Three New Species of Eleutherodactylus from Eastern Cuba, with Notes on Vocalizations of Other Species (Anura: Leptodactylidae)

Abstract

Three new arboreal species of Eleutherodactylus are described from upland regions of eastern Cuba. Eleutherodactylus guantanamera is relatively widespread in Guantanamo Prov- ince and also occurs in Santiago de Cuba Province, E. mariposa is known only from the type- locality on the Meseta del Guaso (Guantinamo Province), and E. melacara is known only from Pico Turquino in Santiago de Cuba Province. Two of these species, E. guantanamera and E. melacara represent the first bromeliad specialists known from Cuba, and they possess a head shape and eye orientation found in other bromeliad-dwelling species. Call and chromosome variation are discussed for all 10 members of this arboreal subgenus in Cuba. THE grandiose frog genus Eleuthero- dactylus (>500 species) is represented in the West Indies by two large and wide- spread subgenera, Euhyas (80 species) and Eleutherodactylus (44 species), and one small subgenus (Pelorius; six species) on Hispaniola (Hedges, 1989). Molecular ev- idence suggests that the divergence of the two large subgenera occurred in the late Cretaceous or early Cenozoic (Hass and Hedges, 1991). Although members of each subgenus have invaded a wide range of ecological niches, these two groups can be characterized by their predominant eco- logical habits. Species in the subgenus Eu- hyas usually occupy terrestrial niches and commonly are found close to the ground or on rocks. West Indian species of the subgenus Eleutherodactylus nearly always