ANURANS OF JUIZ DE FORA MUNICIPALITY, ZONA DA MATA OF MINAS GERAIS STATE, BRAZIL

Abstract

The Atlantic Forest is considered a biodiversity hotspot due to a large concentration of endemic species and an associated high vulnerability to human disturbance. The Serra da Mantiqueira in southeastern Brazil stands out as an important region to anurofauna composition, presenting endemic and threatened species. Conversely, the species composition of the amphibian communities of several areas in the Serra da Mantiqueira is still unknown. Filling these knowledge gaps is a fundamental task to protect these areas and the associated biota. Herein, we provide a list of anurans for the Juiz de Fora municipality, Minas Gerais state, in southeastern Brazil. The species list is based on museum records of specimens deposited in the Coleção de Anfíbios da Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (CAUFJF). In addition, other records were derived from fieldwork on five urban fragments. We recorded 46 species belonging to 11 families and 22 genera. Of that total, thirty-eight species (83%) can be found in urban fragments. No species are on lists of endangered species, although Chiasmocleis mantiqueira, Ischnocnema verrucosa, Myersiella microps, Phasmahyla cochranae, and Zachaenus carvalhoi are considered data deficient. Adelophryne meridionalis is so far considered endemic to the Parque Municipal Lajinha, in Juiz de Fora. The municipality also showed high species richness when compared with other regions in the Serra da Mantiqueira. The present study demonstrates that even small and disturbed areas harbor important, endemic species and may help to fill the knowledge gaps about diversity in the state of Minas Gerais.