Eleutherodactylus jubatus, García & Lynch, 2006

García, Juan Carlos & Lynch, John D., 2006, A new species of frog (genus Eleutherodactylus) from a cloud forest in Western Colombia, Zootaxa 1171, pp. 39-45 : 41-45

Eleutherodactylus jubatus sp. nov. ( Fig. 2 )

Material examined

Holotype. ICN 52478 (field number Juan G. 041), an adult male collected by Juan Carlos García in February 2005.

Type­locality. Colombia, Departamento del Cauca: municipio El Tambo, Munchique National Park, sector La Romelia, 2550–2750 m. 02º 38’– 40’ N, 076º 54’– 55’ W.

Paratypes. MHNUC 189–90 , 193 , 196–97 , 367–68 , ICN 52481 males and MHNUC 195 , 198–99 , 369–71 , ICN 52479–80 , 52482 females .

Etymology Derived from the Latin, meaning crested, in reference to the cranial crests. Diagnosis

(1) Skin of dorsum with few pustules above sacrum; venter areolate; prominent dorsolateral folds; (2) tympanum prominent, 1/3 eye length; (3) snout round in dorsal and lateral views; canthus rostralis concave, rounded; (4) upper eyelid bearing conical tubercle, narrower than IOD; cranial crests present; (5) vomerine odontophores present, oval, narrowly separated; (6) vocal slits absent, no nuptial pads; (7) first finger shorter than second, outer fingers bearing broad discs; (8) fingers bearing lateral fringes; (9) ulnar tubercles subconical; (10) conical tubercle on heel; tubercles along outer edge of tarsus; (11) two metatarsal tubercles, inner oval, 4–6 times size of round outer; (12) toes with lateral fringes, no webbing; toe discs expanded, smaller than those of fingers; fifth toe disc reaching between penultimate and distal subarticular tubercles of toe IV when adpressed; (13) dorsum dark brown, gray or ochre; usually with a W pattern on back; venter cream or golden with brown spots; (14) adult males 19.8–24.1 mm, adult females 32.4–34.6 mm.

This new species may be a sibling species of E. kelephus based on the peculiar form of the dorsal tubercles, but E. kelephus has tubercles over most of the dorsum while E. jubatus bears only a few pustules in the sacral region. Eleutherodactylus jubatus differs of E. kelephus having cranial crest, lacking “subanal” tubercles, nuptial pads and vocal slits, having an upper eyelid that is narrower than IOD, having a larger body size, and having a fifth toe reaching between penultimate and distal subarticular tubercle of toe IV (“long B” condition). In the southern part of the Cordillera Occidental the only other species with cranial crests is E. cerastes , a broad­headed form.

Description (proportions based on 9 males and 9 females)

Head wider than long, wider than body in males, almost as wide as body in females; HW 37.8–39.4 (= 38.8 ± 0.4)% SVL in males, 39.6–42.0 (= 40.5 ± 0.6)% SVL in females; snout round in dorsal and lateral views; E­N 62.9–87.9 (= 78.5 ± 5.5)% eye length in males, 95.1–105.3 (= 102.0 ± 2.4)% in females; nostrils protuberant, directed laterally; canthus rostralis rounded, concave; loreal region concave, sloping abruptly to lips; upper eyelid with small nonconical tubercles and one large conical tubercle, its width 72.0–100 (= 82.7 ± 6.2)% IOD in males, 60.0–75.7 (= 70.0 ± 3.5)% in females; narrow and low cranial crests, near the edge of frontoparietals, sinuous; supratympanic fold not distinct but obscuring upper edge of tympanum; tympanum round; tympanum length 31.4–36.4 (= 33.5 ± 1.0)% eye length in males, 29.3–39.5 (= 34.1 ± 2.1)% in females; choanae round; vomerine odontophores large, larger than choanae in females, triangular, slightly separated by distance about equal to one­half width of an odontophore, posterior to choanae; tongue longer than broad in males, tongue as long as broad in females; vocal slits lacking.

Dorsum with a few pustules above sacrum and few nonconical tubercles scattered on head and close to tympanum; no anal sheath; no subanal tubercles; venter areolate; discoidal fold not prominent; surfaces of forearm and shanks with tubercles (more projecting in juveniles); four subconical ulnar tubercles (more projecting and conical in juveniles); two or three palmar tubercles in adults, bifid in juveniles; palmar tubercle 1 ½ times size of oval thenar tubercle; numerous supernumerary palmar tubercles; subarticular tubercles round; fingers bearing lateral fringes; discs round with broad pads on fingers II–IV, thumb lacking expanded disc; first finger shorter than second ( Fig. 3 ).

Subconical tubercle on knee (more projecting in juveniles); conical tubercle on heel; series of 2–4 conical tubercles along tarsus; inner metatarsal tubercle 1 ½ times longer than broad, 4–6 times size of round outer tubercle; few supernumerary plantar tubercles; subarticular tubercles round; toes bearing rounded discs, smaller than those of outer fingers; toes bearing lateral fringes; tip of toe III to middle of penultimate subarticular tubercle of toe IV, tip of toe V reaching between penultimate and distal subarticular tubercle of toe IV; heels overlapping when flexed hindlimbs held perpendicular to mid sagittal plane; shank 53.2–59.6 (= 55.2 ± 1.5)% SVL in males, 54.1–59.1 (= 56.3 ± 1.1)% in females, 51.9–57.0 (= 54.4 ± 0.9)% SVL in juvenile males, 53.5–60.6 (= 58.1 ± 1.2)% in juvenile females.

The coloration in alcohol of dorsum brown, gray or ochre; canthal­supratympanic stripe and labial bars brown to dark brown or black; pale cream labial stripe; flanks spotted or reticulated dark brown; limbs gray or ochre with black stripes; inner digits on hands and toes white or cream; venter cream or cream gold with gray or brown spots, groin and undersides of shanks colored like venter.

In life, E. jubatus is orange­brown, ochre sparkling or brown­cream; usually with a black W pattern on back following the dorsolateral folds; venter cream or yellow golden with brown or gray spotting, throat cream or pale yellow with gray spotting (venter and throat darker in juveniles); flanks cream or brown­cream with brown reticulation; groin, axillae and thighs pale yellow or yellow­cream with brown spotting; iris golden orange with black reticulum.

Measurements of holotype in mm SVL 23.7, shank 12.9, HW 9.2, head length 8.4, upper eyelid width 1.9, IOD 2.3, tympanum length 1.1, eye length 3.3, E­N 2.9.

Natural history

Eleutherodactylus jubatus is a very abundant species in forest with high humidity (>90%) and dense vegetal cover (>80%). Individuals of E. jubatus were found during the night on vegetation within 2 meters of the ground. Perch heights lower than 80 cm were more frequently used by juveniles, while adults used heights between 1.2 and 2 m. Leaves were the preferred perch site.

Relative abundance of juveniles during the fieldwork of 2001 (April­September) and 2005 (February­March) suggests that reproduction of species is continuous, due to the high humidity of the region along the year and the variability of strata, cover, especially of bromeliad and bryophytes, and depth of leaf litter, that providing a microhabitat and microclimate with conditions to survival and development.

Discussion

Lynch (1998b) suggests that E. kelephus and E. calcaratus are closely related species but without concrete evidence. Both species differ from E. jubatus in lacking cranial crests (primitive condition in Eleutherodactylus, Lynch 2000 ). If we group together E. jubatus , E. kelephus and E. calcaratus as members of a possible phylogenetic group, dorsal pustules can be considered as a synapomorphy (keeping in mind we do not have a phylogenetic hypothesis). These pustules can be observed in E. kelephus (Serranía del Paraguas, frontier of Departamento del Valle and Chocó). There are various differences between E. kelephus and E. jubatus species but the more notable are that E. jubatus has low cranial crests, without ornamentation and with a sinuous shape on the lateral margins of the frontoparietals. Eleutherodactylus calcaratus , E. kelephus and E. jubatus have allopatric distributions ( E. kelephus in Serranía de Los Paraguas, 1900 –2250 m.; E. calcaratus in Los Farallones de Cali, 1750 –2100 m.; and E. jubatus in Munchique, 2550 –2750 m.).

Lynch (1998b) registered 25 species of Eleutherodactylus for the transect in Munchique (from 800 to 3050 m.) but he did not collect E. jubatus individuals. Likewise, in the samplings of García and Silva at altitudes between 2100–2800 m., E. thectopternus y E. duellmani were not observed. The collections of first author verify the presence of E. hectus in the region at altitudes between 2550–2750 m., recognized only at lower altitudes than 1900 m. ( Lynch and Duellman 1997, Lynch 1998b).

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the collaboration of National Parks System, Isaac Bedoya, Hubert, don Enrique, Daniel and Gloria of Munchique National Park, the people of La Romelia, Professors Heiber Cárdenas and Fernando Castro of Universidad del Valle and Dr. Santiago Ayerbe, Director of Natural History Museum of Universidad del Cauca, and the reviewers of the manuscript.

The first author acknowledges the Ernst Mayr Program of Zoology of Comparative Museum of Harvard University, especially to the late Dr. Ernst Mayr, Dr. James Hanken, Allison Schellhammer and, Anna Salvato, Wally and Ideawild team, Marta Liliana Silva for aid in the field excursions, and Ana Maria Soto.

Reference

García, J.C., Castro, F. & Cárdenas, H. (2005) Relación entre la distribución de anuros y variables del hábitat en el sector La Romelia, Parque Nacional Natural Munchique (Cauca, Colombia). Caldasia, 27 (2), 299–310.

Lynch, J.D. (1986) Origins of the high Andean herpetological fauna. In: Vuilleumier, F & Monasterio M. (Eds.), High Altitude Tropical Biogeography. Oxford University Press, New York, pp.

478–499.

Lynch, J.D. (1998 a) La riqueza de la fauna anfibia de los Andes colombianos. Innovación y Ciencia, 7, 46–51.

Lynch, J.D. (1998 b) New species of Eleutherodactylus from the Cordillera Occidental of western Colombia with a synopsis of the distributions of species in western Colombia. Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias, 22 (82), 117–148.

Lynch, J.D. (2000) The relationships of an ensemble of Guatemalan and Mexican frogs (Eleutherodactylus: Leptodactylidae: Amphibia). Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias, 24 (90), 129–156.

Lynch, J.D. & Duellman, W.E. (1997) Frogs of the genus Eleutherodactylus in western Ecuador: systematics, ecology, and biogeography. The University of Kansas Natural History Museum, Special Publication, 23, 1–236.

Silva, M.L. (2005) Los anuros del Parque Nacional Natural Munchique (Sector La Romelia), una aproximación a las relaciones y estructuras de sus comunidades. Universidad del Valle, Cali, Unpublished undergraduate thesis, 78 pp.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Eleutherodactylus jubatus sp. nov., MHNUC 196, male, 24.1 mm. SVL.

FIGURE 3. Palmar view of hand (ICN 52482) of Eleutherodactylus jubatus. Scale equal 2 mm.