Centrolene audax Lynch & Duellman, 1973

Cisneros-Heredia, Diego F. & Guayasamin, Juan M., 2014, Notes on the taxonomy of some Glassfrogs from the Andes of Peru and Ecuador (Amphibia: Centrolenidae), Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo) 54 (12), pp. 161-168 : 162-163

Centrolene audax Lynch & Duellman, 1973

( Fig. 1 )

Centrolenella audax Lynch & Duellman, 1973 .

Centrolene audax – Ruiz-Carranza & Lynch, 1991.

“ Centrolene ” audax – Guayasamin et al., 2009.

Centrolene fernandoi – Duellman & Schulte, 1993. Holotype: KU 211770. Type locality: west slope of Abra Tangarana , 7 km (by road) northeast of San Juan de Pacaysapa (06°12’S, 76°44’W, 1080 m), Provincia Lamas , Departamento San Martín, Perú. New synonymy.

Lynch & Duellman (1973) described Centrolenella audax for glassfrog populations diagnosed as having small yellow spots on the dorsum, short and distally-curved humeral spines in males, and extensive webbing between outer fingers from the Amazonian versant of the northern Andes. Centrolene audax is currently known in Colombia and Ecuador from few localities in Low Montane Evergreen Forest on the Amazonian versant of the Andes, between 1350 and 1800 m ( Mueses-Cisneros, 2005; Cisneros-Heredia & McDiarmid, 2007; Yánez-Muñoz et al., 2010).

Centrolene fernandoi Duellman & Schulte (1993) was described based on nine specimens collected on the western slope of Abra Tangarana, Amazonian versant of the Andes of Peru. Duellman & Schulte (1993) compared C. fernandoi with Centrolene audax and reported its high similarity, but differentiated them by its snout form (bluntly rounded in C. fernandoi , truncate in C. audax ), dorsal skin texture (with scattered small spicules in C. fernandoi , without spicules in C. audax ), dorsal fleck colouration (bluish-white in C. fernandoi , golden in C. audax ), finger colouration (pale green in C. fernandoi , pale yellow in C. audax ), and iris background colouration (silvery green in C. fernandoi , pale bronze in C. audax ). Centrolene fernandoi remains known only from its type locality (Frost, 2011).

We examined six specimens of Centrolene fernandoi (type-series) and 42 specimens of Centrolene audax (including the type-series). We found that all differences used to separate them are intraspecifically variable within C. audax . Snout form of C. audax varies between rounded to truncate in profile, presence of spicules shows sexual and ontogenic variation (visible in reproductive males, and absent in non-reproductive males and females), dorsal flecks vary from pale yellow to golden yellow (furthermore, the photograph of C. fernandoi in the original description shows pale yellow spots), finger colouration varies from pale green to bright yellow, and iris colouration varies from pale bronze to silvery green or mustard with thin black reticulation. Since no discrete differences are evident and their populations have no obvious biogeographic barriers, we place Centrolene fernandoi Duellman & Schulte, 1993 as a junior synonym of Centrolenella audax Lynch & Duellman, 1973 . Therefore, Centrolene audax inhabits Low Montane Evergreen Forest on the Amazonian versant of the Andes of southern Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru, between 1080 and 1800 m ( Duellman & Schulte, 1993; Mueses-Cisneros, 2005; Cisneros-Heredia & McDiarmid, 2007; Yánez-Muñoz et al., 2010).

Figures

FIGURE 1: Photographs of Centrolene audax: (A) KU 164500 from 2 km SSW of Río Reventador, Napo, Ecuador; (B) KU 211770, holotype of Centrolene fernandoi, from W slope of Abra Tangarana, San Martín, Peru. Photos by W.E. Duellman.