A new earless species of Poyntonophrynus (Anura, Bufonidae) from the Serra da Neve Inselberg, Namibe Province, Angola.

Luis M P Ceríaco,Aaron M Bauer,Ishan Agarwal,Edward L Stanley,Mariana P Marques,David C Blackburn,Mathew P Heinicke,Suzana Bandeira

doi:10.3897/zookeys.780.25859

Abstract

African pygmy toads of the genus Poyntonophrynus are some of the least known species of African toads. The genus comprises ten recognized species endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, five of which are restricted to southwestern Africa. Recent field research in Angola provided new material for three species of Poyntonophrynus, including a morphologically distinctive population from the Serra da Neve Inselberg. Based on a combination of external morphology, high-resolution computed tomography scanning, and molecular phylogenetic analysis, the Serra da Neve population is described as new species that is nested within the genus. The most striking character that differentiates the newly described species from its congeners is the lack of a tympanic middle ear, a condition common in the family Bufonidae, but so far not known for Poyntonophrynus. The description of this new species from southwestern Angola reinforces the biogeographic importance of the region and further suggests that southwestern Africa is the cradle of diversity for this genus.

Highlights

IntroductionAfrican pygmy toads of the genus Poyntonophrynus Frost et al, 2006, are a group of ‘true’ toads (family Bufonidae) that are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa (du Preez and Carruthers 2009, 2017)
African pygmy toads of the genus Poyntonophrynus Frost et al, 2006, are a group of ‘true’ toads that are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa
Based on our molecular phylogenetic and morphological studies, we describe this population from Serra da Neve as a new species of pygmy toad

Summary

Introduction

African pygmy toads of the genus Poyntonophrynus Frost et al, 2006, are a group of ‘true’ toads (family Bufonidae) that are endemic to sub-Saharan Africa (du Preez and Carruthers 2009, 2017). Similarities among what Poynton (1964) termed the Bufo ‘vertebralis group’ were recognized long before a genus was erected for them (Boulenger 1905, Mertens 1955, Poynton 1964, Tandy 1972, Poynton and Haacke 1993). Likewise, their similarity to those species today placed in the genus Mertensophryne has long been acknowledged (Tandy 1972, Poynton 1996, Frost et al 2006). The recognized diversity of this group has remained largely static since the description of B. grandisonae by Poynton and Haacke (1993) and the short summary by Poynton (1996)

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