ischnocnema lactea  is characterized by its large body size (adult 19.6-26.7 mm SVL; females 27.6-34.3 mm SVL); dorsum and flanks rugose, venter granular; vocal sac single and subgular, externally expanded; finger disks expanded, T-shaped, indented and truncate in fingers II-IV; toes relative length I<II<III<V<IV; black blotch on cloacal region, tarsus, and feet; moderate calcar tubercle present. Its advertisement call consists on a single short pulsed note ranging from 634 to 1060 milliseconds, with dominant frequency ranging from 2239.5 to 2756.2 Hz. Males call perched on vegetation mostly during daytime, starting early in the morning, and reproduction is explosive, associated to cold front rains. Ischnocnema lactea is a secretive and endemic inhabitant of the Serra do Mar in Southeastern Brazil. The type locality is redefined to the Municipality of Caraguatatuba.

Green tree frogs of the genus Aplastodiscus occur in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes of South America. The genus comprises 15 medium-sized species placed in three species groups diagnosed mainly by cloacal morphology. A phylogenetic analysis was conducted to: (1) test the monophyly of these species groups; (2) explore the phylogenetic relationships among putative species; and (3) investigate species boundaries. The dataset included eight mitochondrial and nuclear gene fragments for up to 6642 bp per specimen. The results strongly support the monophyly of Aplastodiscus and of the A. albofrenatus and A. perviridis groups. Aplastodiscus sibilatus is the sister taxon of all other species of Aplastodiscus, making the A. albosignatus Group non-monophyletic as currently defined. At least six unnamed species are recognized for Aplastodiscus, increasing the diversity of the genus by 40%. A fourth species group, the A. sibilatus Group is recognized. Aplastodiscus musicus is transferred from the A. albofrenatus Group to the A. albosignatus Group, and A. callipygius is considered a junior synonym of A. albosignatus. Characters related to external cloacal morphology reveal an interesting evolutionary pattern of parallelisms and reversions, suggesting an undocumented level of complexity. We analyze, in light of our phylogenetic results, the evolution of reproductive biology and chromosome morphology in Aplastodiscus., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The leaf or monkey frogs of the hylid subfamily Phyllomedusinae are a unique group of charismatic anurans. We present a molecular phylogenetic analysis that includes 45 of the 60 species of phyllomedusines using up to 12 genes and intervening tRNAs. The aims were to gain a better understanding of the phylogenetic position of Phrynomedusa, test the monophyly and explore the relationships among several putative lineages (Hylomantis, the H. buckleyi Group, Phasmahyla, the four species groups of Phyllomedusa, and the species of Phyllomedusa that remain unassigned to any group), and to examine the implications of our phylogeny for the evolution of several characters in phyllomedusines. The analyses resulted in a well-supported phylogenetic hypothesis that provides a historical framework for a discussion of the evolution of characters associated with reproductive biology, gliding behaviour, the physiology of waterproofing, and bioactive peptides. Implications include an earlier origin for eggless capsules than for leaf-folding behaviour during amplexus, two independent origins of gliding, and an earlier origin of reduction in evaporative water loss than uricotelism, which is a result that originally was predicted on the basis of physiology alone. Furthermore, our results support the prediction that bioactive peptides from different peptide families are to be expected in all species of Phyllomedusinae. Hylomantis (as recently redefined) is shown to be paraphyletic and the synonymy of Agalychnis is revised to remedy this problem by including both Hylomantis and Pachymedusa.  © The Willi Hennig Society 2009., (© The Willi Hennig Society 2009.)