Pristimantis aff. gladiator (Lynch, 1976)

Reyes-Puig 1,2, Juan Pablo, Reyes-Puig 1,3,4, Carolina, Franco-Mena 5,6, Daniela, Jost 2, Lou & Yanez-Munoz 1,2, Mario H., 2022, Strong differentiation between amphibian communities on two adjacent mountains in the Upper Rio Pastaza watershed of Ecuador, with descriptions of two new species of terrestrial frogs, ZooKeys 1081, pp. 35-87 : 35

Pristimantis aff. gladiator

Figure 22

Remarks.

Five female specimens (DHMECN 14446, 14447, 14448, 14484, 14705) with body sizes of 13.58 mm up to 19.03 mm, three male specimens (DHMECN 14449-14450, 1486) with body sizes of 12.6 mm up to 15.02 mm and one specimen with undetermined sex (DHMECN14485) with a body size of 11.35 mm, were collected on the forest floor between the leaf litter and on a bromeliad leaf 30 cm from the ground, in the montane forests of the Machay Reserve at elevations between 2220 m to 3000 m. This species has been recorded in other localities, such as Cerro Candelaria Reserve, Chamana Reserve and Tungurahua Volcano; however, some preliminary phylogenetic analyses suggest that northern and southern forms correspond to distinct near-related species (Franco, in preparation). According to references and historical records, the speci-mens assigned to Pristimantis festae of the Tungurahua Volcano ( Lynch and Duellman 1980) actually correspond to this new species, which, in its external morphology, is more similar to Pristimantis gladiator ; however, the latter has a longer face-cloacal length and, according to osteological skull analysis, this species has other morphological differences.

Figures

Figure 22. Pristimantis aff gladiator. A lateral view and B frontal view of females (DHMECN 14446) C dorsal view and D lateral view of male (DHMECN 14450). Photographs by Mario H. Yanez-Munoz.