Scinax onca, Ferrao, Miqueias, Moravec, Jiri, Fraga, Rafael de, Almeida, Alexandre Pinheiro de, Kaefer, Igor Luis & Lima, Albertina Pimentel, 2017

Ferrao, Miqueias, Moravec, Jiri, Fraga, Rafael de, Almeida, Alexandre Pinheiro de, Kaefer, Igor Luis & Lima, Albertina Pimentel, 2017, A new species of Scinax from the Purus-Madeira interfluve, Brazilian Amazonia (Anura, Hylidae), ZooKeys 706, pp. 137-162 : 138-148

publication ID

https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.706.14691

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5AF4775E-803F-4B1D-AAF6-6FFB94BDCD82

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/5AF4775E-803F-4B1D-AAF6-6FFB94BDCD82

taxon LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:act:5AF4775E-803F-4B1D-AAF6-6FFB94BDCD82

treatment provided by

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scientific name

Scinax onca
status

sp. n.

Scinax onca View in CoL sp. n. Figs 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 Suggested English name: Jaguar Snouted Treefrog.

Scinax iquitorum : Almeida et al. 2015: 142, Appendix II.

Scinax sp. 3: Ferrão et al. 2016: 7-9, figs 1 & 2B, Supporting table S2-S4.

Holotype

(Figs 2-3, 4 A–B). INPA-H 34584, an adult male from kilometre 350 of the BR-319 Highway (5°15'57"S, 61°55'58"W, ca. 59 m a.s.l., Fig. 1A), municipality of Beruri, State of Amazonas, Brazil, collected on 15 November 2013 by Miquéias Ferrão and Rafael de Fraga.

Paratypes

(Figs 5 C–F, 6-7). Sixteen specimens: five adult males (INPA-H 34581, INPA-H 34582, INPA-H 34585, INPA-H 34586, INPA-H 34587) and one adult female (INPA-H 34583), same locality and collecting data as the holotype; one adult male (INPA-H 26624) and one adult female (INPA-H 26625) from the Floresta Estadual Tapauá Reserve (06°22'37"S, 63°17'19"W, ca. 69 m a.s.l., Fig. 1B), municipality of Tapauá, State of Amazonas, Brazil, collected on 12 October 2013 by Alexandre P. Almeida; five adult males (INPA-H 34588, INPA-H 34592, INPA-H 34593, INPA-H 34594, INPA-H 34595) and one adult female (INPA-H 34589) from municipality of Porto Velho (9°9'32"S, 64°37'60"W, ca. 105 m a.s.l., Fig. 1C), State of Rondônia, Brazil, collected on 2 November and 7 February 2014 by Albertina P. Lima; one adult male (INPA-H 34590) and one adult female (INPA-H 34591) from municipality of Porto Velho (9°17'52"S, 64°46'10"W, ca. 101 m a.s.l., Fig. 1D), State of Rondônia, Brazil, collected on 25 February 2010 by Albertina P. Lima.

Referred material.

Two: INPA-H 35413 and INPA-H 35414, newly metamorphosed specimens from the kilometre 350 of the BR-319 Highway (5°15'57"S, 61°55'58"W, ca. 59 m a.s.l., Fig. 1A), municipality of Beruri, State of Amazonas, Brazil, collected on 17 January 2014 by Miquéias Ferrão.

Generic placement.

We assign the new species to Scinax based on general morphological similarity to other members of the genus, cloacal tube of tadpoles positioned above the margin of the lower fin (a synapomorphy of the former S. ruber Clade sensu Faivovich [2002], currently Scinax sensu Duellman et al. [2016]).

Diagnosis.

A medium-sized species of Scinax characterized by the following combination of characters: (1) SVL 31.3−34.5 mm (n = 13) in males and 35.5−40.4 mm (n = 4) in females; (2) snout truncate in dorsal view, bluntly rounded in lateral view; (3) tarsal tubercles absent; (4) tubercles on lower jaw and knee absent; (5) skin on dorsum shagreen; (6) dentigerous processes of vomers triangular; (7) in life, ground colour of dorsum light brown with dark brown spots and markings; dorsolateral stripes or X-shaped blotch on dorsum absent; flanks light brown with or without dark brown spots; axillar region and groin white with black irregular spots; anterior and posterior surfaces of thighs black (usually bordered by an irregular white streak); webbing between toes black; belly white to yellow, with round dark brown spots; iris bright orange; (8) advertisement call consisting of a single pulsed note; note duration 102−121 ms; 16−18 pulses/note; dominant frequency 1572−1594 Hz; (9) tadpoles with body triangular in lateral view; labial tooth row formula 2(2)/3(1); labial arm absent.

Comparisons.

Until now, the following 28 valid species of Scinax occur in Amazonia ( Sturaro and Peloso 2014, Brusquetti et al. 2014, Frost 2017): S. baumgardneri (Rivero, 1961), S. blairi (Fouquette & Pyburn, 1972), S. boesemani (Goin, 1966), S. chiquitanus (De la Riva, 1990), S. cruentommus (Duellman, 1972), S. danae (Duellman, 1986), S. exiguus (Duellman, 1986), S. funereus (Cope, 1874), S. fuscomarginatus (Lutz, 1925), S. fuscovarius (A. Lutz, 1925), S. garbei (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1926), S. ictericus Duellman & Wiens, 1993, S. iquitorum Moravec, Tuanama, Pérez & Lehr, 2009, S. jolyi Lescure & Marty, 2000, S. karenanneae (Pyburn, 1992), S. kennedyi (Pyburn, 1973), S. lindsayi Pyburn, 1992, S. madeirae (Bokermann, 1964), S. nebulosus (Spix, 1824), S. oreites Duellman & Wiens, 1993, S. pedromedinae (Henle, 1991), S. proboscideus (Brongersma, 1933), S. rostratus (Peters, 1863), S. ruber (Laurenti, 1768), S. sateremawe Sturaro & Peloso, 2014, S. villasboasi Brusquetti, Jansen, Barrio-Amorós, Segalla & Haddad, 2014, S. wandae (Pyburn & Fouquette, 1971), and S. x-signatus (Spix, 1824). Members of the genus Julianus occur in Uruguay, extreme southern Brazil, and in northern Corrientes, Argentina ( J. uruguayus [Schmidt, 1944]) and in Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais, Brazil ( J. pinimus [Bokermann & Sazima, 1973]). Species of the genus Ololygon are distributed in Atlantic Coastal Forest of eastern Brazil, gallery forests of the Brazilian Cerrado and in Argentina (see Duellman et al. 2016). Among species of Scinax distributed in Amazonia, except by the species that occur in open habitats, all other species are endemic to the biome. Regarding the fact that Scinax onca sp. n. is an exclusive forest dweller known from the lowland rainforest of southern part of Central Amazonia we focus the comparison on Amazonian Scinax species, including six confirmed candidate species discovered recently in PMI ( Scinax sp. 1-2 and Scinax sp. 4-7 of Ferrão et al. 2016).

Morphologically, Scinax onca sp. n. can be distinguished from all other Amazonian Scinax species by having bright orange iris and white groin with black spots in life and by the following combinations of characters (characters of other species in parentheses or brackets unless otherwise stated):

The new species differs from S. baumgardneri , S. garbei , S. jolyi , S. kennedyi , S. nebulosus , S. pedromedinae , S. proboscideus , and S. rostratus by snout truncate in dorsal view and bluntly rounded in lateral view, and by the absence of tubercles on the lower jaw and knee (elongated or pointed snout, and tubercles present on the lower jaw and knee; Duellman 1972, Pyburn 1973, Duellman and Wiens 1992, Lescure and Marty 2000, Lima et al. 2004). In addition, tadpoles of S. onca sp. n. differ from those of S. garbei , S. nebulosus , S. pedromedinae , and S. rostratus by the absence of labial arm (labial arm present; Duellman 1978, Hero and Mijares-Urrutia 1995, Duellman 2005, Gomes et al. 2014).

The male SVL 31.3−34.5 mm of S. onca sp. n. is larger than male SVL of S. blairi (27.8−30.1 mm; Fouquette and Pyburn 1972), S. cruentommus (24.8-27.7 mm; Duellman 1972), S. danae (24.5−27.4 mm; Duellman 1986), S. exiguus (18.0−20.8 mm; Duellman 1986), S. fuscomarginatus (15.7-26.7 mm; Brusquetti et al. 2014), S. karenanneae (SVL 26.6−28.9 mm; Pyburn 1993), S. lindsayi (about 24 mm; Pyburn 1992), S. madeirae (18.0-23.1 mm; Brusquetti et al. 2014), S. villasboasi (16.7-20.0 mm; Brus quetti et al. 2014), S. wandae (23.4-26.9 mm; Pyburn and Fouquette 1971), Scinax sp. 1 (20.2-22.5 mm, n = 5), Scinax sp. 2 (sensu Ferrão et al. 2016) (18.1-20.4 mm, n = 15), Scinax sp. 4 (sensu Ferrão et al. 2016) (23.2 mm), Scinax sp. 6 (sensu Ferrão et al. 2016) (25.1-26.7 mm, n = 6), and Scinax sp. 7 (sensu Ferrão et al. 2016) (22.6-25.9 mm, n = 28). The males of S. onca sp. n. are smaller than those of S. fuscovarius (SVL 41.0-44.0 mm; Cei 1980) and S. sateremawe (35.2-38.1 mm; Sturaro and Peloso 2014).

Scinax onca sp. n. can be distinguished from S. boesemani by conspicuous dark brown spots on the dorsum (light spots on dorsum) and belly (no spots), black posterior surfaces of thighs (light brown), and black webbing between toes (light brown; Goin 1966). The call of S. onca sp. n. differs from that of S. boesemani in duration (102-121 ms vs.160-290 ms in S. boesemani ; Duellman and Pyles 1983).

The new species differs from S. chiquitanus in having snout truncate in dorsal view (rounded), head wider than body (narrower), black posterior surfaces of thighs (brown), and in having dark brown spots on the belly (light brown when present; De la Riva 1990). The call of Scinax onca sp. n. differs from the call of S. chiquitanus in duration (102-121 ms vs.185.3-338.8 ms in S. chiquitanus ), number of pulses (16-18 vs. 23-42 in S. chiquitanus ) and dominant frequency (1572-1594 Hz vs. 2100-2261.5 Hz in S. chiquitanus ; De la Riva et al. 1994, Ferrão et al. 2016).

Scinax onca sp. n. differs from S. ruber by the snout truncate in dorsal view (rounded), black posterior surfaces of thighs (brown with yellow or orange mottling), and absence of dorsolateral stripes (tan to yellow dorsolateral stripes present; Duellman and Wiens 1993). There are seven available names in the synonymy of S. ruber : Hyla conirostris Peters, 1863 (type locality “Surinam”), Hyla lateristriga Spix, 1824 (type locality: Brazil, by implication), Hyla lineomaculata Werner, 1899 (type locality "Arima, Trinidad"), Hyla robersimoni Donoso-Barros, 1965 “1964” (type locality "Pajonales al sur de Macuro, Penisula de Paria, Venezuela"), Hyla rubra hübneri Melin, 1941 (type locality “Taracuá, Rio Uaupes", “São Gabriel, Rio Negro", and "Vicinity of Manaus", all localities in the State of Amazonas, Brazil), Scytopis alleni Cope, 1870 (type locality State of Pará, Brazil, by lectotype designation of Duellman and Wiens 1993), and Scytopis cryptanthus Cope, 1874 (type locality “Nauta”, Region Loreto, Peru). According to their original descriptions, all these names are associated with specimens that have yellow blotches on the anterior and posterior surfaces of the thighs, and in some cases undersurfaces of tibiae ( Moravec et al. 2009).

From Scinax x-signatus (Spix, 1824) the new species can be distinguished by absence of the X-shaped mark (present) and presence of dark brown spots on the dorsum (absent; Lutz 1973).

Scinax onca sp. n. differs from S. ictericus by snout truncate in dorsal view (bluntly round), absence of ulnar and tarsal tubercles (tubercles present), and by black posterior surfaces of thighs (light to dark brown; Duellman and Wiens 1993). The call of Scinax onca sp. n. differs from the call of S. ictericus in duration (102-121 ms vs. 70-90 ms in S. ictericus ). The tadpoles of the new species differ in having triangular body in lateral view (ovoid; Duellman and Wiens 1993).

The new species can be distinguished from S. funereus (Fig. 4A) by its truncate snout in dorsal view (acutely rounded; Duellman 1978), absence of tarsal tubercles (a row of low tubercles on outer edge of tarsus; Duellman 1971), shagreen skin (strongly tuberculate; Duellman and Wiens 1993), flanks light brown (yellow; Duellman and Wiens 1993), orange iris (bicolored iris; see Fig. 4A), and black posterior surfaces of thighs (yellow with dark brown spots or pale with discrete dark brown blotches; Duellman and Wiens 1993). Labial tooth row formula 2(2)/3(1) of the tadpoles of S. onca sp. n. differs from that of S. funereus (2(2)/3; Duellman 1978). There are two available names in the synonymy of S. funereus : Hyla depressiceps Boulenger, 1882 (type locality “Ecuador”) and Hyla rubra inconspicua Melin, 1941 (type locality "Roque, Region San Martín, Peru"). According to the original description, H. depressiceps differs from the new taxon in having black and whitish marbled limbs. An examination of the holotype of Hyla rubra inconspicua shows that it differs by the presence of small tubercles on the head, dorsum and limbs including the tarsal area (see Moravec et al. 2009).

The new species differs from S. iquitorum (Fig. 4B) by snout truncate in dorsal view (bluntly rounded), dentigerous processes of vomers triangular (transverse), presence of conspicuous dark brown spots on dorsum (small dark brown dots concentrated only on head and in areas of scapular and sacral blotches), light brown flanks with or without dark brown spots (bright yellow flanks with numerous distinct round black spots), and by white long bones of hindlimbs (green; Moravec et al. 2009).

Scinax onca sp. n. differs from Scinax sp. 5 (sensu Ferrão et al. 2016) by light brown dorsum with dark brown spots (yellowish green with diminutive black spots), dark spots on belly (absent), and anterior and posterior surfaces of thighs black (uniformly yellowish green).

Description of the holotype.

Adult male 31.3 mm SVL. Body moderately slender; head wider than body, slightly longer than wide (HL/HW = 1.2, HL = 38.0% of SVL, HW = 32.3% of SVL); snout truncate in dorsal view, bluntly rounded in lateral view; nostrils markedly protuberant, elliptic, directed dorsolaterally; eye-nostril distance 76% of ED; internarial region moderately depressed; canthus rostralis rounded in both dorsal and lateral views; loreal region concave, more concave near to nostril; interorbital distance longer than upper eye width (IOD/ELW = 1.1), IOD 31% of HW; eye diameter 34% of HW; tympanic annulus distinct, tympanic membrane evident, rounded, 51% of ED; supratympanic fold present, slightly distinct; vocal sack subgular, bilobate; vocal slits extend from lateral base of tongue (slightly behind the half distance from the anterior edge) to the mouth angles; dentigerous processes of vomers triangular, bearing 7/6 (left/right) teeth; choanes rounded; tongue lanceolate.

Arm and forearm slender; axillary membrane absent; pectoral fold present; hand length 29% of SVL; fingers long bearing horizontally expanded discs; diameter of disc on finger III 49% of ED; relative length of fingers I<II<IV<III; palmar tubercle bifid, flat, longer than wide; thenar tubercle elongated; distal subarticular tubercle conical on Finger I, subconical on Finger II, rounded on fingers III–IV; supernumerary tubercles small, slightly distinct; nuptial pad poorly developed, slender, extending from proximal base of thenar tubercle to distal base of distal subarticular tubercle on Finger I; fingers II–IV basally webbed; fingers with narrow lateral fringes, external fringe on Finger IV extends to distal portion of thenar tubercle.

Hind limb long; tibia longer than femur, tibia length 52% of SVL, femur length 47% of SVL; tarsus length 27% of SVL; foot length 44% of SVL; toe discs more rounded than finger discs; diameter of disc on Finger IV 44% of eye ED; relative length of toes I<II<III<V<IV; inner metatarsal tubercle oval and flat; outer metatarsal tubercle rounded, flat, three times smaller than inner metatarsal tubercle; subarticular tubercles subconical on toes I–II, rounded on toes III–V; supernumerary tubercles small, rounded, and flat; webbing on toes I 2−2+ II 1+−2 III 1+−2 IV 2−1+ V; distinct external lateral fringe on Toe V extending to outer metatarsal tubercle; fringe on external margin of Toe I extends to inner metatarsal tubercle; tarsal folds and tarsal tubercles absent; tubercles on heels absent.

Skin on dorsum shagreen, almost granular in supratympanic and anterotympanic region; skin smooth on forelimbs, hind limbs, throat, chest, and vocal sac; skin areolate on belly and ventral surface of thighs.

Measurements of the holotype

(in mm).SVL 31.3; HL 11.9; HW 10.9; ED 3.7; EN 3.6; ELW 3.1; IND 2.8; IOD 3.4; TD 1.9; HAL 9.1; Fin3DW 1.8; TL 16.3; THL 14.8; TSL 8.6; FL 13.7; Toe4DW 1.6.

Colouration of the holotype in life

(Fig. 5 A–B). Ground colour of dorsal surfaces of head, body, and limbs light brown; dorsal pattern consisting of W-shaped interorbital mark on the head, an irregular dark brown spot in scapular region, a Λ-shaped mark in sacral region, and numerous round dark brown spots distributed randomly on the head (including lips) and body; a conspicuous dark brown canthal stripe extends to tip of snout; a dark brown supratympanic stripe extends from corner of eye to anterior region of flanks; three dark brown transverse bars on the forearm, the proximal one extends to arm; three brown transverse bars on the tibia; fingers and toes light brown, distal surfaces of disc cream to tan, proximal surfaces grey; toe webbing black; axillar region white with small dark brown spots; flanks light brown with dark brown spots; groin white with dark brown spots; anterior surfaces of thighs black; posterior surfaces of thighs black, bordered with an irregular white streak; throat and vocal sac yellow ish; chest translucent; belly yellowish laterally, white medially, covered with randomly distributed round dark brown spots; anterior ventral surfaces of thighs greyish with black spots; posterior ventral surfaces of thighs dark grey to black; ventral surfaces of hand and foot black; nuptial pad cream; iris bright orange, without black reticulation, bordered by black externally.

Colouration of the holotype in alcohol

(Figs 2-3). Dorsal surfaces of head, body, and limbs brown; throat, belly, and axillar area yellowish; groin white; dark brown dorsal and ventral pattern as in life with exception of inconspicuous transverse bars on thighs.

Variations.

Both uncorrected p and K2P distances between specimens from southern and specimens from middle PMI groups range between 0.4 and 1.1%. Both the p and K2P distances between individuals from middle PMI varied from 0% to 0.2% and between individuals from southern PMI varied from 0% to 0.6% (Table 1). Despite the high genetic similarity, it appears that some variation in measurements and coloration is evident between specimens from middle PMI and specimens from southern PMI (the straight distance between the closest localities is ca. 500 km).

The specimens from southern PMI exhibit slightly larger average size (t = -3.1, df = 10.4, p = 0.009) and significantly lower values of nine following male body proportions: HL/SVL (t = 2.3, df = 10.9, p = 0.01), IND/SVL (t = 3.4, df = 10.8, p = 0.005), IOD/SVL (t = 3.2, df = 9.6, p = 0.009), HAL/SVL (t = 6.9, df = 8.5, p <0.001), THL/SVL (t = 2.8, df = 11, p = 0.01), TL/SVL (t = 3.9, df = 8.8, p = 0.003), TAL/SVL (t = 2.6, df = 10.2, p = 0.02), FL/SVL (t = 5.1, df = 10.3, p = 0.0003), and X3FD/SVL (t = 2.9, df = 6.7, p = 0.02). Variation of measurements and body proportions of the type specimens is given in Table 2.

Colour change was observed after (Fig. 5A−D, F) and before (Fig. 5E) human manipulation of the specimens. After manipulation, general colouration of individuals became darker and spots and blotches became more conspicuous. In preservative, individuals from the middle PMI (Fig. 6A−C) had a larger number of dorsal spots and blotches in comparison to specimens from southern PMI (Fig. 6D−F). Regarding ventral coloration in preservative, individuals from the middle PMI (Fig. 7A−C) had a larger number of spots, which were concentrated on the belly. In the south, individuals had smaller ventral spots, and these were concentrated on the throat (Fig. 7D−F).

Vocalization.

The advertisement call of Scinax onca sp. n. consists of a single short multipulsed note (Fig. 8). Quantitative call parameters are as follows (range followed by mean ± standard deviation in parentheses): call duration, 102-121 ms (110 ± 5, n = 15); silent interval between calls 526-1844 ms (1089 ± 438, n = 15), pulses/call 16-18 (16.8 ± 0.8, n = 15); dominant frequency 1572−1594 Hz (1573 ± 6, n = 15). Calls were repeated at an approximate rate of 16 notes per minute.

Tadpole description.

The following description is based on six tadpoles (Stage 37) of the lot INPA-H 35411. Total length 34.6−38.3 mm (37 ± 1.5, n = 6), body length 9.1−10.5 mm (9.8 ± 0.5, n = 6), and tail length 24.6−28.7 mm (27 ± 1.5, n = 5). Body ovoid in dorsal view, triangular in lateral view (Fig. 9). Snout rounded in dorsal and lateral view, distinct from body. Nostrils large, rounded, positioned and directed dorsally, eye-nostril distance represents 63−88% (74 ± 9, n = 6) of eye diameter. Inter nostril distance represents 62−70% (65 ± 3, n = 6) of inter orbital distance. Eyes large, positioned and directed laterally, with diameter 15−19 % (17 ± 1, n = 6) of body length. Spiracle tube single, sinistral, visible from dorsal view, inner wall and ventral right wall of the tube free from the body. Tail higher than body, point of maximum height of tail about half tail length. Tail musculature visible. Dorsal fin emerging nearly in the middle of the body, rising moderately, descending gradually to flagellum. Ventral fin approximately of the same height and shape as the dorsal fin. Cloacal tube positioned above the margin of the lower fin. Oral disc located anteroventrally, emarginated laterally, protuberant when closed (Fig. 10). Upper labium with uniseriate marginal papillae on distal portion and two rows of papillae (with small median gap) close to mouth angle. Lower labium with triseriate marginal papillae close to mouth angle and biseriate papillae on medial portion. Papillae are long, rounded on tip, distributed irregularly. Jaw sheaths moderately robust and serrated, upper jaw M-shaped and lower jaw V-shaped. Labial tooth row formula 2(2)/3(1). The row A-1 nearly the same length of A-2, P-2 slightly longer than P-1, P-3 shorter than P-1 and P-2. The gap in P-1 approximately the same length of the gap in A-2.

In life, dorsal and lateral surfaces of body silvery-green. Fins silvery-green, translucent, having dark grey spots. In preservative, dorsum of body uniformly grey-brown. A dark brown eye-snout stripe and dark brown interorbital blotch present. Fins translucent with small to large irregular diffuse dark brown spots. Tail musculature light brown. Ventral surfaces of the body white, slightly transparent.

Etymology.

The specific name onca refers to the Brazilian common name for the jaguar Pantera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) due the blotchy colour pattern of the new species. Furthermore, the specific name is a reference to frequent encounters of P. onca during the fieldwork in the PMI. The name is used as a noun in apposition.

Distribution, ecology, and threat status.

Scinax onca sp. n. is an exclusive forest dweller, known from two small areas located in the middle section of the PMI (State of Amazonas, Brazil), and two small areas lying in southern part of PMI, close to municipality of Porto Velho ( Rondônia, Brazil). The maximum straight distance between the localities is around 500 km (Fig. 1). The middle PMI is covered by tropical lowland rainforest characterized by closed canopy with emergent trees whereas the southern part has a more open lowland rainforest formation with frequent palm trees.

The new species is an explosive breeder. All specimens were encountered after (or during) heavy rains when aggregated at middle-sized or large temporary forest ponds. The ponds were not connected to streams. The males were calling from shrubs growing in or next to the water. Calling males adopted both horizontal and vertical positions on leaves and shrub trunks ca. 50-200 cm above the ground. Other tree frogs found in sympatry with S. onca sp. n. included Dendropsophus leucophyllatus (Beireis, 1783), D. marmoratus (Laurenti, 1768), D. minutus (Peters, 1872), D. parviceps (Boulenger, 1882), D. rhodopeplus (Boulenger, 1882), D. sarayacuensis (Shreve, 1935), Phyllomedusa vaillantii Boulenger, 1882, and Scinax sp. 7 (sensu Ferrão et al. 2016).

Based on the sparse data available and due to threats, it is suggested that S. onca sp. n. be classified as "Data Deficient" according to the IUCN red list criteria ( IUCN 2016). It is necessary to stress out, however, that the known range of the new species is seriously threatened by the planned reconstruction of the Trans-Amazonian highway BR-319 connecting Manaus and Porto Velho. This initiative will facilitate human migration from the "Arc of Deforestation" in southern Rondônia to the PMI ( Fearnside and Graça 2006). According to recent predictions, this immigration could result in the deforestation of up 5.4 million hectares of mostly undisturbed rainforests between 2012 and 2050 ( Maldonado et al. 2012). Three of four known S. onca sp. n. localities occur in the area of predicted deforestation. Only the fourth locality lies within the Floresta Tapauá Reserve, which can serve as refuge for this and other species.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Amphibia

Order

Anura

Family

Hylidae

Genus

Scinax