About the Stamps
The stamps show a small sample of richness and beauty of anuran amphibians, better known as toads and frogs. For this issue, five species of the Brazilian fauna were picked: Perereca (tree frog) (Osteocephalus taurinus), Sapinho Flecha (arrow toad) (Ameerega flavopicta), Perereca-de-Pijamas (tree frog in pajamas) (Boana buriti) and two kinds of Pererecas-Macaco (monkey tree frogs) (Pithecopus oreades and Pithecopus hypochondrialis). These animals were selected to represent the five regions of the biome, some of them being endemic to a biome and others widely distributed. The art highlighted the anurans and place them in a natural environment with the background texture. The very subtle gradient creates a continuity between the stamps, starting from a warmer color in the north to a cooler towards the south, at the bottom of the sheet. The techniques used were vector illustration, photo and photo montage.
Brazilian Fauna: Anurans Amphibians are the vertebrates with the greatest species richness in the world, having about 8,328 species, divided into three orders, Anura with 7,347 species (Toads, Tree Frogs and Frogs), Caudata with 767 species (Salamanders) and Gymnophiona with 213 species (Caecilians). Brazil is considered a megadiverse country and it has the largest variety of amphibian species in the world with about 1,136, with the Anurans being the best represented group with 1,093 species, divided into 20 families and 105 genera, followed by the Caecilians group with 38 species, separated into four families and 12 genera, and finally salamanders with five species of a single family. In this issue, we are going to work on the diversity of anuran amphibians in Brazil. These animals are mainly known for representing the transition between aquatic and terrestrial life, as they have a complex life cycle going through three stages. They are: i) Tadpole – At this stage the animals have a tail and most species live 100% of the time in the water, feeding and growing until the next stage; ii) Froglet – Moment of transition between the tadpole and the adult phase, where the animal has already reabsorbed its tail, that is, the tail has already disappeared and it’s time to jump out of the water, but still needing to be in a humid place; iii) Adult – Then the last stage is the one where the organisms are already able to reproduce and have all the final characteristics of their species, already without tails and being able to stay in less humid environments. As animals extremely dependent on water, anurans end up suffering from various problems, for example, the use of pesticides by the agricultural industry, urban expansion and the pollution of rivers and lakes. In this sense, Brazil has been issuing, since 2002, the Red Book of Endangered Species, targeting the evaluation of the threaten status of Brazilian species in its fauna. In the latest version (2018), 40 species of anurans appear in some threaten category (CR - critically endangered, EM - threatened or VU - vulnerable). About 153 species are in the Data deficient (DD) category, as they have not yet been well studied to the point of confirming their conservation status. The stamps show two species in the DD category (Boana buriti and Pithecopus oreades) and three in the Least Concern (LC) status (Ameerega flavopicta, Osteocephalus taurinus and Pithecopus hypochondrialis).
Ameerega flavopicta (Lutz, 1925)
Classification: Amphibia, Anura, Dendrobatidae
Common name: Yellow-spotted Frog
This species is easily recognized by its striking colors, but it can be taken as another species, Ameerega berohoka. However, the difference between these two is the presence of two yellow stripes on the A. flavopicta’s back and since A. berohoka is smaller in size. This frog was considered endemic in Cerrado biome, but it has been found even in the forests of Minas Gerais and São Paulo states.
Boana buriti (Caramaschi and Cruz, 1999)
Classification: Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae
Common name: Striped tree frog
A charming species, Perereca-de-pijamas, in portughese, is named after having stripes on its back and sides of the body that figuratively resemble pajamas. The name Boana buriti alludes to the place where she was discovered, in Buritis – Minas Gerais, and until today she has only been seen in other two places, Paracatu – Minas Gerais state and Brasília – Distrito Federal (Federal District).
Osteocephalus taurinus Steindachner, 1862
Classification: Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae
Common name: Manaus slender-legged tree frog
This tree frog is considered large and has long, sticky fingers that help it climb trees. Its distribution is very wide, being found mainly in the Amazon region (north), but there are also records towards to the center region of Brazil.
Pithecopus hypochondrialis (Daudin, 1800)
Classification: Amphibia, Anura, Phyllomedusidae
Common name: Monkey tree frog
Representing amphibian fauna, Monkey tree frog is a species of a wide distribution, being found from Rondônia to Santa Catarina states (from north to south). It has striking colors on its body sides and on the thighs, precisely to warn danger to predators or also to communicate with other individuals of its species.
Pithecopus oreades (Brandão, 2002)
Classification: Amphibia, Anura, Phyllomedusidae
Common name: Monkey tree frog
Endemic species in Cerrado biome, its name “Oreades” in reference to mountain nymphs according to Greek mythology, as this species occurs mainly in temporary and high-altitude streams.
Rosângela Azevedo Corrêa
Professor Ph.D Anthropologist at University of Brasília
Cerrado Museum
Bruno Alessandro Augusto Peña Corrêa Biologist at University of Brasília Cerrado Museum
Technical Details
Stamp issue N. 13
Photos: Bruno Corrêa
Design, photmontage and artfinishing: Daniel Effi–Correios Brasil
Background: Designed by Freepik
Print system: offset and spot UV varnish
Paper: gummed chalky paper
Sheet with 20 stamps
Facial value: R$ 2.10
Issue: 400,000 stamps (80,000 of each)
Design area: 40 x 30mm
Stamp dimensions: 40 x 30mm
Perforation: 11.5 x 12
Date of issue: September 22nd, 2021
Place of issue: Brasília/DF
Printing: Brazilian Mint