Abstract
We describe two new species of frogs of the genus Pristimantis from the eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes, at Parque Nacional Llanganates. The new species are characterized by the spiny appearance typical of several species inhabiting montane forests. Pristimantis yanezi sp. n. is most similar to Pristimantis colonensis and Pristimantis incanus but differs from both in groin coloration and by having smaller tubercles on the upper eyelids, heels, and tarsus. Pristimantis llanganati sp. n. is most similar to Pristimantis eriphus and Pristimantis chloronotus. It can be distinguished from Pristimantis eriphus by the color pattern on the scapular region and by having smaller conical tubercles on the dorsum. Pristimantis chloronotus differs from Pristimantis llanganati sp. n. in having a pair of sinuous paravertebral folds. Both new species occur in a region with few amphibian collections and nothing is known about their abundance and ecology. Therefore, it is recommended to assign them to the Data Deficient Red List category. Updated figures of species richness of Pristimantis among biogeographic regions in Ecuador are also presented. Pristimantis reach their highest diversity in Montane Forests of the eastern versant of the Andes. Its species richness across regions cannot be explained by regional area, elevation, temperature, or precipitation. Political endemism in Pristimantis is higher than that of other terrestrial vertebrates.
Highlights
With 484 species, Pristimantis is the most diverse genus of amphibians (Lynch and Duellman 1997; Hedges et al 2008; Frost 2015)
The two new species described here occur in the Andean Montane Forest, the Ecuadorian region where Pristimantis reach their highest diversity (Ron et al 2016)
Our results indicate that Pristimantis regional richness is highest on montane forests and lowest in the dry lowlands
Summary
With 484 species, Pristimantis is the most diverse genus of amphibians (Lynch and Duellman 1997; Hedges et al 2008; Frost 2015). Unexplored regions in the Andes still harbor many non-cryptic species that are demonstrably new even without genetic information. A region where amphibian inventories have been almost completely lacking is Llanganates National Park in the central Andes of Ecuador. With an area of 2197 km, Llanganates is a mosaic of páramos and montane forests dominated by a complex topography that result in a great diversity of habitats (Ministerio de Ambiente del Ecuador 2013). The collections resulted in the discovery of two undescribed species of Pristimantis similar in morphology to P. chloronotus, P. colonensis, P. eriphus and P. incanus. Two new species of frogs of the genus Pristimantis from Llanganates National Park... Two new species of frogs of the genus Pristimantis from Llanganates National Park... 141
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