Pristimantis pulchridormientes, Chavez, German & Catenazzi, Alessandro, 2016

Chavez, German & Catenazzi, Alessandro, 2016, A new species of frog of the genus Pristimantis from Tingo Maria National Park, Huanuco Department, central Peru (Anura, Craugastoridae), ZooKeys 610, pp. 113-130 : 115-121

Taxon classification Animalia Anura Craugastoridae

Pristimantis pulchridormientes sp. n.

Holotype.

CORBIDI 15578 (Figures 1-3), an adult male collected by G. Chávez and D. Vásquez at Campamento La Garganta de la Bella, Tingo María National Park, (9°20'18.3"W, 76°0'7.4"S; 1095 m above sea level (asl), Provincia Leoncio Prado, Departamento Huánuco, Peru, on 21 November 2014.

Paratopotypes. Seven adult males (Fig. 4): CORBIDI 15563-68, 15577, collected along with the holotype.

Paratype. Adult male, CORBIDI 16606 collected at Sharco (9°35'58.6"W, 75°54'1.1 ’’ S; altitude 1700 m asl), Provincia Pachitea, Departamento Huánuco, Peru, on 28 November 2015 by Juan Carlos Chávez-Arribasplata.

Diagnosis.

The new species is distinguished by the following combination of characters: (1) skin on dorsum finely shagreen, that on venter areolate, discoidal fold absent, dorsolateral folds absent; (2) tympanic membrane and tympanic annulus distinct, weak supratympanic fold covering dorsal and posterior edges of tympanum, horizontal diameter of eye 3x the diameter of tympanum; (3) snout acuminate in dorsal view, truncated and posteroventrally inclined in lateral view, canthus rostralis weakly concave in dorsal view, angular in lateral view, loreal region concave, rostral papilla absent; (4) upper eyelid lacking tubercles, cranial crests absent; (5) dentigerous process of vomers absent; (6) males with vocal sacs and vocal slits, nuptial excrescences absent; (7) finger I and finger II of equal length, fingers II and III bearing rounded discs about 1.5 times wider than digits, finger IV bearing a rounded disc about twice as wide as its digit; (8) fingers with narrow lateral fringes; (9) antebrachial tubercle absent; (10) ulnar and tarsal tubercles absent (11) inner metatarsal tubercle oval twice as long as round outer metatarsal tubercle, low supernumerary plantar tubercles at the base of toes I, II, and III; (12) toes with narrow lateral fringes, webbing absent, toe V longer than toe III; (13) in life, males with dorsum creamy yellow or yellowish brown with dark blotches; canthal stripe creamy white extending to the orbits; throat yellow; belly creamy white; groins, posterior surfaces of thighs, and shanks bright red; iris cream with brown flecks; (14) SVL in adult males 19.1-21.9 mm; SVL in females unknown.

Comparisons.

Pristimantis pulchridormientes sp. n. is morphologically similar to Pristimantis acuminatus , Pristimantis bromeliaceus , Pristimantis enigmaticus , Pristimantis lacrimosus , Pristimantis limoncochensis , Pristimantis mendax , Pristimantis olivaceus , Pristimantis omeviridis , Pristimantis padiali , Pristimantis pardalinus , Pristimantis pluvialis , Pristimantis pseudoacuminatus , Pristimantis rhodostichus , Pristimantis schultei , and Pristimantis tantanti in having the head and body slightly compressed dorso–ventrally, but differs from all of them by having bright red coloration on groins, and on the posterior surfaces of thighs and shanks. Furthermore, Pristimantis pulchridormientes lacks a rostral papilla, which is present in Pristimantis acuminatus , Pristimantis bromeliaceus , Pristimantis lacrimosus (variable), Pristimantis olivaceus , Pristimantis omeviridis , Pristimantis pardalinus , Pristimantis pluvialis , Pristimantis rhodostichus , and Pristimantis schultei . Other species further differ by the following characters: Pristimantis enigmaticus has a tarsal fold (absent) and is lacking vocal slits (present); Pristimantis limoncochensis has a smooth dorsum (finely shagreen), and is lacking vocal slits (present), and a differentiated tympanic annulus and membrane (tympanic annulus and membrane distinct); Pristimantis mendax has a sigmoid inner tarsal fold (absent) and dorsal skin shagreen with scattered spicules (finely shagreen without spicules); Pristimantis padiali has an evident supratympanic fold (weakly evident), small dentigerous processes of vomers (absent), tubercles on ulnar and tarsal region (absent) and lacks vocal slits (present); Pristimantis tantanti has small dentigerous processes of vomers (absent), elongated ulnar tubercles (absent) and lacks tympanic annulus and membrane (present) and vocal slits (present).

Only eight other species of Peruvian Pristimantis have red coloration on groins and posterior surfaces of thighs: Pristimantis buccinator , Pristimantis cajamarcencis , Pristimantis ceuthospilus , Pristimantis coronatus , Pristimantis corrugatus , Pristimantis lythrodes , Pristimantis rhodoplichus and Pristimantis sagittulus . Pristimantis pulchridormientes can be differentiated from these species by having skin on dorsum finely shagreen (shagreen with pustules in Pristimantis cajamarcencis ; shagreen with dermal ridges in Pristimantis coronatus ; shagreen to finely corrugated in Pristimantis lythrodes ; coarsely shagreen in Pristimantis rhodoplichus ; shagreen with low tubercles in Pristimantis sagittulus ), skin on venter areolate (smooth in Pristimantis buccinator ), snout acuminate in dorsal view (rounded in Pristimantis cajamarcencis ; subacuminate in Pristimantis lythrodes and Pristimantis rhodoplichus ; acutely rounded in Pristimantis sagittulus ), truncated and posteroventrally inclined in lateral view (acutely rounded in Pristimantis ceuthospilus ; rounded in Pristimantis coronatus and Pristimantis lythrodes ; acuminate in Pristimantis sagittulus ), upper eyelids lacking tubercles (bearing small rounded tubercles in Pristimantis rhodoplichus , conical tubercles in Pristimantis coronatus and Pristimantis corrugatus ), tympanic annulus not prominent (prominent in Pristimantis buccinator , Pristimantis ceuthospilus , Pristimantis rhodoplichus , Pristimantis sagittulus ; absent in Pristimantis coronatus ), supratympanic stripe absent (present in Pristimantis cajamarcencis ), fingers I and II of equal lengths (finger I longer than finger II in Pristimantis buccinator ; finger I shorter than finger II in Pristimantis ceuthospilus , Pristimantis lythrodes and Pristimantis rhodoplichus ), ulnar tubercles absent (distinct conical ulnar tubercles in Pristimantis corrugatus ), heels lacking tubercles (bearing small subconical tubercles in Pristimantis rhodoplichus and prominent conical tubercles in Pristimantis corrugatus and Pristimantis sagittulus ).

The uncorrected genetic distances (Table 2) support the generic placement of the new species and its distinctiveness with respect to superficially similar species. According to these analyses, the most closely related species is Pristimantis pluvialis ( Shepack et al. 2016), which despite sharing a similar body shape can easily be distinguished from Pristimantis pulchridormients by the presence of a rostral papilla, larger size, and coloration patterns.

The new species is also similar to the recently described Pristimantis ardyae ( Reyes–Puig et al. 2013) from Ecuador in having red groins (red or orange in Pristimantis ardyae ), but can be distinguished by the following characters (condition for Pristimantis ardyae in parentheses): upper eyelid lacking tubercles (bearing two small rounded tubercles), low ulnar tubercles present (absent), and iris cream with brown flecks (orange with fine black reticulations).

Description of the holotype.

An adult male (CORBIDI 15578) with a SVL of 21.9 mm, head as wide as long; snout subacuminate in dorsal view and truncated in lateral view, relatively short ( eye–nostril distance 12% of SVL); canthus rostralis distinct in lateral view; loreal region concave; nostrils protuberant, directed anteriorly; interorbital area flat, broader than upper eyelid (upper eyelid width 59% of interorbital distance); cranial crests absent; upper eyelid lacking tubercles; tympanic membrane distinct, differentiated of surrounding skin; tympanic annulus distinct, round with weak supratympanic fold obscuring upper and posterodorsal edges of annulus (Fig. 2); tympanum diameter 31% of eye diameter; postrictal tubercles absent. Choanae small, rounded, not concealed by palatal shelf of maxillary; tongue longer than wide and granular. Skin texture on dorsum and flanks finely shagreen; dorsolateral folds absent; venter areolate; thoracic fold present, discoidal fold absent, cloacal sheath absent. Forearm slender; ulnar tubercles low, ulnar fold absent; radio–ulnar length 23% of SVL; fingers with narrow lateral fringes; relative lengths of fingers I ≤ II <IV <III; palmar tubercle bilobed, thenar tubercle oval (Fig. 3); subarticular tubercles round, prominent; supernumerary palmar tubercles present at the base of all fingers; disc cover finger I slightly expanded, those of fingers III and IV extensively expanded (Fig. 3), outer discs of fingers as wide as those of toes; discs covered with elliptical ventral pads defined by circummarginal grooves. Hind limbs slender; tibia length 50% of SVL; foot length 85% of tibia length; tarsal fold absent, tarsal tubercles low; heel lacking tubercles; toes with narrow lateral fringes; subarticular tubercles round, prominent; inner metatarsal tubercle oval, about 2.4 times the size of subconical outer tubercle; supernumerary plantar tubercles low at the base of all toes; discs covers slightly expanded; toes with defined pads; discs pads nearly elliptical; relative length of toes I <II <III <V <IV; tip of toe V reaching proximal border of distal subarticular tubercle IV; tip of toe II reaching distal border of medial subarticular tubercle of Toe IV.

Measurements and proportions of the holotype

(in millimeters).SVL = 21.9; HL = 8.5; HW = 8.5; ED = 2.7; EN = 2.5; TD = 0.5; IOD = 3.1; EW = 1.8; IND = 1.9; TL = 10.8; FL = 9.2; HL/SVL = 0.3; HW/SVL = 0.3; EW/IOD = 0.5; TL/SVL = 0.4; FL/SVL = 0.4; FL/TL = 0.8.

Coloration in life.

At night, dorsum, flanks, and dorsal surface of limbs are yellowish-brown with diagonal brown blotches and tiny brown flecks; dorsal surface of head of the same color and bearing a fine creamy yellow canthal stripe which extends to the medial portion of the upper eyelids. Throat yellow, chest and belly are creamy-white with tiny dark flecks; ventral surface of hands, and exterior portion of the ventral surface of foots yellowish-brown; groins, posterior surface of thighs, posterior surface of shanks, and inner portion of the ventral surface of hands bright red. Anterior surface of thighs are pinkish-gray with irregular red blotches. Iris golden with fine dark flecks. In daytime, yellowish-brown coloration turns into pale yellow.

Coloration in preservative.

As described above, but yellowish-brown coloration turns creamy-yellow with tiny dark flecks on dorsum, limbs and ventral surfaces of hands and feet; red coloration turned pinkish-white, and venter creamy-yellow; iris gray.

Advertisement call.

A chorus of several males (CORBIDI 15563-68, 15577-78) was recorded at a distance of 1 meter from the microphone; thus the description refers to such context. The general structure of calls in this chorus (2'45 ’’ recording) is that calls include a variable number of single–pulse notes (Fig. 5). It is possible, considering advertisement calls in similar Pristimantis species, that males emit simpler vocalizations, i.e., single notes separated by longer durations, outside of choruses. Males in the chorus produced calls with 3.3 ± 0.7 notes (range 2-5 notes). Note duration averaged 45.9 ± 12.6 ms (range 31-75 ms). Fundamental frequency averaged 2763 ± 133 ms (range 2531-3094 Hz) and did not vary within or among notes; likely the main source of variation in fundamental frequency was among individuals. Within single notes, much of the energy was concentrated in the first half of the note.

Variation.

Measurements and proportions of the specimens examined are given in Table 1. Dorsal coloration pattern is paler in CORBIDI 15563-64, 15568 than the holotype. Specimen CORBIDI 15565 (Figure 4, D–F) has a minute dorsolateral yellow spot. Specimens CORBIDI 15563-66 have a darker yellow throat.

Etymology.

The name is composed of two words in Latin, “pulcher” which means beautiful, and “dormientes” = sleeping, in reference to the chain of mountains located within Tingo María National Park, above the city of Tingo Maria, locally known as Sleeping Beauty (Bella Durmiente), because it looks like a sleeping reclined woman (Figure 6A).

Distribution and natural history.

Pristimantis pulchridormientes is known from two localities (Fig. 1), Garganta de la Bella, the highest point (1095 m asl) along the trail inside Tingo Maria NP, and Sharco (1700 m asl), approximately 27 km south of the type locality (by airline). Male specimens CORBIDI 15563-68, 15577-78 were collected at the beginning of the rainy season, calling at night, perched on leaves 2 meters above ground in the primary montane forest. Although bromeliads were present, individuals were not observed using these plants. Other vegetation included trees Cecropia spp. and Cedrella spp., bamboo patches, ferns, epiphyte plants and lichens (Figure 6B). The ground was covered with leaf litter and rocks. Sympatric species in clude the amphibians Pristimantis diadematus , Pristimantis mendax , Pristimantis peruvianus , Pristimantis ockendeni , and Phyllomedusa camba , and the reptiles Anolis fuscoauratus , Copeoglossum nigropunctatum , Phrynonax polylepis , and Spillotes sulphureus . One specimen (CORBIDI 16606) was collected calling at night on a leaf 2 m above the ground in a patch of a secondary forest, the habitat strongly affected by human activities such as cattle grazing and orange plantations. The vegetation consisted of trees of Cecropia spp., Ficus spp., and the ground was covered by herbs and bushes. Sympatric amphibians include Pristimantis ockendeni and Scinax aff. ruber .