A new species of Pristimantis (Amphibia, Anura, Craugastoridae) from the foothills of the Andes in Manu National Park, southeastern Peru.

Alessandro Catenazzi,Alex Ttito,Alexander Shepack,Rudolf Von May

doi:10.3897/zookeys.594.8295

Alessandro Catenazzi, Alex Ttito + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.594.8295

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Abstract

We describe a new species of Pristimantis from the humid sub-montane forest of the Región Cusco in Peru. Pristimantis pluvialis sp. n. was collected in the Kosñipata and Entoro valleys at elevations from 740 to 1110 m a.s.l., near the borders of Manu National Park and within the Huachiperi Haramba Queros Conservation Concession. The new species can be distinguished from other members of the genus Pristimantis by its rostral tubercle, smooth dorsal skin, and by its advertisement call. Pristimantis lacrimosus and Pristimantis waoranii superficially most resemble the new species, but Pristimantis pluvialis sp. n. differs from both species by having a rostral tubercle (absent in Pristimantis waoranii and variable in Pristimantis lacrimosus) and larger size, from Pristimantis lacrimosus by its call emitted at a lower frequency, and from Pristimantis waoranii for its dorsal coloration with dark markings. Two other species have partially overlapping distributions and resemble the new species, Pristimantis mendax and Pristimantis olivaceus, but they produce advertisement calls with much higher dominant frequencies than the advertisement call of the new species. Furthermore, Pristimantis mendax differs from the new species by lacking a rostral tubercle and by having a sigmoid inner tarsal fold, whereas Pristimantis olivaceus differs by being smaller and by having dorsal skin shagreen with scattered tubercles. The new species has snout-vent length of 21.8–26.9 mm in males (n = 12) and 28.8 mm in a single female.

Highlights

The wet tropics are a region of incredibly high biodiversity
Manu NP is rich in members of the genus Pristimantis (Craugastoridae), as are other regions in the upper Amazon Basin and the eastern slopes of the Andes. This is one of the largest genera of all vertebrates, and is incredibly understudied. It contains nearly 500 species distributed throughout the New World (AmphibiaWeb 2016; Hedges et al 2008)
Surveys sometimes reveal species with unique morphological traits, such is the case of a new, relatively large Pristimantis species bearing a rostral tubercle, related to P. lacrimosus, that we discovered during surveys in the Kosñipata Valley near Manu NP and within the Huachiperi Haramba Queros Conservation Concession

Summary

Introduction

The wet tropics are a region of incredibly high biodiversity. New amphibian species are frequently discovered (Catenazzi et al 2012; Chaparro et al 2015; De la Riva et al 2012). Manu NP is rich in members of the genus Pristimantis (Craugastoridae), as are other regions in the upper Amazon Basin and the eastern slopes of the Andes. This is one of the largest genera of all vertebrates, and is incredibly understudied. It contains nearly 500 species distributed throughout the New World (AmphibiaWeb 2016; Hedges et al 2008). Pristimantis and most members of the Craugastoridae are primarily terrestrial and are generally assumed to be direct-developing, lacking an aquatic tadpole stage (Duellman and Lehr 2009)

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