Oreobates ayacucho ( Lehr, 2007 ) Padial & Chaparro & Castroviejo-Fisher & Guayasamin & Lehr & Delgado & Vaira & Teixeira & Aguayo & Riva, 2012

Padial, Jose M., Chaparro, Juan C., Castroviejo-Fisher, Santiago, Guayasamin, Juan M., Lehr, Edgar, Delgado, Amanda J., Vaira, Marcos, Teixeira, Mauro, Aguayo, Rodrigo & Riva, Ignacio De La, 2012, A revision of species diversity in the Neotropical genus Oreobates (Anura: Strabomantidae), with the description of three new species from the Amazonian slopes of the Andes, American Museum Novitates 2012 (3752), pp. 1-56 : 27-29

Oreobates ayacucho ( Lehr, 2007) , new combination

Figure 5A–B

Phrynopus ayacucho: Lehr, 2007: 167 .

Molecular analyses of the 16S rRNA gene fragment ( fig. 1 ), and additional analyses with larger character sampling (not shown), show that this species belongs to Oreobates , formerly known only from one adult female specimen and a juvenile from Rapi, Provincia de la Mar, Departamento de Ayacucho, Peru ( Lehr, 2007) (map 2). Fieldwork in Ayacucho in 2008 added two adult males (MNCN 44484, SVL = 25.0; MHNC 6840, SVL = 19.0) and a juvenile (MNCN 44485, SVL = 13.0) of this species from a locality on the road from Punqui to Anco, 3 km before Anco (Departamento Ayacucho, Peru), at an elevation of 3850 m, 4.7 km from the type locality (map 2; see table 1 for coordinates). The specimens were readily identified as Phrynopus ayacucho following Lehr (2007). Males of this species have nuptial pads and vocal slits, but vocal sac was not evident. In life, the dorsum and venter are dark brown. The dorsal skin has low, round warts and two rows of incomplete dorsolateral folds. The folds and some warts are almost black. The iris is almost black, with some golden reticulation.

Several males were heard calling during the day in cold grassland puna (or wet puna). Frogs where hidden under thick layers of moss near the ground or within piles of stones. We analyzed 11 calls from one male (MNCN 44484, SVL 25.0 mm). The call is composed of a FIG. 5. A–B. Adult male of Oreobates ayacucho from between Punki and Anco, 3850 m, Ayacucho, Peru (MNCN 44484, SVL 25.0); C–D. Adult female of Oreobates lehri from ca. 40 km from Vilcabamba, 2850 m, Cusco, Peru (MUSM 27616, SVL 28.0). E–F. Adult female of Oreobates lundbergi from between Auquimarca and Uchuerta, 2760 m, Pasco, Peru (MTD 45902, SVL 48.0). G–H. Adult female of Oreobates pereger from Yanamonte, 2600 m, Ayacucho, Peru (MUSM 19982, SVL 31.2).

group of 3–5 pulsed, amplitude-modulated notes with harmonic structure (fig. 6, table 2). Average call length was 756 ms, ranging from 691 to 756 ms. Call rate varied with motivation. When highly motivated, males called at a rate of 2.5–2.9 calls per minute. Most energy was distributed in a band from 1583 to 2703 Hz, with an average fundamental frequency of 1902 Hz (range = 1116–2370), and an average dominant frequency of 1560 Hz (range = 1178–2283), but with additional energy distributed in up to seven harmonics. The first note was always the longer (¯X = 248 ms, range = 218–303 ms), having 9–10 pulses (¯X = 10), and with the amplitude of pulses increasing toward the end of the notes, with a slow decay in the last pulses. Subsequent notes were always shorter, ranging from 85–116 ms, having only four pulses, and decreasing in amplitude toward the end of the note.

Figures

FIG. 1. Main tree (left and right pages): one of 16 equally optimal maximum parsimony trees with branch length depicting phylogenetic relationships of species of Oreobates (3936 steps; differences with the strict consensus only affect unresolved intraspecific relationships). Schematic tree (far left): maximum likelihood best tree topology for 145 terminals of Strabomantid frogs inferred from the 16S rRNA barcode fragment of amphibians (see methods). Numbers above nodes for both trees are maximum parsimony bootstrap values followed by maximum likelihood bootstrap values.