Rediscovery of Melanophryniscus macrogranulosus (Anura, Bufonidae) an endangered species of Amphibia from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

After the original description of M. macrogranulosus (BRAUN, 1973), no more data on the species was obtained (except GARCIA; VINCIPROVA, 2003), nor more specimens found. The scarcity of data, the apparent rarity of the species, and its endemic status to Rio Grande do Sul led the Brazilian Government to include the species among the “critically endangered” list (Ministério do Meio Ambiente, 2003). Garcia and Vinciprova (2003) included the species in the “red data book” of the Rio Grande do Sul State under the category “Endangered: Vulnerable”. In addition, these authors mentioned that M. macrogranulosus could be the most endangered anuran species of Rio Grande do Sul, and considered even the possibility that the species is already extinct. Here we report the rediscovery of the species, 44 years after the finding of the type-series. Our study is based on a juvenile specimen of M. macrogranulosus (Fig. 1) collected by Rafael Becker and Gabriela Paise on 30 April 2004 at Barra do Ouro, municipality of Maquiné, Rio Grande do Sul, and donated alive to the Herpetological Collection of the Museu de Ciências e Tecnologia of the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (MCP), where the specimen was preserved and stored (MCP 7943).