Adelophryne mucronatus Lourenço-De-Moraes, Solé & Toledo, 2012, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Lourenço-De-Moraes, Ricardo
name: Solé, Mirco
name: Toledo, Luís Felipe
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2012
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Eleutherodactylidae
Adelophryne
Adelophryne mucronatus

description: Adelophryne mucronatus sp. nov.
Holotype. Adult male (ZUEC 16169) collected on 25 May 2010 in a primary forest at Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Nova Angélica in the municipality of Una, state of Bahia, Brazil (15º15`03.2``S, 39º04`51.0``W, 79 m asl) by RLM (Fig. 1 A).
Paratypes. Four adult males (MZUESC 9091–92; ZUEC 12139; 16626) collected at the type locality, eight adult females (MZUESC 9093–96; ZUEC 12159; 14253; 16625; 18810) collected at the type locality, an adult female collected in RPPN Boa União in the municipality of Ilhéus (15º04`29.6``S, 39º03`09.0``W, 95 m asl) (ZUEC 12127), and an adult female collected in RPPN Capitão in the municipality of Itacaré, state of Bahia (14º19`40.7``S, 039º04`41.2``W, 126 m asl) (ZUEC 16950). All individuals were collected by RLM.
Diagnosis. The generic assignment of Adelophryne mucronatus sp. nov. is based on the possession of a head narrower than body, small size, cranial crests absent, vomerine teeth present, finger IV with single subdigital pad and apically pointed, toes III and IV with discs and pointed tip, and terminal phalanges T-shaped.
The new taxon is diagnosed by the following combination of character states: (1) male snout-vent length smaller than 13 mm; (2) tympanus distinct with membrane visible; (3) complete tympanic annulus (4) dentigerous processes of vomers small (5–13); (5) fingers without terminal discs, tip of fingers apically pointed, terminal phalanges T-shaped; (6) toes with terminal discs apically pointed or circumferential grooves; (7) terminal phalanges Tshaped; (8) finger I shorter than finger II; (9) finger IV with three phalanges; (10) toe III longer than toe V; (11) subarticular tubercles absent (subdigital pads); (12) belly smooth; (13) dorsum smooth with small round granules; (14) anal flap present (15) advertisement call short, single-noted.
Comparison with other species. Adelophryne mucronatus is distinguished from all other congeners by having an anal flap (except A. maranguapensis). From A. maranguapensis, A. gutturosa, A. baturitensis and A. patamona it is distinguished by smaller size (17.4 mm in A. maranguapensis, 16 mm in A. gutturosa, 16.3 mm in A. baturitensis, 23 mm in A. patamona, and 14.9 mm in A. mucronatus). It is distinguished from A. maranguapensis, A. baturitensis and A. gutturosa by lacking discs or circumferential grooves of fingers. It is distinguished from A.
baturitensis by absence of subarticular tubercles (sudigital pads in A. mucronatus) and distinguished from all other congeners by subdigital pads formula (2–3–4– 2 in A. pachydactyla, 1–1–2– 2 in A. maranguapensis and 1–1–2– 1 in A. patamona, A. adiastola and A. gutturosa; 1–2–3– 1 in A. mucronatus). It is distinguished from A. adiastola and A. pachydactyla by having three phalanges in finger IV (two in A. pachydactyla and A. adiastola). It is distinguished from A. pachydactyla, A. patamona, A. baturitensis, and A. maranguapensis by skin texture of dorsum (smooth skin in A. baturitensis and A. pachydactyla, tuberculate in A. patamona, and pustulous in A. maranguapensis; smooth with scattered small granules in A. mucronatus). It is distinguished from A. pachydactyla by having a complete tympanic annulus (incomplete in A. pachydactyla).
The advertisement call of A. mucronatus is distinguished from all other known calls of Adelophryne by having the highest dominant frequency (5.24–5.37 kHz in A. mucronatus; 3.89–4.97 kHz in A. gutturosa; 3.20–3.70 kHz A. adiastola and 3.25–3.26 kHz in A. patamona) and call structure (single in A. mucronatus; pulsed in A. gutturosa and A. adiastola; harmonic in A. patamona) for more details about the call of A. adiastola see Heyer (1977) —under the name Phyzelaphryne miriamae according to Hoogmoed & Lescure (1984) —and MacCulloch et al. (2008) for A. gutturosa and A. patamona.
Description of the holotype. Adult male, SVL 12.0 mm (Fig. 2). Snout rounded in dorsal and ventral view; slightly rounded in lateral views. ETSD larger than the ED. END smaller than the IND. Nostrils not protruding, in triangle, with its greatest length vertically open. IND equal to IOD. Canthus rostralis indistinct, concave; loreal region concave. Choanae small, round, located laterally. Dentigerous processes of vomers small, oblique and widely separated, posterior to choanae. Tongue ovoid, free except its anterior margin. Vocal sac single, subgular. Pupil horizontally oval. Upper eyelid slightly convex. Temporal region vertical, tympanum small but with distinct margins. Complete tympanic annulus. ETD slightly shorter than TD. Skin texture of venter smooth, dorsum and limbs smooth with scattered small round granules; flanks and ventral region of thighs areolate. Anal flap small, positioned at a level below the dorsal surface of the thigh. Fingers without disks, with pointed tips; fingers thin, depressed and short, without webbing. Finger formula: I=IV<II<III. Phalangeal formula 2–2–3–3 (Fig. 3 A). Fingers and palm appear to be surrounded by a narrow strip of transparent skin. Subarticular tubercles absent with subdigital pads (1–2–3–1); no pads under ultimate phalanges. Inner metacarpal tubercle ovoid, outer metacarpal tubercle round, slightly larger than inner. Toes without webbing, cylindrical, slightly flattened. Toes formula: V<I<II<III<IV; tips of toes II with circumferential groove and pointed tips, III and IV with discs and pointed tips; toes I and V without discs or circumferential groove, with pointed tips. Phalangeal formula 2–2–3–4–3 (Fig. 3 B). Skin transparent only on the distal portion of toes. Subarticular tubercles absent with round subdigital pads (1–1–2–2–2); no pads under ultimate phalanges and no supernumerary pads. Inner metatarsal tubercle oval; outer metatarsal tubercle smaller and rounded. For measurements see Table 1.
(1.7–2.1) (2.0–2.7)
Color in life. Dorsum reddish brown with several dark brown spots including a dark interorbital “V” shaped spot. Dark brown loreal region, with a dark brown stripe extending along the flanks and reaching the groin. Numerous tiny white dots on dorsum, flanks, and dorsal surfaces of limbs. Venter dark, with numerous small white dots, the throat and underside of thighs and shanks black. Iris reddish brown with black reticulations. Anal flap slightly paler than dorsum. The color pattern does not change in preservative, shades of colors become darker than in life.
Variation. The specimens vary greatly in dorsal coloration (not sexually dimorphic), from reddish brown with or without dark brown spots to homogeneous bluish gray. Some individuals have irregular dark patches on the back, interorbital straight lines or lines that resemble an " Y " in the mid-dorsal region. Eyes vary from reddish brown to yellowish brown. Females are larger than males (mean SVL in females 14.0± 4.4 mm, males 12.0± 0.4 mm); both sexes exhibit considerable variation in THL (mean females 7.9–8.9 mm, males 7.0– 8.7 mm) and HL (mean females 5.7–7.3 mm, males 5.1–6.1 mm); males vary in HW more than females (mean females 6.3–6.8 mm, males 5.5–6.5 mm); females vary more than males in IOD (mean females 1.7–2.7 mm, males 2.1–2.4 mm) and IND (mean females 0.9–2.1 mm, males 2.1–2.3 mm). The anal flap is smaller in males, more visible in females, with a white stripe in dorsal view (Fig. 4 A–B). Vomerine teeth may not occur on both sides. For morphometric variation see Table 1.
Natural history Notes. Adelophryne mucronatus lives under dense leaf litter in primary and disturbed forests, but in lower abundance in the latter and exclusively in shaded areas. Males called between 16:00 h and midnight from the ground beneath fallen wet leaves in the litter or beneath leaves of terrestrial bromeliads. Calling males were observed between February and September, but the greatest number of calling males was observed between June and September. Calling males were difficult to locate, while females were more easily visible while moving on top of leaf litter. Dissected females had 2 or 3 large eggs in their ovaries. No amplexus or egg clutches were observed.
When adults were approached, they exhibited a mouth-gaping behavior, similar to that described for several other anuran species (see Toledo et al. 2011). The individuals opened and closed the mouth repeatedly when the frog was approached with the finger, and each time the frog remained with the mouth open for about 15 s. This behavior was observed in three specimens, and is here considered a defensive display.
We observed an adult female feeding on ants in the leaf litter, using the tongue to capture them; MacCulloch et al. (2008) recorded ants in the stomachs of A. gutturosa.
Geographic distribution. Adelophryne mucronatus is known to occur in forested areas of the municipalities of Itacaré, Ilhéus and Una, Bahia state, Brazil (Fig. 4).
Etymology. The name mucronatus, from Latin, means “pointed” in allusion to the tips of the fingers with pointed (or mucronate) tips (Fig. 2 C).
Advertisement call. The advertisement call of Adelophryne mucronatus was analyzed based on the recordings of six calls of one male. The call is composed of one single note and has a mean duration of 29.5±4 ms (22–34 ms). The mean maximum frequency is 6.16±0.07 kHz (6.09–6.27 kHz) and the mean minimum frequency is 3.46±0.14kHz (3.23–3.67 kHz) (Fig. 5). The mean dominant frequency, corresponding to the minimum frequency, is 5.29±0.05 kHz (5.24–5.37). Calls are emitted at mean intervals of 9.29± 1.22 s (7.2– 10.5 s), and some calls were emitted sporadically (n=5). The apparent harmonics in the sonogram (Fig. 5) are interpreted as an artifact, sidebands generated by the pulsatile nature of the call (see Vielliard 1993).
description: Published as part of Lourenço-De-Moraes, Ricardo, Solé, Mirco & Toledo, Luís Felipe, 2012, A new species of Adelophryne Hoogmoed and Lescure 1984 (Amphibia: Anura: Eleutherodactylidae) from the Atlantic rainforest of southern Bahia, Brazil, pp. 59-68 in Zootaxa 3441 on pages 61-66, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.282148