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| Ikakogi ispacue
Rada, Dos Santos Dias, Pérez-Gonzalez, Anganoy-Criollo, Rueda-Solano, et al., 2019
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Abstract
Ikakogi is a behaviorally and morphologically intriguing genus of glassfrog. Using tadpole morphology, vocalizations, and DNA, a new species is described from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (SNSM), an isolated mountain range in northern Colombia. The new taxon is the second known species of the genus Ikakogi and is morphologically identical to I. tayrona (except for some larval characters) but differs by its genetic distance (14.8% in mitochondrial encoded cytochrome b MT-CYB; ca. 371 bp) and by the dominant frequency of its advertisement call (2928–3273 Hz in contrast to 2650–2870 Hz in I. tayrona). They also differ in the number of lateral buccal floor papillae, and the position of the buccal roof arena papillae. Additionally, the new species is differentiated from all other species of Centrolenidae by the following traits: tympanum visible, vomerine teeth absent, humeral spines present in adult males, bones in life white with pale green in epiphyses, minute punctuations present on green skin dorsum, and flanks with lateral row of small, enameled dots that extend from below eye to just posterior to arm insertion. We describe the external and internal larval morphology of the new species and we redescribe the larval morphology of Ikakogi tayrona on the basis of field collected specimens representing several stages of development from early to late metamorphosis. We discuss the relevance of larval morphology for the taxonomy and systematics of Ikakogi and other centrolenid genera. Finally, we document intraspecific larval variation in meristic characters and ontogenetic changes in eye size, coloration, and labial tooth-rows formulas, and compare tadpoles of related species. Ikakogi tayrona has been proposed as the sister taxon of all other Centrolenidae; our observations and new species description offers insights about the ancestral character-states of adults, egg clutches, and larval features in this lineage of frogs.
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| Fig 1. Ikakogi ispacue sp. nov. (A) Dorsal and (B) ventral view of holotype (SVL = 29.6 mm; ICN 56204; male; photos not to scale). |
Ikakogi ispacue sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Ikakogi ispacue sp. nov. can be distinguished from other centrolenids (the only exception is I. tayrona) by having a slightly sloping snout, rounded lateral profile; a tympanum that is not visible; humeral spines in adult males; vomerine teeth absent; parietal peritoneum 1/2 white; green dorsum with black punctuations along the dorsal surfaces and a flanks with a lateral row of small enameled dots that extends from below the eye to just posterior to the insertion of the arm; color of bones in life white, but with a pale green coloration in bone epiphysis; color in preservative uniformly very pale lavender to cream.
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| Fig 4. Ikakogi ispacue sp. nov. Adult male (A), holotype (ICN 56204; SVL 29.6 mm), adult female (B), paratype (ICN 56202; SVL 29.5 mm) and egg mass (C) of Ikakogi ispacue sp. nov. Note the empty space in the middle of the array and unpigmented eggs in a clear jelly. Photos not to scale. |
Natural history: Males and females were observed in subtropical forest perched on the vegetation at heights of 1–2 m. (Fig 4). Males were observed calling from the lower and upper surfaces of leaves along streams at height of 50–350 cm approx. (Fig 4A). Females deposited and cared for egg clutches (referred to the species by association with their mothers perched on clutches) on either the upper side or lower side of leaves overhanging streams (ca. 50–100 cm; Fig 4B). Clutches contained uniformly pale cream or pale green eggs (n = 4; 55 ± 6.21; 48–62 eggs; Fig 4B). The morphology of the egg mass observed near males of I. ispacue sp. nov. is a monolayer mass lacking eggs and jelly in the center of the clutch, which gives an appearance of a "ring" shape (n = 3; Fig 4C). Embryos exhibit cranial hypervascularization, which turned their color reddish or pink; the heart is translucent but colored reddish by blood. Tadpoles of Ikakogi ispacue sp. nov. were found buried in fallen leaves and sand in small pools (area = 1–2 m2; depth = 30–50 cm) located along the edge of streams.
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Etymology: The specific epithet originates from the Kogi words “tshi” and “spákue”, meaning “twin of”. The word is used as noun in apposition and refers to the high similarity and presumed close relationships of the new species and Ikakogi tayrona.
Marco Rada, Pedro Henrique Dos Santos Dias, José Luis Pérez-Gonzalez, Marvin Anganoy-Criollo, Luis Alberto Rueda-Solano, María Alejandra Pinto-E, Lilia Mejía Quintero, Fernando Vargas-Salinas and Taran Grant. 2019. The Poverty of Adult Morphology: Bioacoustics, Genetics, and Internal Tadpole Morphology reveal A New Species of Glassfrog (Anura: Centrolenidae: Ikakogi) from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. PLoS ONE. 14(5): e0215349. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215349
