Bolitoglossa robinsoni Bolanos and Wake 2009
Creators: name: Arias, Erick
name: Chaves, Gerardo
name: Kubicki, Brian
name: Parra-Olea, Gabriela
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Caudata
Plethodontidae
Bolitoglossa
Bolitoglossa robinsoni

description: Redefinition of B. robinsoni Bolaños and Wake 2009
This species was described by Bolaños & Wake (2009) based on specimens from Cerro Echandi (holotype [Fig. 3A] and two paratopotypes) and Cerro Burú (one paratype); both sites form the Echandi massif, at 2300–3167 m a.s.l. This species was assigned to the B. subpalmata S.G. based on morphology. Bolaños & Wake (2009) included referred material from four localities in the Talamanca Mountain range, Cerro Fábregas, Cerro Bine, Cerro Itamut, and Valle del Silencio; the first three form the Fábregas massif. Bolaños & Wake (2009) noted that this referred material might represent separated undescribed species. Our study includes specimens morphologically similar to B. robinsoni from the type locality Cerro Echandi, Fábregas, and from Valle del Silencio.
In our phylogenetic analyses, the large and robust salamanders found at Cerro Echandi (UCR22719 and UCR22721) and Fábregas (UCR23698–9) (Fig. 3C) cluster with samples of B. bramei [sensu stricto], including sequences of the holotype of B. bramei. One large and robust specimen (UCR20489; Fig. 3B) from Valle del Silencio falls closely related to B. pygmaea within the B. diminuta S.G. (proposed and defined here) as the sister clade of two species of miniaturized salamanders. This specimen (UCR20489) from Valle del Silencio is morphologically distinct from B. robinsoni [sensu stricto] (including only the holotype and the paratype UCR11217). In our phylogenetic analyses, we found no clade without a prior applicable name that agreed morphologically with B. robinsoni. In addition, the paratypes of B. robinsoni UCR 11218 and UCR10921 are morphologically (DNA data not available) different from the holotype; the first corresponds to B. pygmaea and the last is morphologically similar to the sequenced specimen from Valle del Silencio (UCR20489).
Within the referred material of B. robinsoni by Bolaños and Wake (2009), we suggest based on morphology (DNA data not available) that: 1) two specimens (UCR11781–2) from Cerro Fábregas correspond to B. pygmaea, 2) the specimens from Cerro Itamut (UCR11783–6) correspond to a different species, possibly B. marmorea or an unnamed species, and 3) several specimens from Cerro Fábregas and Valle del Silencio (UCR11775–80), originally referred to as B. robinsoni by Bolaños & Wake (2009), might correspond to B. bramei as defined below. Nevertheless, these specimens are poorly preserved, and there is some variation in their hands and feet compared to the sequenced specimens of B. bramei. Bolitoglossa bramei has more webbing on the hands and feet compared to those specimens referred to as B. robinsoni.
We conclude that most specimens referred to as B. robinsoni in Bolaños & Wake (2009) correspond to B. bramei, B. pygmaea, or an unnamed species. However, more evidence is necessary to establish the holotype’s taxonomic status and for the paratype UCR11217. It is especially required to obtain more DNA sequences for specimens from Cerro Echandi, Valle del Silencio, and Cerro Fábregas, including specimens representing the variation observed in the holotype and the referred material. Therefore, we suggest delimiting B. robinsoni to the description shown by Bolaños & Wake (2009) based on the holotype UCR11216 and the paratype UCR11217. We avoid assigning B. robinsoni to any species group due to the lack of molecular data.
description: Published as part of Arias, Erick, Chaves, Gerardo, Kubicki, Brian & Parra-Olea, Gabriela, 2024, Taxonomic assessment of the Bolitoglossa (Eladinea) subgenus (Caudata: Plethodontidae) with the description of two new species from the Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica, pp. 211-233 in Zootaxa 5537 (2) on page 217, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5537.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/14239475