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| Boana nigra
Caminer & Ron, 2020
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Abstract
The combination of genetic and phenotypic characters for species delimitation has allowed the discovery of many undescribed species of Neotropical amphibians. In this study, we used DNA sequences (genes 12S, 16S, ND1 and COI) and morphologic, bioacoustic and environmental characters of the Boana semilineata group to evaluate their phylogenetic relationships and assess their species limits. In addition, we included DNA sequences of several species of Boana to explore cryptic diversity in other groups. We found three Confirmed Candidate Species (CCS) within the B. semilineata group. Holotype examination of Hyla appendiculata shows that it is a valid species that corresponds to one of the CCS, which is here transferred to Boana. We describe the two remaining CCS. Our phylogeny highlights a number of secondary but meaningful observations that deserve further investigation: (1) populations of B. pellucens from northern Ecuador are more closely related to B. rufitela from Panama than to other Ecuadorian populations of B. pellucens; (2) we report, for the first time, the phylogenetic relationships of B. rubracyla showing that it is closely related to B. rufitela and B. pellucens; and (3) B. cinerascens and B. punctata form two species complexes consisting of several unnamed highly divergent lineages. Each of these lineages likely represents an undescribed species.
Keywords: Amazon, amphibian, candidate species, cryptic diversity, phylogeny, taxonomy
Systematic accounts
Boana appendiculata (Boulenger, 1882) comb. nov.
Hyla appendiculata Boulenger, 1882.
Proposed standard English name:
Canelos treefrog.
Proposed standard Spanish name:
rana arbórea de Canelos
Distribution: Boana appendiculata occurs in the Amazon basin of Ecuador, Brazil and Colombia (Fig. 6). Localities with known elevation range from 14 to 1050 m above sea level.
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| Boana nigra, QCAZ 61883 (SVL = 25.04 mm) |
Boana nigra sp. nov.
Proposed standard English name:
black-flanked treefrog.
Proposed standard Spanish
name: rana arbórea de flancos negros.
Etymology: The specific epithet nigra is a Latin
adjective in the nominative case meaning black, and
refers to the black coloration on the flanks of these
frogs.
Distribution: Boana nigra occurs on
the eastern Andean slopes of Ecuador. Localities with known
elevation range from 910 to 1847 m a.s.l.
Boana ventrimaculata sp. nov.
Proposed standard English name:
Yasuní treefrog.
Proposed standard Spanish name:
rana arbórea del Yasuní.
Etymology: The specific name is derived from the
Latin words ventriculus = belly, and macula = spot or
stain, in reference to the brown blotches on the chest
and belly of these frogs.
Distribution: Boana ventrimaculata
inhabits the Amazon basin of Ecuador and Brazil (Fig. 6).
Localities with known elevation range vary between
64 and 1035 m of elevation.
Marcel A. Caminer and Santiago R. Ron. 2020. Systematics of the Boana semilineata Species Group (Anura: Hylidae), with A Description of Two New Species from Amazonian Ecuador. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. zlaa002. DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa002
