Abstract
Recent extinctions and drastic population declines have been documented in the Guiana Shield endemic frog genus Anomaloglossus, hence the importance to resolve its alpha-taxonomy. Based on molecular phylogenies, the literature has long reported the occurrence of an undescribed species in the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana in the Pantepui region. We here describe this new taxon and demonstrate that in addition to divergence at the molecular level the new species differs from congeners by a unique combination of morphological characters, notably a small size (maximum SVL in males 18.86 mm, maximum SVL in females 21.26 mm), Finger I = Finger II when fingers adpressed, Finger III swollen in breeding males, fringes on fingers absent, toes basally webbed but lacking fringes, in life presence of a thin dorsolateral stripe from tip of snout to tip of urostyle, and a black throat in preserved males (immaculate cream in females). Virtually nothing is known about the ecology of the new species. We suggest the new species to be considered as Data Deficient according to IUCN standards.
Highlights
In their influential work about bird diversification in the Venezuelan highlands, Mayr and Phelps (1967) coined the term “Pantepui” to describe the high-elevation life zones of the Guiana Shield highlands in north-eastern South America
Recent phylogeographic studies based on non-flying vertebrates (e.g. Kok et al 2012, 2017, 2018a, b, Leite et al 2015, Lehmberg et al 2018) suggested a complex historical biogeography involving the synergy of long distance dispersals, vicariance and habitat shifts
Given the uncertainty on its population status we suggest Anomaloglossus meansi sp. n. to be listed as Data Deficient according to the IUCN Red List category guidelines (2014)
Summary
In their influential work about bird diversification in the Venezuelan highlands, Mayr and Phelps (1967) coined the term “Pantepui” to describe the high-elevation life zones of the Guiana Shield highlands in north-eastern South America. Vertical isolation makes tepui ecosystems sensitive to global warming (see Rull and Vegas-Vilarrúbia 2006, Nogué et al 2009) Because of their remoteness and the difficulties to access most tepuis and tepuian massifs, sampling in the area has been historically low, hindering the pressing need to evaluate the taxonomic status and accurate distribution of Pantepui endemic species. The genus currently comprises 28 species (Grant et al 2017, Fouquet et al 2018), and likely originated in the Pantepui region (area sensu Kok 2013), where several endemics with restricted distributions are reported; more widespread species are found in the lowlands of the eastern Guiana Shield (Vacher et al 2017). Anomaloglossus meansi sp. n., a new Pantepui species of the Anomaloglossus beebei... 101
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