Leptodactylus ajurauna, Berneck, Bianca Von Müller, Costa, Carolina Ortiz Rocha Da & Garcia, Paulo Christiano De Anchietta, 2008

Berneck, Bianca Von Müller, Costa, Carolina Ortiz Rocha Da & Garcia, Paulo Christiano De Anchietta, 2008, A new species of Leptodactylus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from the Atlantic Forest of São Paulo State, Brazil, Zootaxa 1795, pp. 46-56 : 47-54

Leptodactylus ajurauna sp. nov.

( Figure 1 , 2 and 3 )

Holotype. MZUSP 136712, adult male collected at Parque das Neblinas (23°44’47”S; 46°07’45”W), about 700m a.s.l., Bertioga municipality, São Paulo, Brazil, by Berneck, B.v.M.; Cordeiro, R.S. and Segalla, M.V. on September 25, 2006.

Paratypes. MZUSP 13611, 136713, 136714, adult males collected along with the holotype at the type locality by Berneck, B.v.M.; Costa, C. O.R; Segalla, M.V. and Cordeiro, R.S. on September 25, 2006.

MZUSP136720, adult male collected at the type locality by Berneck, B. v. M.; Costa, C. O. R.; Garcia, P. C. A. on December 13, 2005. MZUSP 135891, 135892, adult males collected at the type locality by P.C.A. Garcia & M. Forlani on November 0 3, 2006.

Referred specimens. MZUSP 136722, adult male collected at Biritiba Ussu district, Mogi das Cruzes, SP by Yamamoto, M. on December 12, 2003. MZUSP 133168, adult female collected at Cubatão, SP by Malagoli, L. R. on November 24, 2004. MZUSP 134277, adult male collected at Bororé district, São Paulo, SP by Malagoli, L. R. on August 25, 2005.

Diagnosis. Based on the overall morphology and its small size, the new species is tentatively assigned to the L. marmoratus group as defined by Heyer (1973, 1984). Within this group, the new species is mediumsized (maximum SVL 19.9 mm in males) and characterized by: 1) body robust; 2) dorsal pattern uniformly dusky, with indistinct patterns or marks; 3) snout outline sub-acuminate to acuminate in lateral view; 3) upper and lower lips, outline throat, and dorsal superficies of forearm bearing little white dots; 4) throat dark brown; 5) snout with well developed fleshy white ridge; 6) gland at jaw articulation developed; 7) finger tips elongated; 8) toes tips slightly expanded ( Figure 1 stage B after Heyer 1973), with disks flattened ( Figure 5 stage A after Heyer 1973); 9) outer tarsus and sole of foot with a profusion of white-tipped tubercles.

Leptodactylus ajurauna sp. nov. differs from other species of the L. marmoratus group by 1) dorsal region uniformly dark, coloration lacking marks or patterns, 2) throat dark brown, 3) snout with well developed fleshy white ridge, and 4) distinct advertisement call. The new species differs from L. andreae Müller by its robust body and a rounded snout outline in dorsal view. From L. araucaria (Kwet and Angulo) by a lack of dorsal pattern, lateral stripes, and by the fingers tips (rounded in L. araucaria and elongated in L. ajurauna sp. nov.). From L. bokermanni Heyer differs by its smaller size (males maximum SVL 25.1 mm in L. bokermanni and 19.95 mm in L. ajurauna sp. nov.) and fingers tips more elongated; snout not acuminate. L. ajurauna sp. nov. differs from Leptodactylus coca Angulo and Reichle by its smaller sized (male maximum SVL 25.1 mm in L. coca, Angulo & Reichle 2008 , and 19.95 mm in L. ajurauna sp. nov.). From L. diptix Boettger it differs by the absence of a light middorsal stripe ( De la Riva 1996). From L. heyeri (Boistel, Massary and Angulo) by its dark brown throat (yellow in L. heyeri ; Boistel et al. 2006). From L. hylaedactylus by a less rugose texture of dorsal surface of body and by the eye and tympanum proportionally smaller, snout fleshy white ridge less developed and a non aquatic reproductive mode (apud Almeida & Angulo 2006). From L. lutzi Heyer it differs by the lack of spots on the posterior surface of the thigh ( Heyer 1975). From L. marmoratus by a more developed gland at the jaw articulation and a lack of dorsal pattern and lateral stripes. The new species differs from the following by a lack of dorsal pattern and markings: L. martinezi Bokermann (dorsal pattern with four symmetrical rows of black longitudinal spots), L. thomei (dorsal coloration pattern consisting of two longitudinal, discontinuous, and glandular lateral folds; Almeida & Angulo 2006), L. nanus Müller (symmetrical pattern of dorsal dark marks, Kwet 2007).

Description of holotype. Robust body, snout outline rounded in dorsal view, acuminate in lateral view, snout with developed fleshy white ridge; tympanum distinct, its diameter almost half of eye diameter; vocal sac present, single, internal, with vocal slits; vomerine teeth in short transverse series, separated from each other by about length of one tooth row, located posterior to choanae; gland at posterior end of lower-jaw well developed and near to the arms. Arms robust, finger lengths IV <I just> II <III; finger tips elongated, not disked; fingers free, subarticular tubercles rounded, prominent; rounded distal subarticular tubercles on fingers I and II; supratympanic fold weakly developed; dorsal body texture ranging from smooth to granular, usually with granules or tubercles more developed posterodorsally; ventral surfaces of body and libms smooth, except ventral surface area of thighs that is areolate; toe lengths I<II<V<III<IV; toe tips slightly expanded, ungrooved disks; toes free, inner metatarsal tubercle oval, distinct, outer metatarsal tubercle distinct, rounded, 1/2 to equal in size to inner one; heel smooth; inner tarsal fold running about 3/4 length of tarsus with single row of white-tipped tubercles on crest; outer tarsal texture with a profusion of white-tipped tubercles; sole of foot with a poorly developed profusion of white-tipped tubercles.

Coloration. In life the dorsal pattern uniformly dark brown, iris bronze, snout fleshy ridge white, throat overall dark (densely speckled with numerous brown spots), body, arms, and snout regions dotted with white spots. The well-developed gland found on each side of the jaw articulations similar to body coloration. In preservative, the dorsum is slightly lighter brown than in life. The white spots on body, arms and snout regions are not visible. The throat is lighter brown than in life but distinct from other species of the group.

Morphological variation. Lighter specimens show a dark brown interorbital triangular spot, often an indistinct pair of broad and dark dorsolateral stripes extending from the back of eye to the groin, and a supratympanic fold usually dark outlined; flanks mottled in some individuals.

Vocalization. Four vouchers were recorded on different dates. A total of ten calls were recorded and analyzed for each male ( Table 2 ). The call of the holotype of Leptodactylus ajurauna sp. nov. ( Figure 4 ) was recorded at 5 pm, at an air temperature of 19.0°C and it consists of single notes, emitted at a low call rate of 23 calls per minute, mean duration of 156ms (range 149–164ms). The notes have ascendant modulation with dominant frequency among 4052–5425Hz and frequency modulation of 746–1131Hz without harmonics, pulses or sideband structure. The analysis of all calls (including the holotype, n=4) showed single notes calls, emitted at a low call rate of 23–36 calls/min, with duration of 130–190 ms, and call rise time of 42–119ms. The notes have ascendant modulation with dominant frequency among 3723–5425 Hz and frequency modulation among 746–1285 Hz.

Natural history and geographical distribution. The species is common in the remaining patches of Atlantic Forest at Parque das Neblinas, males are usually heard calling during the wet season. Leptodactylus ajurauna sp. nov. is rare in the Eucalypt plantations in the park, whereas Leptodactylus marmoratus is abundant in both environments. Males of Leptodactylus ajurauna sp. nov. call from the forest floor in the concealed sites among the leaf litter in afternoon and evening hours during the rainy season (September to March). On some occasions, when the forest was very wet, males were observed calling at night. The new species is known from four municipalities at São Paulo State: Bertioga (Parque das Neblinas); Mogi das Cruzes (Biritiba Ussu district), Cubatão, SP, and São Paulo (Bororé district).

Etymology. The new species is named from Tupi, an indigenous language in South America: ajura = throat + una = black. The specific epithet is considered noun in apposition.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Overview of Leptodactylus ajurauna sp. nov. paratype MZUSP 136720 (Photo: P. C. A. Garcia).

FIGURE 2. Ventral view of Leptodactylus ajurauna sp. nov. paratype MZUSP 136720 (Photo: P. C. A. Garcia).

FIGURE 3. Ventral views of right hand and right foot of Leptodactylus ajurauna sp. nov. holotype (MZUSP 136712).

FIGURE 4. Spectrogram and waveform of the advertisement call of Leptodactylus ajurauna sp. nov. holotype. The first graphic above shows the waveform of the call in seconds. The second shows three calls in milliseconds. Below, the last note in waveform and power spectrum (both in ms.).

FIGURE 5. Overview of a male of the Leptodactylus marmoratus population sympatric with the Leptodactylus ajurauna sp. nov. Note the two dorsolateral stripes. (Photo: P. C. A. Garcia).

Tables

TABLE 2. Measurement of acoustic parameters for Leptodactylus ajurauna sp. nov.. The standard deviation is between parentheses.

	13/12/2005 MZUSP136720	10/08/2005 no voucher	25/09/2006 MZUSP136712	03/11/2006 MZUSP135892
Air temp. (½C)	19.2	18.3	19.0	18.4
Number of calls (indiv.)	10	10	10	10
Call duration (sec)	0.187 (0.003) 0.182–0.190	0.177 (0.007) 0.169–0.177	0.156 (0.004) 0.149–0.164	0.143 (0.008) 0.130–0.156
Call rate (Calls/min).	34	32	23	36
Call rise time (sec)	0.060–0.135	0.042–0.068	0.073–0.119	0.061–0.087
Pulses p/call	1	1	1	1