Despite major progress in deciphering the amphibian tree of life by molecular phylogenetics, we identified two questions remaining to be answered regarding relationships within Hyloidea, the clade of South American origin that comprises most extant anuran diversity. A few genera like Rupirana and Crossodactylodes have enigmatic phylogenetic positions, and relationships among major lineages within some families like Leptodactylidae remain ambiguous. To resolve these specific questions we used two approaches (1) a complete matrix approach representing >6.6 kb, including most major Hyloidea lineages (61 terminals) combining different methods of phylogenetic reconstruction and measures of node support; and (2) a supermatrix approach >11.6 kb with a focus on Leptodactylidae. Both Rupirana and Crossodactylodes are unambiguously grouped with Paratelmatobius and Scythrophrys. The clade comprising these four genera is named Crossodactylodinae and embedded within Leptodactylidae. Crossodactylodinae is moderately supported as sister group of Leptodactylinae from (1) and as the sister group of the other Leptodactylidae from (2) with low support. Genera within Crossodactylodinae are scattered along a north-south axis in the Atlantic forest and their origins are very ancient (Paleocene). Such results stress the importance of the northern Atlantic forest in terms of conservation. Moreover, the position of Pseudopaludicola, which is well supported as the sister group to all other Leiuperinae, suggests that foam-nest building may have arisen independently in Leptodactylinae and Leiuperinae. Moreover, in spite of being of similar age, foam-nest builders are more widespread than nonfoam-nest breeders and have higher species diversity. Nevertheless, the bulk of the diversity within foam-nest breeders arose some 20 Myr later than the character itself.

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The composition and abundance of anurofauna, as well as its distribution among reproductive sites in two localities of Atlantic forest in northern Bahia state were studied. Serra da Jibóia (SJ) is a mountain range with maximum elevation of 800 m, located in a transitional area between Atlantic forest and Caatinga. Reserva Sapiranga (RS) is a fragment of forest with 200 m of elevation and located close to the coast. In both localities, we searched for frogs in the following habitats: leaf litter/ understory, bromeliads, temporary ponds, permanent ponds and streams. Nocturnal collections were carried out through 10 months of 2001, totalizing 14 nights for RS and 12 nights for SJ. A total of 45 species were found, from which only seven were common to both localities. In SJ, more species were associated with the leaf litter/understory (n = 14) than the other reproductive sites, including two of the three more abundant species (Frostius penambucensis and Eleutherodactylus ramagii). In RS, temporary ponds were the reproductive sites that had greater species number (n = 18), also including the two of the most abundant species (Leptodactylus natalensis and Scinax sp. ruber group). These differences could be related to differences in elevation, vegetation and leaf litter conditions of Serra da Jibóia and Reserva Sapiranga. In this study, we extend the geographic distribution of A composição e abundância da anurofauna, bem como a distribuição das espécies em locais de reprodução, foram determinados em duas localidades na Mata Atlântica, norte do estado da Bahia. A Serra da Jibóia (SJ) é um maciço montanhoso com altitude máxima de 800 m, localizada em uma área de transição entre Caatinga e Mata Atlântica. A Reserva Sapiranga (RS) é um fragmento de mata a 200 m de altitude e localizado próximo ao litoral. Nas duas localidades, os seguintes hábitats foram amostrados: folhedo/sub-bosque, bromélias terrícolas, poças temporárias, poças permanentes e riachos. Ao longo de 10 meses de 2001, foram realizadas coletas noturnas, totalizando 14 noites de amostragem na Reserva Sapiranga (RS) e 12 na Serra da Jibóia (SJ). Um total 45 espécies foram registradas, sendo que apenas sete foram comuns às duas localidades. Na SJ, mais espécies (n = 14) estiveram associadas ao folhedo/sub-bosque do que aos outros sítios reprodutivos, incluindo Frostius pernambusencis e Eleutherodactylus ramagii, duas das três espécies mais abundantes nessa localidade. Na RS, as poças temporárias foram os hábitats que apresentaram maior número de espécies (n = 18), incluindo também as duas mais abundantes (Leptodactylus natalensis e Scinax sp. grupo ruber) nessa localidade. Estas diferenças podem ser atribuídas as diferenças de altitude, vegetação e condições do folhedo nas duas localidades.

A new species of a small typhlopid snake is described from