Odontophrynus barrioi, a New Species of Anuran from Argentina

Abstract

-A new species of Odontophrynus from 2200 m altitude in the Sierra de Famatina, Argentina, is described. Morphological as well as cytogenetic features differentiate the new species, 0. barrioi, from the populations of the 0. occidentalis group. The genus Odontophrynus is widespread in several regions of southern and eastern South America. In arid and subarid territories of western Argentina, Odontophrynus occidentalis (Berg, 1898) is predominant, sympatric with 0. americanus in the eastern pampean boundaries. The range of the group extends in subandean areas along the Cordilleran Mountains, at 500 to 2000 m of altitude in Catamarca and the La Rioja Mountains in the north. Southwards it reaches northern Patagonia in Rio Negro and Neuquen Provinces, but marginal populations are also found eastwards in the pampean reliefs of the Sierras of Cordoba and San Luis and on the sandy Atlantic coasts of Buenos Aires Province (Savage and Cei, 1965; Barrio, 1964; Cei, 1980a) (Fig. 1). Having in mind the characteristic cytogenetic features of 0. americanus whose diploid-tetraploid populations were described by Beqak et al. (1966, 1970), a comparative populational study on 0. occidentalis was carried out. During this study polyploid populations of 0. occidentalis were not detected. However, significant karyotypic differences in heterochromatin patterns were found between an isolated population from the extra-Andean Famatina massif in La Rioja Province, and several other populations ranging from Mendoza to the southernmost localities in the species distribution (Ruiz et al., in press). Besides the karyotypic differences, these populations are different in several morphological and biological characteristics. The isolated population from the La Rioja Mountains lies in a geographical area characterized by striking endemisms (Cei, 1980b), and is described as a new form of the genus. Holotype and paratypes are deposited in the Zoological Museum of the University of Sao Paulo (MZUSP). Odontophrynus barrioi sp. nov. (Fig. 2) Holotype.-MZUSP 57635. An adult male, from Aguadita springs, 2200 m, 30 km north of the village of Famatina, Sierra de Famatina, La Rioja Province, Argentina, collected on 17 November 1978 by J. M. Cei. Paratypes.-MZUSP 57635-57638, two adult males; 57636-57639, two adult females; 57640-57647; eight juvenile specimens; all the same data as the holotype. Definition.-A stout Odontophrynus of the occidentalis group, characterized by small, high head; nostril very near tip of snout; diameter of eye about equal to its distance from nostril; interorbital distance about one-half width of upper eyelid; no well defined parotoid glands; irregularly arranged rounded glandular warts; lateral fringes poorly developed on fingers; metatarsal tubercle shovellike, moderately developed; short foreThis content downloaded from 157.55.39.235 on Fri, 07 Oct 2016 05:54:17 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms