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| Bolitoglossa bolanosi Arias, Chaves & Parra-Olea, 2023 Bolaños’ Web-footed Salamander || facebook.com/eapiedra |
Abstract
The subalpine rain páramo of Isthmian Central America is an area with a high level of endemism. The salamanders of the Bolitoglossa subpalmata Species Group are restricted to the highlands of Costa Rica and Panama, including the subalpine rain páramo. During explorations of the páramos in the Cordillera de Talamanca, we found populations of Bolitoglossa that were referred to B. subpalmata S.G. These new populations were compared phylogenetically with all species within the species group using the 16S and cyt b mitochondrial genes; and they were also compared morphometrically with B. kamuk and B. pesrubra. Herein we described a new species of the B. subpalmata Species Group, which inhabits the subalpine rain páramo and montane forest surrounding the páramo in the Southeastern region in Costa Rica. This new species highlights the role of the subalpine rain páramo in the speciation of salamanders in the highlands of Isthmian Central America, as well as the need to protect this unique and vulnerable habitat.
Keywords. Amphibia, caudate, Central America, páramo, phylogenetics, Plethodontidae
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| Holotype of Bolitoglossa bolanosi sp. nov. (UCR 22965) in life on a white background. Photograph by Erick Arias. |
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| In-life photographs of variations within Bolitoglossa bolanosi sp. nov. (A) Paratopotype male subadult UCR 22966, (B) paratype juvenile UCR 24247, (C) paratype adult female UCR 22421, and (D) paratype adult female UCR 24245. Photographs A and C by Erick Arias, B and D by Omar Zúñiga. |
Bolitoglossa bolanosi sp. nov.
Bolaños’ Web-footed Salamander
Diagnosis. The combination of the following characteristics can be used to distinguish Bolitoglossa bolanosi from the other described species of the genus Bolitoglossa: (1) having broad hands and feet, with the distal phalanges on the fngers and toes free of palmar and plantar tissue; (2) dorsal coloration highly variable, rarely black brownish uniform and usually mottled with yellow spots, but never with red on hind limbs or forelimbs; and (3) 16S and cyt b mtDNA distances.
Etymology. The name “bolanosi” is a patronym honoring the Costa Rican herpetologist Federico Bolaños, and is used as a noun in the genitive case. We name this species after our dear friend in recognition of his scientifc contributions to the knowledge of the herpetology of Costa Rica, as curator of the Herpetology section at Museo de Zoología of Universidad de Costa Rica, and as the mentor of most herpetologists present in the country.
Erick Arias, Gerardo Chaves and Gabriela Parra-Olea. 2023. A New Species of Salamander (Caudata: Plethodontidae: Bolitoglossa) from the Subalpine Rain Páramo of the Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation. 17(1 & 2) [General Section]: 143–160 (e327).
