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| Main colour pattern variation in Stefania imawari sp. nov. Kok, 2024 |
Abstract
In addition to the type locality (the summit of Aprada-tepui, Bolívar State of Venezuela), the distribution of the egg-brooding frog Stefania satelles was long thought to include several isolated tabletop mountain (tepui) summits surrounding the large Chimantá Massif in Bolívar State (hence the Latin name “satelles”). However, multilocus molecular phylogenetic analyses have revealed that this taxon includes several undescribed morphologically cryptic species, and that S. satelles should be restricted to its type locality. Two tepui-summit species confused under that name in the literature remain to be named, and the present paper aims at describing these populations previously referred to as Stefania sp. 3 and S. sp. 5. Stefania sp. 3 is only known from the small summit of Angasima-tepui, while S. sp. 5 is only reported from the small summit of Upuigma-tepui, both mountains being located south of the Chimantá Massif. These new, phylogenetically distinct species are described based on external morphology and osteology and in comparison to close relatives in the S. ginesi clade, which consists exclusively of tepui summit species. Both new species have highly restricted geographic ranges (less than 3 km2) and should be listed as Critically Endangered according to IUCN criteria.
Keywords: Homoplasy, Morphology, Osteology, Pantepui, Systematics, Taxonomy
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| Main colour pattern variation in Stefania imawari sp. nov. (A). IRSNB 4218, male, 48.9 mm SVL. (B). IRSNB 4213, immature female, 38.0 mm SVL. (C). IRSNB 4215, male, 44.1 mm SVL. (D). IRSNB 4214, male, 44.4 mm SVL. (E). IRSNB 4219, male, 44.6 mm SVL. (F). IRSNB 4220, female, 55.4 mm SVL. Photos by the author |
Stefania imawari sp. nov.
Etymology. The specific epithet imawari is a noun used in apposition and refers to the malicious spirits that inhabit the tepuis, according to Pemón traditional beliefs (Arturo Berti, pers. comm.). The Pemón are indigenous people living in the southeast region of Venezuela, including the area surrounding the type locality.
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| Holotype of Stefania upuigmae sp. nov. (IRSNB 4222, female, 53.1 mm SVL). (A). Dorsolateral view in life. (B). Ventral view of the specimen freshly euthanized. Photos by the author |
Stefania upuigmae sp. nov.
Etymology. The specific epithet upuigmae is a noun in the genitive case and refers to the type locality, the summit of Upuigma-tepui, also locally known as “El Castillo”.
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| Distribution of species in the Stefania ginesi clade (A). Distribution map of the Stefania ginesi clade as currently understood. .... Inset photos by the author. (B). Aerial photograph of the southern part of the Chimantá massif, taken facing southwest showing the distribution of Stefania imawari sp. nov. and S. upuigmae sp. nov. Photo by C. Brewer-Carías |
Philippe J.R. Kok. 2024. Head in the Clouds: Two New microendemic Tepui-summit Species of Stefania (Anura: Hemiphractidae). Zoological Letters. 10: 14. DOI: doi.org/10.1186/s40851-024-00237-w
