389 



Phyllobates flotator, sp. nov. 



Type. — Adult male, in my own collection, taken July, 1930. 



Type locality. — Barro Colorado Island, Panama Canal Zone. 



Range. — Costa Rica to Darien. 



Diagnosis. — A Phyllobates with black and white coloration; a lateral streak 

 starting from middle of black lateral band in groin and reaching eye; male 

 with white throat; male with swollen third finger; tadpole with no labial 

 teeth and much produced lower lip. 



Description. — Type: adult male; snout slightly longer than orbit; loreal 

 region vertical, slightly concave; interorbital space broader than upper eye- 

 lid; tympanum indistinct, }4 size of eye; disks well developed, smaller than 

 tympanum; third finger swollen, as wide as disk; disk of toe I half size of toe 

 II; disk of toe V half size of disk of toe IV; top of toe I misses penultimate 

 phalanx of toe II; tip of toe II reaches antepenultimate phalanx of toe III; 

 tip of toe III reaches antepenultimate phalanx of toe IV; toe IV 23/2 phalanges 

 beyond toe V; tip of toe V just past penultimate phalanx of toe III; two 

 metatarsal tubercles; one tarsal tubercle; heel barely to eye; skin finely 

 granular; gray above; white below; sides black; light line from groin to eye 

 obHquely through black; upper lip white; dark line on anterior edge of thigh; 

 dark line on dorsal surface of thigh running into another dark Hne on posterior 

 edge of thigh at knee, 'anvil-shaped marking'; dark anal triangle; legs not 

 barred; head to snout 17 mm. 



Variation. — A female from the same locality is similar save 

 for the third finger not being swollen. A specimen from Cana 

 in Darien has slightly longer third and fifth toes. 



Remarks. — The Phyllobates from Panama, Costa Rica, and 

 Nicaragua that I have seen fall into three groups; typical Phyl- 

 lobates, without specialized tadpoles, or modified male third 

 fingeT (these apparently stem from Hyloxalus, which has webbed 

 toes), Phyllobates which have specialized tadpoles and modified 

 male third finger {flotator and nubicola) ; and Phyllobates which 

 have markings black and yellow instead of black and white, and 

 ventral light markings. (These are close to Dendrobates.) 



There are still many problems in the group of three genera, 

 even in the restricted region, but I feel reasonably sure about 

 the species I have actually seen and these remarks must be 

 taken as an arrangement of the material seen, and an attempt 

 to allocate names based on unseen material. 



I have myself added to the confusion, for what I called tala- 

 mancae in 1921 was based on one specimen of talaniancae and 

 one of latinasus, and while I properly segregated latinasus in 

 1924, I included the present flotator under talamancae. 



None of the three genera are known from north of Nicaragua. 



