Phrynopus anancites Rodriguez & Catenazzi, 2017, new species
Creators: name: Rodriguez, Lily O.
name: Catenazzi, Alessandro
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Strabomantidae
Phrynopus
Phrynopus anancites

description: Phrynopus anancites new species
(Figures 4, 5, 6 A)
Holotype. MUSM 33168, an adult male (Figures 4, 5, 6 A) collected at Ventanas (8°01´53.54”S, 77°24´28.06” W, 3820 m), Distrito Parcoy, Provincia Pataz, Departamento (Región) La Libertad, Peru on 29 June 1999 by A. Catenazzi and L. O. Rodriguez (Figure 1).
Diagnosis. A medium size species of Phrynopus characterized by (1) a coarsely aerolate thick dorsal and ventral skin; thoracic fold present, discoidal fold absent; (2) tympanic membrane and tympanic annulus absent, well defined supratympanic fold; (3) snout short, rounded in dorsal view, slightly blunt in profile; (4) upper eyelid without tubercles; width of upper eyelid narrower than IOD, cranial crests absent; (5) dentigerous processes of vomers minute; (6) male lacking nuptial pads, vocal sac and slits; (7) Finger I as long as Finger II; thenar tubercle ovoid, 1.5 times larger than outer palmar tubercle which is hart-shaped, tip of digits rounded, bulbous, (8) fingers without lateral fringes, (9) ulnar tubercle absent, minute tarsal tubercle; (10) heels lacking tubercles, inner tarsal fold absent; (11) inner metatarsal tubercle ovoid; outer metatarsal tubercle slightly smaller, round, protruding; (12) no fringes or webbing between toes, Toe V slightly longer than III; (13) in life, dorsum bluish-olive-green, venter gray, iris yellow with inner orange ring; in preservative, uniform dark brown, lighter brown on upper ventral surfaces; (14) SVL 25.3 mm in single male.
No other species of Phrynopus has the combination of lack of tympanun, distinctive supratympanic fold, short snout, small vomerine teeth, and coarsely areolated skin with uniform dorsal and ventral coloration. Of the species lacking a visible tympanum and bearing dentigerous processes of vomers (character condition for P. anancites in parentheses), P. bracki, P. dagmarae, P. insterstinctus, P. nicoleae, and P. vestigiatus have bright spots or coloration in the groin (absent). Furthermore, P. dagmarae, P. insterstinctus, and P. nicoleae have either smooth or shagreened dorsal skin (coarsely areolate); P. bracki is smaller with male SVL 13.2–16.2 mm, has a smooth venter (coarsely areolate), ridges forming an “M” on the scapular region (no scapular ridges) and bears lateral fringes on fingers (absent); P. dagmarae bears dorsolateral folds, lateral fringes on all digits, and the first finger is much shorter than the second one; P. insterstinctus is a smaller frog with longer limbs than P. anancites, and a smooth venter with a distinctive spotted pattern (uniformly gray); P. vestigiatus has lateral fringes on digits, bears ridges and dorsolateral folds (absent). Among species of Phrynopus bearing dentigerous processes of vomers and sharing a supratympanic fold, P. kauneorum has a shorter head (HL/SVL= 28–33 % in kauneorum, 37% in anancites), with smooth dorsal and ventral skin (coarsely areolate) and dark blotches over a pale brown dorsum and a lighter ventral color with some spots (uniform gray in dorsum and venter); P. kotosh has widely separated dentigerous processes of vomers bearing two teeth (minute), dorsal skin shagreened with scattered tubercles, aerolate skin on venter (coarsely aerolate dorsally and ventrally); and P. lechriorhynchus, has a distinctly spatulate snout (rounded and short). Phrynopus capitalis has also a thick supratympanic fold, but lacks small vomerine teeth, bears fringes on digits and basal webbing (absent), and its dorsal coloration forms a pattern (absent). Phrynopus bufoides shares most characters with P. anancites, including the texture of the dorsal skin, but differs by bearing large elongated warts on dorsum and flanks over a darker ground color (rounded and continuous), by having first finger longer than second (shorter, or equal in size), and by lacking the dentigerous processes of vomers (present). Phrynopus daemon also lacks a tympanum and has uniform dorsum coloration, but lacks vomerine teeth, bears a prominent thoracic fold, has a shorter and less pronounced supratympanic fold, subacuminate snout in lateral view (blunt), and lateral fringes in toes (absent). Phrynopus thompsoni lacks a tympanum and has first and second fingers equal in length, but it bears lateral fringes on toes (absent), has pustular dorsal skin (coarsely areolate), and lacks the dentigerous processes of vomers (present). Phrynopus chaparroi shares most characters with P. anancites, but differs by having the skin of the tympanic area covered by elongate, round subconical tubercles instead of a supratympanic fold (fold present), by having a rounded snout in profile (blunt), by lacking the dentigerous processes of vomers (present), and by bearing a brownish-black dorsal coloration scattered with white to yellow spots (uniform olive), and a brown reticulated iris (yellow ring and bronze in P. anancites). Phrynopus auriculatus and P. peruanus have a visible tympanic annulus (absent), whereas P. montium has a dark dorsum and areolate dorsal and ventral skin, but differs by lacking dentigerous processes of vomers, by having a visible tympanic annulus and vocal slits and nuptial pads on swollen Finger I (absent). Most species of the Pristimantis orestes group superficially resemble Phrynopus anancites; those are Pristimantis atrabracus, P. chimu, P. cordovae, P mariaelenae, P. melanogaster, P. pataikos, P. pinguis, P. seorsus, P. simonsii, P. stictoboubonus, P. stipa; all of which, except P. simonsii and P. attenboroughi, can easily be distinguished from Phrynopus anancites by having a visible tympanum (P. atrabracus, P. chimu, P. cordovae, P. mariaelenae, P. pinguis), or the tympanic annulus weakly defined and only visible beneath the skin (P. melanogaster, P. pataikos, P. stictoboubonus, P. seorsus, P. stipa). Pristimantis simonsii lacks the dentigerous processes of vomers (present), and bears lateral fringes and basal webbing on digits (absent), while P. attenbouroughi shares with anancites the lack of tympanic membrane and annulus, and lateral fringes on all digits, and the presence of dentigerous processes of vomers, but differs by bearing dorsal skin shagreened with low scattered tubercles (coarsely areolate with large rounded warts), by having a dark canthal and supratympanic stripe (well defined supratympanic fold, no color stripe), and by being smaller in size, males SVL 14.6–19.2 mm (Lehr and von May, 2017).
Description of the holotype. Head narrower than body, wider than long; HW 107% of HL, HW 41% of SVL; HL 37% of SVL; snout short, rounded in dorsal view and slightly blunt in lateral view, E-N distance around half the size of eye; nostrils slightly protruding laterally, canthus rostralis rounded; loreal region bearing a few large postrictal tubercles under the supratympanic fold; no tubercles on upper eyelid; choanae small, round, well separated and anterolaterally situated; dentigerous processes of vomers minute, posterior to choanae, slightly oblique, broadly separated; cranial crests absent; upper eyelid smaller than interorbital distance, EW 88% of IOD; tympanic membrane and tympanic annulus absent; supratympanic fold thick, extending from edge of eye to the end of postrictal area; tongue oval, not notched posteriorly, posterior two-third free. Vocal sac and vocal slits absent.
Skin on dorsum coarsely areolate, with large rounded warts, without lateral folds; outside of arms bearing low rounded tubercles; discoidal fold absent, a thin thoracic fold present; skin on venter and throat coarsely areolated bearing distinctive rounded warts, extending onto the lower parts of arms and legs, and the femoral and perianal areas. Outer surface of arms lacking tubercles; first finger and second fingers equal in length; thenar tubercle ovoid, 1.5 times larger than palmar tubercle which is hart-shaped; fingers lacking lateral fringes, tip of digits rounded, bulbous (Figure 6 A); TL 34% of SVL; tarsus bearing a small tubercle, no tarsal fold; two metatarsal tubercles, inner slightly elongated, outer slightly smaller, rounded, protruding; toes without lateral fringes, lacking basal webbing; toe tips bulbous, as large as those on fingers; Toe V slightly longer than III (Figure 6 A).
Measurements (in mm). SVL 25.3, HL 9.4, HW 10.1, TL 8.5, THL 9.7, FL 9.9, IOD 2.8, EW 2.5, E-N 2.7, IND 3.1, ED 3.2.
Color in life. The dorsal and lateral surfaces are olive-green (Figure 5), whereas the ventral parts are pale gray with darker flecks. The iris is uniformly bronze with a yellow ring.
Color in preservative. In alcohol (Figure 4), the dorsal surfaces are uniformly dark grayish-brown; chest and throat areas are light brown, the remaining areas are as dorsal surfaces.
Etymology. The specific name anancites is a Latin noun for a type of diamond used to drive sadness away, given in reference to the frog’s rare dorsal coloration in life.
Distribution and ecology. The species is known from a single specimen that was found near the Park rangers’ station and entrance to Rio Abiseo NP at Ventanas, in wet montane grassland covered with mosses at 3820 m of altitude. Nothing is known about its natural history.
description: Published as part of Rodriguez, Lily O. & Catenazzi, Alessandro, 2017, Four new species of terrestrial-breeding frogs of the genus Phrynopus (Anura: Terrarana: Craugastoridae) from Río Abiseo National Park, Peru, pp. 381-406 in Zootaxa 4273 (3) on pages 386-389, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4273.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/803109