 |
| Noblella worleyae Reyes-Puig, Maynard, Trageser, Vieira, Hamilton, Lynch, Culebras, Kohn, Brito & Guayasamin, 2020 |
ABSTRACT
With the third most biodiverse amphibian fauna in the world, Ecuador has bolstered this claim with a particularly high rate of species descriptions in recent years. Many of the species being described are already facing anthropogenic threats despite being discovered within privately protected reserves in areas previously not sampled. Herein we describe a new species of terrestrial frog in the genus Noblella from the recently established Río Manduriacu Reserve, Imbabura, Ecuador. Noblella worleyae sp. nov. differs from its congeners by having a dorsum finely shagreen; tips of Fingers I and IV slightly acuminate, Fingers II and III acuminate, without papillae; distal phalanges of the hand slightly T-shaped; absence of distinctive suprainguinal marks; venter yellowish-cream with minute speckling and throat with irregular brown marks to homogeneously brown. We provide a detailed description of the advertisement call of the new species and present an updated phylogeny of the genus Noblella. In addition, we emphasize the importance of the Río Manduriacu Reserve as a conservation area to threatened fauna.
KEYWORDS: Western Andean slopes, terrestrial frog, phylogeny, conservation
 |
| Figure 5. Dorsal and ventral color patterns of Noblella worleyae sp. nov. in life. (A, D) Dorsal pattern and ventral pattern of ZSFQ 2504, paratype, adult male, SVL = 15.5 mm; (B, E) dorsal pattern and ventral pattern of ZSFQ 2502, paratype, adult male, SVL = 15.9 mm; (C, F) dorsal pattern and ventral pattern of ZSFQ 550, paratype, adult male, SVL = 17.3 mm; (G, J) dorsal pattern and ventral pattern of ZSFQ 552, paratype, adult female, SVL = 19.1 mm; (H, K–L) dorsal pattern and ventral pattern of ZSFQ 550, paratype, adult male, SVL = 17.3 mm; (I) dorsal pattern of an uncollected specimen. Photographs by Jaime Culebras (a, b, d, e), José Vieira (c, f), Ross Maynard (g–k) and Scott Trageser (l). |
Noblella worleyae sp. nov.
Proposed standard English name. Worley´s Leaf Frog
Proposed standard Spanish name. Cutín Noble de Worley
Diagnosis: The new species (Figures 3–6) presents the following characteristics: (1) skin of dorsum finely shagreen; (2) tympanic annulus and membrane visible externally, supratympanic slightly visible; (3) snout rounded in dorsal and lateral view (eye-nostril distance 55% of eye diameter, Figure 3); (4) dentigerous processes of vomers absent; (5) fingers not expanded distally, tips of Fingers I and IV slightly acuminate, Fingers II and III acuminate, without papillae (Figure 3); Finger I shorter than Finger II (Figure 3); nuptial pads not visible; circumferential grooves absent; (6) distal phalanges slightly T-shaped; phalangeal formula of hands: 2, 2, 3, 3 (Figure 6); (7) supernumerary palmar tubercles present, mostly at the base of the digits; subarticular tubercles rounded, proximal tubercles prominent; diminutive rounded ulnar tubercles present; (8) one elongated and subconical tarsal tubercle, two tarsal tubercles (inner tubercle 2–2.5x the size of the outer), small pigmented supernumerary tarsal tubercles, toes slightly expanded and slightly acuminate on Toes I and V, and cuspidate tips on Toes II–IV, papillae absent (Figure 3); (9) Toe V shorter than Toe III, distal portions of circumferential grooves present on Toes II–V, phalangeal formula of feet: 2, 2, 3, 4, 3 (Figure 6); (11) in life, dorsum brown to dark brown and densely splashed with light brown, brownish-gray, or turquoise, presence of a middorsal line continuing along the posterior lengths of hind legs cream to light brown; flanks light brown to dark brown with scattered irregular white to turquoise marks; venter yellowish-cream with minute speckling; throat with irregular brown to homogeneously brown marks (Figure 5); (12) female SVL 18.1–19.1 mm (n = 3, mean = 18.7); male SVL 15.5–17.9 mm (n = 4, mean = 16.6).
Etymology: The specific name is a noun in the genitive case and is a patronym for Dr. Elisabeth K. Worley (1904–2004), Professor of Marine Biology at Brooklyn College, naturalist, science communicator, educator, and mentor.
Carolina Reyes-Puig, Ross J. Maynard, Scott J. Trageser, José Vieira, Paul S. Hamilton, Ryan Lynch, Jaime Culebras, Sebastián Kohn, Jorge Brito and Juan M. Guayasamin. 2020. A New Species of Noblella (Amphibia: Strabomantidae) from the Río Manduriacu Reserve on the Pacific slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes. Neotropical Biodiversity. 6(1); 162-171. DOI: 10.1080/23766808.2020.1809287
Another new frog species discovered in our Manduriacu Reserve
Ecuador es el tercer país más diverso en anfibios, y la descripción de especies en los últimos años ha aumentado considerablemente, evidenciando la presencia de nuevas especies en áreas privadas protegidas, muchas de las cuales enfrentan amenazas antropogénicas. Aquí describimos una nueva especie de rana terrestre del género Noblella de la vertiente pacífica de los Andes ecuatorianos en la Reserva Río Manduriacu, provincia de Imbabura. Noblella worleyae sp. nov. se diferencia de sus congéneres por la presencia de un dorso finamente granular, puntas de los dedos I y IV ligeramente acuminados, dedos II y III acuminados, sin papila; falanges distales de la mano ligeramente en forma de T; ausencia de marcas distintivas suprainguinales; vientre crema amarillento moteado con diminutos puntos ,garganta con marcas cafés irregulares a homogéneamente café. Proporcionamos una descripción detallada del canto de la nueva especie y presentamos una filogenia actualizada del género Noblella. Además, enfatizamos la importancia de la Reserva Río Manduriacu como un área de conservación para fauna amenazada.
Palabras claves: estribaciones occidentales de los Andes, ranas terrestres, filogenia, conservación
