Cruziohyla sylviae, Gray, 2018

Gray, Andrew R., 2018, Review of the genus Cruziohyla (Anura: Phyllomedusidae), with description of a new species, Zootaxa 4450 (4), pp. 401-426 : 405-407

Cruziohyla sylviae sp. n.

( Figs. 1a , 6a , 9,11a).

Sylvia’s Tree Frog / Rana arbórea de Sylvia.

Agalychnis calcarifer— Dunn (1931): [MCZ 15610] (misidentified).

Phyllomedusa calcarifer— Lutz (1950): Transferred from Agalychnis .

Phyllomedusa calcarifer— Funkhouser (1957): in part [MCZ 15610] (misidentified).

Phyllomedusa calcarifer— Duellman and Cole (1965): [KU77415] (misidentified).

Agalychnis calcarifer— Duellman (1968): Transferred from Phyllomedusa .

Agalychnis calcarifer— Duellman (1970): (misidentified).

Agalychnis calcarifer— Hoogmoed & Cadle (1991): in part [JEC 9414] (misidentified).

Agalychnis calcarifer— Caldwell (1994): (misidentified).

Agalychnis calcarifer— Savage (2002): (misidentified).

Agalychnis calcarifer— Kubicki (2004): (misidentified).

Cruziohyla calcarifer— Faivorvich et al (2005): Transferred from Agalychnis .

Cruziohyla calcarifer— Sunyer et al (2009): (misidentified).

Cruziohyla calcarifer— Faivorvich et al (2010): in part [ GQ366229 ; GQ366230 ] (misidentified).

Cruziohyla calcarifer— Crawford et al (2010): in part [KRL 0781] (misidentified).

Holotype. BMNH 2018.5509 . Adult female (88.2 mm) from Alto Colorado: Guayacán: District of Siquirres : Limón Province: Costa Rica, 700 m a.s.l. (N 10 ̊02' 8'' W 83 ̊31' 17''), collected on July 15th, 1998, by Andrew Gray and Miguel Solano.

Paratype. BMNH 2018.5510. Adult male (67.0 mm) collected with the holotype from the type locality: Alto Colorado: Guayacán : District of Siquirres : Limón Province: Costa Rica., 700 m a.s.l. (N 10 ̊02' 8'' W 83 ̊31' 17'').

Diagnosis. The new species Cruziohyla sylviae sp. n is diagnosed on the basis of the results of phylogenetic analysis ( Fig. 2 ) and can be distinguished by a combination of the following characters: (1) it is a moderate to large sized species, SVL in males 44.3 mm to 67.0 mm and 73.5 mm to 88.2 mm in females; (2) the absence of dark brown patches on each side and below the vent; (3) large distinct tympanum, diameter size more than 70% that of the eye; (4) fingers and toes extensively webbed: modal webbing formula (fingers): I 2—2 II 1 +— 2 III 1 1/2—1 1/ 4 IV; modal webbing formula (toes): I 1—1 1/2 II 1—2 III 1—2 IV 2—1 + V; (5) sloping snout in profile; (6) in life, the presence of small irregular-shaped pale green lichenose speckles to whole of dorsal surface area; (7) bold black barring extending to lateral surfaces of the flanks, often interconnecting; (8) triangular dermal flap on heel, faces inward when limb closes; (9) lack of calcar terminating on heel projecting outward.

Description (based on the holotype). An adult female of 88.2 mm SVL. Body is elongated, robust for genus. Head is wider than long, broader than the body. Eyes large, pupil vertically elliptical. Palpebral membrane is transparent to partially-transparent, not reticulated. Tympanum is large, distinct, more than two-thirds diameter of the eye. Faint supratympanic fold present. Snout sloping in profile, nostrils having minimal protuberance, distanced slightly nearer to the upper lip than to the eye, distanced from each other by an interval about the same distance as from the upper lip. Canthus rostralis not distinct. Loreal region slightly concave. Vomerine teeth in two short oblique series located between the choanae. Tongue oval-shaped, longer than wide, more than half the width of the mouth, deeply notched anteriorly. Dorsal surface smooth, ventral surface slightly granular; skin on the thighs and surrounding vent coarsely granular. Upper arm slender. Forearm robust, having distinct dermal fold or ridge (3.7mm), almost ovoid in shape, extending along the anterior edge of the forearm, tapering from widest point of forearm to meet disk of the fourth finger. Fingers and toes possess large rounded disks (to 9.3mm). Subarticular tubercles on fingers and toes prominent and round. Fingers and toes approximately ¾ webbed, webbing extending to the base of the disc on the fourth finger and penultimate phalange on the fourth toe: modal webbing formula (fingers): I 2—2 II 1 +— 2 III 1 1/2—1 1/ 4 IV; modal webbing formula (toes): I 1—1 1/2 II 1—2 III 1—2 IV 2—1 + V. A distinct dermal ridge extends along posterior ventrolateral edge of tarsus, paralleling a less distinct inner tarsal fold extending along medial edge of tarsus. Triangular dermal flap present on heel, which when hindlimb is withdrawn faces inward toward the vent. In life, dorsal surface colouration combines two shades of green, small pale lichenose speckling present throughout. Concealed surfaces of flanks, thighs, hands and feet, orange-yellow. Extensive bold black bars to flanks, black barring to the thigh upper surfaces and anterior surface of tibia. Ventral surfaces pale orange-yellow. Eye contains two separate and contrasting colours: having a silvery-grey centre with a yellow periphery. Lower eyelid opaquely mottled, consistent with skin pattern of dorsal surface. In preservative, dorsal ground colour dark greenish-grey; lichenose markings pale, as much emphasised as in life; orange colour in life changes to cream colour.

Measurements of holotype (in mm). SVL = 88.2; Head length = 25.6; Head width = 27.7; Eye diameter (horizontal) = 8.4; Tympanum diameter = 7.4 (TY/E = 88%); Tibia length = 51.4; Foot length = 31.3.

Variation. Measurements of the paratype (mm): SVL = 67.0; Head length = 20.1; Head width = 21.8; Eye diameter (horizontal) = 7.9; Tympanum diameter = 6.3 (TY/E = 80%); Tibia length = 33.3; Foot length = 25.7.

Etymology. The specific name s ylviae is a patronym given in adoration of my first grandchild, Sylvia Beatrice Gray. Sylvia originates from the Latin word for forest Silva meaning ‘Spirit of the Forest’.

Distribution. Occurs at low-mid elevation localities (below 750m) along the Cordillera Central of Central America, primarily along the Atlantic versant, from the Darien Province in southern Panama through Costa Rica and Nicaragua to southern Honduras ( Fig. 10 ). See discussion.

Phylogenetic analysis. Analysis of the DNA sequences shows that C. sylviae sp. n. is highly divergent from both other members of the genus Cruziohyla . The tree selected, based on highest log likelihood (-1622.41), is shown ( Fig. 2 ). The percentage of trees in which the associated taxa clustered together (based on 1000 replicates) is shown next to the branches. The tree is drawn to scale, with branch lengths drawn according to number of substitutions per site. The interspecies differences in genetic distances ranged from 6.2% to 7.5% between the three species ( Fig. 3 ). As comparison, these genetic distances are similar to those reported by Rivera-Correa et al. (2013) between Agalychnis species (5.69-13.0%).

Uncorrected intraspecies genetic distances at the 16S gene were greatest among C. calcarifer individuals, and ranged from 0–2.5% ( Fig. 3 ). The high level of divergence corresponds to the large geographic range of this species, extending from northwestern Ecuador to southeastern Costa Rica. All sequences resulting from this study have been deposited in GenBank: 16s DNA sequences for C. sylviae sp. n. [ MH377068 — 377071]; C. calcarifer [ MH377063 — 377067]; C. craspedopus [ MH377072 ].

Figures

FIGURE 1. Members of the genus Cruziohyla: (a) C. sylviae sp. n.; (b) C. calcarifer (Boulenger, 1902); (c) C. craspedopus (Funkhouser, 1957).

FIGURE 2. Molecular Phylogenetic analysis by Maximum Likelihood method.

FIGURE 3. Uncorrected genetic distances among Cruziohyla species at the 16S gene.

FIGURE 6. Hands and feet of Cruziohyla: (a) C. sylviae sp. n.; (b) C. calcarifer; (c) C. craspedopus.

FIGURE 10. Geographical distribution of Cruziohyla sylviae sp. n. and Cruziohyla calcarifer.