Eleutherodactylus stictoboubonus, Duellman, William E., Lehr, Edgar & Venegas, Pablo J., 2006

Duellman, William E., Lehr, Edgar & Venegas, Pablo J., 2006, Two new species of Eleutherodactylus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from the Andes of northern Peru, Zootaxa 1285, pp. 51-64 : 58-62

Eleutherodactylus stictoboubonus new species

Holotype: MHNSM 24446, an adult female, from Quintecocha, Provincia de Mariscal Cáceres, Departamento de San Martín, Peru (06º51'30" S, 77º42'00" W, 3130 m a.s.l.) obtained on 21 November 2005 by Pablo J. Venegas.

Paratypes: MHNSM 24445, a male collected with the holotype, and MHNSM 24447, a male, from Ullilen, (06º50'32" S, 77º41'50" W, 3000 m a.s.l.), Provincia de Mariscal Cáceres, Departamento de San Martín, Peru collected on 30 November 2005 by Pablo J. Venegas.

Diagnosis

A member of the Eleutherodactylus (Eleutherodactylus) orestes Group having (1) skin on dorsum shagreen lacking tubercles and ridges; skin on venter areolate; discoidal fold not evident; dorsolateral folds absent; (2) tympanic membrane smooth; tympanic annulus distinct, round, its length slightly more than half length of eye; (3) snout short, rounded in dorsal view, curved anteroventrally in profile; lips rounded; (4) upper eyelid lacking tubercles, 64–73% IOD; cranial crests absent; (5) dentigerous processes of vomers absent; (6) males lacking vocal slits and nuptial pads; (7) Finger I shorter than II; discs on outer fingers narrow; (8) fingers bearing broad lateral fringes; (9) ulnar tubercles absent; (10) heel and outer edge of tarsus lacking tubercles; inner tarsal fold barely evident distally; (11) inner metatarsal tubercle broadly elevated, subtriangular, about 10x subconical outer metatarsal tubercle; supernumerary plantar tubercles present; (12) toes bearing broad lateral fringes; Toe V slightly longer than Toe III; discs about same size as those on fingers; (13) dorsum reddish tan with or without small, irregular brown markings; venter cream with brown flecks; groin white with dark brown markings; (14) SVL 20.0– 21.5 mm in two males, 26.0 mm in one female.

Among the 10 species currently placed in the Eleutherodactylus orestes Group ( Duellman and Pramuk 1999; this paper), E. stictoboubonus is unique in having a large, white spot in the groin with dark brown markings therein and the anterior, posterior, and ventral surfaces of the thighs dark brown with distinct white spots (not small flecks). Four species in the group have uniformly colored groins—orange in E. corrugatus , gray in E. pataikos Duellman and Pramuk , a yellow suffusion or not in E. simonsii (Boulenger) , and undifferentiated from the flank color in E. vidua Lynch. Yellow , pink, or white spots are present on the posterior surfaces of the thighs in E. melanogaster Duellman and Pramuk , E. orestes Lynch , and E. simonbolivari Wiens and Coloma , respectively, but in these species, the groin is black with white or yellow spots. Four other species of Eleutherodactylus in Peru and southern Ecuador that have a pale groin with dark markings are members of the Eleutherodactylus unistrigatus Group, in which the terminal digits are expanded and Toe V is much longer than Toe III. Of these four species, E. ventrimarmoratus (Boulenger) has dark brown marks on a white groin; E. lindae Duellman has black reticulations on a cream groin, and the other two species have mottled patterns in the groin—black and white in E. imitatrix Duellman and black and red (white in preservative) in E. altamazonicus Barbour and Dunn. Two other species are members of the Eleutherodactylus conspicillatus Group in which the skin on the venter is smooth and Finger I is longer than Finger II; in both of these species, the groin is cream, but black mottling is present in the groin of E. lymani Barbour and Noble and brown spots are present in the groin of E. malkini Lynch.

Description of the holotype

Adult female with robust body; head narrow, not as wide as body, wider than long; head width 35.8% of SVL; head length 34.6% of SVL, 96.8% of head width; snout short, lacking terminal tubercle, rounded in dorsal view, curved anteroventrally in profile ( Figs. 3 A, B); diameter of eye notably greater than eye–nostril distance; nostrils slightly protuberant laterally; canthus rostralis slightly curved in dorsal view, angular in section; loreal region concave; lips rounded; upper eyelid lacking tubercles; width of upper eyelid 69% of IOD; tympanic annulus round, its posterodorsal part obscured by rounded supratympanic fold; diameter of tympanum 66.7% that of eye, separated from eye by distance about two­thirds diameter of tympanum; postrictal tubercles absent. Choanae small, ovoid, not concealed by palatal shelf of maxillae; vomers lacking visible dentigerous processes; tongue elongate, twice as long as wide, shallowly notched posteriorly, free behind for about half of its length.

Skin on dorsal surfaces of head, body, and limbs, and on flanks finely shagreen, lacking tubercles and ridges; skin on throat, chest, belly, and ventral surfaces of thighs coarsely areolate; other ventral surfaces smooth; discoidal and thoracic folds not evident; cloacal sheath short; ornamentation in cloacal region absent.

Ulnar tubercles absent; palmar tubercle low, shallowly bifid, about same size as elliptical thenar tubercle; subarticular tubercles round, barely subconical in section; supernumerary tubercles small, low, round; fingers short, bearing broad lateral fringes ( Fig. 3 C); Finger I shorter than Finger II; disc on Fingers I and II not expanded; those on Fingers III and IV barely expanded, round; ventral digital pads well defined by circumferential grooves, weakest on Finger I.

Hind limbs moderately robust; tibia length 41.9% of SVL; foot length 43.1% of SVL; heel and outer edge of tarsus lacking tubercles; inner tarsal fold barely evident distally; inner metatarsal tubercle elevated, subtriangular, about 10x subconical outer metatarsal tubercle; toes unwebbed, bearing broad lateral fringes ( Fig. 3 D); discs on toes about as large as those on fingers; all toes having ventral pads well defined by circumferential grooves; relative lengths of toes 1<2<3<5<4; Toe V slightly longer than Toe III; disc on Toe III reaching middle of penultimate subarticular tubercle on Toe IV; disc on Toe V extending to proximal border of distal subarticular tubercle on Toe IV.

Coloration of holotype in preservative: Dorsum dull grayish brown with brown markings consisting of small, irregular marks and body and limbs, canthal stripe, and welldefined, crescent­shaped mark below supratympanic fold. Creamy­tan labial stripe continuous across tip of snout; groin white with irregular brown marks ( Fig. 4 ); anterior, ventral, and posterior surfaces of thighs and ventral surfaces of shanks and tarsi dark brown with cream spots. Throat, chest, and belly creamy gray with brown flecks; ventral surfaces of fingers and toes and palmar surfaces creamy tan; plantar surfaces and dorsal surfaces of fingers and toes brown.

Coloration of holotype in life: Unknown.

Measurements of holotype in mm: SVL 26.0, tibia length, 10.9, foot length 11.2, head length 9.0, head width 9.3, IOD 2.9, width of upper eyelid 2.0; eye–nostril distance 2.0, diameter of eye 3.0, diameter of tympanum 1.6.

Va r i a t i o n

There is no noticeable morphological variation among the individuals other than size. Measurements (in mm) of the two males (MHNSM 24445, 24447) are: SVL 20.0, 21.5; tibia length 8.7, 9.2; foot length 9.5, 9.3; head length 7.5, 7.8; head width 7.9, 8.2; IOD 2,6, 2.8; width of upper eyelid 1,7, 2.0; eye­nostril distance 1.6, 1.9; diameter of eye 2.5, 2.6; diameter of tympanum 1.0, 1.2. The proportions for the female holotype, followed by those of the two males are: tibia length/SVL 41.9, 43.5, 42.8; foot length/SVL 43.1, 45.5, 43.2; head length/SVL 34.6, 36.3, 36.3; head width/SVL 35.8, 39.5, 40.9; upper eyelid/ IOD 69.0, 65.4, 71.4; eye­nostril distance/eye 66.7, 64.0, 73.1; tympanum/eye 53.3, 40.0, 46.2.

The coloration of the three specimens in preservative is similar, except that one male (MHNSM 24447) has a dark brown occipital mark continuous with a narrow middorsal brown mark. However, these marks are not evident in a color photograph of that specimen, which shows a reddish­tan dorsum becoming pale creamy gray on the flanks ( Fig. 5 ). The canthal and postocular stripes are diffuse brown, and the upper lip is creamy gray. The iris is dull bronze with brown reticulations with a broad, median, horizontal reddish­brown stripe.

Distribution and ecology

Eleutherodactylus stictoboubonus is known from two localities at elevations of 3000 and 3130 m in the northern part of the Cordillera Central in northern Peru. All individuals were found at night in the ecotone of grassland with bushes ( Baccharis ) and very humid montane forest. Two individuals were on the bases of bunch grass, and the individual from Ullilen was on a rock. At both localities this species is sympatric with E. corrugatus . At Ullilen, other species of anurans include Colostethus sp., E wagteri, Gastrotheca ossilaginis , and Telmatobius atahualipai . At Quintecocha, Bufo arborescandens , E. bromeliaceus , E. schultei , G. ossilaginis , and T. atahualpai were found.

Etymology

The specific name is the Latinized combination of the Greek adjective, stiktos, meaning dappled or spotted and the Greek noun, boubon, meaning groin. The name refers to the spotted groin in this species.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Holotype of Eleutherodactylus stictoboubonus, MHNSM 24446. Lateral (A) and dorsal (B) views of head. C. Palmar view of hand. D. Plantar view of foot.

FIGURE 4. Holotype of Eleutherodactylus stictoboubonus, MHNSM 24446. Color pattern in groin.

FIGURE 5. Male paratype of Eleutherodactylus stictoboubonus in life, MHNSM 24447, male, 20 mm SVL. Photo by P. Venegas.