2026-06-04 STUDIES ON NEOTROPICAL FAUNA AND ENVIRONMENT 2026 null(卷), null(期), (null页)
Understanding species' spatial distributions in megadiverse regions, such as the Neotropics, has fascinated researchers since the first naturalists of the 19th century. Geographic distributions of many species are poorly known, a problem known as the Wallacean deficit, which constitutes a huge bottleneck for effective conservation planning. Intending to reduce the Wallacean deficit for amphibians inhabiting the Caatinga, we conducted a review of primary research and presented an updated compilation of the geographic distribution of the amphibian species in the Caatinga. For the first time, we provided detailed maps for all amphibians known to occur in the Caatinga and descriptions of their geographic distributions and conservation status. Furthermore, we provided data on distribution patterns of species richness, sampling gaps, and levels of endemism. An amphibian database for the Caatinga was created through the direct analysis of 30,981 occurrence records. We registered 119 amphibian species for the Caatinga, belonging to 18 families and 37 genera, out of which 22 species are strictly endemic (16.10%). The richest family was Hylidae (51 species, 43.2%), followed by Leptodactylidae (31 species, 25.4%).