Pristimantis sarisarinama, Barrio-Amorós & Brewer-Carías, 2010

Barrio-Amorós, César L. & Brewer-Carías, Charles, 2010, Venezuelan Guayana, with the description of five new species, Zootaxa 1942, pp. 1-68 : 37-40

Pristimantis sarisarinama sp. nov.

( Figs. 14A, B, C, E, F )

Sarisariñama Rain Frog, Ranita de Neblina de Sarisariñama

Holotype. EBRG 4668 , an adult male from Sima Mayor , Sarisariñama-tepui, Estado Bolívar, Venezuela (4°41' N; 64°13' W), elevation 1100 m, collected on 15 March 2002 by César L. Barrio-Amorós and Javier Mesa.

Paratypes. EBRG 4669–75 with the same data as holotype .

Etymology. The specific name is a noun in apposition and refers to the tabletop mountain where the species occurs.

Diagnosis. A small species of Pristimantis of the P. unistrigatus group as defined by Myers and Donnelly (1996, 1997) and Lynch and Duellman (1997), with the following characteristics. (1) dorsal skin shagreeneded, ventral skin areolate; (2) tympanum distinct to barely distinct, superficial, round, one third ED in diameter; (3) snout subovoid in dorsal view, rounded to subacuminate in profile; canthus rostralis distinct, rounded; (4) UEW approximately equal to IOD, upper eyelid without tubercles; cranial crests absent; (5) dentigerous processes of the vomer small, with three teeth on each; processes positioned between and behind, small, round choanae; tongue rounded; (6) males with vocal slits; nuptial pads apparently absent; (7) FI <FII; FIII and FIV bearing enlarged discs; (8) fingers without lateral keels; (9) axillary tubercle absent; (10) ulnar tubercles absent; (11) calcars and tarsal fold absent; (12) two metatarsal tubercles, inner oval, three times size of round,

indistinct, outer; (13) toes lacking webbing and fringes; TV with relatively broad disc, smaller than those on FIII and FIV; (14) in life, dorsum gray or dark brown, with a reddish reticulation, a distinctive W-shaped orange outlined by black mark behind head and orange outlined by black interorbital bar; in preservative, dorsum brown, pink or orange with pale brown reticulations, pink to gray W-shaped mark, dark gray to brown interorbital bar, labial bars, and transverse black bars on limbs; iris silvery gray with black reticulations; venter pale gray (white with profusion of melanophores under microscope); (15) SVL 22.7–25.8 mm.

Pristimantis sarisarinama is easily distinguished from other species inhabiting the Guayana Shield by the following characters (characters for P. sarisarinama in parenthesis). In P. pruinatus and P. cavernibardus , the discs of adpressed TIII and TV extend just beyond the penultimate subarticular tubercle of TIV (disc of TIII reaches penultimate subarticular tubercle; disk of TV reaches distal subarticular tubercle on TIV). Pristimantis cantitans and P. yaviensis have toes that are webbed basally (webbing absent). In P. avius , P. cantitans , P. memorans , P. pruinatus , and P. yaviensis there are weak calcars (calcars absent). Pristimantis inguinalis (from the Guianas) has granular dorsal skin (shagreened), tubercles on eyelids (absent), basal webbing on toes (no webbing), and a yellow-orange ocellus in cloacal region (absent) (Lescure and Marty 2001; Parker 1940). Pristimantis marmoratus has tubercular dorsal skin (shagreened). Pristimantis pulvinatus has a smooth dorsum with scattered small tubercles (shagreened), ulnar tubercles are present (absent), and paired nuptial pads are present in males (pads absent). Pristimantis marahuaka has a truncate snout in profile (rounded to subacuminate), males do not have vocal slits (vocal slits present), fingers and toes have weak fringes (without), and the color pattern is different (Fuentes and Barrio-Amorós 2006). Pristimantis vilarsi and P. zeuctotylus (both in the P. conspicillatus group) have FI> FII (shorter); Pristimantis vilarsi has shagreeneded dorsal skin with scattered enlarged warts (without warts), a gray to brown venter (dirty white to gray), and short limbs (relatively long) ( Lynch 1975), whereas P. zeuctotylus has a rounded palmar tubercle (bifid). Pristimantis sarisarinama is unique among other Pristimantis known from the tepuis by having the following combination of characters: absence of calcars, shagreened dorsal skin, distinct iris color, and distinct dorsal pattern.

Description. Size small, SVL in eight adult males 22.6–25.8 mm. Head slightly longer than wide, equal to, or slightly wider than, body, HW about 38% SVL; snout subovoid in dorsal view, rounded to subacuminate in profile ( Fig. 14C ); EN about 90% of ED; nostrils barely protuberant, directed dorsolaterally; canthus rostralis distinct, rounded; loreal region slightly concave. Upper eyelid without tubercles or warts (except small wart on each eyelid in EBRG 4674, Fig. 14B ), slightly narrower than, or equal to IOD. Tympanum barely distinct or indistinct, round, TD about 30% ED; small conical warts posteroventral to tympanum in some specimens; supratympanic fold barely distinct. Choanae small, rounded; dentigerous processes of vomers small, medial and posterior to choanae, each bearing three teeth. Tongue rounded, posterior half free; males with vocal slits posterolateral to tongue; single large, distensible, subgular vocal sac; its fold forming semicircle behind chin.

Dorsal skin shagreened; middorsal raphe and dorsolateral folds absent; throat smooth, belly areolate; ulnar tubercles and calcars absent.

Relative length of adpressed fingers III> IV> II> I; FI slightly shorter than FII. Finger discs and subdigital pads broader than long; disc on thumb slightly expanded, smaller than those on FII–FIV; fingers without lateral keels; nuptial pads absent. Palmar tubercle flat, bifid, larger than oval thenar tubercle. Subarticular tubercles large, protuberant, round, single; supernumerary tubercles absent ( Fig. 14E ). Axillary tubercles (as described in P.cantitans by Myers and Donnelly 2001) absent.

Hind limbs relatively long, heels of adpressed limbs reaching nostrils; TL about 52.7% SVL; relative lengths of adpressed toes IV> V> III> II> I. Toe discs narrower than that on FIII; toes lacking lateral keels and webbing ( Fig. 14F ). Tarsal fold and calcars absent; inner metatarsal tubercle elongate, oval, much larger than small, indistinct, rounded outer metatarsal tubercle, indistinct in some individuals; subarticular tubercles large, round to conical, single; supernumerary tubercles small, low.

In life, dorsum greenish gray to brown or reddish brown with distinct dark brown to orange, W-shaped

paratype of Pristimantis sarisarinama sp. nov. EBRG 4673, including (c) a lateral view of the head, a palmar view of the left hand (e), and a plantar view of the left foot (f). Scale bars for hand and foot are 1 mm long, for the head it is 2.5 mm. D, advertisement call of Pristimantis sarisarinama sp. nov.

some individuals; labial bars dark to pale brown; supratympanic stripe black to dark brown; canthal stripe absent. Venter gray (pink in EBRG 4674); iris bronze with fine black reticulation.

In preservative, dorsum pale pink, orange to gray with pale brown bars on flanks, distinct pink to dark gray W-shaped mark, interorbital bar, labial bars, and transverse bars on limbs, venter pale gray (white with melanophores under microscope); iris silvery gray with black reticulations.

Measurements of holotype. SVL 25.5; TL 13.2; FeL 11.9; FL 11.0; HeL 10.0; HW 9.3; Ind 2.1; UEW 3.2; IOD 3.0; EN 3.0; ED 3.2; TD 1.0; FD 1.5; 4TD 1.2; ETS 4.0; 1FiL 2.9; 2FiL 3.0.

Natural history. Pristimantis sarisarinama is a forest-dwelling species, inhabiting the medium, evergreen upper montane forests of the summit at elevations of 1000–1400 m, as well as the forest of the simas. Males call from tree trunks 1–3 m above ground or from mossy rocks, about 1600–1900 h.

Vocalization. The call consists of one or two notes (rarely three), repeated at intervals of 2–6 sec. In a recording of two notes, the duration of the sequence is of 0.2 s, and the second note has a duration of 0.02 s; the dominant frequency is at 2500 Hz and another emphasized harmonic lies at 2050 Hz ( Fig. 14D ).

Distribution. This species is only known from the Sarisariñama massif, where we observed or heard individuals at four camps (I, II, III, IV) at elevations of 1000–1400 m. This species may also occur on Jaua and Guanacoco massifs.

Material examined. Pristimantis cantitans .— VENEZUELA: Estado Amazonas, Cima Cerro Yaví (50º3’ N, 65º54’ W), elev. 2150 m, EBRG 3003 .

Pristimantis pulvinatus .— VENEZUELA: Estado Bolívar: Auyantepuy, Camp 4 (5º58’ N, 62º 33’ W), elev. 1600 m, EBRG 2730 .

Pristimantis vilarsi .— VENEZUELA: Estado Amazonas: Base of Cerro Yapacana, Atabapo (3º49’ N, 66º50’ W), elev. 100 m, EBRG 637–38 , 647 . Base of Cerro Yapacana, Atabapo , elev. 600 m, EBRG 644 ; Caño Yagua, Chipital, Atabapo (4º33’ N, 65º31’ W), elev. 120 m, EBRG 651 ; Serranía Parú, Atabapo (4º33’ N, 65º31’ W), EBRG 653 ; Río Puruname, Atabapo , EBRG 1137–38 .

Pristimantis yaviensis .— VENEZUELA: Amazonas: Cima Cerro Yaví (50º43’ N, 65º54’ W), 2150 m, EBRG 3007 , 3015 (paratopotypes) .

Figures

FIGURE 14. Two specimens of Pristimantis sarisarinama sp. nov., showing characteristic color variation. Shown are (a) the holotype (EBRG 4668) and (b) a paratopotype (EBRG 4674). Details of external characteristics drawn from the