The Tropical Andes Biodiversity Hotspot: A Comprehensive Dataset for the Mira-Mataje Binational Basins.

We present a flora and fauna dataset for the Mira-Mataje binational basins. This is an area shared between southwestern Colombia and northwestern Ecuador, where both the Chocó and Tropical Andes biodiversity hotspots converge. We systematized data from 120 sources in the Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) standard and geospatial vector data format for geographic information systems (GIS) (shapefiles).

The skull of the semi-aquatic neotropical lizard Echinosaura horrida (Gymnophthalmidae: Cercosaurinae) reveals new synapomorphies within Gymnophthalmoidea.

The rough teiid or water cork lizard (Echinosaura horrida) is a small reptile from Colombia and Ecuador placed in a genus that contains eight species and well-known phylogenetic relationships. Here we provide a detailed description and illustrations, bone by bone, of its skull, while we discussed its intraspecific variation by comparing high-resolution computed tomography data from two specimens and the variation within the genus by including previously published data from Echinosaura fischerorum. This allowed to propose putative diagnostic character states for Echinosaura horrida and synapomorphies for Echinosaura.

Two new syntopic species of glassfrogs (Amphibia, Centrolenidae, ) from the southwestern Andes of Ecuador.

We describe two new species of glassfrogs of the genus living in syntopy at La Enramada, province of Azuay, southwestern Ecuador. They were found in a small creek in montane evergreen forests at 2,900 m elevation. The first new species is distinguished from all other members of the genus by having the following combination of characters: dentigerous process of vomer absent; sloping snout in lateral view; thick, white labial stripe and a faint white line between the lip and anterior ¼ of body; humeral spine in adult males; parietal peritoneum covered by iridophores, visceral peritonea translucent (except pericardium); ulnar and tarsal ornamentation; dorsal skin shagreen with dispersed warts; uniform green dorsum with light yellowish green warts; and green bones.

Unveiling the evolutionary relationships and the high cryptic diversity in Andean rainfrogs (Craugastoridae: group).

Background: is the most diverse genus of terrestrial frogs. Historically, it has been divided into several phenetic groups in order to facilitate species identification. However, in light of phylogenetic analysis, many of these groups have been shown to be non-monophyletic, denoting a high degree of morphological convergence and limited number of diagnostic traits.

A spectacular new species of (Anura: Hylidae) from the Cordillera de Los Llanganates in the eastern Andes of Ecuador.

We have discovered a spectacular new species of frog in the genus , belonging to the species group. The adult female is characterized by a mostly black body with large bright red spots on the dorsal and ventral surface, extremities, and toe pads. The adult male is unknown.

NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES: A dataset of occurrence and abundance of freshwater fishes in the Neotropics.

The Neotropical region hosts 4225 freshwater fish species, ranking first among the world's most diverse regions for freshwater fishes. Our NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set is the first to produce a large-scale Neotropical freshwater fish inventory, covering the entire Neotropical region from Mexico and the Caribbean in the north to the southern limits in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. We compiled 185,787 distribution records, with unique georeferenced coordinates, for the 4225 species, represented by occurrence and abundance data.

Strong differentiation between amphibian communities on two adjacent mountains in the Upper Rio Pastaza watershed of Ecuador, with descriptions of two new species of terrestrial frogs.

We present the results of herpetological surveys in two adjacent mountains where the EcoMinga Foundation protects the cloud forest in the Upper Rio Pastaza watershed, in the Llanganates Sangay Ecological Corridor in Ecuador. A rapid assessment of the amphibian communities of the study sites reveals a diverse and heterogeneous composition, dominated by terrestrial frogs from the genus . We also identify a cryptic diversity with a significant number of candidate new species.

A new and very spiny lizard (Gymnophthalmidae: ) from the Andes in northwestern Ecuador.

We describe a new species of Neotropical spiny-lizard of the genus from the Imbabura and Carchi Provinces on the western slopes of the Andes in northwestern Ecuador. The new species mostly resembles . However, it can be distinguished from all congeners by having keeled enlarged dorsal scales forming a paired vertebral row, two paravertebral series of short oblique rows of projecting scales, and a pair of spine-like scales on temporal and nuchal regions.

A new Andean treefrog (Amphibia: group) from Ecuador: an example of community involvement for conservation.

We provide several lines of evidence to delimit a new species of and define its phylogenetic position inside the group. The new species is the sister taxon to and is related to a clade formed by and a putative new species from the province of El Oro in, southwestern Ecuador. sp.

A new giant anole (Squamata: Iguanidae: Dactyloinae) from southwestern Ecuador.

We describe a new species of Anolis lizard from the Pacific slopes of the Andes of southwestern Ecuador at elevations between 3721,000 m. The new species belongs to the Dactyloa clade and may be distinguished from other Anolis by size, external anatomy, mitochondrial DNA divergence, and dewlap color. Based on phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data, we found that the new species is sister to A.

Red List assessment of amphibian species of Ecuador: A multidimensional approach for their conservation.

Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, but faces severe pressures and threats to its natural ecosystems. Numerous species have declined and require to be objectively evaluated and quantified, as a step towards the development of conservation strategies. Herein, we present an updated National Red List Assessment for amphibian species of Ecuador, with one of the most detailed and complete coverages for any Ecuadorian taxonomic group to date.

Two extremely rare new species of fossorial salamanders of the genus (Plethodontidae) from northwestern Ecuador.

We describe two new species of salamanders of the genus , subgenus , from two localities on the northwestern foothills of Ecuador, at elevations between 921 and 1,067 m. These are the southernmost members of the genus. We examined different museum collections and we found just three specimens of from Ecuador, obtained throughout the history of herpetological collections in the country.

Description and phylogenetic relationships of a new trans-Andean species of Elachistocleis Parker 1927 (Amphibia, Anura, Microhylidae).

Elachistocleis is a Neotropical genus of microhylid frogs with 18 species, most of which occur east of the Andes in South America. Here, we present a new phylogeny of Gastrophryninae and describe and name a new species of Elachistocleis from southern Ecuador-the first to be found west of the Andes and also the first from Ecuador. Our phylogeny is based on DNA sequences of the mitochondrial genes 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, COI, and the nuclear genes BDNF, cmyc2, H3A, 28S, SIA1, and Tyr.

A bizarre new species of Lynchius (Amphibia, Anura, Strabomantidae) br />from the Andes of Ecuador and first report of Lynchius parkeri in Ecuador.

We describe a new species of Lynchius from the eastern montane forest of southern Ecuador. We also report the occurrence of L. parkeri in Ecuador, on paramos of Yacuri National Park, near the border with Peru.

A new species of terrestrial frog of the genus Barbour, 1930 (Amphibia: Strabomantidae) from the Llanganates-Sangay Ecological Corridor, Tungurahua, Ecuador.

We describe a new species of terrestrial frog of the genus from the eastern versants of the Ecuadorian Andes in the upper Pastaza watershed. sp. n.

A new giant (Anura, Craugastoridae) from the paramos of the Podocarpus National Park, southern Ecuador.

A new species of frog of the genus is described from the paramos of the Nudo de Cajanuma, Podocarpus National Park, on the border between the provinces of Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador. The new species is readily distinguished from all other species of by its large body size (snout-vent length: 50.0-50.

A new species of terrestrial frog (Strabomantidae) from the upper basin of the Pastaza River, Ecuador.

We describe a new species of from the montane forest of the Río Zuñag Ecological Reserve, upper basin of the Pastaza River, Ecuador. is characterized by a snout-vent length of 11.6-21.

A new cryptic species of lizard from northwestern South America (Iguanidae, Dactyloinae).

A new species of lizard from the Andean slopes of southwestern Colombia and northwestern Ecuador, from between 1187 and 2353 m in elevation, is described. The new species can be distinguished from other in squamation, cranial osteology, hemipenial morphology, and nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. The new species is sister to , and it is suggested that previous records of in Colombia correspond to the new species described herein.

Systematics of South American snail-eating snakes (Serpentes, Dipsadini), with the description of five new species from Ecuador and Peru.

A molecular phylogeny of the Neotropical snail-eating snakes (tribe Dipsadini) is presented including 43 (24 for the first time) of the 77 species, sampled for both nuclear and mitochondrial genes. Morphological and phylogenetic support was found for four new species of and one of , which are described here based on their unique combination of molecular, meristic, and color pattern characteristics. is designated as a junior subjective synonym of .

Redescription, distribution and mating call of (Lynch and Duellman, 1997) (Anura, Craugastoridae).

We redescribe Pristimantis colomai (Lynch & Duellman, 1997) on the basis of new specimens from Colombia and Ecuador. Also provide a new diagnosis, reassess its distribution, and describe the mating call for the first time. Besides the data in the original description, only is available for this species: (i) new records from Ecuador (Yánez-Muñoz et al.

Comparative Phylogeography Reveals Cryptic Diversity and Repeated Patterns of Cladogenesis for Amphibians and Reptiles in Northwestern Ecuador.

Comparative phylogeography allow us to understand how shared historical circumstances have shaped the formation of lineages, by examining a broad spectrum of co-distributed populations of different taxa. However, these types of studies are scarce in the Neotropics, a region that is characterized by high diversity, complex geology, and poorly understood biogeography. Here, we investigate the diversification patterns of five lineages of amphibians and reptiles, co-distributed across the Choco and Andes ecoregions in northwestern Ecuador.

A new species of blunt-headed vine snake (Colubridae, Imantodes) from the Chocó region of Ecuador.

We describe a new species of Imantodes from the Chocó region of northwestern Ecuador. The new species differs most significantly from all other congeners in lacking a loreal scale. We analyze the phylogenetic relationships among species of Imantodes based on two mitochondrial genes, and postulate that the new species and Imantodes lentiferus are sister taxa.