Agradecimentos: Thanks to Arquimedes Batista, Roberto Brenes, Jhoana De Alba, Edgardo J Griffith, Susanne Lanckowsky, Kirsten Nicholson, and Daedre Craig for their field assistance. To Guido C Berguido for his support with the logistics to work at the Reserva Natural Privada Cerro Chucantí, and to Fr Wally Kasuboski for providing housing at the Centro Cristo Misionero. This survey was possible thanks to the Committee for Research and Exploration of the National Geographic Society (grant number 8133-06). Also, thanks to the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (now, Ministerio de Ambiente) for the collecting/research permit No. SE/A-37-07. RI was supported by the Sistema Nacional de Investigación of Panamá, the Panamá Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project, and Minera Panamá, during the preparation of the manuscript. The reviewers Raoni Rebouças Santos and Jiri Moravec helped to improve the manuscript Ver menos

Abstract: Eastern Panama is within the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot and supports an understudied amphibian fauna. Here we characterize the amphibian diversity across an elevational gradient in one of the least studied mountain ranges in eastern Panama, Serrania de Maje. A total of 38 species were found, which represent 17% of all species reported for Panama. Based on expected richness function and individual-based rarefaction curves, it is estimated that this is an underestimate and that at least 44 amphibian species occur in this area. Members of all three amphibian orders were encountered, represented by ten families and 22 genera, including five species endemic to Central America. Estimated species richness decreased with elevation, and the mid-elevation site supported both lowland and highland species. Our study provides a baseline for understanding the distribution pattern of amphibians in Panama, for conservation efforts, and for determining disease-induced changes in amphibian communities Ver menos