Centrolenella ametarsia

Guayasamin, Juan M., Cisneros-Heredia, Diego F. & Castroviejo-Fisher, Santiago, 2008, Taxonomic identity of Cochranella petersi Goin, 1961 and Centrolenella ametarsia Flores, 1987, Zootaxa 1815, pp. 25-34 : 28

Status of Centrolenella ametarsia .

In the description of Centrolenella ametarsia (now in the genus Cochranella ), Flores (1987) noted its close morphological similarity to Cochranella oyampiensis . To differentiate the two species, he listed the following traits: fully webbed outer fingers in C. oyampiensis (III 2 1/3 — 2– IV in C. ametarsia ), white ventral parietal peritoneum (transparent in C. ametarsia ), transparent visceral peritoneum (white in C. ametarsia ), concealed tympanum (lower two-thirds exposed in C. ametarsia ), and concealed prepollex (distinct in C. ametarsia ). Cisneros-Heredia and McDiarmid (2007b) and Kok and Castroviejo-Fisher (2008) suggested that C. ametarsia could be a junior synonym of C. oyampiensis . After examination of the holotypes of C. oyampiensis and C. ametarsia , as well as recently collected specimens from the surroundings of their type localities and additional areas (Appendix 1), we found that the differences listed for C. ametarsia and C. oyampiensis by Flores (1987) are the product of a limited sample size and preservation artifacts. Individuals found in Leticia, near the type locality of Cochranella ametarsia , and in Amazonian Ecuador have a webbing formula of the hand that contains the variation observed in both holotypes [i.e., ametarsia and oyampiensis ; III (2– –2 1/3) — (1+–2–) IV]. Flores (1987) mentioned that C. ametarsia has a completely transparent ventral parietal peritoneum. This interpretation is erroneous given that in the types of C. ametarsia and C. oyampiensis all iridophores responsible for its white coloration are dissolved in the preservation liquid. In the newly collected material (except ICN 50847 where iridophores are also lost), the anterior 1/4–1/3 of the ventral parietal peritoneum is white, being the posterior portion transparent. In all the examined specimens of C. ametarsia and C. oyampiensis , most of the tympanum (lower three-fourths) is exposed, and a distinct prepollex is present. Additionally, Cochranella oyampiensis does not have a white hepatic peritoneum as reported by Señaris and Ayarzagüena (2005); the specimens examined by these authors are in fact C. helenae ( Ayarzagüena, 1992; see Kok & Castroviejo-Fisher 2008).

We conclude that the two species are morphologically indistinguishable and consider Centrolenella ametarsia Flores, 1987 , a junior synonym of Centrolenella oyampiensis Lescure, 1975 . Below, we provide a synonymy, diagnosis, and characterization of Cochranella oyampiensis .