ANURAN FAUNA OF THE HIGH-ELEVATION AREAS OF THE PARQUE NACIONAL DA SERRA DOS ÓRGÃOS (PARNASO), SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL

Abstract

There is a lack of knowledge regarding the diversity of anurans in high-elevation areas of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. In order to improve the knowledge about the diversity of this group in this kind of environment, we present a list of anuran amphibians recorded in high-elevation areas (above 1,200 m) of the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos (PARNASO), in southeastern Brazil. The list was compiled based on primary data (from fieldwork) and on secondary data (from surveys of institutional collections). Twenty-eight species belonging to seven families were recorded: Brachycephalidae (6 species), Bufonidae (3 spp.), Cycloramphidae (4 spp.), Hemiphractidae (5 spp.), Hylidae (8 spp.), Hylodidae (1 sp.), and Odontophrynidae (1 sp.). According to the IUCN Red List, eight of those species are classified as “Data Deficient” and two species have not been assessed yet (i.e., Dendrophryniscus organensis and Fritziana sp. nov.). Ten species are classified as “Least Concern” but with populations in decline, although six of them (Bokermannohyla carvalhoi, B. circumdata, Ischnocnema parva, Proceratophrys appendiculata, Scinax albicans and Zachaenus parvulus) were frequently found during fieldwork at PARNASO and seem to be locally abundant. The other eight species classified as “Least Concern” have stable populations. We add three species to the list of anurans endemic to the high-elevation areas of Serra dos Órgãos (Cycloramphus organensis, D. organensis, and Fritziana sp. nov.), raising to 14 the number of endemic taxa in the area.