Check-list of diversity of anurans in Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) and a classification propose for larvals forms

Abstract

The new anuran occurrence and recent taxonomic revisions of many genera has made it necessary an updating in Rio Grande do Sul (RS) anuran species list (checklist). This information is valuable to the knowledge of anuran diversity, mainly because this group is endangered of extinction. The use of tadpoles identification key to RS could improve the knowledge of this diversity. The aims of this paper were to make up a list of anuran species in RS, with information about a description of the larval and to develop an artificial key for tadpoles’ identification through external morphological features. At present 84 anuran species are known in RS, all distributed along ten families, 50 out of them with known larvae. Most of them are exotrophic aquatic larvae (47 spp.), but only five were described based on the state populations. With the collection of information about the species and the characterization of their larvae we hope to mitigate the scarce information about the anurofauna in Rio Grande do Sul. The identification key here presented is a first step to help monitoring and environmental impact initiatives, as well as academic studies.

Key words: biodiversity survey, Anura, tadpole, Neotropical Region.