[Herpetology • 2026] Pristimantis mecada • A New Species of Pristimantis (Anura: Craugastoridae) from the western Slopes of the Serranía del Baudó, Chocó, Colombia

Pristimantis mecada

Garzón-Franco, Durango, Ospina-Sarria & Arredondo, 2026

 

DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5757.4.1  

Researchgate.net/publication/400583019

Abstract

We describe a new species of Pristimantis based on morphological and acoustic evidence from the western slopes of the Serranía del Baudó, tentatively assigned to the Pristimantis ridens species group. The new species can be distinguished from congeneric species by having coppery or reddish bronze iris, with fine black reticulations and light blue sclera, upper eyelid bearing one to three subconical tubercles, posterior surfaces of thighs generally solid brown, with small cream specks present in a few cases and groin solid brown, with some individuals showing a cream or golden blotch. Moreover, this new species distribution is notably distant from the other most similar species, inhabiting the humid lowland tropical forests of the western slopes of the Serranía del Baudó. With the description of this new species, the Pristimantis ridens species group reaches 31 species, that can be found in the Andean and Pacific regions from Central America to northern Peru.

Amphibia, Bioacoustics, Biogeographical Chocó, Pristimantis ridens species group, Taxonomy

 Holotype of Pristimantis mecada in life (EAFIT-0050, SVL = 26.2 mm, adult female).
(A) Lateral view; (B) ventral view; coloration of the posterior surfaces of thigh (C) and groin (D), showing absence of conspicuous marks or spots.

Photos by Juan C. Arredondo.

Pristimantis mecada sp. nov. 

Esteban GARZÓN-FRANCO, Juan-P. DURANGO, Jhon Jairo OSPINA-SARRIA and Juan C. ARREDONDO. 2026. A New Species of Pristimantis (Anura: Craugastoridae) from the western Slopes of the Serranía del Baudó, Chocó, Colombia. Zootaxa. 5757(4); 301-323. DOI: doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5757.4.1 [2026-02-09]

 Researchgate.net/publication/400583019_A_new_species_of_Pristimantis_from_the_western_slopes_of_the_Serrania_del_Baudo_Choco_Colombia

[Herpetology • 2025] Deep Cryptic Diversity in the Craugastor podiciferus Species Group (Anura: Craugastoridae) of Isthmian Central America revealed by mitochondrial and nuclear data

 (A) Craugastor aenigmaticus (UCR 22961) from Cerro Arbolado, Puntarenas, CR, (B) C. blairi (SMF 104032) from Fortuna, PA, (C) C. sagui (SMF 104018) from La Nevera, PA,
 (D) C. zunigai (UCR 20389) from Potrero Grande, Puntarenas, CR, (E-F) C. podiciferus (UCR 23155, 23159) from Caribbean slopes of Cerro Kamuk, Limón, CR,
 (J) Craugastor sp. Pico Blanco (UCR 24466) from Escazú, San José, CR, (K) Craugastor sp. Chumacera (UCR 23011) from Chumacera, San José, CR, (L) Craugastor sp. Siola (UCR 23169) from Siola, Limón, CR, 
(M) C. bransfordii from Siquirres, Limón, CR, (O) C. underwoodi from Cascajal, San José, CR, (V) C. rearki from Siquirres, Limón, CR.

in Arias, Crawford, Hertz et Olea,. 2025. 

DOI: doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18212

Abstract 

The Craugastor podiciferus Species Group contains eleven species of terraranan frogs distributed from eastern Honduras to eastern Panama. All species have remarkable color pattern polymorphisms, which may contribute to potential taxonomic problems. We performed exhaustive sampling throughout the geographic distribution of the group to evaluate the phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic history of all named species based on two mitochondrial markers and nuclear ddRAD loci. We also implemented various species delimitation methods to test for the presence of unconfirmed candidate species within the group. Molecular phylogenetic analyses showed that the group contains four major clades. All currently named species are supported by molecular data, yet species richness within the group is clearly underestimated. Species delimitation was discordant between the mitochondrial and nuclear datasets and among analytical methods. Adopting a conservative approach, we propose that the C. podiciferus species group contains at least 12 unconfirmed candidate species. Ancestral area reconstruction showed that the group originated and diversified in the highlands of the Talamancan montane forest ecoregion of Costa Rica and western Panama.

Photographs in life of Craugastor podiciferus species complex.
 (A) Craugastor aenigmaticus (UCR 22961) from Cerro Arbolado, Puntarenas, CR, (B) C. blairi (SMF 104032) from Fortuna, PA, (C) C. sagui (SMF 104018) from La Nevera, PA, (D) C. zunigai (UCR 20389) from Potrero Grande, Puntarenas, CR, 
(E-F) C. podiciferus (UCR 23155, 23159) from Caribbean slopes of Cerro Kamuk, Limón, CR, (G) Craugastor sp. Monte Verde (UCR 24613) from Monte Verde, Puntarenas, CR, (H) Craugastor sp. San Gerardo (CRARC 0247) from San Gerardo, Guanacaste, CR,
(I) Craugastor sp. Fila Costeña (UCR 23028) from Quebradas, San José, CR, (J) Craugastor sp. Pico Blanco (UCR 24466) from Escazú, San José, CR, (K) Craugastor sp. Chumacera (UCR 23011) from Chumacera, San José, CR, (L) Craugastor sp. Siola (UCR 23169) from Siola, Limón, CR, 
 (M) C. bransfordii from Siquirres, Limón, CR, (N) Craugastor sp. Fila Carbon (UCR 23127) from Amubri, Limón, CR, (O) C. underwoodi from Cascajal, San José, CR, (P) Craugastor sp. Quebradas from Fila Costeña, Puntarenas, CR,
(Q) Craugastor sp. Vereh (UCR 23040) from Vereh, Cartago, CR, (R) Craugastor sp. Panama (SMF 104010) from Rambala. PA, (S) C. stejnegerianus (UCR 22976) from Palmar Norte, Puntarenas, CR, (T) C. gabbi (UCR 22998) from San Vito, Puntarenas, CR,
(U) C. persimilis from Siquirres, Limón, CR, (V) C. rearki from Siquirres, Limón, CR, (W) Craugastor sp. Neilly (UCR 22985) from Río Claro, Puntarenas, CR, and (X) Craugastor sp. Quepos (UCR 24612) from Montes de Oca, San José CR.

Photos by E. Arias (A, E, F, G, I, J, K, L, N, Q, S, T, W, and X), Andreas Hertz (B,C, and R), Eduardo Boza-Oviedo (D and O), Brian Kubicki (H, M, U, and V), and Raby Nuñez (P).

Conclusions: 

The diversity within the Craugastor podiciferus Species Group is vastly underestimated, as revealed by the presence of several undescribed species recovered from the phylogenetic and species delimitation analyses. An exhaustive morphological review of the genetic lineages may show morphological characteristics that would allow for the differentiation of the molecular lineages. Comprehensive studies are needed on habitat use, acoustics, behavior, and other data to corroborate and better understand the taxonomy of all lineages revealed here.

Based on our mitochondrial and nuclear analyses, morphological evidence, and previous information we recovered 23 lineages, 11 with names and 12 unconfirmed candidate species. Based on our results, we propose the following changes:

• We restrict C. podiciferus to populations of Cordillera Volcánica Central from Costa Rica and the Cordillera de Talamanca of Costa Rica and western Panama. In the Cordillera de Talamanca, C. podiciferus is restricted to the Caribbean slopes.

 •Craugastor polyptychus is referred to as a junior synonym of C. bransfordii.

 • Craugastor rearki is resurrected to include wide-ranging populations from the Caribbean versant of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

 • Craugastor lauraster is referred to as a junior synonym of the older name, C. rearki.

Finally, we want to highlight the need to continue exploring remote areas in the ICA, especially in the Talamanca Mountain Range. The fieldwork performed in this area has resulted in the discovery of several new species or new records for the region. Therefore, more fieldwork and laboratory work are necessary to improve the knowledge of biodiversity in this region to perform informed strategies of conservation.

Erick Arias, Andrew J. Crawford, Andreas Hertz and Gabriela Parra Olea​. 2025. Deep Cryptic Diversity in the Craugastor podiciferus Species Group (Anura: Craugastoridae) of Isthmian Central America revealed by mitochondrial and nuclear data. PeerJ. 13:e18212. DOI: doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18212

[Herpetology • 2020] Pristimantis chamezensis • A New Terrarana Frog (Anura: Strabomantidae) from An unexplored Cloud Forest from the eastern Andes, Colombia

Pristimantis chamezensis  

Acosta-Galvis, Saldarriaga-Gómez, Ramírez & Vargas-Ramírez, 2020

 

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.961.51971

Abstract

A new species of Pristimantis (Craugastoridae, subgenus Pristimantis) is described from a relict and unexplored cloud forest in the western slope from Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes. The specific name was chosen by consensus expert scientists and local people. Pristimantis chamezensis sp. nov. is easily distinguished from congeneric species by having a gray iris with black reticulations in life, subconical tubercles on the upper eyelid, the chin edged with irregular, dark-brown blotches, and conical heel tubercles. The phylogenetic analyses suggest that the origin and radiation of its clade may have occurred in the highlands. With the description of P. chamezensis sp. nov., we identify 14 species distributed throughout the eastern slope of the Andes that are associated with the Orinoco Basin.

Keywords: Casanare, Cis-Andean, Cordillera Oriental, diversity, phylogeny, South America, taxonomy

   

 

 Andrés R. Acosta-Galvis, Ana M. Saldarriaga-Gómez, Beatriz Ramírez and Mario Vargas-Ramírez. 2020. A New Terrarana Frog of Genus Pristimantis from An Unexplored Cloud Forest from the eastern Andes, Colombia.  ZooKeys. 961: 129-156. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.961.51971

  

[Herpetology • 2022] Serranobatrachus gen. nov. • A New Genus of Terraranas (Anura: Brachycephaloidea: Craugastoridae) from northern South America, with A Systematic Review of Tachiramantis

Serranobatrachus insignitus (Ruthven, 1917), S. delicatus (Lynch & Ruiz-Carranza, 1985), 
S. cristinae (Lynch & Ruiz-Carranza, 1985) & S. carmelitae (Ruthven, 1922) 

in Arroyo, Targino, Rueda-Solano, Daza & Grant, 2022. 

DOI: 10.1080/14772000.2022.2123865 

 twitter.com/Sandy_B_Arroyo 

 facebook.com/BetoRueda9

 

Abstract

Since the systematics of Terrarana frogs was overhauled in 2008, five new genera have been named, including Tachiramantis from the Venezuelan Coastal Range and adjacent parts of the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia and the Sierra de Perijá along the Venezuela–Colombia border. The discovery of Tachiramantis raises questions about the relationships of several species of Pristimantis in the nearby Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta previously hypothesized to be closely related to species now referred to Tachiramantis. To test the monophyly of Tachiramantis and the relationships among its species, we generated DNA sequences for 42 individuals, and, given the variable placement of Tachiramantis in previous studies, analysed them with DNA sequences from GenBank representing 25 genera of terraranas. In total, the final matrix included DNA sequences from 414 terminals, which we analysed using tree-alignment under the parsimony optimality criterion. To identify morphological synapomorphies and diagnostic characters, we also examined cranial osteology and axial skeleton morphology. Our analyses corroborated both the placement of Tachiramantis far from Pristimantis in Craugastoridae and the monophyly of Tachiramantis. We also found that six species currently referred to Pristimantis, all endemic to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, comprise the sister clade of Tachiramantis. This highly endemic clade is both well-supported by molecular data and diagnosed from Tachiramantis by seven morphological synapomorphies, leading us to recognize it as a new genus.

Key words: Craugastoridae, morphology, northern Andes of Colombia, phylogeny, Pristimantis, taxonomy

Order Anura Oppel, 1811 

Superfamily Brachycephaloidea Günther, 1858 

Family Craugastoridae Hedges et al., 2008 

Genus Serranobatrachus gen. nov. 

Type species. Eleutherodactylus insignitus Ruthven, 1917 

Etymology. The genus name is formed by combining the word serrano, the local name used to refer to people from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and the Greek batrachos or batrakheios, meaning frog, in reference to the endemism of these frogs to this geological formation. The name is masculine.

Content. Seven species: 

Serranobatrachus carmelitae (Ruthven, 1922) new combination; 

S. cristinae (Lynch & Ruiz-Carranza, 1985) new combination; 

S. delicatus (Lynch & Ruiz-Carranza, 1985) new combination; 

S. insignitus (Ruthven, 1917) new combination; 

S. megalops (Ruthven, 1917) new combination; 

S. ruthveni (Lynch & Ruiz-Carranza, 1985) new combination; 

S. sanctaemartae (Ruthven, 1917) new combination.

Tachiramantis Heinicke, Barrio-Amoros & Hedges, 2015

Type species. Eleutherodactylus prolixodiscus Lynch, 1978

  

Sandy Arroyo, Mariane Targino, Luis Alberto Rueda-Solano, Juan M. Daza and Taran Grant. 2022. A New Genus of Terraranas (Anura: Brachycephaloidea) from northern South America, with A Systematic Review of Tachiramantis. Systematics and Biodiversity. 20(1); 2123865. DOI: 10.1080/14772000.2022.2123865

  twitter.com/Sandy_B_Arroyo/status/1582726141135450113

 twitter.com/Novatax_Col/status/1584195848254107648

 facebook.com/HerpetosUN/posts/542476127885201

 facebook.com/BetoRueda9/posts/10167006922755346

  

[Herpetology • 2022] Craugastor bitonium, C. polaclavus, C. rubinus, etc. • Miniaturization in Direct-Developing Frogs of the Genus Craugastor (Anura: Craugastoridae) from Mexico with the Description of Six New Species

Craugastor bitonium, Craugastor candelariensis, 
Craugastor polaclavus & Craugastor rubinus 

 Jameson, Streicher,  Manuelli, Head & Smith, 2022

DOI: 10.1655/0733-1347-36.1.1

 twitter.com/TomJameson_Zoo 

Abstract 

The Craugastor mexicanus series (Anura: Craugastoridae) includes six species of direct-developing frogs that occur in Mexico and Guatemala. Notably, two of these species have small adult body sizes (<18 mm snout to vent length) and several have intraspecific polymorphism in color pattern. Using a geographic sampling focused on eastern Mexico (the location of most type localities), we conducted a molecular phylogenetic analysis of two mitochondrial (12S, 16S) and two nuclear (RAG1, TYR) gene fragments. This analysis revealed two widespread species, C. mexicanus and C. pygmaeus, along with evidence of multiple undescribed taxa from the states of Oaxaca, Mexico, Guerrero, and Jalisco. Interestingly, the widespread species have stratified geographic distributions with the larger bodied clade restricted to high elevations and the smaller bodied clade to low elevations. We also identify regions of Guerrero and Oaxaca where multiple species co-occur. To reevaluate the quality of characters that have been previously used to diagnose species, we tested for heterochrony and sexual dimorphism using microcomputed tomography and linear measurements. We found evidence for paedomorphosis as the mechanism of miniaturization in small-bodied taxa. Linear measurements confirmed that tympanum and body size are sexually dimorphic traits in both small- and large-bodied species. We used this enhanced understanding of morphological variation in the group to describe six new species. Despite this progress, we suspect that additional species await discovery, particularly in western Mexico and east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec where our sampling efforts were limited.

KEYWORDS: Brachycephaloidea, Craugastor bitonium sp. nov, Craugastor candelariensis sp. nov, Craugastor cueyatl sp. nov, Craugastor polaclavus sp. nov, Craugastor portilloensis sp. nov, Craugastor rubinus sp. nov, Terraranae

 

 Craugastor bitonium sp. nov.

from Guerrero

 Craugastor candelariensis sp. nov.

 from Oaxaca. 

Named for the municipality of Candelaria, but also for their appearance in preservative, as if someone were shining a candle through them. 

 Craugastor cueyatl sp. nov.

from Estado de Mexico. 

Named with the word for frog in Nahuatl, an Aztec language that has been spoken in the Valley of Mexico since the 7th century, a region that includes the type locality of the species.

 Craugastor polaclavus sp. nov.

from Oaxaca. 

  The small (pola-) warty (-clavus) frog... because it's small and warty

 Craugastor portilloensis sp. nov.

from Oaxaca. 

Mexico's smallest frog at only 11mm long. One of the smallest #frogs in the world!

Named after the town of Portillo del Rayo where the species is found.

 Craugastor rubinus sp. nov.

 from Jalisco.

 The name is from the Latin for ruby, inspired by the garnet mines found near the type locality.

Tom J.M. Jameson, Jeffrey W. Streicher, Luigi Manuelli, Jason J. Head and Eric N. Smith. 2022. Miniaturization in Direct-Developing Frogs from Mexico with the Description of Six New Species. Herpetological Monographs. 36(1); 1-48. DOI: 10.1655/0733-1347-36.1.1

  twitter.com/TomJameson_Zoo/status/1512724179165986820

Researchgate.net/publication/359737663_Miniaturization_in_Direct-Developing_Frogs_from_Mexico

All these species are endemic to #Mexico and are part of the genus Craugastor, a group of terrestrial direct-developing frogs (no tadpoles, perfect miniature adults straight from the egg). These little fellas live in the leaf litter throughout the forests of Mexico. 

   

[Herpetology • 2022] Pristimantis gretathunbergae • A New Rainfrog of the Genus Pristimantis (Anura, Brachycephaloidea) from central and eastern Panama

Pristimantis gretathunbergae 

Mebert, González-Pinzón, Miranda, Griffith, Vesely, Schmid & Batista, 2022

 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1081.63009

  facebook.com/KonradMebert

Abstract

Substantial molecular and morphological character differences lead us to the description of a new species of the genus Pristimantis from the cloud forest of Cerro Chucantí, Maje Mountains, Darien Province, as well as from several other mountain ranges in eastern and central Panama. Pristimantis gretathunbergae sp. nov. is a sister species to the allopatric P. erythropleura-penelopus group from northern Colombia with a mtDNA sequence divergence of > 4.4% at 16S and > 14.6% at COI. Its closest congener in sympatry is P. cruentus that differs by a large sequence divergence of > 9.6% in 16S mtDNA and 19.0% at COI, and from which it differs also by ventral and groin coloration, unusually prominent black eyes, a contrasting light upper lip, commonly a single conical to spine-like tubercle on the upper eyelid, and a larger head. While the habitat continuity at most sites in eastern Panama is moderate, habitats in central Panama are severely fragmented. Cerro Chucantí and the surrounding Maje Mountains are highly threatened by rapid deforestation and replaced by plantations and cattle pastures. Thus, investigations on the ecology of the new species and its population status, especially at the type locality, are highly recommended. As a flagship species, this new frog can help to preserve the Chucantí cloud forest including several recently described species known only from this isolated area in eastern Panama.

Keywords: Chucantí, Craugastoridae, Greta Thunberg’s Rainfrog, Maje, Pristimantis gretathunbergae sp. nov., Strabomantidae, Terraranae

Coloration in life of specimens of Pristimantis gretathunbergae sp. nov. and P. cruentus from eastern Panama
A holotype male (MHCH 3082), Cerro Chucantí B paratype female (SMF97520), Cerro Chucantí C left, paratype female (MHCH 3081), right P. cruentus female (MHCH3034)
D female from Cerro Chucantí, not collected E female (MHCH3115) La Javillosa
F female, Cerro La Javillosa, Ambroya, Maje Mountain Range (SMF97517) G female (MHCH3079), Rio Tuquesa.
Colored lines point to some diagnostic characters as follow: red: blackish iris; yellow: single spine-like tubercle; turquoise: light-colored upper lip; pink: cream, yellow to red groin (red groin also shown in Suppl. material 2: Fig. S10).

 

Habitat, mating, and parental care in females of Pristimantis gretathunbergae sp. nov. from Cerro Chucantí
A Habitat on Cerro Chucantí at ca. 1300 m a.s.l. B understory bromeliad with a P. gretathunbergae sp. nov. in situ (blue line) and zoomed in on inset (MHCH 3115)
C amplectant pair on axillary part of bromeliad leaf (not collected) D same female after amplexus guarding eggs
E female of P. gretathunbergae taking care of its eggs with a male P. cruentus species holding on the female in reverse position (not collected) F female with eggs about to hatch, note the transparency of the egg membrane (not collected).

   

Pristimantis gretathunbergae sp. nov. 

Suggested English name: Greta Thunberg’s Rainfrog 

Suggested Spanish name: Rana de Greta Thunberg

Diagnosis: Pristimantis gretathunbergae sp. nov., a member of the Pristimantis ridens species group (sensu Reyes-Puig et al. 2020), is characterized by the following combination of characters: (1) dorsal skin surfaces slightly areolate, with dispersed tubercles; venter weakly areolate; discoidal fold present, dorsolateral folds absent; (2) tympanum concealed, indistinguishable or poorly distinguished; annulus and tympanic membrane barely visible in males, not visible in females; tympanic fold from the posterior edge of the eye to the arm insertion; (3) snout short, broadly rounded in dorsal view, moderate in length, rounded and slightly protruding in profile; (4) upper eyelid with a single conical to spine-like, some triangular tubercle, ED wider than IoD; cranial crests absent; (5) dentigerous processes of vomers present, prominent, oblique, each bearing from 5 to 10 teeth; (6) vocal slits and nuptial pads absent; (7) Finger I shorter than Finger II; discs on outer fingers truncate, more than twice width of digit proximal to disc; (8) fingers bearing narrow lateral fringes; (9) three to four low ulnar tubercles, barely visible in preservative; (10) heel bearing a conical tubercles, outer edge of tarsus with three to four low and small conical tubercles, inner edge of tarsus lacking tubercles; (11) inner metatarsal tubercle large and elliptical, 4–5× size of outer, ovoid metatarsal tubercle; supernumerary plantar tubercles low; subarticular tubercles conical; (12) toes bearing narrow lateral fringes; webbing absent; Toe V much longer than Toe III; discs as large as those on outer fingers; (13) dorsal ground coloration usually shades of brown with individual tones of red or yellow with or without scattered orange flecks, and/or larger reddish or distinct brown blotches, or light dorsolateral band; (14) venter uniform dirty white (some specimens exhibit dark spotting) or patternless yellow to orange; (15) groin and inner thighs white, yellow or orange-red, some with flecks matching the dorsal ground color or red; (16) blackish iris, some individuals show very dark red iris and/or red-golden speckling; (17) prominent light upper lip in all females and in some males, while other males exhibit some blotches extending from the nose vertically across the lip, however, the upper border of the light-colored lip patches is still demarcated by the darker nose coloration, except in generally light-colored specimens; (18) SVL up to 36.7 mm in males, up to 46.3 mm in females.

  

Etymology: The specific name is a noun in the genitive case and is a patronym in honor for Greta Thunberg, a Swedish student, and her global climate activism. Greta initiated a “School Strike for Climate Action” outside the Swedish parliament to demand a radical response to the threat by the ongoing climate change. Then sixteen-year-old Thunberg’s example has inspired students worldwide to carry out similar strikes called Fridays For Future that started in August 2018. In December 2018 she addressed world leaders at the COP24 climate talks in Katowice, Poland, with sharp and unmasked words, and equally impressed a global audience in January 2020 with her unpolitical, direct speech down to the point on “Averting a Climate Apocalypse” at the WEF (World Economic Forum) in Davos, Switzerland. Just recently, she publicly slammed the world leaders at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, November 2021, for not doing enough to meet the demands of the climate emergency. Greta Thunberg represents the authentic voice that exposes the motivations behind the diplomatic curtain of politicians and business stakeholders. Her voice is essential if we want to revert to and maintain a healthy environment on the planet we all share, and not least, learn to respect its magnificent mega-diversity of life that took millions of years to evolve.

  

    

Konrad Mebert, Macario González-Pinzón, Madian Miranda, Edgardo Griffith, Milan Vesely, P. Lennart Schmid and Abel Batista. 2022. A New Rainfrog of the Genus Pristimantis (Anura, Brachycephaloidea) from central and eastern Panama. ZooKeys. 1081: 1-34. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1081.63009

  facebook.com/KonradMebert/posts/10159860392679208

[Herpetology • 2021] Pristimantis chocolatebari & P. carylae • Biodiversity in the Andean Mountains: Two New Rain Frogs of the Genus Pristimantis (Anura: Craugastoridae) from the northern Cordillera Central in Colombia

(A-B) Pristimantis chocolatebari & 

(C-D) Pristimantis carylae  

 Rivera-Correa, González-Durán, Saldarriaga-Gómez & Duarte-Marín, 2021

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5040.3.2

 Researchgate.net/publication/354741231 

  twitter.com/biodiversitario

Photos by M. Rivera-Correa and S. Duarte-Marín. 

Abstract

Frequent biodiversity sampling and monitoring programs often lead to relevant taxonomic findings. Here, as a product of different field expeditions to two places in the northern Andes, we discover and describe two new species of rain frogs of the genus Pristimantis from the cloud forests of the Central Cordillera of Colombia. Pristimantis chocolatebari sp. nov. is diagnosed by having the following character states: dentigerous process of vomer triangular, snout large and protruding, dorsum smooth, vocal slits and vocal sac present, groin and hidden part of the thighs yellow. Pristimantis carylae sp. nov. is diagnosed by having iris copper red, dentigerous process of vomer oval, snout short and rounded, dorsum finely shagreen with scattered tubercles, double nuptial pad in males, groin and hidden part of thighs pink. We also infer, for the first time, the phylogenetic position of P. permixtus, P. platychilus, and two candidate new species. In addition, we emphasize not to use genetic distance as the only source of evidence for species delimitation, considering the high intraspecific diversity found in one of the species described here. Finally, we highlight the relevance of different habitat and ecosystem conservation strategies to promote amphibian diversity studies in the Andes.

 

Keywords: Amphibia, Andes, cloud forest, conservation areas, Nature reserves, Systematics, Taxonomy

Pristimantis chocolatebari sp. nov. in life: (A) MHUA-A 12212, SVL 22.8 mm, adult male, holotype; (B) MHUA-A 12211, SVL 25.1 mm, subadult female, paratype. 
Pristimantis carylae sp. nov. in life: (C) MHUA-A 12215, SVL 24.7 mm, subadult female, paratype; (D) MHUA-A 12213, SVL 25.0 mm, subadult female, paratype.

Photos: Mauricio Rivera-Correa

Dorsal view in life of Pristimantis chocolatebari sp. nov. 

(A) MHUA-A 12212, SVL 22.8 mm, adult male, holotype; (B) MHUA-A 12211, SVL 25.1 mm, subadult female, paratype.

 Dorsal view in life of Pristimantis carylae sp. nov. in life:

(C) ARUQ 818, SVL 24.6 mm, adult male, holotype; 

(D) ARUQ 821 SVL 24.7 mm, adult male, paratype; 

(E) ARUQ 815 SVL 26.5 mm, subadult female, paratype; 

(F) ARUQ 816, SVL 23.3 mm, adult male, paratype; 

(G) MHUA-A 12215, SVL 24.7 mm, subadult female, paratype; 

(H) MHUA-A 12213, SVL 25.0 mm, subadult female, paratype.

Photos: Sebastián Duarte-Marín. 

Pristimantis chocolatebari sp. nov.

Etymology. The scientific name chocolatebari is the Latinization of the compound name “chocolate bar”. With this name, we honor a United States chocolate company, which generously donated resources for the expansion and protection of the cloud forests of the northern Colombian Andes, allowing the conservation of the type locality of the new species. The epithet is a noun in apposition.  

 

Pristimantis carylae sp. nov.

Etymology. The specific name is dedicated to the memory of Caryl Castleberry, an artist with a passion for nature and biodiversity. She and her close friends have helped to conserve and increase our knowledge of the amphibians of the northern Andes of Colombia. Their support has helped with the discovery of new species like the ones described in this study. The epithet is a noun in apposition. 

 Mauricio Rivera-Correa, Gustavo A. González-Durán, Ana M. Saldarriaga-Gómez and Sebastián Duarte-Marín. 2021. Biodiversity in the Andean Mountains: Two New Rain Frogs of the Genus Pristimantis (Anura: Craugastoridae) from the northern Cordillera Central in Colombia. Zootaxa. 5040(3); 334-364. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5040.3.2 

Researchgate.net/publication/354741231_Two_new_Pristimantis_from_Cordillera_Central_in_Colombia

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