Amphibians in Zootaxa: 20 years documenting the global diversity of frogs, salamanders, and caecilians.

Zootaxa is a mega-journal that since its inception, 20 years ago, has contributed to the documentation of the planet's biodiversity. Its role concerning terrestrial vertebrates has been crucial especially for amphibians, which are the most threatened class of vertebrates. As current editors of the Amphibia section, we reviewed the state of knowledge of taxonomic publications on amphibians over the last two decades (from 2001 to 2020).

Assessing Genotoxicity and Mutagenicity of Three Common Amphibian Species Inhabiting Agroecosystem Environment.

Amphibians are constantly exposed to pollutants and the stress of agricultural activities. We selected three anuran amphibian species Dendropsophus minutus, Boana albopunctata, and Physalaemus cuvieri, totaling 309 individuals. We collected tadpoles in 15 permanent ponds: 5 soybean crops, 3 corn crops, and 7 nonagricultural lands.

Cytogenetics of two hylid frogs from Brazilian Cerrado.

Cytogenetic data can be useful for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies, as well as to provide information about chromosome evolution. Therefore, it may help design conservation priorities for some threatened species, such as anurans. Herein, we describe the karyotypes of Scinax constrictus and Ololygon centralis, native endemic species from the Brazilian Cerrado.

The advertisement calls of Brazilian anurans: Historical review, current knowledge and future directions.

Advertisement calls are often used as essential basic information in studies of animal behaviour, ecology, evolution, conservation, taxonomy or biodiversity inventories. Yet the description of this type of acoustic signals is far to be completed, especially in tropical regions, and is frequently non-standardized or limited in information, restricting the application of bioacoustics in science. Here we conducted a scientometric review of the described adverstisement calls of anuran species of Brazil, the world richest territory in anurans, to evaluate the amount, standard and trends of the knowledge on this key life-history trait and to identify gaps and directions for future research strategies.

Anuran Species Richness, Composition, and Breeding Habitat Preferences: a Comparison between Forest Remnants and Agricultural Landscapes in Southern Brazil.

The expansion of agriculture causes habitat loss and fragmentation that negatively affects biodiversity. We analyzed the species richness, composition and habitat preferences of anuran species in aquatic habitats in mesophytic semideciduous Atlantic Forest remnants and surrounding agricultural landscapes in southern Brazil, between April 2011 and March 2013. Nineteen anuran species, belonging to 11 genera and 5 families, were recorded.