We investigated the communicative function of the two notes of the advertisement call of Johnstone's whistling frog, Eleutherodactylus johnstonei, by broadcasting standard two-note calls and edited one-note calls to males in the field and to females in two-choice trials. We tested the hypothesis that each note has distinct signaling function for each sex such as has been demonstrated for the congener E. coqui. We analyzed phonotaxis in females and changes in duration and dominant frequency of each note and also in call period in the acoustic responses of males. Females were equally likely to approach a source broadcasting a standard call or the second note alone, but rejected sources broadcasting the first note alone. This indicated that the second note mediates female attraction, much as in the congener E. coqui. Male responses indicated that either note is as effective as the standard call in eliciting a change in the dominant frequency of both notes, although the modification is small quantitatively. Male behavior contrasts with that of the congener E. coqui in which the first note alone mediates male competition while the second is apparently neutral. However, we do not rule out a differential function of each note in male interactions in E. johnstonei. Other male behaviors suggestive of competition or of an imminent physical interaction (e.g., visual displays, orientation and/or approach toward the sound source) should be analyzed in further studies. Our results partially support the hypothesis of a dimorphic function of each note but are not definitive with regards to male behavior.

In the Bolivian Chaco the red tegu lizard Tupinambis rufescens is the most important reptile among indigenous communities for subsistence, commercial and traditional medicinal purposes. Information on the home range and habits of Tupinambis rufescens in an area free from hunting pressure is an important basis for a management plan for this species in the Chaco, to ensure that commercial hunting programs will not threaten the species' long-term survival in the region. We used surgically implanted radio transmitters (nine individuals) and temperature dataloggers (five individuals) over a two-year period to describe home ranges, burrow use, as well as daily and seasonal activity patterns at a field camp next to the Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park. Red tegus occupy home ranges of 16–54 ha, with maximum distances travelled of 700–1500 m. In order to survive the strongly seasonal climate of the dry Chaco they strictly limit their daily and seasonal activity, and rely heavily on burrows. They are diurnal, with an activity peak from 11:00–12:00 h. Their activity period is September—April, with some variation among individuals and among years. They remain inactive in a single underground burrow during the May—August estivation months, and use multiple burrows and shelters for nighttime refuges during the active months. The dataloggers provide extremely detailed body temperature information describing daily and seasonal activity patterns, but surgical implantation should be undertaken by specialized veterinarians.

With the recent designation of the holotype of Centrura flagellifer Bell as theneotype of Phymaturus palluma Molina by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, the type locality of P. palluma became problematic. It is likely that Charles Darwin collected the holotype of C. flagellifer during his round trip journey between Santiago, Chile and Mendoza, Argentina. A detailed account of his journey is presented, as well as the conclusion that the type locality is Cordón del Portillo, Mendoza province, Argentina, where Darwin collected and briefly characterized a viviparous lizard. Here we provide a re-description of Darwin's specimen and two morphological characters that distinguish it from other populations in Chile and Argentina previously assigned to this species. In November 2009, specimens from the locality where Darwin collected his “viviparous lizard” were collected, confirming the identity of the type. This study also reveals that P. gynechlomus should be considered a junior synonym of P. palluma. Populations of Phymaturus of the palluma group farther to the north, from the Sierra de Uspallata and southern San Juan province, are determined to be different lineages and should be described formally. The name P. adrianae has been applied to the species that occurs in the Sierra de Uspallata, but we show here that it has not been formally named and is therefore a nomen nudum. Chilean populations previously considered to be P. palluma should be described formally.

Diet and reproduction are two important characteristics in animals that can be related to environmental conditions and time of year. In this study, we investigated these two parameters in a viviparous lizard, Liolaemus crepuscularis, from the arid Prepuna of northwestern Argentina, for two months of the austral spring (October 2009 and November 2010) and one month at the beginning of the fall (March 2010). Formicidae was the main prey item, similar to what was found in other Liolaemus species; but plant material was also very important, especially in the latter month when lizards consumed the greatest amounts of food. In October 2009 and November 2010, testicular volume in males was low whereas females were gravid. In March 2010, males showed a great increase in testicular volume and females showed vitellogenic follicles, indicating reproductive activity. A negative correlation was found in females between amount of food consumed and advancement of pregnancy. Females ate very little while gravid, possibly in part due to the space occupied by embryos and increased difficulty in foraging, as well as predation vulnerability. No association was found in males between food consumption and testicular volume.

Atractus carrioni was described based on two specimens from Loja, in the western versant of Cordillera Real, Ecuador. Posteriorly, 13 additional individuals were reported in the literature, but this entire sample was obtained in the neighborhood of Loja, and indeed comprises topotypes of A. carrioni. Thus, despite the fact that we are acquainted with some aspects of the intra-populational variability of the species (few merestic and morphometric features), nothing is known about its ontogenetic, sexual and geographical variation, as well as its natural history. During the examination of Ecuadorian and Peruvian collections, we found 28 additional specimens of this poorly known snake. In this paper, we report new localities and data on meristic, morphometric, color pattern, and hemipenis variation for the species. We associate the variation displayed by these character systems with sexual, geographic, and ontogenetic phenomena. We provide detailed comparisons of the former taxon with their putative closely related species (A. roulei), and propose a new species group to accommodate A. carrioni and A. roulei. Additionally, we provided the first data on reproduction for Andean species of Atractus.

A new species of the Hypsiboas polytaenius clade is described from Itapecerica da Serra (23°43′S, 46°51′W, 906 m elevation; datum WGS84), State of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil. The new species is characterized by its medium snout-vent length (SVL) for the group (SVL 27.1–29.1 mm in males; 31.2 mm in female), head width 31.1–33.9% of SVL in males, 37.8% in female, snout rounded in dorsal and lateral views, calcar appendix and supra-cloacal crest absent, webbing poorly developed between fingers, moderately developed between toes, and dorsal color pattern composed of four wide pale brown stripes, intercalated by three brown stripes, arranged longitudinally. The four pale brown stripes join to form two stripes anterior to the eyes and then join again at the tip of snout. Within these pale brown stripes, narrow longitudinal brown lines, complete or broken, occur. The pale brown marginal stripes show, on the external border, a white line passing over the canthus rostralis, edge of the upper eyelid, and along the flank to the groin, contrasting with a broad dark brown lateral stripe. This dark brown stripe extends from the tip of snout to the eye and from the posterior border of the eye, passing on the tympanum, to the groin. The ventral half of the loreal region is pale brown with a dark brown longitudinal line, continuing as a white stripe below and contrasting to the dark brown lateral stripe, to the groin. The new species is distributed in the extreme south of the State of Rio de Janeiro and northeastern State of São Paulo, above 400 m altitude.

We describe the advertisement call and tadpole of Bokermannohyla vulcaniae from Parque Municipal Serra de São Domingos, Poços de Caldas, Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. The advertisement call is composed of two pulsed notes and the duration of each call depends on the number of notes emitted. Tadpoles are oval and elongate. These data are compared with the information available for Bokermannohyla circumdata.

Old descriptions and lack of taxonomic revisions have caused confusion regarding diagnosis and identification of some species of Gonatodes. Gonatodes caudiscutatus (Günther, 1859) was described in the genus Gymnodactylus, based on four specimens (two males and two females) from the western slopes of the Andes, in Ecuador. Later this species was allocated to the genus Gonioductylus and more recently to Gonatodes, but it was never redescribed in a detailed way using the characters presently used to distinguish between species. The species was found in several herpetological collections misidentified as Gonatodes concinnatus and at least some of the records of G. caudiscutatus from Colombia were based on Gonatodes riveroi Sturaro and Avila-Pires, 2011. Herein we redescribe and diagnose Gonatodes caudiscutatus on the basis of 41 specimens from 11 localities in Ecuador, and photos of the syntypes of Gymnodactylus caudiscutatus and Gonatodes collaris, compare the species with its congeners, and present data on its distribution.