Bioacoustics of Ololygon melanodactyla

Distribution and natural history. Scinax melanodactylus is found in Brazilian coastal sandbanks and in forest areas near these environments, occurring from northern of Espírito Santo State to Sergipe State ( Fig. 6 ). Individuals of this species were observed on leaves and stems of vegetation, especially in bromeliads, in the margins of temporary and permanent water bodies, both streams as swamps. Males were not heard calling, but the species is apparently abundant in the places visited. One female has 133 oocytes (CFBH 36868). Recently, the geographical distribution of S. agilis was expanded in some studies. Perhaps, the specimens of these studies may actually be S. melanodactylus . For instance, Toledo (2005) registered S. agilis in Municipality of Passo do Camaragibe, State of Alagoas. In our analysis we identified specimens of S. melanodactylus from the same Municipality. However, we examined the specimens collected by this author (CFBH 7358–7361) and all are females. As the diagnostic character that distinguishes S. melanodactylus from S. agilis is only observed in males, we cannot confirm assuredly the identity of specimens collected by Toledo (2005) . In the other study, Nunes et al. (2007) described the vocalization of two specimens of S. agilis from Municipality of Camaçari, State of Bahia. In accordance with the distribution of the new species presented herein, these specimens can be actually S. melanodactylus . However, the identity of these specimens cannot be verified because they were not collected. Similarly, Peixoto et al. (2003) registered S. agilis in Municipality of Prado, State of Bahia. The specimens collected by these authors are also probable S. melanodactylus , considering its distribution. Nevertheless, we did not analyze these specimens and its identity could not be verified.