Local extinction of melanophryniscus montevidensis (Anura: Bufonidae) in the Argentine pampas

Abstract

Melanophryniscus montevidensis inhabits sandy dunes along the Rio de la Plata shoreline and Atlantic coast in Uruguay and southern Brazil. Here we report 2 specimens from different localities at eastern Buenos Aires province, Argentina, that were collected prior to the 1970s. Melanophryniscus montevidensis probably inhabited patchy sand dune environments in Buenos Aires. It is possible that the disappearance of natural environments (including dunes) in the Argentine Pampas resulted in the local extinction of M. montevidensis, a species sensitive to habitat fragmentation and anthropic modifications.