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Montilla SO, Arcila-Pérez LF, Toro-Gómez MP, Vargas-Salinas F, Rada M. A multidisciplinary approach reveals a new species of glassfrog from Colombia (Anura: Centrolenidae: Nymphargus). Zootaxa 2023; 5271:1-48. [PMID: 37518145 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5271.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Anurans of the family Centrolenidae are a highly diverse clade of Neotropical treefrogs. In the last two decades, glassfrogs have become a model system for studies in ecology and evolutionary biology, in part because their taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships are considered relatively well established. However, there are still many gaps in our knowledge, for example, which morphological characters are important for species delimitation. Consequently, several species complexes in Centrolenidae remain unresolved. Using data on external and internal morphology of adult individuals, tadpoles, advertisement call traits and genetic sequences, we describe a new species of glassfrog (Nymphargus pijao sp. nov.) endemic to Colombia that has been previously missasigned to Nymphargus griffithsi. We include in this description data of three phenotypic characters related to pectoral musculature and testis size, which have been traditionally overlooked in studies about the taxonomy and systematics of glassfrogs. In addition, we present details of a low-cost method implemented in the field to rear tadpoles of the new species. This methodology can solve common problems during the management and care of glassfrogs egg masses and tadpoles, and hence, promotes their description for more species and a better knowledge of the anuran biodiversity in Neotropics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastián O Montilla
- Laboratorio de Ecología de Bosques Tropicales y Primatología; Universidad de los Andes. Bogotá D.C.; Colombia.; Fundación Proyecto Primates Colombia; Bogotá D.C.; Colombia..
| | - Luisa F Arcila-Pérez
- Grupo de investigación en Evolución; Ecología y Conservación (EECO); Programa de Biología; Universidad del Quindío; Armenia; Colombia..
| | - María Paula Toro-Gómez
- Grupo de investigación en Evolución; Ecología y Conservación (EECO); Programa de Biología; Universidad del Quindío; Armenia; Colombia..
| | - Fernando Vargas-Salinas
- Grupo de investigación en Evolución; Ecología y Conservación (EECO); Programa de Biología; Universidad del Quindío; Armenia; Colombia..
| | - Marco Rada
- Laboratório de Anfíbios; Departamento de Zoologia; Instituto de Biociências; Universidade de São Paulo; Brasil.; Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt; Bogotá; D.C.; Colombia..
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2
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Guayasamin JM, Brunner RM, Valencia-Aguilar A, Franco-Mena D, Ringler E, Medina Armijos A, Morochz C, Bustamante L, Maynard RJ, Culebras J. Two new glassfrogs (Centrolenidae: Hyalinobatrachium) from Ecuador, with comments on the endangered biodiversity of the Andes. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13109. [PMID: 35321409 PMCID: PMC8935995 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The Tropical Andes is the world's most biodiverse hotspot. This region contains >1,000 amphibian species, more than half of which are endemic. Herein we describe two new glassfrog species (Centrolenidae: Hyalinobatrachium) that we discovered within relatively unexplored and isolated localities of the Ecuadorian Andes. Methods We employed morphological, acoustic, and molecular methods to test the hypothesis that Hyalinobatrachium mashpi sp. nov and H. nouns sp. nov. are species new to science. Following standard methods, we generated mitochondrial sequences (16S) of 37 individuals in the genus Hyalinobatrachium. We inferred the phylogenetic relationships of the two new species in comparison to all other glassfrogs using Maximum Likelihood. In addition to describing the call of H. mashpi sp. nov., we performed a discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC) with the advertisement call characteristics of several congeners. Results Based on an integrative taxonomy approach, we describe two new species. Morphological traits and the inferred phylogeny unambiguously place the new taxa in the genus Hyalinobatrachium. Both species are distinguished from other glassfrogs mainly by their dorsal coloration (i.e., dorsum lime green with small light yellow spots, head usually with interorbital bar) and transparent pericardium (i.e., the heart is visible through the ventral skin). The new species exhibit a high morphological similarity (i.e., cryptic) and occur within relatively close geographical proximity (closest aerial distance = 18.9 km); however, their uncorrected p distance for the mitochondrial gene 16S is 4.6-4.7%, a value that greatly exceeds the genetic distance between closely related species of centrolenid frogs. The DAPC revealed that the advertisement call of H. mashpi sp. nov. is acoustically distinct. Discussion Our findings are congruent with several previous studies that report a high degree of endemism in the Toisán mountain range, which appears to be isolated from the main Andean cordillera for some amphibian groups. We recommend that both H. mashpi sp. nov. and H. nouns sp. nov. be listed as Endangered, following IUCN criteria. These new species provide another example of cryptic diversity in the Andes-further evidence that the region fosters much more biodiversity than we have the resources to catalog. Threatened by mining and other exploitative industries, these glassfrogs and many other yet-to-be-discovered Andean species highlight the dire need for effective conservation measures-especially in northwestern Ecuador.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan M. Guayasamin
- Laboratorio de Biología Evolutiva, Instituto Biósfera, Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales COCIBA, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito, Ecuador
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States
| | - Rebecca M. Brunner
- Third Millennium Alliance, Quito, Ecuador
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States
| | - Anyelet Valencia-Aguilar
- Division of Behavioral Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Daniela Franco-Mena
- Laboratorio de Biología Evolutiva, Instituto Biósfera, Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Eva Ringler
- Division of Behavioral Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | | | - Carlos Morochz
- Biology & Research Department, Mashpi Lodge, Mashpi, Ecuador
| | | | | | - Jaime Culebras
- Photo Wildlife Tours, Quito, Ecuador
- Fundación Cóndor Andino, Quito, Ecuador
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Sánchez-Carvajal MJ, Reyes-Ortega GC, Cisneros-Heredia DF, Ortega-Andrade HM. Rediscovery of Laura's glassfrog Nymphargus laurae (Anura: Centrolenidae) with new data on its morphology, colouration, phylogenetic position and conservation in Ecuador. PeerJ 2022; 9:e12644. [PMID: 35036140 PMCID: PMC8710250 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We report the rediscovery of Laura’s Glassfrog, Nymphargus laurae Cisneros-Heredia & McDiarmid, 2007, based on two specimens collected at the Colonso-Chalupas Biological Reserve, province of Napo, Ecuador. The species was described and known from a single male specimen collected in 1955 at Loreto, north-eastern Andean foothills of Ecuador. Limited information was available about the colouration, systematics, ecology, and biogeography of N. laurae. We provide new data on the external morphology, colouration, distribution and comment on its conservation status and extinction risk. We discuss the phylogenetic relationships of N. laurae, which forms a clade together with N. siren and N. humboldti. The importance of research in unexplored areas must be a national priority to document the biodiversity associated, especially in protected areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- María José Sánchez-Carvajal
- Ingeniería en Ecosistemas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Tena, Napo, Ecuador.,Grupo de Investigación en Biogeografía y Ecología Espacial, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Tena, Napo, Ecuador
| | - Grace C Reyes-Ortega
- Ingeniería en Ecosistemas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Tena, Napo, Ecuador.,Grupo de Investigación en Biogeografía y Ecología Espacial, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Tena, Napo, Ecuador
| | - Diego F Cisneros-Heredia
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Instituto de Biodiversidad Tropical iBIOTROP, Museo de Zoología, Laboratorio de Zoología Terrestre, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador.,División de Herpetología, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador
| | - H Mauricio Ortega-Andrade
- Ingeniería en Ecosistemas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Tena, Napo, Ecuador.,Grupo de Investigación en Biogeografía y Ecología Espacial, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Tena, Napo, Ecuador.,División de Herpetología, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador
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4
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Brito J, Koch C, Percequillo AR, Tinoco N, Weksler M, Pinto CM, Pardiñas UFJ. A new genus of oryzomyine rodents (Cricetidae, Sigmodontinae) with three new species from montane cloud forests, western Andean cordillera of Colombia and Ecuador. PeerJ 2020; 8:e10247. [PMID: 33240614 PMCID: PMC7664470 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The Andean cloud forests of western Colombia and Ecuador are home to several endemic mammals; members of the Oryzomyini, the largest Sigmodontinae tribe, are extensively represented in the region. However, our knowledge about this diversity is still incomplete, as evidenced by several new taxa that have been described in recent years. Extensive field work in two protected areas enclosing remnants of Chocó montane forest recovered a high diversity of small mammals. Among them, a medium-sized oryzomyine is here described as a new genus having at least three new species, two of them are named and diagnosed. Although externally similar to members of the genera Nephelomys and Tanyuromys, the new genus has a unique molar pattern within the tribe, being characterized by a noticeable degree of hypsodonty, simplification, lamination, and third molar compression. A phylogeny based on a combination of molecular markers, including nuclear and mitochondrial genes, and morphological data recovered the new genus as sister to Mindomys, and sequentially to Nephelomys. The new genus seems to be another example of a sigmodontine rodent unique to the Chocó biogeographic region. Its type species inhabits cloud forest between 1,600 and 2,300 m in northernmost Ecuador (Carchi Province); a second species is restricted to lower montane forest, 1,200 m, in northern Ecuador (Imbabura Province); a third putative species, here highlighted exclusively by molecular evidence from one immature specimen, is recorded in the montane forest of Reserva Otonga, northern Ecuador (Cotopaxi Province). Finally, the new genus is also recorded in southernmost Colombia (Nariño Department), probably represented there also by a new species. These species are spatially separated by deep river canyons through Andean forests, resulting in marked environmental discontinuities. Unfortunately, Colombian and Ecuadorian Pacific cloud forests are under rapid anthropic transformation. Although the populations of the type species are moderately abundant and occur in protected areas, the other two persist in threatened forest fragments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Brito
- Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO), Quito, Ecuador
| | - Claudia Koch
- Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig (ZFMK), Bonn, Germany
| | - Alexandre R. Percequillo
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Nicolás Tinoco
- Sección de Mastozoología, Museo de Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Marcelo Weksler
- Setor de Mastozoologia, Departamento de Vertebrados, Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - C. Miguel Pinto
- Observatorio de Biodiversidad Ambiente y Salud (OBBAS), Quito, Ecuador
| | - Ulyses F. J. Pardiñas
- Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO), Quito, Ecuador
- Instituto de Diversidad y Evolución Austral (IDEAus—CONICET), Puerto Madryn, Argentina
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Reyes-Puig C, Wake DB, Kotharambath R, Streicher JW, Koch C, Cisneros-Heredia DF, Yánez-Muñoz MH, Ron S. Two extremely rare new species of fossorial salamanders of the genus Oedipina (Plethodontidae) from northwestern Ecuador. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9934. [PMID: 33062424 PMCID: PMC7534686 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
We describe two new species of salamanders of the genus Oedipina, subgenus Oedopinola, from two localities on the northwestern foothills of Ecuador, at elevations between 921 and 1,067 m. These are the southernmost members of the genus. We examined different museum collections and we found just three specimens of Oedipina from Ecuador, obtained throughout the history of herpetological collections in the country. We identify two of the three specimens as new species, but refrain from assigning a specific identity to the third, pending further study. Oedipina villamizariorum sp. n. is a medium-sized member of the genus, with a narrow, relatively pointed head and blunt snout; dorsolaterally oriented eyes, moderate in size; and digits that are moderately long and having pointed tips. Oedipina ecuatoriana sp. n., somewhat larger, has a narrow head and broadly rounded snout; this new species differs from all known Oedipina by the distinctive presence of paired prefrontal bones and a reduced phalangeal formula: 0-0-1-0; 0-1-2-1-1. We provide detailed descriptions of the osteology of both new species. Finally, we present a phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus, including one of the two new species, based on partial sequences of mitochondrial DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Reyes-Puig
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales COCIBA, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbayá, Quito, Ecuador.,Museo de Zoología & Laboratorio de Zoología Terrestre, Instituto de Diversidad Biológica Tropical iBIOTROP, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbayá, Quito, Ecuador.,Unidad de Investigación, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO), Quito, Ecuador.,Fundación EcoMinga, Baños, Ecuador
| | - David B Wake
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| | | | - Jeffrey W Streicher
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | - Claudia Koch
- Leibniz-Institut für Biodiversität der Tiere, Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany
| | - Diego F Cisneros-Heredia
- Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales COCIBA, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbayá, Quito, Ecuador.,Museo de Zoología & Laboratorio de Zoología Terrestre, Instituto de Diversidad Biológica Tropical iBIOTROP, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbayá, Quito, Ecuador.,Department of Geography, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mario H Yánez-Muñoz
- Unidad de Investigación, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO), Quito, Ecuador.,Fundación EcoMinga, Baños, Ecuador
| | - Santiago Ron
- Museo de Zoología, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
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Díaz-Ricaurte JC, Guevara-Molina EC. Morphological and molecular data reveal new country records and distribution extensions of some glassfrogs (Anura: Centrolenidae) for Colombia. STUDIES ON NEOTROPICAL FAUNA AND ENVIRONMENT 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/01650521.2020.1809333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Juan C. Díaz-Ricaurte
- Laboratório de Ecologia, Evolução e Conservação de Anfíbios e Répteis, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- Semillero de Investigación en Ecofisiología y Biogeografía de Vertebrados (Ecobiovert), Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Desarrollo Amazónico (BYDA), Programa de Biología, Universidad de la Amazonía, Florencia, Colombia
| | - Estefany Caroline Guevara-Molina
- Laboratório de Comportamento e Fisiologia Evolutiva (LACOFIE). Departamento de Fisiologia. Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
- Grupo de Evolución, Ecología y Comportamiento (EECO). Programa de Biología, Universidad del Quindío, Quindío, Colombia
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Reyes-Puig C, Maynard RJ, Trageser SJ, Vieira J, Hamilton PS, Lynch R, Culebras J, Kohn S, Brito J, Guayasamin JM. A new species of Noblella (Amphibia: Strabomantidae) from the Río Manduriacu Reserve on the Pacific slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes. NEOTROPICAL BIODIVERSITY 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/23766808.2020.1809287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Reyes-Puig
- Instituto de Diversidad Biológica Tropical iBOTROP, Museo de Zoología, Instituto BIOSFERA-USFQ, Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales COCIBA, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
- Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO), Unidad De Investigación, Quito, Ecuador
| | | | | | | | | | - Ryan Lynch
- Third Millennium Alliance, Fremont, CA, USA
| | | | - Sebastián Kohn
- Fundación Cóndor Andino, Quito, Ecuador
- Fundación EcoMinga, Baños, Ecuador
| | - Jorge Brito
- Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INABIO), Unidad De Investigación, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Juan M. Guayasamin
- Laboratorio de Biología Evolutiva, Instituto BIOSFERA-USFQ, Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales COCIBA, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador
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Abstract
Glassfrogs (family: Centrolenidae) represent a fantastic radiation (~150 described species) of Neotropical anurans that originated in South America and dispersed into Central America. In this study, we review the systematics of Ecuadorian glassfrogs, providing species accounts of all 60 species, including three new species described herein. For all Ecuadorian species, we provide new information on the evolution, morphology, biology, conservation, and distribution. We present a new molecular phylogeny for Centrolenidae and address cryptic diversity within the family. We employ a candidate species system and designate 24 putative new species that require further study to determine their species status. We find that, in some cases, currently recognized species lack justification; specifically, we place Centrolene gemmata and Centrolene scirtetes under the synonymy of Centrolene lynchi; C. guanacarum and C. bacata under the synonymy of Centrolene sanchezi; Cochranella phryxa under the synonymy of Cochranella resplendens; and Hyalinobatrachium ruedai under the synonymy of Hyalinobatrachium munozorum. We also find that diversification patterns are mostly congruent with allopatric speciation, facilitated by barriers to gene flow (e.g., valleys, mountains, linearity of the Andes), and that niche conservatism is a dominant feature in the family. Conservation threats are diverse, but habitat destruction and climate change are of particular concern. The most imperiled glassfrogs in Ecuador are Centrolene buckleyi, C. charapita, C. geckoidea, C. medemi, C. pipilata, Cochranella mache, Nymphargus balionotus, N. manduriacu, N. megacheirus, and N. sucre, all of which are considered Critically Endangered. Lastly, we identify priority areas for glassfrog conservation in Ecuador.
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