Hyloscirtus princecharlesi, Coloma & Carvajal-Endara & Dueñas & Paredes-Recalde & Morales-Mite & Almeida-Reinoso & Tapia & Hutter & Toral & Guayasamin, 2012

Coloma, Luis A., Carvajal-Endara, Sofía, Dueñas, Juan F., Paredes-Recalde, Arturo, Morales-Mite, Manuel, Almeida-Reinoso, Diego, Tapia, Elicio E., Hutter, Carl R., Toral, Eduardo & Guayasamin, Juan M., 2012, 3364, Zootaxa 3364, pp. 1-78 : 26-31

Hyloscirtus princecharlesi sp. nov.

Figs. 1F, 11A, 12A–C

Holotype. CJ 308 an adult male from a cascading stream on the border between Reserva Cotacachi-Cayapas and a private land owned by Manuel Quinchiguango , at Recinto San Antonio (ca. Cuellaje), Provincia Imbabura, Ecuador (0º 28' 23.772" N, 78º 34' 12.756" W; 2794 m); obtained on 22 July 2011 by Elicio E. Tapia, Carl R. Hutter, and Carlos Quinchiguango.

Paratypes. QCAZ 43654 , 44893 adult males with same locality as holotype (0º 28' 20.8194" N, 78º 33' 57.6" W; 2720–2794 m); the former obtained on 23 June 2009 by Elicio E. Tapia and William Quinchiguango, and the latter on 24 June 2009 by Luis A. Coloma, Manuel A. Morales-Mite, and Elicio E. Tapia .

Diagnosis. A member of the Hyloscirtus larinopygion group as diagnosed by Faivovich et al. (2005). The new species differs from other members of that group by having a unique pattern of dorsal coloration (series of well defined orange blotches or spots densely and uniformly distributed on a black background), a genetic distance from other members of the group of at least 1.31% (for fragments of ~ 2.3 kb of aligned mitochondrial DNA sequences), poorly expanded digital discs, and a glandular nuptial pad on thumb. The most similar dorsal coloration is seen in H. pantostictus ( Fig. 1E) and H. ptychodactylus ( Fig. 1H), both of which have orange spots or blotches. Hyloscirtus princecharlesi differs from H. pantostictus from the slopes of northeastern Ecuador by having gray digital discs (yellow in H. pantostictus ); also, the two species are not sister taxa ( Fig. 3). The new species is distinguished from its sister species, H. ptychodactylus from the slopes of western Ecuador at Cotopaxi province by having well defined spots or blotches on dorsum (scattered, diffuse, spots or blotches and dense stipling among blotches in H. ptychodactylus ), and by having a gray iris color (sky-blue in H. ptychodactylus ).

Description of holotype. SVL 70.5 mm. Body and limbs robust. Snout nearly truncate in dorsal and lateral view. Head about as broad as long. Head width at level of eyes (21.8 mm), 30.9% of SVL. Canthus rostralis rounded. Loreal region slightly concave. Lips rounded, not flared. Dorsal surface of internarial region nearly flat. Nostrils barely protuberant, directed anterolaterally, slightly posterior to anterior margin of lower jaw. Top of head nearly flat. Tympanum vertically ovoid, tympanic annulus distinct. Supratympanic fold thick, curved, covering dorsal edge of tympanum, extending from eye to posterior end of mandible and to shoulder.

Forearms robust compared to upper arms. Axillary membrane absent. Ulnar tubercles absent. Fingers broad. Disks round, barely expanded or Finger I about same width as finger. Relative lengths of fingers 1<2<4<3. Lateral fringes absent. Palmar surface ( Fig. 12B) with deep folds and low raised, round, supernumerary tubercles. Subarticular tubercles single, large, thick, rounded, or oval. Thenar tubercle thick, elliptical. Palmar tubercle barely noticeably. Prepollex absent. Glandular nuptial pad covering the outer margin of Finger I ( Fig. 13A). Fingers webbed basally, manus webbing basal ( Fig. 12B). Hind limb robust. Tibia length 46.5% of SVL. Heel tubercles absent. Inner tarsal fold absent. Foot length 44.7% of SVL. Inner metatarsal tubercle large, oval ( Fig. 12C). Outer metatarsal tubercle absent. Subarticular tubercles round. Supernumerary, low raised tubercles present. Toe discs not expanded. Relative lengths of toes I<2<3<5<4. Foot webbing basal ( Fig. 12C).

Skin on throat and anterior portion of chest bearing irregular scattered folds on a weakly areolate skin that extends to abdomen. Pelvic patch areolate. Transverse supracloacal flap long. Margins of vent with numerous small folds and two large lateral swollen glandular areas at proximal posterior thighs. Cloacal opening directed posteriorly. Vocal slits present at posterior lingual margins of mandibles. Dentigerous processes of vomers long, transverse, abutting medially, behind level of large, ovoid choana, bearing 24 teeth evident in the buccal mucosa. Tongue broad, cordiform, shallowly notched posteriorly, fully attached to mouth floor, rugose on its anterior portion. Vocal sac single, median, subgular.

Color in preservative (~70% ethanol). Dorsum with a pattern of dense, brown-orange, round-oval marks, and blotches on a black background, forming a reticulated pattern at mid-dorsum and more isolated blotches towards the flanks. Dorsum of limbs with larger marks and blotches than body. Anterior and posterior surfaces of thighs nearly black with two large faint gray blotches. Dorsum of inner fingers and toes gray with faint creamy-gray blotches that become brighter toward Fingers IV and Toes IV–V. Glandular area lateral to vent brown-orange. Throat, chest, abdomen with diffuse black-gray marbling. Inner margin of lower lip cream. Anterior flanks with three large round marks, posterior flanks barred. Tympanum mostly black.

Color in life ( Fig. 6B). Same as above except in that dorsal marks and blotches are orange, varying to pale orange. Blotches on hidden surfaces of thighs are creamy white. Ventral surfaces are black with yellow-cream marbling, more yellow at gular region. Tips of dorsal surfaces of fingers and toes are pale creamy-orange with gray. Palmar and plantar surfaces are gray to black. Ventral pads of digital discs on fingers and toes are gray. Iris is dark gray.

Measurements of holotype (mm). SVL 70.5, TIBL 32.8, FEL 31.5, FOL 31.5, RDUL 17.9, HANDL 24.7, THBL 16.7, HLSQ 23.9, HDW 23.4, ITN 6.0, EYD 7.2, EYNO 4.7, TYD 3.6, DFW 3.9, DTW 3.1.

Variation. Measurements variation of two paratypes ( QCAZ 44893 , 43654 ) and the holotype ( CJ 308 ) are indicated in Table 7. The adult male paratypes overall are very similar to the holotype except for differences in color strength and patterns ( Fig. 14), by bearing 29 vomerine teeth in QCAZ 44893 and 23 in QCAZ 43654 , and by having slightly smaller finger discs in QCAZ 44893 .

Tadpoles. See under Tadpoles and ontogeny section.

Distribution, natural history, and conservation status. Hyloscirtus princecharlesi is known only from its type locality (San Antonio, ca. border of Reserva Ecológica Cotacachi-Cayapas), a cascading stream in Montane Cloud Forest ( Fig. 11C, D) (according to the classification proposed by Valencia et al. 1999). The locality is in northwestern Ecuador in the Cordillera de Toisán, a mountain range that is part of the Cordillera Occidental of the Ecuadorian Andes, in Provincia de Imbabura, at an elevation of 2720–2794 m ( Fig. 9). At the type locality, the annual mean precipitation is 1671 mm and the annual mean temperature is 14.1 ºC (based on the WorldClim database; Hijmans et al. 2005). Toral et al. (2002) provide a detailed description of the type locality and a record of a female of this species (under the name Hyla sp 1 .).

The holotype CJ 308 was active during the night (21:50h) 2 m above the ground, on bushy vegetation, containing decomposing leaves mixed with mosses, and epiphytes, and surrounded by dense natural vegetation. It was located at the upper part of a cascade that was about 10 m wide and 8 m high. The headwater springs are about 20 m higher than the collecting site and about 80 m from the nearest divide .

Paratypes QCAZ 44893 and 43654 were found active at 19:50h and 21:30h, respectively, at about the same site as the holotype . QCAZ 44893 was 1 m above ground on a leaf (approximately 30 x 40 cm) of an Anthurium sp. , at the margin of a stream with natural vegetation . QCAZ 43654 was climbing on a branch 2 m above ground, close to a natural wall of stones, with abundant earth and epiphytic vegetation. There was no rain, the forest was cloudy . QCAZ 43654 was found at about 10 m from an individual of Hyloscirtus criptico .

Hyloscirtus princecharlesi herein is considered as Endangered (A3ce IUCN criteria) due to a suspected population size reduction of ≥ 50% suspected to be met within the next 10 years, where the reduction or its causes may not have ceased. The single locality currently known for this species is being modified by human activities and is being severely affected by growing habitat destruction. Threats are logging, burning, unregulated use of land for agriculture, cattle raising, pesticide use, and invasive trout in the regional streams. Besides, it is likely that climate change and emerging pathogens are affecting its populations as has been documented for numerous other Andean frogs (Pounds et al. 2010). Rapid and integrative conservation measures are urgently needed, among which the protection and restoration of its habitat are a priority, as well as the establishment of an ex-situ assurance colony.

Etymology. The specific name princecharlesi is a patronym that honors His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales (Charles, Philip, Arthur, George, Windsor). In his call to halt tropical deforestation, Prince Charles uses frogs as symbols, and his Rainforests SOS Campaign includes a video with a frog as a rainforest ambassador. For this reason he is affectionately known by the media as the ‘frog prince’. Prince Charles is contributing significantly to the growth of awareness in the battle against tropical deforestation, climate change, and the catastrophic extinction of rainforest amphibians. His work is leading to increased awareness of these issues, and this increased awareness benefits biodiversity conservation, sustainability, alleviation of poverty, and ensures ecosystem services for present and future generations.