In conservation biology and population dynamic studies, accounting for the effect of imperfect detection of animals in the wild is crucial for correct inference of demographic parameters. However, articles published in South American herpetological journals still report estimates without considering how detection can influence estimates of vital rates, assuming that detection probability is perfect (i.e., 100%) and constant. Using data from a population of the torrent frog, Hylodes asper, we calculate return rates and compare them with survival probability estimates adjusted for detection probability to highlight the discrepancies between the two metrics. Then, using power analysis, we also explore how survival is underestimated, considering different scenarios and sampling efforts, given low detectability. Finally, we provide information on the optimal number of surveys to achieve a reasonable precision, assuming a fixed number of individuals initially captured for a series of parameter values. Ignoring potential bias of uncorrected estimates may lead to weak inference and erroneous decisions for management and conservation. We recommend that researchers consider detection probability in their studies to improve the accuracy of population estimates.

This study aimed to estimate the degree of body temperature control of the sand dune lizard Liolaemus occipitalis in the subtemperate climate region of southern Brazil. The data suggest more accurate thermoregulation in males than females. Sand substrate appears to be more important than air in serving as a heat source for the lizards. The high conductivity of sand might minimize the effects of the relatively low average air temperatures in southern Brazil. Nevertheless, the mean body temperature of L. occipitalis from southern Brazil was lower than that recorded in northern populations of L. occipitalis and other Liolaemus species in southern latitudes of South America. This suggests that maintenance of body temperature might be the limiting factor for the expansion of the southern limit of the species distribution.

Parasites can significantly influence the health of the host by inhibiting important physiological and behavioral processes. Some factors like body size, age of host, sex, and season can influence parasite load in nature. Mites are ectoparasites that can occur in lizards, possibly having a negative impact on their host. Our goals were to identify the mite that infested the Neotropical lizard Liolaemus pacha and describe its anatomical distribution, evaluate if mite intensity affected lizard mass, assess the relationship between lizard body size and mite intensity, and calculate the prevalence and intensity of mites in these lizards, comparing males and females and the reproductive and non-reproductive seasons. We analyzed preserved specimens and also studied lizards in their natural environment. We performed linear regression analyses between the intensity of mite infestation and snout-vent length and between lizard mass and intensity of mite infestation. To compare the intensity of mite infestation between sex and season, we used the Mann-Whitney Test. The mite was identified as a species of Pterygosoma Peters, 1849 (Prostigmata: Pterygosomidae). Mite infestation was mainly in the ventral area, particularly in the guiar and lateral regions. Lizard body size did not explain the intensity of mite infestation, nor was lizard mass influenced by the intensity of mite infestation. Males in their natural habitat presented, on average, more mites than females, which might be related to differences in behavior. There were no differences between seasons. This study constitutes the second Argentine record of the presence of the ectoparasite Pterygosoma sp. in a Liolaemus species and the first that explores its relation to ecological parameters.

We describe a new slender species of Liolaemus of the L. alticolor-bibronii group of the subgenus Liolaemus. The new species is phenetically and biogeographically close to L. alticolor, L. paulinae, and L. puna but presents a combination of character states that differentiates it from all other species of Liolaemus. The new taxon is the first species of subgenus Liolaemus sensu stricto recorded as having supernumerary pores. The new species inhabits places where Parastrephia lucida is the predominant flora and is distributed in areas close to Putre, in the Arica y Parinacota region, northern Chile. Data on its biology, complete distribution, and conservation status are lacking.

We describe a new species of Siphlophis from the Amazonian slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes, in the provinces of Azuay, Tungurahua, and Zamora Chinchipe. This is the third species of Siphlophis known from Ecuador and the seventh species in the genus. The new species of Siphlophis is distinguished from all other Siphlophis by characters of external morphology and coloration. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis of molecular characters places it in Siphlophis and strongly supports our assessment that the species is new and valid. A key to the species of Siphlophis is provided.

A new minute salamander of the genus Thorius is described from the western highlands of the Mexican state of Guerrero. Previously, three congeners were known from the central portion of the state. The fourth species we herein describe occurs in the western portion of the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero and is allopatric from nearest congeners by about 80 km. The new species is distinguished from Guerreran congeners by a combination of body size, external morphology, and dentition.

Bolitoglossa cf. pandi is a terrestrial salamander that inhabits a fragment of secondary forest located in the Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes. Few aspects of its biology are known. Here we studied its diet, microhabitat use, population structure, and arthropod richness at the study site during rainy and dry seasons. We also recorded perch height, substrate type, and time of capture. Encounter rate for Bolitoglossa cf. pandi was very high during rainy months and low during dry season. Juveniles were more abundant than adults. To obtain consumed items we used the stomach-flushing technique; the contents of 87 stomachs were analyzed and 1324 prey items were identified and grouped in 20 prey categories. Diet was represented by a great variety of arthropods and the most important prey categories, according to the index of relative importance (IRI), were Acari, Coleoptera, and Formicidae. No differences were found in diet between sexes; however, ontogenetic variation was found: there was a shift in consumption of ants and mites related to ontogeny. Volume of coleopterans and ants in stomachs increased with body size, whereas occurrence of mites varied inversely with body size. Only Acari consumption changed between dry and wet seasons. Bolitoglossa cf. pandi forages on the ground, as well as on herbaceous vegetation; larger individuals were found in the highest perches, usually on leaves. Diet and microhabitat use of this salamander is similar to other species of Bolitoglossa and are affected by local environmental factors, such as prey availability and climate regime, and endogenous factors, such as body size.

Recent efforts to improve sampling of Brazilian biodiversity have yielded a number of undescribed species of amphisbaenids. Herein, we describe a new species of small, two-pored Amphisbaena from western Brazilian Amazonia. The new species can be distinguished from all congeners by the combination of the following characters: two precloacal pores arranged in a continuous series; snout rounded in lateral and dorsal views; tip of tail rounded; 233–250 body annuli; 20–24 caudal annuli; autotomy sites on caudal annuli 6–9; 10 dorsal and 12–14 ventral segments per annulus at midbody; absence of postmalars; suture between frontals slightly smaller than parietal and nasal sutures; and tail short relative to body length (tail length/body length = 0.10). The new species inhabits the rain forest and small patches of savanna vegetation within the Amazon Forest. A Bayesian analysis based on two mitochondrial (16S and ND2) and three nuclear (cmos, BNDF and RAG1) markers recovered the new species as sister to a clade formed by A. hastata A. cuiabana; however, support for this relationship is low. Genetic divergence between populations from both sides of the middle Madeira River is low.