[Estimation of the sampling cover for dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabacinae) in Colombia]. / Grado de cobertura del muestreo de escarabajos coprófagos (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) en Colombia.

The promotion of biodiversity conservation strategies must address the lack of information and the difficulty of identifying knowledge gaps that may facilitate our knowledge of different taxonomic groups. Dung beetles constitute one of those groups, despite having been proposed as an efficient bioindicator of environmental disturbance processes. In this work, we aimed to prepare a diagnosis on the state of knowledge of the subfamily Scarabaeinae, focusing on the cover sampling degree of this group in Colombia, with the purpose of identifying high-priority areas that will allow the completion of a national inventory. The work consisted of a bibliographical compilation using 12 referential databases and the examination of specimens deposited in 26 national collections. A total of 16 940 individuals were examined, finding registers for 232 species from 386 localities. The respective distribution cover maps were presented, and the cover at a national level was 10.62%. A historical analysis demonstrated a proliferation in the number of studies for the last three decades; nevertheless, a great proportion of unpublished works persists, resulting in only 64 sampled localities with published records. The localities with the greatest sampling efforts were RN La Planada, Lloro, AUN Los Estoraques, PNN Tinigua and Mariquita. Registries for all departments were available, and the best sampled ones were Cundinamarca, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca and Boyaca. The ecosystems with the greatest number of publications are the Andean pre mountain humid forest, followed by the Andean mountain humid forest and the Pacific humid forest. Other ecosystems with few studies included mangroves, desert zones, natural savannahs, palm swamps, paramos, flooding forests and agroforestry systems. The biogeographic region with the greatest number of localities was the Andean region, followed by Choco-Magdalenense and Amazonia. Our results showed that high levels of subsampling persist and that some zones lack registries, as in the case of some parks of the national system of protected areas. It is imperative that the sampling cover is extended at a national level, focusing all possible efforts on collecting in those subsampled regions that have high conservation importance, with the main goal of completing the listing of species and their distribution.

Two new species of Salamanders, Genus Bolitoglossa (Amphibia: Plethodontidae), from the Eastern Colombian Andes.

The salamander fauna of Colombia is very poorly known, probably because most research efforts have been devoted to anurans during the last two decades. Here, we describe two new species of the genus Bolitoglossa (Eladinea) from the eastern flank of the Eastern Colombian Andes (Cordillera Oriental), near the border with Venezuela. Bolitoglossa tamaense sp. nov. is distributed between 2000 to 2700 m.a.s.l. and Bolitoglossa leandrae sp. nov. is distributed in the low-lands at about 600 m. The new species are diagnosed by a combination of molecular (16S rRNA sequences), coloration, body size, and morphometric (number of maxillary and vomerine teeth and differences in foot webbing) characters. Both species face threats such as chytridiomycosis infections and habitat fragmentation that have already affected other sala-manders in the country. Thus, intensive field and museum work is needed to better document and perhaps protect the local salamander diversity.

Urbanisation generates multiple trait syndromes for terrestrial animal taxa worldwide.

Cities can host significant biological diversity. Yet, urbanisation leads to the loss of habitats, species, and functional groups. Understanding how multiple taxa respond to urbanisation globally is essential to promote and conserve biodiversity in cities. Using a dataset encompassing six terrestrial faunal taxa (amphibians, bats, bees, birds, carabid beetles and reptiles) across 379 cities on 6 continents, we show that urbanisation produces taxon-specific changes in trait composition, with traits related to reproductive strategy showing the strongest response. Our findings suggest that urbanisation results in four trait syndromes (mobile generalists, site specialists, central place foragers, and mobile specialists), with resources associated with reproduction and diet likely driving patterns in traits associated with mobility and body size. Functional diversity measures showed varied responses, leading to shifts in trait space likely driven by critical resource distribution and abundance, and taxon-specific trait syndromes. Maximising opportunities to support taxa with different urban trait syndromes should be pivotal in conservation and management programmes within and among cities. This will reduce the likelihood of biotic homogenisation and helps ensure that urban environments have the capacity to respond to future challenges. These actions are critical to reframe the role of cities in global biodiversity loss.

Ecological and evolutionary trends of body size in Pristimantis frogs, the world's most diverse vertebrate genus.

Body size is a key organismal trait. However, the environmental and evolutionary factors that drive body size patterns at the interspecific level remain unclear. Here, we explored these relationships between phenotype-environment using neotropical frogs of Pristimantis, the world's most diverse vertebrate genus. We analyzed: (a) whether this group follows the Rensch's rule, a trend of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) to increase with size when males are the larger sex; (b) whether environmental constraints have influenced body size variation; and (c) how the rates of body size evolution have varied over time. Analyses were based on two information sources, the first one including body sizes of ~ 85% (495 species) of known species in the genus, and a second one incorporating molecular phylogenetic information for 257 species. Our results showed that all Pristimantis species exhibited marked SSD but did not follow Rensch's rule. We found that the models that best explained body size in males, females, and SSD contained environmental variations in temperature, precipitation, and elevation as predictors. In turn, body size has evolved toward an optimum, with a decelerating rate of evolution differentiated between the large Pristimantis clades.

Two new species of Pristimantis (Anura: Craugastoridae) with notes on the distribution of the genus in northeastern Colombia.

We describe two new species of the genus Pristimantis from the western margin of the Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. The species have a sympatric distribution and are found in the humid tropical forests of the lower part of the Tamá National Natural Park (PNN Tamá) and its buffer zone. The new species were described from morphological comparisons and phylogenetic reconstruction from the sequencing of three mitochondrial and two nuclear genes. With these two new species, the number of Pristimantis species known in the department of Norte de Santander has increased to 10. In addition, we included new sequences for the species P. anolirex, P. nicefori, P. mondolfii, and P. yukpa. Our explorations in the last decade indicate that there are probably between five and 10 species that have not been described in the northeastern part of Colombia, especially in areas where the armed conflict has predominated in the last five decades.

Response to Comment on "Amphibian fungal panzootic causes catastrophic and ongoing loss of biodiversity".

Lambert et al question our retrospective and holistic epidemiological assessment of the role of chytridiomycosis in amphibian declines. Their alternative assessment is narrow and provides an incomplete evaluation of evidence. Adopting this approach limits understanding of infectious disease impacts and hampers conservation efforts. We reaffirm that our study provides unambiguous evidence that chytridiomycosis has affected at least 501 amphibian species.

First record and conservation status of Allobates algorei (Anura: Aromobatidae) in Colombia.

The Neotropical genus Allobates Zimmerman Zimmerman (1988) is a large monophyletic clade composed of 54 described species distributed between Central America and South America (Frost, 2019; Grant et al., 2017). Twelve species have been recorded in Colombia, mostly distributed in the eastern flank of the Eastern Cordillera and Amazonian Region, although some species reach the Magdalena Valley and the Central and Western Cordillera (Acosta-Galvis, 2017).

Amphibian fungal panzootic causes catastrophic and ongoing loss of biodiversity.

Anthropogenic trade and development have broken down dispersal barriers, facilitating the spread of diseases that threaten Earth's biodiversity. We present a global, quantitative assessment of the amphibian chytridiomycosis panzootic, one of the most impactful examples of disease spread, and demonstrate its role in the decline of at least 501 amphibian species over the past half-century, including 90 presumed extinctions. The effects of chytridiomycosis have been greatest in large-bodied, range-restricted anurans in wet climates in the Americas and Australia. Declines peaked in the 1980s, and only 12% of declined species show signs of recovery, whereas 39% are experiencing ongoing decline. There is risk of further chytridiomycosis outbreaks in new areas. The chytridiomycosis panzootic represents the greatest recorded loss of biodiversity attributable to a disease.

The cane or marine toad, Rhinella marina (Anura, Bufonidae): two genetically and morphologically distinct species.

Rhinella marina is a Neotropical toad that has been introduced widely worldwide. Its toxic effects to frog-eating predators threaten the native and domestic fauna of some regions where it has been introduced. Despite previous studies suggesting two genetically distinct cryptic species within R. marina, one east and one west of the Andes, its taxonomic status remained unresolved due to the absence of morphological complementary evidence. For the first time, data from two mitochondrial genes (ND3 and CR) and 23 morphometric landmarks are combined to evaluate the taxonomic status of this species. Our results support the hypothesis of two separate evolutionary lineages within R. marina and demonstrate that these lineages have significantly diverged in skull shape. We identified two distinct morphotypes, one eastern and one Andean western, with no overlapping morphospaces. The geographic pattern of genetic variation was consistent with a stable structured population with no evidence of recent demographic or geographic expansions. The concordance between the observed geographic patterns in morphometric and genic traits calls for the recognition of two species under R. marina name.

Riqueza potencial de las especies de ranas y mariposas diurnas en tres unidades biogeográficas del nororiente de Colombia: implicaciones para la conservación / Potential species richness of frogs and diurnal butterflies in three biogeographical units from northeastern colombia: conservation implications

ABSTRACT We present an estimation of the potential species richness of frogs, and diurnal butterflies distributed in the departments of Norte de Santander and Santander, Colombia, and analyze the implications for conservation of such high Andean species. From June 2012 to May 2016, we sampled across the Almorzadero, Santurbán and Tamá biogeographical units to gather presence data of 7 anuran species and 29 butterflies species from the superfamily Papilionoidea. We modeled the potential distribution of each species, converted every model to binary, and the sum up of unique species per cell allowed to estimate the model of potential richness, generating the total number of species for every 1 km2 cell. Every model was validated against field data, vegetation cover, and altitude. Our results suggest the existence of species' concentration zones, specifically in the places of convergence between biogeographical units; it was evident the high levels of data deficiency in some places. Finally, it was clear the importance of these zones as a continuum of biogeographic conditions to maintain the biological diversity.

RESUMEN Presentamos una estimación de la riqueza potencial y las implicaciones para la conservación de especies altoandinas de anuros y de mariposas diurnas, distribuidas en los departamentos de Norte de Santander y Santander. Durante junio de 2012 y mayo de 2016 se realizaron muestreos de campo en las unidades biogeográficas de Almorzadero, Santurbán y Tamá, para registrar los datos de presencia de siete especies de anfibios del orden Anura y 29 de mariposas de la superfamilia Papilionoidea. Realizamos modelamientos de la distribución potencial de cada especie, convertimos cada modelo en binario, y la suma de especies únicas por celda permitió estimar el modelo de riqueza potencial, obteniendo el número total de especies por cada celda de 1 km2; a su vez, los modelos fueron superpuestos sobre información de campo, cobertura vegetal y altitudinal. Nuestros resultados sugieren que existen zonas concretas de concentración de especies en las zonas de convergencia entre las unidades biogeográficas, así como zonas con vacíos de información. Resaltamos la importancia de estas zonas como un continuo de condiciones biogeográficas para mantener la diversidad.

Grado de cobertura del muestreo de escarabajos coprófagos (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) en Colombia / Estimation of the sampling cover for dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) in Colombia

The promotion of biodiversity conservation strategies must address the lack of information and the difficulty of identifying knowledge gaps that may facilitate our knowledge of different taxonomic groups. Dung beetles constitute one of those groups, despite having been proposed as an efficient bioindicator of environmental disturbance processes. In this work, we aimed to prepare a diagnosis on the state of knowledge of the subfamily Scarabaeinae, focusing on the cover sampling degree of this group in Colombia, with the purpose of identifying high-priority areas that will allow the completion of a national inventory. The work consisted of a bibliographical compilation using 12 referential databases and the examination of specimens deposited in 26 national collections. A total of 16 940 individuals were examined, finding registers for 232 species from 386 localities. The respective distribution cover maps were presented, and the cover at a national level was 10.62%. A historical analysis demonstrated a proliferation in the number of studies for the last three decades; nevertheless, a great proportion of unpublished works persists, resulting in only 64 sampled localities with published records. The localities with the greatest sampling efforts were RN La Planada, Lloro, AUN Los Estoraques, PNN Tinigua and Mariquita. Registries for all departments were available, and the best sampled ones were Cundinamarca, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca and Boyaca. The ecosystems with the greatest number of publications are the Andean pre mountain humid forest, followed by the Andean mountain humid forest and the Pacific humid forest. Other ecosystems with few studies included mangroves, desert zones, natural savannahs, palm swamps, paramos, flooding forests and agroforestry systems. The biogeographic region with the greatest number of localities was the Andean region, followed by Choco-Magdalenense and Amazonia. Our results showed that high levels of subsampling persist and that some zones lack registries, as in the case of some parks of the national system of protected areas. It is imperative that the sampling cover is extended at a national level, focusing all possible efforts on collecting in those subsampled regions that have high conservation importance, with the main goal of completing the listing of species and their distribution. Rev. Biol. Trop. 63 (1): 97-125. Epub 2015 March 01.

Una de las principales limitantes para generar estrategias para la conservación, es la falta de información y la dificultad para identificar vacíos de conocimiento, que faciliten el entendimiento de un grupo taxonómico. En este trabajo desarrollamos el diagnóstico sobre el grado de cobertura del muestreo de escarabajos coprófagos en Colombia. Se recopiló la bibliografía, utilizando 12 bases de datos y se revisaron 16 940 especímenes depositados en 26 colecciones. Se encontraron 232 especies, en 386 localidades, con un porcentaje de cobertura del 10.62%. Se evidencia en los últimos años un incremento en el número de estudios, sin embargo solo 64 localidades tienen publicaciones. Se encontraron registros para todos los departamentos, siendo los mejor muestreados: Cundinamarca, Antioquia, Valle del Cauca y Boyacá. Los ecosistemas con mayor número de publicaciones son el bosque húmedo premontano Andino, el bosque húmedo montano Andino y el bosque húmedo del Pacífico. Sin embargo, existen muchos ecosistemas con muy pocos estudios como los manglares, zonas desérticas, savanas naturales, morichales, páramos, bosques inundables y sistemas agrícolas. La región biogeográfica con mayor número de localidades es la Andina, seguida del Chocó-Magdalenense y la Amazonía. A nivel general, persiste un alto nivel de submuestreo. Se evidencia la necesidad de ampliar la cobertura del muestreo a nivel nacional, enfocando los esfuerzos en aquellas áreas submuestreadas con importancia a nivel de conservación.