Pleurodema cordobae Valetti, Salas & Martino, 2009, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Valetti, Julián A.
name: Salas, Nancy E.
name: Martino, Adolfo L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Leiuperidae
Pleurodema
Pleurodema cordobae

description: Pleurodema cordobae sp. nov.
Fig. 10
Material. Holotype. FML 20490, adult male (Fig. 11) from Estancia Los Tabaquillos (32º23'58.4'' S, 64º55'35.1'' W, approximately 2105 m elevation), Sierra de Comechingones, Córdoba province, Argentina (Fig. 1), collected during the night of 0 5 February 2006 by Adolfo L. Martino and Julián A. Valetti.
Paratypes (9 specimens). FML 20492, adult female and FML 20484–20489, 20491, eight adult males, all collected with the holotype.
Diagnosis. A small species of Pleurodema (35.41 mm SVL) with lumbar glands and chromosomic complement octoploid. The new species is distinguished from other species of the genus Pleurodema by the following combination of characters: (1) relatively small size; (2) snout short, canthus rostralis rounded in dorsal view and truncate in lateral view; (3) lumbar glands present, 1 ½ eye diameter; (4) round tympanic annulus, almost concealed; (5) tympanum length half of the eye diameter; (6) vomerine teeth absent, (7) comissural gland prominent; (8) brilliant red-orange spots on the groin and around lumbar glands; (9) ploid level 2n= 8x =88; (10) axillary amplexus; (11) egg deposition in gelatinous nest attached to vegetation; (12) compound advertisement call with tri-pulsed pulse groups, average dominant frequency 1787 Hz.
According to external morphology, Pleurodema kriegi, Pleurodema bibroni and Pleurodema cordobae sp. nov. are cryptic and the properties of their advertisement calls are very similar. Pleurodema cordobae sp. nov. is the only octoploid species of the genus (P. k r i e g i and P. bibroni are tetraploid and the rest of species are diploid; Brum-Zorrilla & Sáez, 1968; Barrio & Rinaldi de Chieri, 1970; Veloso et al., 1972; Duellman & Veloso, 1977; Schmid et al., 1993; Lourenço et al., 2006). Morphometric comparisons indicate differences between Pleurodema cordobae sp. nov. and P. k r i e g i (Table 1). However, there are no morphometric measures that allow a precise identification between both taxa. The temporal variables of the advertisement call differ from P. k r i e g i (Table 2) and the pulse rate is higher than P. k r i e g i. The erythrocyte size of Pleurodema cordobae sp. nov. is significantly bigger than P. k r i e g i (Table 4) near 100 µm2.
Pleurodema cordobae sp. nov. is distinguished markedly from P. tucumanum, P. nebulosum, P. guayapae, P. marmoratum and P. diplolister by the presence of lumbar glands; from P. bufoninum, P. borellii, P. cinereum and P. thaul by the presence of advertisement call compound by tri-pulsed pulse groups (absent in P. bufoninum, Duellman & Veloso 1977; formed by a single pulse group in P. borellii and P. cinereum, McLister et al. 1991; and formed by pulse groups of 5-6 pulses in P. thaul, Barrio, 1977); from P. brachyops by having lumbar glands bigger than eye diameter (smaller in P. brachyops), yellow lumbar glands with black central ocellus (black lumbar glands with whitish central blotchs in P. brachyops), tympanum size half of the eye diameter (smaller than half eye diameter in P. brachyops).
Sixteen morphometric distances of the type series describe the quantitative morphological features of the new species (Table 5).
Description of the holotype. The holotype (FML 20490, Fig. 11) is an adult male of 35.2 mm (Table 5), body robust; head triangular slightly wider than long; snout short, canthus rostralis rounded in dorsal view and truncated in lateral view. Eyes protuberant; eye diameter equal to interocular distance; interocular distance larger than internarinal interval. Round tympanic annulus almost concealed, approximately half the size of eye diameter. Commissural glands present, oval, approximately the same size of eye diameter. Vomerine teeth absent. Dark vocal sac. Fingers free; relative length of fingers: 3>4>1>2; two not-darkened palmar tubercles (Fig. 11). Femur length less than tibia length; sum of femur length and tibia length longer than foot length.
Toes free with cutaneous edge and rudimentary interdigital basal membrane; two metatarsal tubercles (Fig. 11); relative length of toes: 4>5=3>2>1. Lumbar glands large, oval, one and a half times the size of eye diameter. Vocal sacs single, median and subgular. In life, dorsally brownish with large almost symmetrical dark spots. Dark transverse bands on upper surface of arms and legs. Yellow lumbar glands with a black central ocellus covering 60% of the gland. Brilliant red-orange spots on the groin and around lumbar glands. Dark palms and soles, with whitish palmar tubercles. Dark vocal sac, with the rest of ventral body surface being whitish and mild dotted dark. Iris gold with black reticulations.
TABLE 5. Morphometric features of the type series of Pleurodema cordobae sp. nov. which were collected at Est. Los Tabaquillos, Córdoba. All data are given in [mm]. (1) snout-vent length (SVL); (2) maximal head width; (3) head length; (4) snout-eye distance; (5) internarinal distance; (6) interocular distance; (7) eye-narinal distance; (8) rostronarinal distance; (9) eye diameter; (10) arm length; (11) length of 3rd finger; (12) femur length; (13) tibia length; (14) foot length; (15) length of 3rd toe; (16) length of 4th toe. FML = Fundación Miguel Lillo, Tucumán, Argentina. M= male; F= female.
Distribution. The species is currently known from Terra typica, Estancia Los Tabaquillos (Fig. 1) and two temporary ponds located 5 kilometers away from the former.
Ecology. Pleurodema cordobae sp. nov. males were acoustically active from December to March (Austral summer) from 21.00 hs. to 4.00 hr. (sunset time: 21.00 – 21.30 hr) Pleurodema cordobae breeds in temporary and semipermanent ponds with vegetation at the edges and a depth of 20 to 30 cm (Fig. 12). The males emit their calls floating on the surface of the water near the edge of ponds (Fig. 13). The eggs are deposited in semisubmerged eggs-masses and adhered to the vegetation (Fig. 14). The amplexus is axillary. This species was observed in syntopy with Rhinella achalensis, R. arenarum, Odontophrynus achalensis and Hypsiboas cordobae.
Etymology. The specific name (a noun in the genitive case) refers to the currently known geographical distribution of the new species.
description: Published as part of Valetti, Julián A., Salas, Nancy E. & Martino, Adolfo L., 2009, A new polyploid species of Pleurodema (Anura: Leiuperidae) from Sierra de Comechingones, Córdoba, Argentina and redescription of Pleurodema kriegi (Müller, 1926), pp. 1-21 in Zootaxa 2073 on pages 13-18, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.187133