Amphibians of the Esta??o Ecolgica de Murici, Alagoas state: a key area for biodiversity conservation in the Atlantic Forest hotspot

Since one of the priorities of public policies and conservation projects is biodiversity safeguarding, understanding the richness and distribution of amphibian communities becomes an important tool for defining priority areas for conservation. Herein, we provide a list of amphibians registered in the Estacao Ecologica de Murici, state of Alagoas, Brazil, one of the highest priority areas for conservation in the Atlantic Forest. We used data collected over two years of field expeditions together with more than 30 years of information available in herpetological collections. A total of 57 amphibian species were recorded in the study site, two currently considered endangered. This richness represents 10% of all diversity found throughout the Atlantic Forest, and approxiamtely 90% of forest dependent species documented in the northern portion of the biome. The Estacao Ecologica de Murici is a key area for biodiversity conservation in the Atlantic Forest and across the planet; therefore, further studies and ongoing monitoring are necessary to guarantee the preservation of its unique biodiversity.