A new giant Pristimantis (Anura, Craugastoridae) from the paramos of the Podocarpus National Park, southern Ecuador

By

Yánez-Muñoz, Mario H. (Mario Humberto)
Veintimilla-Yánez, David
Batallas, Diego
Cisneros-Heredia, Diego F.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

852

Pages

137-156

Subjects

Amphibia , Andes , Cajanuma , Craugastoridae , Loja , new species , nueva especie , Páramo , Pristimantis , Taxonomía , taxonomy , Zamora-Chinchipe

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.852.24557

 

Abstract

A new species of frog of the genus Pristimantis is described from the paramos of the Nudo de Cajanuma, Podocarpus National Park, on the border between the provinces of Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador. The new species is readily distinguished from all other species of Pristimantis by its large body size (snout-vent length: 50.0–50.5 mm in adult females, 34.7–42.5 mm in adult males), thick glandular skin, large warts on flanks, prominent glandular patches on head and legs, and dark brown dorsum. This new species is among the largest and stoutest Pristimantis frogs of the high Andes. It is only known from its type locality, where it occurs in paramo bambusoid meadows at elevations between 3300 and 3400 m. It is morphologically similar to Pristimantiserythros, P.farisorum, P.obmutescens, P.orcesi, P.racemus, P.simoterus, P.simoteriscus, and P.thymelensis. Notorious morphological characters present in this new species are thick glandular patches covering dorsum and limbs and porous skin texture, which are shared with P.erythros.