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| Scinax tropicalia Novaes-E-Fagundes, Araujo-Vieira, Entiauspe-Neto, Roberto, Orrico, Solé, Haddad & Loebmann, 2021 |
Abstract
We describe a new species of the Scinax ruber clade from Northeastern Brazil that occurs in widely separated geographic areas in the Atlantic Forest of southern Bahia state and the Highland Humid Forest of Serra de Baturité, northeast Ceará state. Scinax tropicalia sp. nov. is diagnosed from all 75 currently recognize species of the S. ruber clade by bioacoustical and morphological adult traits, such as duration (0.11–0.31 s) and dominant frequency (1.59–1.85 kHz) of the advertisement call, snout shape rounded, nearly rounded, or semi-circular in dorsal view and rounded to slightly protruding in profile, bilobate vocal sac, absence of pectoral glands and spicule-shaped papillary epidermal projections on nuptial pads, and color pattern on the dorsum of body and hidden surfaces of hindlimbs.
Keywords: Amphibia, Atlantic Forest, Bioacoustic, “Brejos de Altitude”, “Brejos Nordestinos”, Morphology, Northeastern Highlands, Taxonomy, Tropicália
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| FIGURE 5. Holotype of Scinax tropicalia sp. nov. (MZUESC 20440). Individual in life (A) during daylight period and (B) hidden in a tree bark hole in calling activity at night. Freshly euthanized individual showing the color pattern in (C) dorsolateral, (D) ventral, and (E) ventrolateral views. |
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| FIGURE 7. Variation in the color pattern of Scinax tropicalia sp. nov. in living and freshly euthanized specimens from localities in the state of Bahia, Brazil. From left to right: natural position view of living specimens; hidden surfaces of thighs; flanks, inguinal region, and anterior surface of thighs; and body in ventral view. (A) MZUESC 20324 (paratype, male). (B) MZUESC 20413 (paratype, male). (C) MZUESC 20421 (paratype, male). (D) MZUESC 20420 (paratype, female). |
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| FIGURE 8. Variation in the color pattern of Scinax tropicalia sp. nov. in living specimens from the municipalities of Guaramiranga and Pacoti, state of Ceará, Brazil. Unvouchered male specimen from Pacoti in (A, C) lateral, (B) dorsal, and (D) ventral views; (C) showing the inguinal region's color pattern. Unvouchered female from Guaramiranga in (E) dorsolateral view. Unvouchered males from Guaramiranga in (F) dorsolateral view and (G) showing the inguinal region's color pattern. Photos A-D courtesy of Ciro Albano. |
Scinax tropicalia sp. nov.
Diagnosis. The new species is diagnosed by the following combination of characters: (1) male SVL 30.8–39.7 mm, n = 48; (2) snout rounded, nearly rounded, or semi-circular in dorsal view and rounded to slightly protruding in profile; (3) tympanum diameter about half size of eye diameter (TD/ED = 0.50 ± 0.054); (4) pointed tubercles on heel and lower jaw absent; (5) vocal sac bilobate, subgular; (6) slightly thick nuptial pad covering the Metacarpal II dorsomedially, and obscuring the outer margin of the thenar tubercle ventrally; (7) spicule-shaped papillary epidermal projections absent on the nuptial pad; (8) pectoral glands absent in males; (9) moderately developed pre- and postaxial webbing of Toe IV, reaching the proximal half of the penultimate phalanx; (10) dorsal pattern consisting of a brown background with two continuous or discontinuous longitudinal darker brown blotches, and an interocular marking; (11) in living specimens, color pattern of hidden surfaces of thighs, shanks, and tarsi consisting of medium to large size, rounded or irregular, dark brown blotches in a white, light blue, light green, light purple, or light yellowish-green background; (12) iris bronze with dark reticulations in living specimens; (13) physiological chlorosis absent; (14) advertisement call composed of a multipulsed note of duration 0.11–0.31 s, 8–20 pulses per note, pulse rate of 61–73 pulses/s, and dominant frequency of 1.59–1.85 kHz.
Etymology. The specific epithet, a noun in apposition, is in allusion to the tropical habitat where the new species occurs, and also in homage to the Brazilian revolutionary artistic movement known as Tropicália, or Tropicalismo. This cultural movement arose in the late 1960s and had among its famous members the musicians from Bahia, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, and Tom Zé, among other artists. The “tropicalists” introduced many aesthetical innovations and mixed a myriad of elements and rhythms from diverse origins (national and for-eign, traditional and avant-garde, popular and erudite). This movement was formally disintegrated in 1968 with the prison and exile of Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil by the authoritarian military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985. Tropicália certainly has marked and influenced the Brazilian popular culture over the years from its genesis. For more details about Tropicália, see Veloso & Dunn (1996), Favaretto (2000), Dunn (2001, 2014), Veloso (2017), and Oliveira (2020).
Suggested common name. Tropicalia’s Snouted Treefrog.
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| FIGURE 14. Geographic distribution of Scinax tropicalia sp. nov. The numbers in the map indicate the localities where S. tropicalia occurs in the Brazilian states of Bahia and Ceará. (1) Serra do Baurité, Pacoti, Ceará. (2) Parque das Trilhas, Guaramiranga, Ceará. (3) Serra da Jibóia, Elisio Medrado, Bahia. (4) Estação Ecológica Wenceslau Guimarães, Wenceslau Guimarães, Bahia. (5) Estrada para Piraí do Norte, Gandu, Bahia. (6) Reserva Ecológica Michelin, Igrapiúna, Bahia (Mira-Mendes et al. 2018). (7) Morro do Mara, Jitaúna, Bahia. (8) Ilha Grande, Camamu, Bahia. (9) Ilha Pequena, Camamu, Bahia. (10) Piracanga, Maraú, Bahia. (11) RPPN Fazenda Capitão, Itacaré, Bahia. (12) Parque Estadual Serra do Conduru, Uruçuca, Bahia. (13) Fazenda Bonfim, Uruçuca, Bahia. (14) Fazenda Provisão, Ilhéus, Bahia. (15) Fazenda Bom Pastor, Ilheús, Bahia. (16, red star, type locality) Campus Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Ilheús, Bahia. (17) Fazenda Santo Antônio, Ibicaraí, Bahia. (18) Parque Nacional Serra das Lontras, Arataca, Bahia. (19) RPPN Serra Bonita, Camacan, Bahia. See the Species account section for coordinates. |
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| FIGURE 15. Habitats of Scinax tropicalia sp. nov. (A, B) Serra de Baturité, municipality of Guaramiranga, state of Ceará, Brazil. (C) Campus of the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), municipality of Ilhéus, state of Bahia, Brazil. (D) Ilha Pequena, municipality of Camamu, state of Bahia, Brazil. |
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| FIGURE 16. Microhabitats and behaviors of Scinax tropicalia sp. nov.. (A-H) Calling males perched on vegetation. (I, J) Adult specimens on the ground, over the forest litter. (K) A specimen over a terrestrial bromeliad leaf. (L-P) Couples in amplexus. (Q, R) Juveniles. (S, T) Adult male specimen (CFBH 44691) performing the passive defensive behavior of contracting. |
Gabriel Novaes-E-Fagundes, Katyuscia Araujo-Vieira, Omar M. Entiauspe-Neto, Igor J. Roberto, Victor G. D. Orrico, Mirco Solé, Célio F. B. Haddad and Daniel Loebmann. 2021. A New Species of Scinax Wagler (Hylidae: Scinaxini) from the Tropical Forests of Northeastern Brazil. Zootaxa. 4903(1); 1–41. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4903.1.1
