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| Pithecopus gonzagai de Andrade, Haga, Ferreira, Recco-Pimentel, Toledo & Bruschi, 2020 Photographs by M. Aguiar. |
ABSTRACT
The genus of Neotropical frogs Pithecopus includes 11 species occurring east of the Andes from southern Venezuela to northern Argentina. Recent genetic approaches pointed out an unusual genetic diversity among populations from localities in north-eastern Brazil recognized as P. nordestinus. In fact, one of these studies confirmed the hypothesis that the São Francisco River acted as an effective geographical barrier during vicariant events in the evolutionary history of P. nordestinus, resulting in two principal, highly divergent clades. Herein we formally describe this divergent clade as a new cryptic species of Pithecopus from north-eastern Brazil, the sister clade of P. nordestinus. It differs from other species of Pithecopus, except for P. azureus and P. nordestinus, by its small body size, lack of the reticulate pattern on flanks, smaller head width, and advertisement calls generally composed of a three-pulsed core.
Keywords: integrative taxonomy, Pithecopus nordestinus, São Francisco River, phenotypically cryptic species
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| Fig. 3. Pithecopus gonzagai sp. nov. from Brazilian north-eastern, in life. A. From the municipality of Pilar, state of Alagoas. B. From the municipality of Recife, state of Pernambuco. C. From the municipality of São Miguel dos Milagres, state of Alagoas. D. Arboreal eggs from the municipality of Poção, state of Pernambuco. Photographs by M. Aguiar. |
Class Amphibia Linnaeus, 1758
Order Anura Fischer von Waldheim, 1813
Family Phyllomedusidae Günther, 1858
Genus Pithecopus Cope, 1866
Pithecopus gonzagai sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Pithecopus gonzagai sp. nov. is assigned to the genus Pithecopus (former Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis species group; Caramaschi 2006) by the following set of characters: (1) small body size; (2) dorsolateral macroglands (sensu Antoniazzi et al. 2013) indistinct; (3) smooth skin on back and granulose on belly; (4) fingers and toes long and slender with terminal discs poorly developed; and (5) grasping (opposable to the others) finger I and toe I. Pithecopus gonzagai sp. nov. differs from the highland species of Pithecopus by the (6) lack of the reticulate pattern on flanks, and (7) head width smaller than 11.2 mm.
Etymology: The specific name honours Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento, better known as Luiz Gonzaga. He was a Brazilian singer, songwriter, musician, poet and one of the most influential figures of Brazilian popular music in the twentieth century. Luiz Gonzaga has been credited for presenting the rich universe of north-eastern musical genres to the rest of the country. He was born and raised in the municipality of Exu, state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Pithecopus gonzagai sp. nov. also occurs in the state of Pernambuco, which is equally its type locality.
Felipe Silva de Andrade, Isabelle Aquemi Haga, Johnny Sousa Ferreira, Shirlei Maria Recco-Pimentel, Luís Felipe Toledo and Daniel Pacheco Bruschi. 2020. A New Cryptic Species of Pithecopus (Anura, Phyllomedusidae) in north-eastern Brazil. European Journal of Taxonomy. 723(1), 108-134. DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2020.723.1147
