BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH Spatially explicit analyses highlight idiosyncrasies: species extinctions and the loss of evolutionary history Mariana C. G. Batista 1 *, Sidney F. Gouveia 2 ,D ebora L. Silvano 3 and Thiago F. Rangel 1 1 Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Goi as, Cx.P. 131, CEP 74.001- 970, Goi^ ania, GO, Brasil, 2 Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Sergipe, CEP 49100-000, S~ ao Crist ov~ ao, SE, Brasil, 3 Laborat orio de Zoologia, Universidade Cat olica de Bras  ılia, CEP 71966‑700, Bras  ılia, DF, Brasil *Correspondence: Mariana C. G. Batista, Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Goi  as, Cx.P. 131, CEP 74.001-970, Goi ^ ania, GO, Brasil. E-mail: marianag_bio@hotmail.com ABSTRACT Aim Scenarios of species extinction have been created to assess how the loss of species affects the loss of evolutionary history (EH). However, estimates of the rate of EH loss at regional scales are scarce. Here we provide the first estimate of projected EH loss of New World anurans encompassing both continental and regional scales. Location New World. Methods We implemented two distinct extinction scenarios to investigate vari- ations in rates of EH loss, contrasted through a suboptimality index. The ana- lytical procedure was carried out on a continental scale, comprising all 3017 New World anuran species, and on a regional scale, for each of the 3858 cells of the grid, according to the species assemblage within each cell. Results About 64% of the EH of the New World anurans would still exist even if half of the New World anurans go extinct, regardless of whether extinction is random or threatened species go extinct first. The extinction of all 951 threa- tened anuran species in the New World, or the same number of species chosen randomly from the 3017 total, would cause similar loss of EH. However, spa- tially explicit analyses that account for idiosyncrasies in the phylogenetic struc- ture and threat status of each regional assemblage show that EH loss caused by extinction of threatened species is uneven across the continent. Main conclusions Conservation strategies that aim to mitigate pressures on EH loss must be designed with a focus on regional spatial scales, in order to embody the phylogenetic structure and threat status of species that are particu- lar to each assemblage. Keywords Anurans, conservation, extinction scenarios, New World, phylogenetic distinc- tiveness, threatened species. INTRODUCTION Extinction irreversibly erases the unique evolutionary history that a species represents. However, the extent of lost evolu- tionary history depends on which species goes extinct, as the magnitude of unique evolutionary information varies among species. Closely related species share most of their lineage history, which is lost only if all species in the clade go extinct. However, a single extinction of an evolutionarily iso- lated species, such as highly divergent monotypic clades, may erase a significant amount of unique evolutionary informa- tion. Also, the loss of evolutionary history (EH) potentially affects ecosystem functioning and stability, with ecological, evolutionary and economic consequences (Hooper et al., 2005; Forest et al., 2007; Cadotte et al., 2012). Because spe- cies vary in evolutionary age, ecological role and biological attributes, the loss of different species has different impacts on the structure of local and regional communities. Measures of EH are informative about feature (broad set of attributes) distinctiveness of a species pool (Vane-Wright et al., 1991; Faith, 1992; Safi et al., 2011, but see Devictor et al., 2010). As feature diversity is a key component of adaptation to changing environments in an uncertain future (Faith, 1992; Rodrigues et al., 2005; Forest et al., 2007), DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12126 ª 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ddi 1 Diversity and Distributions, (Diversity Distrib.) (2013) 1–10 A Journal of Conservation Biogeography Diversity and Distributions