Phyllonastes macuma Ortega, Cisneros-Heredia, Camper, Romero-Carvajal, Negrete & Ron, 2025, sp.nov.
Creators: name: Ortega, Jhael A.
name: Cisneros-Heredia, Diego F.
name: Camper, Jeffrey D.
name: Romero-Carvajal, Andrés
name: Negrete, Leonardo
name: Ron, Santiago R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Craugastoridae
Phyllonastes
Phyllonastes macuma

description: Phyllonastes macuma sp.nov.
LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: B8D4C8B8-DED1-4475-8400- 482B0FBCB719
Holotype (Figs 14C, 15C, 18, 19): QCAZ 40180 (field no. SC-PUCE 24877) adult male from Ecuador, Morona Santiago Province, Canton Macas, Macuma Parish, Cordillera del Kutuku, Wisiu (2.0901°S, 77.7661°W), 1361 m a.s.l. Collected by Octavio Jiménez Robles on 30 December 2008.
Paratypes (N = 2; Fig. 18): All from Ecuador, Morona Santiago Province, Canton Macas, Macuma Parish, Cordillera del Kutuku, Wisiu: QCAZ 40181 subadult female (2.1066°S, 77.7627°W) 955 m a.s.l., collected by Octavio Jiménez Robles on 18 December 2008; QCAZ 46352 adult female (2.1111°S, 77.7391°W) 650 m a.s.l., collected by Ignacio de la Riva and Octavio Jiménez on 7 December 2009.
Proposed standard English name: Macuma leaflitter frog.
Proposed standard Spanish name: Cutín de Hojarasca de Macuma.
Definition (Figs 14C, 15C, 18, 19; Tables 2 and 3): We assign the new species to the genus Phyllonastes based on its phylogenetic relationships. The new species is characterized by: (1) skin on dorsum smooth to finely shagreen, dorsolateral folds absent, ventral surfaces smooth to weakly areolate, discoidal fold present, skin on flanks finely shagreen; (2) tympanic membrane and tympanic annulus present, supratympanic fold absent, postrictal tubercle ill defined; (3) snout broadly rounded in dorsal view and rounded in lateral view; (4) upper eyelid without tubercles, cranial crests absent; (5) vomerine teeth absent; (6) vocal slits present, nuptial pads absent; (7) fingers not expanded distally, finger tips acuminate, without papillae, finger I shorter than finger II, supernumerary tubercles present; (8) fingers bearing narrow lateral fringes, ill-defined pads lacking circumferential grooves; (9) distal phalanges blunt to T-shaped, phalangeal formula of hand 2-2-3-3; (10) ulnar tubercles absent; (11) knees and heels without tubercles, outer edge of tarsus without tubercles, inner edge of tarsus bearing one rounded tubercle; (12) inner metatarsal tubercle elongate in ventral view and rounded in lateral view, bigger than rounded outer metatarsal tubercle; (13) toes expanded distally, with acuminate toe tips and bearing papillae, supernumerary tubercles ill defined, narrow lateral fringes on toes, toe basal webbing present between toes I and II, all toes bearing well-defined circumferential grooves, toe V shorter than toe III; (14) in preserved specimens, dorsum cream bearing dark brown flecks, back with two ill-defined chevrons of anterior vertex, dark brown blotches at the level of the sacrum, facial mask dark brown extending from the tip of snout up to halfway down the flanks, cream ventral surfaces; (15) SVL in adult males 11.92 mm (N = 1) and in adult females 14.49 mm (N = 1) (Table 4).
Diagnosis: Phyllonastes macuma resembles its closest species, P. lochites, P. myrmecoides, and P. sardinayacu, by having a tympanic annulus, tympanic membrane, fingers not expanded, and acuminate toe tips. It differs from all of them by having broadly rounded snout in dorsal view (rounded in P. lochites, truncate in P. myrmecoides) and rounded inner tarsal tubercle (conical in P. lochites and P. myrmecoides, and subconical in P. sardinayacu). It also differs from P. sardinayacu by having papillae on toe tips (absent in P.sardinayacu). It differs from P.lochites and P.myrmecoides by having three phalanges in finger IV (only two phalanges on finger IV in P. lochites and P. myrmecoides), vocal slits (absent in P. lochites and P. myrmecoides), supernumerary plantar tubercles (absent in P. myrmecoides), and by the absence of papillae on fingertips (present in P. myrmecoides). For a comparison with other Phyllonastes species that are more phylogenetically distant, see Tables 2 and 3.
Description of the holotype (Figs 18, 19): Adult male (QCAZ 40180). Measurements (in millimetres): SVL, 11.92; tibia length, 6.09; foot length, 5.08; head length, 3.64; head width, 4.20; eye diameter, 1.43; tympanum diameter, 0.73; interorbital distance, 1.67; upper eyelid width, 1.04; internarial distance, 1.59; eye–nostril distance, 0.89.
Head wider than long, head wider than body; canthus rostralis slightly convex in lateral view; loreal region straight in dorsal view; cranial crests absent; upper eyelid bearing no tubercles. Tympanic annulus visible; tympanic membrane present; supratympanic fold absent; postrictal tubercle ill defined on right side (probably lost on left side as a preservation effect). Snout broadly rounded in dorsal view and rounded in lateral view, without rostral papilla. Vomerine teeth absent, vocal slits present, and nuptial pads absent.
Skin on dorsum smooth and finely shagreen on flanks; dorsolateral folds absent; throat areolate, belly and ventral surface of limbs smooth; skin on cloacal region areolate; discoidal fold not differentiated, probably as a preservation artefact. Ulnar tubercles absent, palmar tubercles prominent, outer palmar tubercle almost twice the size of the thenar tubercle, drop-shaped, with the tip pointing towards the palm and the base towards the wrist; thenar tubercle rounded; subarticular tubercles round in ventral and lateral views, visible only at the base of fingers; supernumerary tubercles present, narrow lateral dermal fringes on fingers, discs not expanded, bearing round and inconspicuous pads (conspicuous only on fingers III), circumferential groove not visible; acuminate fingertips, especially on the third finger, without papilla; relative length of fingers is I <IV <II <III; phalangeal formula of hand is 2-2-3-3.
Hindlimbs not robust; heel and knee without tubercles; tarsal folds (inner and outer) absent, outer tarsal tubercles absent; inner tarsal tubercle present, small, prominent, and round; inner metatarsal tubercle prominent, elongated in ventral view and rounded in lateral view; outer metatarsal tubercle well defined and round, more prominent than the inner one; plantar surface bearing rounded, small, and ill-defined supernumerary tubercles; round subarticular tubercles well defined and rounded; toes with narrow lateral dermal fringes; basal webbing only between toes I and II; discs on toes well defined, expanded with acuminate tip, papilla on tip visible on toes III–V; well-defined circumferential grooves; relative lengths of toes I <II <V <III <IV; toe III longer than toe V (toe III reaches the distal border of the second subarticular tubercle of toe IV; toe V almost reaches the proximal border of the second tubercle of toe IV).
Colour of holotype in life: Unknown.
Colour of holotype in preservative (Fig. 18): Dorsum cream, darkening anteriorly, and bearing dark brown flecks. Back with two chevrons of anterior vertex, poorly defined and dark brown. Dark brown irregular blotches at the level of the sacrum. Dorsal surfaces of limbs cream coloured, with some dark brown spots. The spots are condensed on the elbows and knees. Dark, poorly defined transverse bars on the dorsal surfaces of the limbs. Facial mask dark brown, extending from the tip of snout up to halfway down the flanks. Cream-coloured flanks with brown flecks. Cream ventral surfaces with small dark brown dots that condense towards the throat, making it appear uniformly dark brown. Ventral surfaces of the extremities cream coloured. Thighs and legs with small dark brown dots condensed towards the knees. Dark brown knees and heels. Cloacal region dark brown, much darker dorsally.
Variation (Fig. 18): In this section, traits refer to preserved individuals. Adult female (QCAZ 46352) is much larger (SVL = 14.49 mm). This specimen differs from the holotype by having a tympanic annulus much more defined, in addition to the postrictal tubercles, dorsum finely shagreen, ventral surfaces weakly areolate, discoidal fold present and well defined, hindlimbs robust, basal webbing absent, paler throat, better-defined transverse bars on the extremities. Dorsal coloration in the subadult female (QCAZ 40181) is generally darker. Morphometric variation is detailed in Table 4.
Distribution, natural history, and conservation status (Fig. 3): Phyllonastes macuma is known only from the surroundings of Macuma, Wisiu from 650 to 1361 m a.s.l., at the base of Cordillera de Kutuku. It was collected in Eastern Foothill Forest and Eastern Montane Forest. Owing to the lack of ecological and demographic information and uncertainty on its geographical range size, we assign P. macuma to the Data Deficient IUCN Red List Category (based on IUCN Standards and Petitions Committee 2023).
Etymology: The specific name macuma is a toponym used in apposition, and it refers to the locality where the species is found. The word ‘macuma’ belongs to the Shuar native American language and refers to a Shuar woman.
description: Published as part of Ortega, Jhael A., Cisneros-Heredia, Diego F., Camper, Jeffrey D., Romero-Carvajal, Andrés, Negrete, Leonardo & Ron, Santiago R., 2025, Systematics of minute strabomantid frogs allocated to the genus Noblella (Amphibia: Anura) with description of a new genus, seven new species, and insights into historical biogeography, pp. 1-60 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 203 (1) on pages 31-33, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae162, http://zenodo.org/record/14832689