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| Allobates tanaru Dantas, Ferrão, Cunha-Machado & Lima, 2026 |
Abstract -
While many frogs around the world have blue-green tissues because of the accumulation of a pigment called biliverdin, this had never been observed in nurse or poison frogs until now. In this study, we describe a new species of nurse frog from southwestern Amazonia that breaks new ground in Neotropical amphibian taxonomy: It is the first chlorotic species—with greenish hatchlings—ever recorded in the large superfamily Dendrobatoidea. Previously lumped within Allobates albiventris, integrative taxonomy reveals it as a distinct species, supported by a set of morphological and bioacoustic traits. It differs from most of its congeners by a call consisting of a pair of notes emitted in a single exhalation; males with lateral expansions on fingers II and III, and a white vocal sac covered with melanophores; dark brown oocytes, hatchlings with greenish yolk, and tadpoles with two or three short, pyramidal papillae distributed in a single row on each lateral margin of the anterior lip. Beyond its diagnostic features, this discovery is notable because chlorotic tissues were previously unknown in Dendrobatoidea, a superfamily with more than 350 species known for its terrestrial habitat, territoriality, carrying behavior, and nonchlorotic adults. The distinctive greenish hue seen in embryos of certain species, particularly in the new Allobates, may serve as an adaptation for predator avoidance, and it also highlights the ecological plasticity and morphological diversity within the genus. This opens fresh avenues to study the ecological, evolutionary, and developmental significance of biliverdin in frogs using a lineage wherein the biology contrasts with classic model species.
KEYWORDS: biodiversity, chlorosis, Integrative taxonomy, Madeira River, new species, species delimitation
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| Color in life of adults of Allobates tanaru sp. nov. (A–C) Female, INPA-H 45548, SVL 17.4 mm. (D–F) Female, MPEG 45484, SVL 17.5 mm. (G, I) Male, INPA-H 45552, SVL 17.0 mm. (H) Female, INPA-H 45549, SVL 16.9 mm. (J–L) Male, INPA-H 45554, SVL 15.8 mm. |
Allobates tanaru sp. nov. Dantas, Ferrão & Lima
Etymology: The specific epithet tanaru is a noun in apposition and honors the indigenous Tanaru, known in Portuguese as Índio Tanaru and Índio do Buraco (Indigenous Tanaru and Indigenous of the Hole, respectively). Tanaru died on 23 August 2022; he was the last representative individual of a poorly known ethnic group that lived in Rondônia, Brazil. His people were exterminated by gunmen at the behest of illegal loggers in 1995. After that, Tanaru lived isolated for almost 30 years in the Tanaru Indigenous Land, located in the southeast Rondônia, approximately 700 km from Rondônia's capital. Because the Tanaru Indigenous Land does not have a consolidated land demarcation and is surrounded by agricultural farms, the land suffers continuous threats and attacks, some of which started just some days after Tanaru's death. The indigenous Txai Suruí, from the Suruí ethnic group, said: “Known for his solitude, Tanaru resisted the contact with non-indigenous people until his last days after so much trauma and violence. His territory must continue to represent resistance and must be preserved and cared for, becoming a permanent conservation area.”
Vernacular names: Tanaru's nurse frog (English),
Rana Cuidadora de Tanaru (Spanish),
Rãzinha Cuidadora do Tanaru (Portuguese).
Rana Cuidadora de Tanaru (Spanish),
Rãzinha Cuidadora do Tanaru (Portuguese).
Diagnosis: A nurse frog Allobates characterized by the following combination of characters. Small-bodied species, SVL 14.1–17.0 mm (n = 18) in males and 16.9–18.2 mm (n = 9) in females; granular dorsal skin; one subarticular tubercle on finger IV; tip of finger IV reaches the distal phalanx of finger III; cream dorsum with contrasting brown marks; dorsolateral stripe present; conspicuous ventrolateral line absent; translucent-white vocal sac; white ventral surface in males; white chest and belly in females; and dorsal surface of fingers brown. Advertisement calls characterized by the emission of two notes in a single exhalation; with a call duration of 64 ± 4 ms (57–69 ms); first note (18 ± 2 ms; 16–22 ms) shorter than the second (27 ± 2 ms; 24–32 ms); an intercall interval of 275 ± 24 ms (220–309 ms); an intercall-series interval 854 ± 123 ms (645–1,118 ms); and a dominant frequency of 5,518 ± 200 Hz (5,168–5,879 Hz). Hatchlings with greenish yolk. Exotrophic tadpoles with an oral disc; labial keratodont row formula 2(2)/3(1); 13–15 pyramidal and cylindrical papillae on posterior labium; three pyramidal papillae at each end of the posterior labium; cylindrical papillae on the central portion of posterior labium; posterior labium length formulae P-I = P-II > P-III; and light-brown melanophores on tail and fins not forming blotches or spots.
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| Coloration of freshly laid eggs (A), embryos (B), and hatchlings (C) of Allobates tanaru sp. nov. |
Silionamã Pereira Dantas, Miquéias Ferrão, Antônio Saulo Cunha-Machado and Albertina Pimentel Lima. 2026. The First Chlorotic Species of the Superfamily Dendrobatoidea: A New Nurse Frog of the Allobates albiventris Complex (Anura, Aromobatidae) with remarkably greenish hatchlings from Brazilian Amazonia. Breviora. 579 (1), 1-35. DOI: doi.org/10.3099/0006-9698-579.1.1 (8 July 2026)
