Monday, March 9, 2026

[Herpetology • 2026] Ololygon paracatu • A New Species of the Ololygon catharinae group (Anura: Hylidae: Scinaxini) from the Brazilian Cerrado


Ololygon paracatu 
 Carvalho, Valencia-Zuleta, Araujo-Vieira, Faivovich, Maciel & Brandão,  2026

 
Abstract
We describe a new species of the Ololygon catharinae group from the Cerrado biome, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Ololygon paracatu sp. nov. is morphologically similar to O. goya and O. skaios, although in phylogenetic analyses, it is recovered as the poorly supported sister taxon of O. pombali. It is distinguished from other species of the O. catharinae group by having a canthus rostralis marked and curved; subovoid snout in dorsal view and protruding in profile; inverted triangle shaped interocular blotch, exceeding the posterior margin of the eyes; inguinal region and hidden areas of thighs with dark brown irregular blotches on a pale yellow background in life; and advertisement call composed of 3–5 pulsed notes and dominant frequency of 2.5–3.5 kHz. Ololygon paracatu sp. nov. inhabits gallery forests associated with streams in the Cerrado biome.

Amphibia, Hylinae, taxonomy, phylogeny, calls, gallery forest
 
 
Ololygon paracatu sp. nov.


Daniele CARVALHO, Alejandro VALENCIA-ZULETA, Katyuscia ARAUJO-VIEIRA, Julián FAIVOVICH, Natan M. MACIEL and Reuber A. BRANDÃO. 2026. A New Species of the Ololygon catharinae group from the Brazilian Cerrado (Anura, Hylidae, Scinaxini). Zootaxa. 5757(6); 522-542. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5757.6.2 [2026-02-11]