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| Mannophryne molinai
Rojas-Runjaic, Matta-Pereira & Marca, 2018
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Abstract
Species diversity in collared frogs of the genus Mannophryne is presumed to be underestimated due to the paucity of external morphology characters, but combining morphology with bioacoustics and other lines of evidence has shown to be useful in delimiting species of this group. Herein we describe a new species of Mannophryne from Sierra de Aroa in northwestern Venezuela. The new species is morphologically similar to M. herminae but is readily recognized by its strikingly different advertisement call. It also can be distinguished from all its congeners by the unique combination of its small body size, general color pattern, basal toe webbing, and advertisement call consisting of long trills of single tonal notes emitted at a rate of 2–3 notes/s. Additionally, to facilitate future diagnosis of undescribed species related to M. herminae, we amend the definition of the latter, describe in detail its advertisement call, and redefine its known distribution range. The new species increases the number of described species of Mannophryne to 20.
Keywords: Amphibia, Anura, Aromobatinae, Coastal Range, Cordillera de la Costa, Dendrobatoidea, Integrative taxonomy
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| FIGURE 4. Female and male paratype specimens of Mannophryne molinai sp. nov. in life. (a) Dorsolateral and (b) ventral views of the paratype female MHNLS 21337; (c) dorsolateral and (d) ventral views of the paratype male MCP 13924 (exMHNLS 21336).
Photos: F.J.M. Rojas-Runjaic
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Mannophryne molinai sp. nov.
Suggested common name in English: Sierra de Aroa Collared Frog
Suggested common name in Spanish: sapito acollarado de la Sierra de Aroa
Etymology. The specific epithet “molinai” is a patronymic honoring the late César Ramón Molina Rodríguez (1960–2015) (Fig. 8), a prominent Venezuelan herpetologist, colleague, and friend. César made great contributions to the knowledge of the diversity and conservation of Venezuelan amphibians and reptiles, materialized in nearly a hundred scientific papers, and several conservation strategies, action plans and projects. His dedication to the training of numerous students through the teaching of herpetology in classrooms, field courses, and mentoring of theses, evidenced his passion for the amphibians and reptiles, and his commitment with the development of the study of the Venezuelan herpetofauna (Hernández 2015). César also had particular interest by the collared frogs; his PhD thesis was about the ecology of a population of Mannophryne from the valley of Caracas in Venezuela, and he co-authored the description of M. orellana, M. urticans and M. vulcano (Barrio-Amorós et al. 2010a). We make a posthumous recognition to his admirable work and friendship, naming this new species in his memory. The name “molinai” is used as a masculine singular noun, in the genitive case.
Fernando J.M. Rojas-Runjaic, Miguel Eduardo Matta-Pereira and Enrique La Marca. 2018. Unveiling Species Diversity in Collared Frogs through Morphological and Bioacoustic Evidence: A New Mannophryne (Amphibia, Aromobatidae) from Sierra de Aroa, northwestern Venezuela, and An Amended Definition and Call Description of M. herminae (Boettger, 1893). Zootaxa. 4461(4);451–476. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4461.4.1
Resumen: Se presume que la diversidad de especies en sapitos acollarados del género Mannophryne está subestimada debido a la escasez de caracteres de morfología externa; no obstante, la combinación de morfología, bioacústica y otras líneas de evidencia ha demostrado ser eficiente para la delimitación de especies en este grupo. Aquí se describe una nueva especie de Mannophryne procedente de la sierra de Aroa en el noroccidente de Venezuela. La nueva especie se asemeja en su morfología a M. herminae, no obstante, se distingue fácilmente de esta por su vocalización de advertencia notablemente diferente. También se distingue de todos sus congéneres por la combinación única de su tamaño corporal pequeño, su patrón de coloración, la palmeadura basal entre los dedos pediales, y su llamado de advertencia consistente en series extensas de notas tonales individuales emitidas a una tasa de 2–3 notas/s. Adicionalmente, con la finalidad de facilitar el diagnóstico futuro de otras especies aún no descritas y relacionadas con M. herminae, se enmienda la definición de esta, se describe en detalle su vocalización de advertencia y se redefine su distribución conocida. Con esta nueva especie, el número de especies descritas de Mannophryne asciende a 20.
