Cycloramphus organensis Weber, Verdade, Salles, Fouquet & Carvalho-E-Silva, 2011, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Weber, Luiz Norberto
name: Verdade, Vanessa Kruth
name: Salles, Rodrigo De Oliveira Lula
name: Fouquet, Antoine
name: Carvalho-E-Silva, Sergio Potsch De
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Amphibia
Anura
Cycloramphidae
Cycloramphus
Cycloramphus organensis

description: Cycloramphus organensis sp. nov.
(Figs 2–4)
Etymology. The specific name is a Latinized adjective derived from the geographical name Serra dos Órgãos, referring to the type locality of the new species.
Holotype. ZUFRJ 10354, an adult male from Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Municipality of Petrópolis, Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos (22°29’11’’S, 43°04’14’’W; 2050 m a.s.l.), collected by L. N. Weber and R. O. L. Salles on 19 January 2008.
Paratypes: males (ZUFRJ 10350, 10352), and females (ZUFRJ 10348, 10349, 10351, 10353), all collected with the holotype; ZUFRJ 10471–74, males collected at the type locality by L.N. Weber and T. Silva-Soares on 26 April 2008.
Diagnosis. Cycloramphus organensis sp. nov. is characterized by the head longer than wide; eyes large, bearing a menisc on upper margin of the iris; tympanum not visible externally; dorsal body uniformly brick red colored; skin of dorsum areolate, granules of irregular size, uniformly distributed over body, arms, and legs, more spaced on lateral region; no body glands visible externally; first and second fingers about the same size, second slightly shorter than first; finger tips not expanded; fingers lacking fringe or web; supernumerary tubercles absent; toe tips not expanded; toes lacking fringe or web; inner metatarsal tubercle of moderate size, ovoid and slightly projected; outer metatarsal tubercle small and weakly projected; no tarsal or metatarsal folds.
Comparison with other species. C. organensis differ from all Cycloramphus by the head longer than wide (wider than long in Cycloramphus); by the unique skin texture on lateral body, with low profile uniformly distributed not adjacent granules (smooth or granulate with adjacent granules in Cycloramphus); by the absence of a externally visible macrogland on the adult males inguinal region (present in Cycloramphus). It additionally differs from C. asper Werner, C. boraceiensis, C. brasiliensis (Steindachner), C. cedrensis Heyer, C. dubius (Miranda- Ribeiro), C. duseni (Andersson), C. fuliginosus, C. izecksohni Heyer, C. juimirim Haddad and Sazima, C. lutzorum Heyer, C. mirandaribeiroi Heyer, C. ohausi (Wandolleck), C. rhyakonastes Heyer, and C. semipalmatus (Miranda- Ribeiro) by the presence of foot webbing (absent in C. organensis). It additionally differs from C. bandeirensis, C. catarinensis Heyer, C. granulosus Lutz, and C. valae Heyer by the presence of toe fringes (absent in C. organensis). From the species of Cycloramphus with no fringes or web, C. organensis additionally differs from C. diringshofeni Bokermann, C. eleutherodactylus, and C. faustoi Brasileiro, Haddad, Sawaya, and Sazima by the broad head and flattened body (head narrower and body not flattened in C. organensis); from C. acangatan, C. bolitoglossus (Werner), C. carvalhoi Heyer, C. migueli Heyer, and C. stejnegeri (Noble) by the massive adductor of jaw muscles (not conspicuous and prominent in C. organensis), and snout profile (Fig. 3; Verdade and Rodrigues 2003).
Holotype description (Figs. 3 and 4). Body robust; head longer than wide (HW 89% of HEL); snout rounded in dorsal view, obtuse in profile; canthus rostralis indistinct; loreal region slightly concave; nostrils small, not protuberant, directed dorsolaterally; eyes large (ED 25% of HEL), dorsolateral, bearing a menisc on upper margin of the iris; pupil horizontal, iris unicolored, eyelids without tubercles; annulus tympanicus concealed, tympanum not visible externally; supratympanic fold weakly developed, extending from posterior corner of eye to anterior part of insertion of arm; tongue discoidal; no vocal slits; skin of dorsum uniformly areolate, granules of irregular size, uniformly distributed over body, arms, and legs, more spaced on flanks; ventral texture smooth; second and first fingers about the same size, second slightly shorter than first; fingers relative length II <I <IV <III; finger tips not expanded, fingers lacking fringes or web; inner metacarpal tubercle ovoid; outer metacarpal tubercle rounded; thumbs without asperities or pads; palmar texture smooth; supernumerary tubercles absent; toe tips not expanded; toes relative length I <II <V <III <IV; toes without fringes or web; subarticular tubercles weakly developed, not distinct; inner metatarsal tubercle of moderate size, ovoid and slightly projected; outer metatarsal tubercle small and weakly projected; no tarsal or metatarsal folds; surface of sole smooth.
Coloration. In life the dorsum and dorsal surface of limbs are brick red to mahogany red; the interorbital region has a ill defined pale stripe; a ill defined pale stripe is also present from posterior corner of eye straight to the arm junction to the body; the iris is dark to golden brown; the gular region is cream; the ventral body is whitish with brown linear pigmentation; the palmar and plantar surfaces are brown with whitish tubercles; the inguinal region present a discernible brownish area. In preservative, the general color is similar to that of live specimens, but faded. The brownish area from inguinal region is not discernible.
Measurements of the holotype (mm). SVL 25.4; HEL 9.6; HW 8.5; IOD 4.6; END 3.6; THL 10.9; TBL 10.2; ARM 4.5; FL 12.0; HL 5.9; ED 2.4.
Variation in the type series (N=10). The specimens in the type series pretty much agree with the description of the holotype. The variation observed in body measurements is presented in Table 1. In our sample, individuals could be divided in two non-overlapping classes of size. The individuals in the smallest class also presented in life a distinct brownish pigmented area in the inguinal region. Five specimens (ZUFRJ 10348, 10352–53, 10471–72) were dissected to verify association of these characters to sexual dimorphism. The gonads examination indicated that sexual dimorphism is present, males being smaller than females, and presenting a brownish colored inguinal region.
Osteology (ZUFRJ 10353, 10471)(Figs. 5 and 6): frontoparietals slender, contacting medially; parasagital crests present; supraorbital processes of frontoparietal absent, posterolateral processes present; contact between frontoparietals and nasals restricted to anterolateral portion of frontoparietals; frontoparietals not fused with prootics, nasals wide, in median contact, and touching maxillae; otic ramus of squamosal wide, as a plate; zygomatic ramus of squamosal not touching maxilla; otic process on maxilla slightly visible, maxilla wider posteriorly; tympanic ring and columella present, quadratojugal present; maxillary and premaxillary teeth present; premaxillae not fused; alary process of premaxillae well developed and directed posterodorsally; palatal shelf shallow, palatal processes well developed, projecting straightly; vomers medially in contact, anterior process of vomer touching maxillae, vomerine teeth in oblique series relative to choanes; vomers and palatines contacting anterior process of parasphenoid; palatines and pterygoids widely separated; pterygoid with ventral flange; lateral alae of parasphenoid long, deflected posteriorly to anterior ramus, overlapped by median rami of pterygoids; occipital condyles widely separated; cervical cotyles widely separated (type I); dentary fused with angulosplenial in median view; angulosplenial with well developed dorsomedial process; mandibular crest present, well developed, with serrate borders; hyoid plate rectangular, with dots of mineralization posteriorly between posteromedial processes; anterior process of hiale poorly developed, present as an enlargement of anterior portion of hyale, alary process stalked, posterolateral processes slender, posteromedial processes elongate; eight presacral vertebrae; cervical not fused to first thoracic; sacral diapophyses slightly dilated; pectoral girdle arciferal; omosternum present; clavicles arched and fused with scapulae; coracoids relatively short, anterior margins deeply concave; cleitrum bifurcate; ilial shaft relatively long, with a well developed dorsal crest, and a dorsal protuberance; pubic ring elliptical, with longer axis inclined posteriorly relative to ilium shaft; intercalary phalangeal elements absent; terminal phalanx knobbed.
Distribution and natural history (Fig. 7): Cycloramphus organensis is known only from the type locality, at the open highlands of the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos (PARNASO). All specimens were collected during daytime (ca. 2000 m a.s.l.), concealed in the ground, under rocks, or associated with lichens or vegetation, never exposed. Our efforts during more than twenty years of field work at PARNASO strongly suggest that C. organensis is restricted to the open areas above the tree line. The female ZUFRJ 10353, that has been dissected, presented 21 large eggs (egg diameter 1.5–1.9 mm, SD 0.2, N=10) which suggests a terrestrial mode of reproduction. The animal pole of eggs is slightly pigmented, indicative of some level of light exposure, but mostly cream white as expected for a terrestrial reproduction. We found prey items inside the stomach of this female suggesting an opportunistic diet: one fly and one mosquito (Diptera), one adult beetle (Coleoptera), and ants of at least two species (Hymenoptera). Advertisement call and tadpoles are unknown.
description: Published as part of Weber, Luiz Norberto, Verdade, Vanessa Kruth, Salles, Rodrigo De Oliveira Lula, Fouquet, Antoine & Carvalho-E-Silva, Sergio Potsch De, 2011, A new species of Cycloramphus Tschudi (Anura: Cycloramphidae) from the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos, Southeastern Brazil, pp. 19-33 in Zootaxa 2737 on pages 22-28, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.207168