Hylidae is a large family of American, Australopapuan, and temperate Eurasian treefrogs of approximately 870 known species, divided among four subfamilies. Although some groups of Hylidae have been addressed phylogenetically, a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis has never been presented. The first goal of this paper is to review the current state of hylid systematics. We focus on the very large subfamily Hylinae (590 species), evaluate the monophyly of named taxa, and examine the evidential basis of the existing taxonomy. The second objective is to perform a phylogenetic analysis using mostly DNA sequence data in order to (1) test the monophyly of the Hylidae; (2) determine its constituent taxa, with special attention to the genera and species groups which form the subfamily Hylinae, and c) propose a new, monophyletic taxonomy consistent with the hypothesized relationships. We present a phylogenetic analysis of hylid frogs based on 276 terminals, including 228 hylids and 48 outgroup taxa. Includ... Résumé RESUMO A família Hylidae é constituída por aproximadamente 870 espécies, agrupadas em quatro subfamílias e com distribuição nas Américas, Austrália/Papua-Nova Guiné e Eurásia. Apesar de alguns grupos de Hylidae terem sido estudados separadamente, uma hipótese filogenética compreensiva para a família nunca foi proposta. O objetivo inicial desse estudo é rever o atual estado sistemático da família Hylidae. Atenção especial é dada à subfamília Hylinae (590 especies), para a qual nós avaliamos o monofiletismo dos taxa atualmente reconhecidos e examinamos as bases do arranjo taxonômico aceito no presente. O segundo objetivo é realizar uma análise filogenética usando caracteres obtidos, em sua maioria, a partir de seqüências de ADN, a fim de (1) testar o monofiletismo da família Hylidae;(2) determinar sua constituição taxonômica, dando ênfase aos gêneros e grupos de espécies incluídos na subfamília Hylinae; e (3) propor uma nova taxonomia baseada em grupos monofiléticos e consistente com a hipótese filog... Resumen RESUMEN Hylidae es una familia muy grande (aproximadamente 870 especies conocidas) de ranas arboricolas de America, Australia y Papua, y Eurasia, y esta dividida en cuatro subfamilias. Aunque existen algunos estudios que analizan las relaciones filogeneticas de algunos grupos aislados de Hylidae, no existe ningun analisis filogenetico de toda la familia. Los objetivos de este trabajo son, primero, revisar el estado actual de la sistematica de la familia, haciendo enfasis en la subfamilia Hylinae, que es la mas grande (590 especies), y evaluando la evidencia existente para la monofilia de los distintos agrupamientos taxonomicos. El segundo objetivo es realizar un analisis filogenetico basado principalmente en secuencias de ADN, con el proposito de a) testear la monofilia de la familia Hylidae, b) determinar que taxa la constituyen, con especial atencion en los generos y grupos de especies de la subfamilia Hylinae, c) proponer una nueva taxonomia monofiletica, consistente con nuestra hipotesis filog...

Environmental gradients (EG) related to climate, topography and vegetation are among the most important drivers of broad scale patterns of species richness. However, these different EG do not necessarily drive species richness in similar ways, potentially presenting synergistic associations when driving species richness. Understanding the synergism among EG allows us to address key questions arising from the effects of global climate and land use changes on biodiversity. Herein, we use variation partitioning (also know as commonality analysis) to disentangle unique and shared contributions of different EG in explaining species richness of Neotropical vertebrates. We use three broad sets of predictors to represent the environmental variability in (i) climate (annual mean temperature, temperature annual range, annual precipitation and precipitation range), (ii) topography (mean elevation, range and coefficient of variation of elevation), and (iii) vegetation (land cover diversity, standard deviation and range of forest canopy height). The shared contribution between two types of EG is used to quantify synergistic processes operating among EG, offering new perspectives on the causal relationships driving species richness. To account for spatially structured processes, we use Spatial EigenVector Mapping models. We perform analyses across groups with distinct dispersal abilities (amphibians, non-volant mammals, bats and birds) and discuss the influence of vagility on the partitioning results. Our findings indicate that broad scale patterns of vertebrate richness are mainly affected by the synergism between climate and vegetation, followed by the unique contribution of climate. Climatic factors were relatively more important in explaining species richness of good dispersers. Most of the variation in vegetation that explains vertebrate richness is climatically structured, supporting the productivity hypothesis. Further, the weak synergism between topography and vegetation urges caution when using topographic complexity as a surrogate of habitat (vegetation) heterogeneity.

We describe a new species of Brachycephalus that is morphologically similar to the flea-toads B. didactylus, B. hermogenesi, and B. pulex. The new species occurs from the sea level up to 1000 m and it is widely distributed throughout southern Atlantic Forest. Brachycephalus sulfuratus sp. nov. is distinguished from all of its congeners by the combination of the following characters: (1) small body size (SVL of adults: 7.4–8.5 mm for males and 9.0–10.8 mm for females); (2) “leptodactyliform” body; (3) pectoral girdle arciferal and less robust compared to the Brachycephalus species with “bufoniform” body; (4) procoracoid and epicoracoid fused with coracoid but separated from the clavicle by a large fenestrae; (5) toe I externally absent; toes II, III, IV, and V distinct; phalanges of toes II and V reduced; (6) skin smooth with no dermal ossifications; (7) in life, general background color brown with small dark-brown spots; skin of throat, chest, arms, and forearms with irregular yellow blotches; in ventral view, cloacal region of alive and preserved specimens surrounded by a dark-brown inverted v-shaped mark outlined with white; (8) advertisement call long, composed of a set of 4–7 high-frequency notes (6.2–7.2 kHz) repeated regularly.

We describe a new species of Brachycephalus from municipality of São Francisco do Sul and municipality of Itapoá, in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, southern Atlantic Forest. The new species is known from six localities from near sea level up to 250 meters and represents the first record of a “pumpkin-toadlet” occurring in the lowlands. Morphological traits and phylogenetic analysis of a fragment the 16S mtDNA gene place the new species in the Brachycephalus pernix group. The new species is supported by external morphology, osteology, advertisement call, and mtDNA divergence. It is characterized, among other traits by a dorsal body color dark green with a dark brown vertebral stripe, and an orange background; snout-vent length of 9.2–10.8 mm in males and 11.1–12.4 mm in females; and advertisement call short (0.02–0.03 seconds), composed of one high-frequency note (dominant frequency 6.6–7.3 kHz). We observed synchronized alternation in the emission of vocalizations among neighbor males, indicating that males of the new species are able to hear and use vocalizations to interact with each other. We provide descriptions of clutch, eggs, and juvenile and observations on parental care. The new species has not been recorded within any protected area and can be threatened by human-induced habitat loss and modification.