The biological diversity and ecological processes in Cerrado biome are still poorly understood. Herein we present information about anuran species of the municipality of Barro Alto, state of Goiás (Central Brazil). Five water bodies were sampled between the years 2007 and 2010 (October-March), three of them associated with forested area and two with open areas. We recorded 39 anuran species, characterized as open habitat specialists, forest habitat specialists and generalists. The rarefaction curve shows an asymptote formation, which demonstrates adequate effort and sampling techniques to assess the species richness of the region. Species richness was influenced by air humidity and temperature, since most of the species reproduce in the rainy season. We found significant differences in species composition between breeding sites in open and forested areas. The anurofauna in Cerrado seems to be formed from habitat's horizontal heterogeneity in space. Thus, contrasting habitats in space are important for maintaining the anuran richness, and therefore relevant in conservation terms.
Amphibia; Anura; assemblage; spatial distribution
