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| Pristimantis vrazi Lehr, Moravec, Wang & Uvizl, 2024 |
Abstract
Herpetological inventories conducted in the Pui Pui Protected Forest in the central Peruvian Andes between 2012 and 2014 revealed unusually high local anuran richness and endemism. Herein, we describe a new species of Pristimantis discovered in the buffer zone of the protected area between 1550 and 1730 m a.s.l. The description is based on one subadult male (snout–vent length 14.4 mm), one adult female (snout–vent length 26.4 mm), and six juvenile specimens collected in the montane forest between 1550 and 1730 m a.s.l. DNA barcoding placed P. vrazi sp. nov. as the sister taxon to P. rhabdocnemus and in the clade also containing P. lindae, P. sinschi, P. quaquaversus, and one still unnamed Pristimantis species. Pristimantis vrazi sp. nov. differs from all these closely related species by the combination of the following characters: tuberculate dorsum, presence of the tympanum, presence of dentigerous processes on the vomer, absence of vocal slits, a red median horizontal streak across the iris, a narrow black median vertical streak on the lower half of the eye, cream to dark brown dorsal ground coloration, and cream to gray ventral ground coloration.
Key words: Andes, cryptic species diversity, Enrique Stanko Vráz, Pristimantis vrazi new species
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| Life adult female holotype (MUSM 41581, SVL = 26.4 mm) of Pristimantis vrazi sp. nov. A dorsolateral view B dorsal view C lateral view D ventral view. Photos by E. Lehr. |
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| Juvenile referred specimens of Pristimantis vrazi sp. nov. A MUSM 31929, SVL = 12.3 mm B MUSM 31933, SVL = 12.0 mm C MUSM 41583, SVL = 14.1 mm D MUSM 31937, SVL = 11.9 mm E MUSM 31932, SVL = 14.3 mm F MUSM 31938, SVL = 12.1 mm. Photo A by J. Moravec, all others by E. Lehr. |
Pristimantis vrazi Moravec, Lehr, Wang & Uvizl, sp. nov.
Suggested English name: Vráz’s Robber Frog
Suggested Spanish name: Rana cutín de Vráz
Diagnosis: A new species of Pristimantis not assigned to any species group having the following combination of characters: (1) skin on dorsum shagreen with scattered conical tubercles; skin on venter areolate; weak discoidal fold present; short dorsolateral ridges present; (2) tympanic membrane and tympanic annulus present; (3) snout moderately long, acutely rounded in dorsal view, rounded in profile; (4) upper eyelid bearing small conical tubercles; EW narrower than IOD; cranial crest absent; (5) dentigerous processes of vomers present, oblique; (6) vocal slits and nuptial pads absent; (7) finger I shorter than finger II; discs of digits broadly expanded, round, bearing ...
Etymology: We dedicate this new species to the Czech explorer and patriot Enrique Stanko Vráz (1860–1932), who explored Africa, South America, and eastern Asia (Todorová 2006). In South America, he spent several years working in Venezuela and traveling by boat from Venezuela to Peru via the Rio Orinoco, Rio Negro, and Rio Amazonas before crossing the Andes and working around Cajamarca. His specimen collections (animals, artifacts) were sent to the National Museum in Prague. He published his travels and observations in South America in a book (Vráz 1900) that provides valuable original insights into South American nature and indigenous peoples at the end of the 19th century and still inspires people. The specific epithet is used as a noun in apposition.
Edgar Lehr, Jiří Moravec, Yingtong Wang and Marek Uvizl. 2024. A New Species of Pristimantis (Amphibia, Anura, Strabomantidae) from a montane forest of the Pui Pui Protected Forest in central Peru. ZooKeys. 1219: 143-163. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1219.129773
