Abstract

The genus Zachaenus Cope is the least specious within Cycloramphidae, including two species: Z. carvalhoi Izecksohn, and Z. parvulus (Girard). Both are leaf litter species distributed across Atlantic forest remnants in Southeastern Brazil. Zachaenus carvalhoi occurs westerly in the states of Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais, and Z. parvulus easterly in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Espírito Santo (Verdade et al. 2009; Motta et al. 2010; Salles & Maciel 2010; Oliveira et al. 2012; Guedes et al. 2019; Frost 2019). Both species build terrestrial nests, and larval development is endotrophic nidicolous (reproductive mode 21 after Haddad & Prado 2005; Lutz 1944; Thibaudeau & Altig 1999; Zocca et al. 2014). In this work, we describe the tadpoles of Z. carvalhoi, and discuss morphological aspects regarding other endotrophic tadpoles.