W. E. Duellman

University of Kansas | KU · Biodiversity Institute

We review the systematics of the species of Gastrotheca (Anura: Hemiphractidae) in the highlands of the southern Ecuadorian Andes. We analyzed phylogenetic, morphological, ecological, and acoustic data from populations in the region. We provide an updated phylogenetic hypothesis inferred from a database that contains 42 species of Gastrotheca, and...

Scinax is a speciose genus of Neotropical hylid frogs. We describe a new species from western Ecuador (elevations between 0 and 1207 m) using morphology, vocalizations, and DNA sequences. We also present a new phylogeny for Scinax based on mitochondrial DNA genes 12S rRNA, Cytochrome Oxidase sub-unit I, Cytochrome B, 16S rRNA, NADH dehydrogenase su...

Examined specimens of Scinax. (DOCX)

Scinax exiguus was described from the Gran Sabana, southeastern Venezuela, and its distribution is associated with the one Amazonian savanna region in northern South America. Herein, we describe the aggressive call and redescribe the advertisement call of S. exiguus, including recordings from the type locality. Also, we report on intraspecific vari...

We propose to recognise two tribes in the subfamily ACRIDINAE of the family HYLIDAE (AMPHIBIA, ANURA) and we point to nomenclatural problems of homonymy between the nomen of this subfamily and two familial nomina of ORTHOPTERA CAELIFERA. To solve these problems, we propose a solution that requires an action by the International Commission on Zoolog...

Two new species of Gastrotheca are represented by adult females, genomic data of these are included in a phylogenetic analysis, whereby they are placed in the northern clade of the subgenus Gastrotheca. One new species, G. spectabilis, is unique within the genus in having a color pattern consisting of white labial, rostral, and canthal stripes. The...

A phylogenetic analysis of sequences from 503 species of hylid frogs and four outgroup taxa resulted in 16,128 aligned sites of 19 genes. The molecular data were subjected to a maximum likelihood analysis that resulted in a new phylogenetic tree of treefrogs. A conservative new classification based on the tree has (1) three families composing an un...

Scinax cruentommus (Anura: Hylidae) in the upper Rio Negro drainage, Amazonas state, Brazil, with the redescription of its advertisement call. We provide the first record for Scinax cruentommus from the upper Rio Negro, Amazonas state, Brazil. We also redescribe its advertisement call and make acoustic comparisons with available data for other spec...

Scinax cruentommus (Anura: Hylidae) in the upper Rio Negro drainage, Amazonas state, Brazil, with the redescription of its advertisement call. for Scinax cruentommus from the upper Rio Negro, Amazonas state, Brazil. We also redescribe its advertisement call and make acoustic comparisons with available data for other species of the Scinax ruber Clad...

This scientific masterpiece reveals many aspects of the lives of marsupial frogs and closely allied genera. Native to Central and South America, these amphibians differ from other frogs in that they protect their eggs after oviposition by either adhering them to the female’s back or placing them in a specialized dorsal pouch (thus the common name,...

Based on preserved specimens from the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Flectonotus ulei Miranda-Ribeiro, 1926 is resurrected from its synonymy with Flectonotus fissilis (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920) and is redescribed. Analysis of osteological characters and brood pouch structure confirms that F. ulei belongs to Fritziana. The species is small for...

Molecular phylogenetic analysis revealed the existence of two undescribed species of the hemiphractid genus Gastrotheca in the Andes in northern Peru. Both species are similar morphologically to Gastrotheca dysprosita and G. monticola, but they differ from these species and from one another in subtleties of coloration and minor variances in size an...

Careful examination of morphological characters, color patterns, and advertisement calls strongly supports the placement of Dendropsophus allenorum (Duellman and Trueb, 1989) (Cuzco Reserve Frog) into the synonymy of Dendropsophus timbeba (Martins and Cardoso, 1987) (Cardoso's Treefrog).

A new species of marsupial frog, genus Gastrotheca, is described from high-elevation grasslands in the Andes in Región Amazonas in northern Peru, where even calling males are well hidden in deep moss. The new species is distinguished from all congeners by its unique color pattern that includes a narrow, blackbordered, yellow middorsal stripe. The s...

Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on expanded taxonomic and geographic sampling support the monophyly of the marsupial frog genera (family Hemiphractidae), resolve six geographically circumscribed lineages within Gastrotheca, and, for the first time, reveal that two divergent lineages of Gastrotheca inhabit the Atlantic Coastal Forests of Brazi...

We describe a new species of Telmatobius from cloud forests in the valley of the Río Kosñipata in the Cordillera de Paucartambo, Región de Cusco, Peru, where it inhabits roadside ditches and forest streams. The new species is among the larger Telmatobius known. It has a short rostrum and exceedingly long jaw. Males have nuptial excrescences compose...

Gastrotheca ruizi is an anuran species restricted to the Sibundoy Valley in southern Colombia, where it is reasonably abundant in agricultural areas. Its occurrence in anthropogenic habitats and apparent maintenance of a constant population level are significant evidence that the species is not threatened, as previously suggested; therefore, its co...

Two new species of Pristimantis (Anura: Strabomantidae), tentatively assigned to the P. orestes Group, are described from humid puna (3596 m) of Cañaris, Provincia de Ferreñafe, Región Lambayeque on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Occidental in northwestern Peru. Pristimantis mariaelenae sp. n. is a medium-sized species characterized by the do...

The influence of calcitonin on cell growth was examined in the human breast cancer cell line, T 47D. These cells possess specific high-affinity receptors for calcitonin as well as a sensitive calcitonin-responsive adenylate cyclase. In the T 47D cells, low doses of salmon calcitonin initially stimulated cell growth and the incorporation of [3H]thym...

Phylogenetic analyses of data derived from one mitochondrial gene and one nuclear gene show that the five species of small marsupial frogs currently recognized as Flectonotus are in fact two distinct and not closely related lineages. This conclusion is strongly supported by reproductive behavior and morphological characters. Thus, we recognize the...

Gastrotheca nebulanastes sp. nov. from cloud forests in the upper Kosñipata Valley, Manu National Park, in the Andes of southern Peru is similar to G. excubitor, which inhabits grasslands in higher elevations than the cloud forests. The two spe-cies differ in relative lengths of the fingers, skin texture, coloration, and advertisement call. Althoug...

Phylogenetic analyses of data derived from one mitochondrial gene and one nuclear gene show that the five species of small marsupial frogs currently recognized as Flectonotus are in fact two distinct and not closely related lineages. This conclusion is strongly supported by reproductive behavior and morphological characters. Thus, we recognize the...

The distribution of the poorly known hylid frog Hypsiboas roraima Duellman & Hoogmoed, on the Guiana Shield is redefined, including new records from Venezuela. The advertisement call of this species is analyzed and Hypsiboas angelicus Myers & Donnelly is associated as a junior synonym of H. roraima.

We studied populations of frogs of the genus Atelopus from the Pasto Massif of the Andes in southern Colombia and north-ern Ecuador, and from the Huancabamba depression in southern Ecuador and northern Perú and conclude that they belong to six species, five of which are described as new to science. Atelopus angelito is recorded for the first time f...

The evolutionary relationships of Andean harlequin frogs were studied, with emphasis on the Atelopus ignescens and A. bomolochos species complexes. Sampling included 53 individuals belonging to eight taxa and several unidentified species, for which a mitochondrial fragment (16S, tRNA-Leu, ND1, and tRNA-Ile; 1294 bp) was amplified. Bayesian and Maxi...

We studied populations of frogs of the genus Atelopus from the Pasto Massif of the Andes in southern Colombia and northern Ecuador, and from the Huancabamba depression in southern Ecuador and northern Perú and conclude that they belong to six species, five of which are described as new to science. Atelopus angelito is recorded for the first time fr...

We provide the first report of reproduction in Gastrotheca testudinea. A brooding female from the Urubamba Valley in southern Peru gave birth to 59 froglets. This confirms the supposition that this species has direct development of eggs into froglets.

Obituary: A Monument to Natural History – Henry S. Fitch (1909-2009)

Gastrotheca piperata se describe de un bosque nublado en los Andes de Bolivia. La nueva especie es similar a Gastrotheca marsupiata, pero se diferencia de esta por su patrón de coloración y canto de anuncio. Al salir de la bolsa dorsal o marsupio, los renacuajos de G. piperata están en el estadio 36 ó 37 de Gosner, a diferencia de los renacuajos de...

In this study, we determined how well the snout–vent length (SVL) of anurans estimated their mass for 36 species in the New World. Linear regressions of log-mass on log-SVL were highly significant for all species, explaining more than 75% of the mass variation in most species, and over 50% of the mass variation in all species. We also investigated...

Three frogs of a new species found in cloud forests on two nearby mountains in Guyana were included in a molecularphylogeny of 17 nuclear and mitochondrial genes (10,739 aligned sites) that revealed that their closest relative is Terrarana (Brachycephalidae, Craugastoridae, Eleutherodactylidae, and Strabomantidae) and their next-closest relative is...

Three frogs of a new species found in cloud forests on two nearby mountains in Guyana were included in a molecular phylogeny of 17 nuclear and mitochondrial genes (10,739 aligned sites) that revealed that their closest relative is Terrarana (Brachycephalidae, Craugastoridae, Eleutherodactylidae, and Strabomantidae) and their next-closest relative i...

FIGURE 3. High-resolution tomographs of Centhomantis smaragdinus, KU 315000. A dorsal, B. ventral. Scale bar = 5 mm.

FIGURE 7. High-resolution tomographs of terraranan frogs representing two families (left, dorsal view; right, ventral view). (A – B) Eleutherodactylidae, Eleutherodactylus gossei (SBH 266440; and (C – D) Strabomantidae, Pristimantis pulvinatus (KU 166368). Scale bars = 5 mm.

FIGURE 4. Distribution of the family Ceuthomantidae. Lowlands are indicated by green and uplands by brown. Known localities of the new family are indicated in the northeastern and southwestern portions of elevated areas on the Guiana Shield, in Venezuela, Brazil, and Guyana. (1) Mt. Kopinang, Guyana (C. smaragdinus, type locality), (2) Mt. Ayangann...

FIGURE 9. (A) Bayesian and (B) maximum parsimony phylogenies of nobleobatrachian frogs represented by selected genera and constructed using sequences from 17 genes. The trees are rooted with Ranidae (not shown). Support values (Bayesian posterior probabilities or MP bootstrap values) are indicated at nodes.

FIGURE 11. Timetree of nobleobatrachian frogs represented by selected genera and estimated with a Bayesian analysis of sequences from 9 genes, based on a topology obtained from the ML analysis of 17 genes (Figure 8). Numbers on nodes refer to time estimates and credibility intervals of time estimates (Table 2); those in bold are nodes discussed in...

FIGURE 1. Dorsal view of female paratype of Ceuthomantis smaragdinus, KU 315000 SVL 19.5 mm. Arrows point to the dorsal glandlike structures. The third finger of the right hand is enlarged to show the notched anterior margin of the disc. Photographs by A. Campbell.

FIGURE 2. Dorsal (A) and ventral (B) views of the holotype of Ceuthomantis smaragdinus (KU 300000) in life. Photographs by D. B. Means.

FIGURE 5. Habitat of Ceuthomantis smaragdinus at 1540 m on Mt. Kopinang, Guyana. The holotype was found about 5 m from the stream in the foreground in Figure 5 A; the paratype was found on a leaf about 10 m away from the other side of the stream slightly to the left of the middle of Figure 5 B. Photographs by D. B. Means.

FIGURE 6. High-resolution tomographs of terraranan frogs representing two families (left, dorsal view; right, ventral view). (A – B) Brachycephalidae, Ischnocnema guentheri (KU 92816); (C – D) Craugastoridae, Haddadus binotatus (KU 92808). Scale bars = 5 mm.

FIGURE 8. Maximum likelihood phylogeny of nobleobatrachian frogs represented by selected genera and constructed using sequences from 17 genes. The tree is rooted with Ranidae (not shown). Bootstrap support values are indicated at nodes. Higher classification is indicated to the right.

FIGURE 10. Phylogeny of nobleobatrachian frogs represented by selected species and constructed using sequences from 9 genes. The tree is rooted with Rana temporaria (not shown). Support values (ML bootstrap / Bayesian posterior probability / MP bootstrap) are indicated at nodes. Bayesian and MP support values are not given in cases where those phyl...

Frogs of the family Hemiphractidae are unique among anurans in that the eggs develop on the back or in dorsal pouches in the female. A typical oviposition event began when the female elevated her rump slightly and large, white ovum was extruded. The female's cloacal opening was located at the top of her rump so that after the ovum was extruded, it...

Two new species of the genus Pristimantis (Pristimantis) that are tentatively placed in the Pristimantis unistrigatus Group are described from the Yanachaga-Chemillén region in Departamento Pasco, Peru, where 24 species of strabomantid frogs are known. Both new species inhabit the humid montane forest on the slopes of the Andean Cordillera Oriental...

If it had not happened so many times in the last two and a half centuries, we would be embarrassed to admit that we created a new homonym, but such is the case. We (Hedges, Duellman & Heinicke 2008:108) proposed the generic name Isodactylus with the type species Eleutherodactylus elassodiscus Lynch (Anura: Strabomantidae) and included in the genus...

New World frogs recently placed in a single, enormous family (Brachycephalidae) have direct development and reproduce on land, often far away from water. DNA sequences from mitochondrial and nuclear genes of 344 species were analyzed to estimate their relationships. The molecular phylogeny in turn was used as the basis for a revised classification...

New World frogs recently placed in a single, enormous family (Brachycephalidae) have direct development and reproduce on land, often far away from water. DNA sequences from mitochondrial and nuclear genes of 344 species were analyzed to estimate their relationships. The molecular phylogeny in turn was used as the basis for a revised classification...

Two small new species of terrestrial frogs of the genus Phrynopus are described from the Andes in the Departement of Pasco in central Peru. The presence of a tympanum in one species is shared with P. peruanus. The second species shares characters with the larger P. dagmarae from the Departament of Huánuco. The new species are the smallest known mem...

We describe three additional new species of Pristimantis from the Cordillera Yanachaga, a part of the Andes in central Peru. Analyses of DNA sequences of the mitochondrial rRNA genes show that onespecies is a close relative of P. bipunctatus (P. conspicillatus Group), another is a close relative of P. stictogaster (P. peruvianus Group), and the thi...

Atelopus pachydermus is redescribed on the basis of the retraced holotype and recently collected specimens. Comparisons with the holotype confirmed that this species occurs neither in Pacific Colombia, nor in the northeastern Cordillera of Ecuador, as proposed by previous authors. It occurs in the northwestern Andes of Peru and adjacent Ecuador. Po...

Using phylogeny-based methods to identify evolutionary transitions has become an integral part of evolutionary biology. Here, we demonstrate the potential for these methods to give statistically well-supported but misleading inferences about character evolution. We also show how inferences of character evolution can be informed using GIS-based meth...

Atelopus pachydermus is redescribed on the basis of the retraced holotype and recently collected specimens. Comparisons with the holotype confirmed that this species occurs neither in Pacific Colombia, nor in the northeastern Cordillera of Ecuador, as proposed by previous authors. It occurs in the northwestern Andes of Peru and adjacent Ecuador. Po...

Approximately one-half of all species of amphibians occur in the New World tropics, which includes South America, Middle America, and the West Indies. Of those, 27% (801 species) belong to a large assemblage, the eleutherodactyline frogs, which breed out of water and lay eggs that undergo direct development on land. Their wide distribution and mode...

Two new species of Eleutherodactylus are described from the Cordillera Occidental in northern Peruvian departments of Ancash and La Libertad. The new species from La Libertad is assigned to the Eleutherodactylus orestes Group and inhabits puna at elevations of 3400–4010 m. The Eleutherodactylus orestes Group is redefined. The second new species is...

Three new species of Eleutherodactylus are described from the Río Zaña Valley in the Pacific versant of the Cordillera Occidental in the Departamento de Cajamarca, Peru. One of the species is a member of the Eleutherodactylus conspicillatus Group, and two are members of the Eleutherodactylus unistrigatus Group. We recognize 15 species of Eleutherod...

A distinctive, minute new species o f the Pristimantis unistrigatus Group is described from cloud forest at an elevation of 2850 m a .s. 1. in the Departamento de Piura in northern Peru. The single known specimen, an adult female ' 5.3 mm in snout-vent length, is blackish brown with orange-red blotches on the flanks and anterior surfaces of the thi...

A New species of marsupial frog, Gastrotheca, with prominent cranial crests is described from humid montane forest on the eastern slopes of the Andes in Departmento de Pasco, Peru. The frog ahs an exceedingly robust cranium that most closely resembles that of G. cornuta; however, the cranial crests of G. cornuta are less well developed, and less ob...

Two new sympatric species assignable to the Eleutherodactylus orestes Group were discovered in the northern part of the Cordillera Central of the Andes in northern Peru. One of the new species differs from all other members of the group by having conical tubercles on the eyelids and heels; the other species differs by having a white groin with brow...

Two new sympatric species assignable to the Eleutherodactylus orestes Group were discovered in the northern part of the Cordillera Central of the Andes in northern Peru. One of the new species differs from all other members of the group by having conical tubercles on the eyelids and heels; the other species differs by having a white groin with brow...

Nine species of Gastrotheca primarily have allopatric distributions in the Andes of northern Peru. A new species with integumentary-cranial co-ossification is described from montane forest in the northern part of the Cordillera Central in the Departamento de Amazonas, Peru. A second new species front the same area lacks integumentary-cranial co-oss...

A small collection of anurans from the Cordillera Yanachaga in central Peru re- vealed the presence of 10 species of Eleutherodactylus. Four of these species are unknown elsewhere and are described herein. Three of the new species are mem- bers of the immense Eleutherodactylus unistrigatus group, and one belongs with the smaller, South American Ele...

Gastrotheca piperata is described from Andean cloud forest in Bolivia. The new species is similar to Gastrotheca marsupiata but differs in coloration and advertisement call. Upon release from the maternal brood pouch, the tadpoles are in Gosner developmental stages 36 or 37, in contrast to the less developed (stages 30 or 31) tadpoles released by G...

A new species of the Eleutherodactylus unistrigatus group is described from forests near Oxapampa, Peru, at elevations of 2050-2200 m in the Cordillera Oriental in central Peru. The new species differs from all described species by having an extremely long, acuminate snout and a red (white in preservative) longitudinal stripe on the posterior surfa...

A distinctive new species of Castrotheca from the Rio Chanchamayo Valley in the Cordillera Oriental in Peru is the only known member of the genus that lacks a tympanum. Another new species from the Cordillera de Carpish is distinctive in having a pair of lateral brood pouches and only basal webbing on the foot.

A new species of Centrolene is named from the La Escalera Region in Estado Bolívar, Venezuela. The three species known from the Guianan Region of northeastern South America represent a single clade characterized by a white bib-like parietal peritoneum; this clade is referred to as the Centrolene gorzulai species group. Centrolenella auyantepuiana i...

The Jambato Toad, Atelopus ignescens, is endemic to montane forests, inter-Andean valleys, and paramos in Ecuador. Although formerly abundant and widely distributed, the species has not been recorded in nature since 1988. To determine its population status, data from intensive surveys in 1999-2001 are compared with those from 1967 and 1981. Presenc...

A new species of Gastrotheca from the southern end of the Cordillera Azul in Peru seems to be most closely related to G. lateollota known only from the Cordillera Huancabamba in northern Peru. Both of these species and G. marsupiata, monticola and perumw produce tadpoles, whereas the other species of Gastrotheea in Peruvian Andes have direct develo...

Hyla splendens Schmidt, 1857, based on a specimen purportedly from Bocas del Toro, Panama, has been rediscovered in cloud forest on the eastern slopes of the Andes in Departamento Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The species is redescribed as a species of Gastrotheca and compared with members of the Gastrotheca marsuplata group in southern Andes.