Callulina laphami, Loader & Gower & Ngalason & Menegon, 2010

Loader, Simon P., Gower, David J., Ngalason, Wilirk & Menegon, Michele, 2010, Three new species of Callulina (Amphibia: Anura: Brevicipitidae) highlight local endemism and conservation plight of Africa’s Eastern Arc forests, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 160 (3), pp. 496-514 : 498-502

CALLULINA LAPHAMI SP. NOV.

( FIGS 1 , 2 , 5A , 6–8 ; TABLES 1, 2)

Holotype: BMNH 2002.37, an adult (gravid) female, collected in Kindoroko Forest Reserve , North Pare Mountains, Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania

All measurements are given in mm. See Material and methods for a definition of the abbreviations.

(03°43′43.5″S, 37°39′16.1″E) by DJG, SPL, and WN on 10 May 2002 (see Fig. 1 ). This specimen has been sequenced for 12S, 16S, and cyt b. Specimen in good condition, with midventral incision into coelom, and incision around tympanic region on left and right.

Paratypes: Seventeen specimens (where determined, sex is listed): BMNH 2002.38, male, cleared and stained; BMNH 2002.39, female; BMNH 2002.40, sequenced for 12S, 16S, and cyt b; BMNH 2002.41, male; BMNH 2002.44, collected at same time and place as holotype; BMNH 2005.951, collected by NC, Kindoroko Forest Reserve , North Pare Mountains , July 1993; nine specimens collected by MM at Kindoroko Forest Reserve , North Pare Mountains, MTSN 8609, 8611, 8611 (male), 8612 (female), 8613, 8614, 8621 (female), 8622 (female), and 8632 (female); two specimens collected on 12 July 1993 by NC, Kindoroko Forest Reserve, CAS 225134 and 225135 .

Referred material: Four specimens collected by MM from Minja Forest Reserve, North Pare Mountains (03°44′55.96″S, 37°38′47.09″E), October 2005: MTSN 8640, 8641, 8648 (male), and 7123.

Diagnosis: A large, stout, and robust Callulina . Snout– urostyle distance reaching 45.4 mm. Snout– urostyle: tibia ratio 33–37%. Tympanum absent. Toe and finger tips truncate. Dark-brown dorsally, pale- brown ventrally. Interocular band, often red, sometimes green, darkened in preservative. Subarticular tubercles of hands and feet prominent. Arms and legs show weak development of continuous glandular ridge.

Callulina laphami sp. nov. differ from C. kreffti , C. kisiwamsitu , and Callulina stanleyi sp. nov. in the absence of a tympanum, smoother, less granular skin, truncate finger and toe tips, and presence of bright colour in the ocular region. Callulina laphami sp. nov. and C. dawida are similar in overall appearance: both have interocular coloration, but C. dawida has a tympanum, albeit sometimes obscured ( Loader et al., 2009). Callulina laphami sp. nov. and Callulina shengena sp. nov. are most similar in external appearance, but the latter lacks prominent glands on the arms and legs. The distinctiveness of C. laphami sp. nov. from other Callulina is also supported by call, distribution, and DNA sequence data.

Description of holotype: Body robust and stout. Tips of fingers truncate (equal to width of distal subarticular tubercle), rounded edges with lateral circummarginal grooves; first finger shortest, second and fourth finger equal, third finger longest. Inner metatarsal tubercle large, rounded, and raised, separated by a middle palmar tubercle from an even larger, rounded outer metatarsal tubercle, which is raised and elongated along the margin of the hand. Smaller palmar tubercles present. Subarticular tubercles at the base of each finger, large subarticular tubercles on third and fourth finger at the phalangeal joints. Third finger with two small tubercles between basal articular tubercle and subarticular tubercle. Truncate and dorsoventrally swollen toe tips without any lamellae on the ventral surface; tips of toes not expanded laterally, with circummarginal grooves; First toe same length as second. Third and fifth toes equal, fourth toe longest. Inner metatarsal tubercle large, rounded, and raised, touching a smaller, rounded, raised, outer metatarsal tubercle. Palmar tubercles present on base of foot. Subarticular tubercles at the base of each toe, large subarticular tubercles on third and fourth toe at the phalangeal joints. All tubercles on hands and feet bluish grey against a brown–grey background.

Mean, standard deviation (SD), minimum (min.), maximum (max.), and number of samples (N).

Dorsolateral and dorsoventral aspects of arms and legs have a raised glandular area; on the arms slightly raised glandular mass from the wrist to the elbow joint on dorsal and dorsolateral surface; slightly raised glandular mass on legs from one part from knee joint to the tibiotarsal joint on the dorsal, lateral, and ventral surfaces, and on the tibia to the tibiotarsal joint to the base of the foot on the dorsal, lateral, and ventral surfaces to the foot.

Dorsum dark brown with a bright-red interocular bar that has faded to dull orange in preservative. This band connects each eyelid, marking precisely their anterior and posterior edges. Relatively smooth dorsal body surface, only slightly granular, with granular glandular masses on lateral and ventral sides, and posterior end, around the thighs and urostyle region. These glandular masses marked by slight pale-cream colour. Ventral surface pale brown. Flanks darker brown with yellowish grey mottling.

Tympanic region greyish brown. A door-like incision on surface of skin around tympanic region reveals underlying musculature and absence of any tympanum or vestigial elements. Weakly defined but darkly edged tympanic region. Loreal and canthal regions pale grey. Nostrils, snout tip, and jaw angle slightly darker grey. Snout visible from ventral view.

Measures of holotype (all measurements are given in mm): ED = 3.5; ETD = n/a; HL = 13.9; HW = 12.1; IN = 2.9; IOD = 6.7; LF3 = 5.1; LT4 = 7.7 ; NED = 3.1; NLD = 1.5; SUL = 45.4; TD = n/a; TL = 15.1; TSL = 11.8; WDF3 = 1.0; WDTF3 = 1.0 .

Measures of male paratype (BMNH 2002.41): ED = 2.6; ETD = n/a; HL = 8.7; HW = 8.7; IN = 2.0; IOD = 4.8; LF3 = 3.8; LT4 = 4.7 ; NED = 2.1; NLD = 1.1; SUL = 28.6; TD = n/a; TL = 9.7; TSL = 6.8; WDF3 = 0.8; WDTF3 = 0.8 .

Morphological and colour variation: In general the morphological features outlined in the holotype description are present in all paratype material. All specimens show truncate toe and finger tips. T-shaped distal phalangeal bones are clearly seen in cleared and stained specimen and radiographs. Male paratype MTSN 8648 has a slightly more raised glandular mass on the legs, although not as distinctive as in C. shengena sp. nov. Females (33.5–45.4 mm) are larger than males (22.8–29.0 mm), otherwise no clear sexual differences are noted externally. Some specimens have a less clear interocular band, and this has become even more faded in preservation (e.g. MTSN 8648, 8613, and 8622). Interocular band green instead of red in life in BMNH 2002.41 (faded to pale orange/ brown in preservative). In some juvenile specimens (e.g. MTSN 8640 and 8612) the dorsum is reddish.

Colour in life: Dark brown dorsally fading ventrally to a cream–yellowish hue. Flanks paler than dorsum, grading into ventral colour. Distinct interocular band marking the anterior and posterior edges of the eyelid, curving slightly posteromedially, generally bright red, sometimes green ( Fig. 3A ).

Advertisement call: Males were heard calling only during the night, from low bushes and branches of small trees. The call is quite a fast series of c. 10–14 trills ( Fig. 5 ), produced at a rate of approximately five per second, with maximum energy at 1550 Hz. Each trill consists of a group of six or seven high-energy pulses, with a pulse-group duration of about 6 ms, and an intergroup duration of about 125 ms. Compared with other Callulina species , call activity was less constant and less frequent, with few calls heard during our fieldwork.

Natural history: Cordeiro notes that his specimens were found ‘under damp rocks of valley side of small stream in deep forest’. SL, DG, and WN found large adults during the day under rocks or logs in mature forest, and one small subadult was found at night perched on a shrub 0.3 m above the ground. MM found adults and juveniles during night searches, perched on bushes and small tree branches, from 0.3 to 1.5 m above the forest floor, both along a wet stream valley and on drier ridges.

Distribution and threat: Callulina laphami sp. nov. was collected only in the Kindoroko and Minja montane forests, at elevations between 1730 m and 2000 m ( Fig. 2A ). Based on current knowledge of the species’ distribution and evidences on habitat preference, the estimated extent of occurrence is less than or equal to 16.5 km 2: this includes Kindoroko and Minja forest reserves. This small extent is compounded with an observed decline in area and quality of the habitat ( Hall et al., 2009). Currently the population density does not appear to be low, but because of the highly fragmented habitat, conservation measures for protecting the species might be important.

Etymology: The species is named for Lewis H. Lapham, who has made generous donations towards conserving Tanzania’s forests. The future survival of this frog and other Eastern Arc endemics will in part depend upon such patronage.

Figures

Figure 1. Map of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania showing the distribution of Callulina. Inset map (bottom left) showing the distribution of South Pare species Callulina stanleyi sp. nov. (elevational range of 1200–1600 m), and Callulina shengena sp. nov. (elevational range of 1920–2100 m).

Figure 2. Dorsal, ventral, and laterial views, and ventral aspect, of hands and feet of the holotype of Callulina laphami sp. nov. BMNH 2002.37.

Figure 3. Dorsal, ventral, and laterial views, and ventral aspect, of hands and feet of the holotype of Callulina shengena sp. nov., MTSN 9285.

Figure 5. Colour in life of Callulina laphami sp. nov. (top left), Callulina shengena sp. nov. (bottom left and right), and Callulina stanleyi sp. nov. (top right).

Figure 6. Snout–urostyle length in Callulina, showing mean, minimum, and maximum values.