RESUMO
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. Pristimantisgretathunbergae 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.
RESUMO
A new species of the genus Atelopus, Atelopus fronterizo sp. nov., from eastern Panama is described herein based on molecular, morphological, and bioacoustic evidence. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners occurring in the region by a combination of the following characters: (1) phalangeal reduction in thumb; (2) SVL (females only) (35.1-50.1; n=13), HW/SVL (0.23-0.34; n=59), EYND/HW (0.27-0.39; n=60), TIBL/SVL (0.41-0.56; n=58), and HAL/SVL (0.22-0.28; n=49); (3) dorsal color pattern with green or yellow background and extensive dark olive blotches forming transversal bands or mottling; (4) advertisement call duration 176-235 ms with 19-34 pulses, average pulse rate 131.69 pulses/s, and dominant frequency 2 422.50-2 606.50 Hz. The new species is nested within the Central American clade of Atelopus. The minimum Kimura-2-parameter (K2P) genetic divergence between Atelopus fronterizo sp. nov. and its most phylogenetically similar congeners ( A. certus and A. glyphus) is >2.6% for 16S and >4.9% for COI (Table 1). The phylogenetic relationship is strongly supported by ultrafast bootstrap values for the maximum-likelihood trees of both genetic markers (16S, 96; COI, 100, Figure 1A). Bayesian analysis of the concatenated sequences resulted in a tree with similar topology and high posterior probability support (0.99; Supplementary Figure S1). In addition, haplotype networks inferred from COI and 16S (Supplementary Figure S2) showed a well-separated clade containing the new species (two for COI, four for 16S). The number of mutational steps between haplotypes for the new species samples is very low (1-4 in 16S; one in COI), and the minimum number of mutational steps from the nearest species is nine for 16S (distance to A. certus) and 28 for COI (distance to A. glyphus).
Assuntos
Bufonidae/classificação , Bufonidae/genética , Distribuição Animal , Animais , Panamá , Filogenia , Especificidade da EspécieRESUMO
Giant anoles of the genus Dactyloa have been considered to be represented in eastern Panama by six species. In this contribution, we describe a seventh species that is restricted to the Majé, San Blas, Darién, and Piedras-Pacora mountain ranges. The new species resembles D. ibanezi, D. limon, and D. purpurescens in external morphology but differs from these species in dewlap coloration, dorsal color pattern, morphometrics, and scalation. The recognition of the new species is further supported by DNA barcoding (genetic distances >2.7% in 16S and >7.8% in COI between the new species and all other species of Dactyloa). We discuss the taxonomic identity of D. purpurescens, and, based on morphological evidence, we place D. chocorum in the synonymy of the former species. An identification key for all 11 Dactyloa species occurring in Panama is provided.
Assuntos
Lagartos/classificação , Distribuição Animal , Estruturas Animais/anatomia & histologia , Estruturas Animais/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Animais , Tamanho Corporal , Ecossistema , Feminino , Lagartos/anatomia & histologia , Lagartos/genética , Lagartos/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Masculino , Dados de Sequência Molecular , Tamanho do Órgão , Panamá , FilogeniaRESUMO
Based on morphological and molecular data, we describe three new species of the genus Lepidoblepharis with granular dorsals from Panama (Lepidoblepharis emberawoundule sp. nov., Lepidoblepharis rufigularis sp. nov., and Lepidoblepharis victormartinezi sp. nov.). The results of our molecular analyses confirm the existence of five deeply differentiated genealogical lineages among Panamanian Lepidoblepharis. We present detailed descriptions of their morphology, including some new valuable scalation characters (ventral and subfemoral escutcheon) and hemipenes, as well as comparisons with the other two species of the genus known to occur in Panama (L. sanctaemartae and L. xanthostigma) and their South American congeners. Last, we provide an updated identification key for the genus Lepidoblepharis in Central America.
Assuntos
Lagartos/classificação , Distribuição Animal , Estruturas Animais/anatomia & histologia , Estruturas Animais/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Animais , Tamanho Corporal , América Central , Ecossistema , Feminino , Lagartos/anatomia & histologia , Lagartos/genética , Lagartos/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Masculino , Tamanho do Órgão , FilogeniaRESUMO
Forest canopy-dwelling frogs are usually among the rarest anuran species observed in the neotropical forest, mainly because they fall outside of the scope of the standard search methods used by herpetologists. During field explorations undertaken in western and eastern Panama in recent years, we discovered two species belonging to the genus Ecnomiohyla, which showed significant differences in genetic distances (16S mtDNA gene) and morphological characteristics different from any known Ecnomiohyla species. The first specimen originates from the Serranía de Jingurudó, Darién province, southeastern Panamá, and is described herein as E. bailarina sp. nov., and the second specimen was found at Santa Fe National Park, Veraguas province, central-western Panama, and is described as E. veraguensis sp. nov. We provide a detailed description of both new species, including comparisons of morphological and molecular characters of almost all members of the genus in lower Central America, as well as an identification key for the entire genus.