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| Brachycephalus tabuleiro Mângia, Santana, de Oliveira Drummond, Sabagh, Ugioni, Costa & Wachlevski, 2023 |
Abstract
The number of described species of Brachycephalus has rapidly increased in the last decade (n = 22, which represents 56% of the total). Species of the genus Brachycephalus are mostly distributed in isolated mountaintops from Bahia (northeastern Brazil) to Santa Catarina states (southern Brazil), each one occupying only one or a few adjacent mountaintops. Herein, we described a new species of Brachycephalus of the B. pernix group, from Serra do Tabuleiro in Santa Catarina state, which also represents the southernmost known species. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of characters, including the following: (1) “bufoniform” body; (2) small adult SVL: 9.57–11.10 mm for males and 10.88–12.70 mm for females; (3) head proportionally small (HL/SVL 19–28%) and eye proportionally large (ED/HL 36–56%); (4) dorsum texture rough; (5) snout shape rounded in dorsal and lateral views; (6) general dorsal body color olive green with head, arms and legs yellow-orangish scattered with olive green, and an orangish vertebral stripe spotted with white and brown colors; (7) skull and skeleton without hyperossification; (8) frontoparietal and sphenethmoid not fused; (9) advertisement with one or two high-frequency notes (6,115–6,562 Hz), and 2–4 pulses per note. The type locality is adjacent to Parque Estadual da Serra do Tabuleiro, a protected area, but we observed various agricultural activities in this locality, including the presence of exotic plants, which can change the amount and the quality of leaf litter, somehow compromising the population of the new species. Another aggravating factor is that the municipality of São Bonifácio has conflicts over land use with irregular occupation and unfinished expropriation processes in Parque Estadual da Serra do Tabuleiro. Considering that Brachycephalus sp. nov. is probably a mountaintop microendemic species, it is paramount that future studies quantifying the new species’ full distribution and evaluating population trends to accurately assess its conservation status.
Keywords: Amphibia, Atlantic Forest, Brachycephalus pernix group, endemism, integrative taxonomy, pumpkin toadlet, Santa Catarina State
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| Live specimens of Brachycephalus tabuleiro. A UNIFESSPA 113 (adult male), B MHNCI 11498 (adult female), C MNRJ 93859 (adult male, holotype), D MHNCI 11498 (adult female), E MNRJ 93859 (adult male, holotype) and UNIFESSPA 113 (adult male), F CHSA.A 1404 (adult female), G and H ZUFMS-AMP 14531 (adult not sexed). Photos: Diego José Santana (A, B, C, D, E), Milena Wachlevski (F, G, H). |
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| Brachycephalus tabuleiro. Behavior. A MHNCI 11498 (adult female), B UNIFESSPA 113 (adult male), C ZUFMS-AMP 14531 (adult not sexed), D UNIFESSPA 112 (adult male). Photos: Diego José Santana (A, B), Milena Wachlevski (C, D). |
Brachycephalus tabuleiro sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Brachycephalus tabuleiro is a new species of the B. pernix group and can be distinguished from its congeners using the following combination of characters: (1) “bufoniform” body; (2) small adult SVL: 9.57–11.10 mm for males (n = 6), 10.88–12.70 mm for females (n = 3); (3) head proportionally small (HL/SVL 19–28%) and eye proportionally large (ED/HL 36–56%); (4) dorsum texture rough; (5) snout shape rounded in dorsal and lateral views; (6) general dorsal body color olive green with head, arms and legs yellow-orangish scattered with olive green, and an orangish vertebral stripe spotted with white and brown colors; (7) background yellow-orangish in the ventral region with reticulated green stains, mainly concentrated in the peripheral portion; (8) fingers I and IV greatly reduced, represented externally by a small lump, finger II reduced but distinct, and finger III larger and robust; (9) tips of the fingers I, II, and III rounded; (10) toes I and V present but externally indistinguishable, toe II greatly reduced, toe III short and distinct, and toe IV larger and robust; (11) tips of the toes II, III, and IV rounded; (12) skull and skeleton without hyperossification; (13) frontoparietal and sphenethmoid not fused; (14) premaxillary odontoids presents; (15) relative lengths of the transverse processes in descending order: III > IV > V > II > VI > VII >VIII; (16) radius and ulna fused, (17) phalangeal formula of fingers 1-2-3-1; (18) phalangeal formula of toes 0-2-3-4-0; (19) advertisement with one or two high-frequency notes (6115.4–6562.5 Hz), and 2–4 pulses per note.
Etymology: The species is named for the type locality in the Serra do Tabuleiro. The Parque Estadual da Serra do Tabuleiro is the largest remnant of the Atlantic Rainforest in southern Brazil.
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| Type locality environment of Brachycephalus tabuleiro at Serra do Tabuleiro, São Bonifácio municipality, Santa Catarina state, Brazil. |
Sarah Mângia, Diego José Santana, Leandro de Oliveira Drummond, Leandro Talione Sabagh, Luiz Ugioni, Paulo Nogueira Costa and Milena Wachlevski. 2023. A New Species of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from Serra do Tabuleiro, Southern Brazil. Vertebrate Zoology. 73: 575-597. DOI: 10.3897/vz.73.e102098
