Two extremely rare new species of fossorial salamanders of the genus Oedipina (Plethodontidae) from northwestern Ecuador

The Tropical Andes Biodiversity Hotspot: A Comprehensive Dataset for the Mira-Mataje Binational Basins

We present a flora and fauna dataset for the Mira-Mataje binational basins. This is an area shared between southwestern Colombia and northwestern Ecuador, where both the Chocó and Tropical Andes biodiversity hotspots converge. We systematized data from 120 sources in the Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) standard and geospatial vector data format for geographic information systems (GIS) (shapefiles). Sources included natural history museums, published literature, and citizen science repositories across 13 countries. The resulting database has 33,460 records from 6,821 species, of which 540 have been recorded as endemic, and 612 as threatened. The diversity represented in the dataset is equivalent to 10% of the total plant species and 26% of the total terrestrial vertebrate species in both hotspots. The dataset can be used to estimate and compare biodiversity patterns with environmental parameters and provide value to ecosystems, ecoregions, and protected areas. The dataset is a baseline for future assessments of biodiversity in the face of environmental degradation, climate change, and accelerated extinction processes.

Two new species of terrestrial frogs of the Pristimantisgladiator complex (Anura, Strabomantidae) from the Ecuadorian Andes, with insights on their biogeography and skull morphology

The explosive diversity of rainfrogs (Pristimantis spp) reaches its highest levels in the mountains of the Tropical Andes, with remarkable cryptic species mainly in unexplored areas of Ecuador. Based on phylogenetics, morphometric traits, skull osteology and bioacoustics, we describe two new species of Pristimantis, previously confused with Pristimantisgladiator, that belong to the subgenus Trachyphrynus traditionally known as the Pristimantismyersi species group. The two new taxa are closely related, but have allopatric distributions. We discuss the importance of the Quijos and Pastaza River valleys in the diversification along Amazonian slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes.

A new and very spiny lizard (Gymnophthalmidae: Echinosaura) from the Andes in northwestern Ecuador

We describe a new species of Neotropical spiny-lizard of the genus Echinosaura from the Imbabura and Carchi Provinces on the western slopes of the Andes in northwestern Ecuador. The new species mostly resembles E. horrida. However, it can be distinguished from all congeners by having keeled enlarged dorsal scales forming a paired vertebral row, two paravertebral series of short oblique rows of projecting scales, and a pair of spine-like scales on temporal and nuchal regions. We also provide a detailed description of the osteology of the skull and pectoral girdle of the new species and present a phylogenetic hypothesis for Echinosaura based on three mitochondrial genes (12S, 16S, ND4) and one nuclear gene (c-mos).

A new Andean treefrog (Amphibia: Hyloscirtus bogotensis group) from Ecuador: an example of community involvement for conservation

We provide several lines of evidence to delimit a new species of Hyloscirtus and define its phylogenetic position inside the Hyloscirtus bogotensis group. The new species is the sister taxon to Hyloscirtus mashpi and is related to a clade formed by H. alytolylax and a putative new species from the province of El Oro in, southwestern Ecuador. Hyloscirtus conscientia sp. nov. is described from the montane forests of the Mira River basin in the extreme northwestern Ecuador. The new species is characterized as follows: tympanic annulus conspicuous, tip of snout in dorsal view subacuminate, middorsal stripe formed by melanophores larger and less dense, dorsal skin with individual iridophores forming dots, scarcely distributed across dorsum. Our study also highlights the importance of the Mira River Valley as a biogeographic barrier; suggesting research efforts north and south of the valley are likely to reveal additional endemic cryptic diversity. Finally, our partnership with Reserva: The Youth Land Trust, Rainforest Trust and EcoMinga Foundation has produced a novel and meaningful way to connect young people with biodiversity discovery and habitat conservation.