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All content in this area was uploaded by Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia
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Check List 1(1)
NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
Amphibia, Centrolenidae, Centrolene
peristictum, Centrolene prosoblepon, Cochranella
cochranae, Cochranella midas, Cochranella
resplendens, Cochranella spinosa,
Hyalinobatrachium munozorum: Range
extensions and new provincial records
Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia1
Roy W. McDiarmid2
12002 Research Training Program, Division of
Amphibians and Reptiles, National Museum of
Natural History, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D.C., USA.
Present address: College of Biological and
Environmental Sciences, Universidad San
Francisco de Quito. Ave. Interoceánica y calle
Diego de Robles, Campus Cumbayá, Edif.
Maxwell. Casilla Postal 17-12-841, Quito,
Ecuador.
E-mail: diegofrancisco_cisneros@yahoo.com
2US Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife
Research Center, National Museum of Natural
History, Room 378, MRC 111, Washington, DC
20013-7012 USA.
In their review on the frogs of the family
Centrolenidae (Glassfrogs), Lynch and Duellman
(1973) summarized the knowledge on taxonomy
and distribution of these frogs in Ecuador. That
work suggested that most Ecuadorian Glassfrogs
had limited distributions. However, while certain
species seem to be truly endemic to small
geographic areas, other cases of apparent high
endemism degree are partially an artifact of
inadequate herpetological exploration of certain
areas, little awareness on the importance of
publishing new distributional records, or
taxonomic problems that limit the identification of
preserved specimens. Herein, we report several
records of Ecuadorian Glassfrogs that extend their
distributional, elevational, and provincial ranges.
Voucher specimens are deposited in the National
Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, D.C., USA (USNM), D.
F. Cisneros-Heredia’s collection housed at
Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito,
Ecuador (DFCH), Museo de Zoología, Pontificia
Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
(QCAZ), and Fundación Herpetológica Orcés,
Quito, Ecuador (FHGO). Specific locations and
elevation of the new occurrences were determined
using collector’s field notes, the physical map of
the Republic of Ecuador 1:1’000000 published in
2000 by the Instituto Geográfico Militar and the
gazetteer of Lynch and Duellman (1997).
The generic classification follows Ruíz-Carranza
and Lynch (1991). However, as Savage (2002)
recently changed the generic assignment of the
species with humeral spine in males (resurrecting
the genus Centrolenella to the big-eyed species
groups and restricting the Centrolene to part of the
C. geckoideum group), and as the systematics of
centrolenids is still controversial, we present the
two combinations to facilitate information
retrieval.
Centrolene peristictum or Centrolenella
peristicta. Known from two widely separated areas
(ca. 170 km apart) at altitudes ca. 1400 m in the
Pacific slopes of the Andes of Colombia and
Ecuador. The first area goes along the western
slopes of the Cordillera Occidental in Colombia
south to extreme northwestern Ecuador
(Maldonado, Province of Carchi). The second area
is in central western Ecuador, at the species type-
locality (Tandapi, Province of Pichincha) (Lynch
and Duellman 1973; Duellman and Burrowes
1989; Frost 2004). The species is classified as
Vulnerable in the 2004 IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species (Coloma et al. 2004a).
One male of C. peristictum (USNM 286714) was
collected while calling next to an egg mass
(USNM 286715) deposited on the upper side of a
leaf ca. 2 m above water at Río Faisanes, ca. 15 km
NE of La Palma, on the old Quito - Chiriboga -
Santo Domingo road (00°19’S 78°49’W, 1380 m),
Province of Pichincha, on 17 February 1979 by R.
W. McDiarmid. Another specimen (QCAZ 6446)
was collected at Río Guajalito Protection Forest
(00°14’S 78°49’W, 1900 m), Province of
Pichincha, on 01 October 1994 by J. Molineros.
These two localities partially fill the gap between
previously known populations, and extend the
elevational range of the species to at least 1900 m.
18
Check List 1(1)
NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
Centrolene prosoblepon or Centrolenella
prosoblepon. Occurs from eastern Honduras
through Central America, along the Pacific slopes
of Colombia and into Ecuador where it reaches its
southernmost distribution (Frost 2004). Centrolene
prosoblepon was previously known in Ecuador
from the northern and central Pacific lowlands and
western slopes of the Andes, between 200–800 m,
in the provinces of Carchi, Imbabura, Los Ríos,
Pichincha and Bolívar (Lynch and Duellman 1973;
Duellman and Burrowes 1989).
Records presented herein constitute the first reports
from the provinces of Esmeraldas, Guayas, El Oro,
and Cotopaxi, and represent substantial extensions
for the altitudinal and range distribution of the
species. A series of specimens (USNM 541904-
541915) collected at Bilsa Biological Reserve, Río
Aguacatal, 41 km WSW of Quininde (ca. 00°22’S
79°45’W, 300–750 m), Province of Esmeraldas,
between 03 to 13 July 2000 by G. Vigle, represent
the westernmost South American locality, ca. 80
km NNW from closest previous record, partially
filling the gap between Colombian and Ecuadorian
localities. A specimen (USNM 288438) from
“Guayaquil” collected on March 1954 by M.
Olalla, come from some point in the Chongon-
Colonche hills near the actual town of Guayaquil,
Province of Guayas, extending the range of the
species ca. 90 km WSW from previous localities,
filling the gap between northern and southern
Ecuadorian localities and representing the first
record of a Centrolenid from the Coastal Cordillera
(Cordillera de la Costa) of Ecuador. Two
specimens (USNM 286738-39) collected at 16.8
km W of Piñas, on the old road (ca. 03°40’S
79°40’W, ca. 600 m), Province of El Oro, on 20
October 1979 by R. W. McDiarmid, represent the
southernmost locality for the distribution of the
species, extending its range ca. 220 km SSW. The
following records from the provinces of Pichincha
and Cotopaxi extend the elevational range of C.
prosoblepon to at least 1110 m. One specimen
(USNM 288441) collected “below Sigchos, W
slope of the Andes” (ca. 00°42’S 78°53’W),
Province of Cotopaxi, on October 1954 by P.
Proaño, and three male specimens (DFCH-USFQ
293-295) (Figure 1) collected while calling on
leaves between 3 to 5 m above a small rivulet at
the Mashpi Reserve, 18 km N of San Miguel de
Los Bancos, on the road between Nanegalito-
Pacto-Gualea-Mashpi-Pachijal (00°09’S 78°50’W,
1100 m), Province of Pichincha, on 08 February
2003 by D. F. Cisneros-Heredia and G. Robayo.
Figure 1. Adult male Centrolene prosoblepon
(DFCH-USFQ 293). Mashpi Reserve, Province of
Pichincha, Republic of Ecuador. 08 February 2003.
Photo by D. F. Cisneros-Heredia.
Cochranella cochranae. Endemic to Ecuador,
reported from only four localities (1100–1300 m)
on the eastern slopes of the Andes, at the provinces
of Sucumbíos, Pastaza, and Tungurahua (Lynch
and Duellman 1973; Frost 2004). The species is
classified as Vulnerable in the 2004 IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species (Coloma et al. 2004b).
Several specimens collected at the San Rafael falls
represent the first records from the Province of
Napo: USNM 284304-6 (14 km by road SW of
Reventador, ca. 00°02’S 77°33’W, 1400–1500 m),
collected on 21-22 February 1985 by M. S. Foster,
and USNM 286632-36 (at Km 102, INECEL
Station, ca. 00°02’S 77°33’W, 1350 m), collected
on 23 February 1979 by R. W. McDiarmid and E.
Schupp. Previous reports from the Province of
Napo (KU 123216–8, Lynch and Duellman 1973)
actually come from a locality in the Province of
Sucumbíos. A specimen (USNM 288452) from
near Loreto (ca. 00º40’S 77º18’W, ca. 700 m),
Province of Orellana, collected on January 1951 by
C. A. Olalla, is the first provincial record,
extending the lower elevational distribution of the
species to at least 700 m and, together with records
from Napo, partially filling the gap between
northern and southern populations. Two specimens
(DFCH D100-1: male and female) collected at a
stream near Bombuscaro River, ca. 15 km S from
Zamora city, Podocarpus National Park, western
slope of Contrafuerte de Tzunantza (ca. 04º14’S
19
Check List 1(1)
NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
78º56’W, 1820 m), on 08 September 2002 by F.
Smith, together with a specimen (FHGO 2804)
from Romerillos (04º14’S 78º56’W, 1800 m),
collected on 22 February 2000 by F. Nogales and
D. Almeida, are the first records from the Province
of Zamora-Chinchipe and the southernmost
records in the distribution of the species, extending
its range ca. 310 km S and its elevational
distribution to at least 1820 m.
Cochranella midas. Occurs up to about 300 m at
two widely separated areas (ca. 350 km) in the
western Amazon basin: northeastern Amazonian
Ecuador, at two nearby localities, and northeastern
Peru (Lynch and Duellman 1973; Duellman 1978;
Frost 2004). Reports presented herein are first
provincial records, filling the gap between
Ecuadorian and Peruvian localities, and extending
the elevational distribution of the species to at least
600 m (Figure 2): DFCH-D102, collected at the
Tiputini Biodiversity Station (00°37’S 76°10’W,
190-270 m), Province of Orellana by K. Swing on
November 1998, QCAZ 22876, collected at the
Yasuní Scientific Station (00°40’S 76°24’W, ca.
230 m), Province of Orellana, by M. Read on 13
May 1995; QCAZ 20001–2, collected at Puerto
Misahualli (01°02’S 77°40’W, ca. 400 m),
Province of Napo, by F. Ayala on 15 March 2001;
and USNM 288437, collected at Río Oglán,
Curaray (01°19’S 77°35’W, ca. 600 m), Province
of Pastaza, by R. Olalla on April 1953.
Figure 2. Adult Cochranella midas. Tiputini
Biodiversity Station, Province of Orellana,
Republic of Ecuador. July 2003. Photo by the
Applied Ecology Research Group, University of
Camberra.
Cochranella resplendens. This species occurs
below 200 m in the upper Amazon Basin in
Ecuador and southeastern Colombia (Frost 2004).
It was previously known in Ecuador only from the
type locality at Santa Cecilia, Province of
Sucumbíos (Lynch and Duellman 1973). The
species is classified as Vulnerable in the 2004
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Castro et
al. 2004).
Two specimens (FHGO 1305, 1324) were
collected at Pozo Garza, Oryx (01º26’S 77º03’W,
300 m), Province of Pastaza, by J.-M. Touzet on
06 July 1989, and two specimens (DFCH D103–4)
were collected at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station
(00°37’S 76°10’W, 190–270 m), Province of
Orellana, by D. F. Cisneros-Heredia and A.
Chiriboga on August 1999. These are first
provincial records, the second and third known
localities of the species in Ecuador, and the
southernmost populations in the distribution of the
species. The record from the Province of Pastaza
extends the distribution of the species ca. 170 km S
from the type locality, and the record from the
Province of Orellana ca. 125 km SE.
Cochranella spinosa. Distributed on the Atlantic
slopes from Costa Rica to eastern Panama, and on
the Pacific slopes from Costa Rica along the
lowlands through western Colombia to Ecuador,
up to 560 m (Savage 2002; Frost 2004).
Cochranella spinosa was previously known from
just one locality in Ecuador (Río Palenque,
Province of Los Ríos, Duellman and Burrowes
1989) (Figure 3). One specimen (USNM 288443)
collected at Río Blanco, near the mouth of Río
Yambi (ca. 00º01’S 79º08’W, ca. 700 m), Province
of Pichincha, by M. Olalla on February 1959,
presents a first provincial record, partially filling
the gap between Colombian and Ecuadorian
localities and extending the elevational distribution
of the species to at least 700 m.
Hyalinobatrachium munozorum. Known from
few localities in the Amazonian lowlands of
Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru (Ruíz-Carranza and
Lynch 1998; Frost 2004). It was previously known
in Ecuador just from its type locality (Lynch and
Duellman 1973). One specimen (DFCH D105) was
collected while sitting on the trunk of a Ceiba tree
20
Check List 1(1)
NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
in primary terra firme forest, ca. 25 m above the
floor, at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station (00°37’S
76°10’W, 190–270 m), Province of Orellana, by D.
F. Cisneros-Heredia on 02 January 1998. This
record is the first from the Province of Orellana,
increasing its geographical range ca. 125 km NW
from the type-locality, and partially filling the gap
between Ecuadorian and Peruvian localities.
Figure 3. Cochranella spinosa. Río Palenque
Scientific Center, Province of Los Ríos, Republic
of Ecuador. Photo by Roy W. McDiarmid.
Acknowledgments
We thank L. Coloma (QCAZ), J.-M. Touzet, and
A. Ma. Velasco (FHGO) for granting access to
specimens under their care. We are grateful to J.
Savage, G. Zug, and R. Heyer for useful
discussions; to M. Foster, F. Nogales, D. Almeida,
K. Swing, G. Vigle, and F. Smith for providing
information from their collections; and to the
Applied Ecology Research Group, University of
Camberra, for allowing the use of the photograph
of Cochranella midas. We are indebted to the late
G. Orcés and J. Peters, their collections made an
important basis for our research. Field work for
RWM was supported by the US Fish and Wildlife
Service. RWM thanks the late K. Miyata and G.
Schupp for companionship in the field. DFCH
thanks G. Robayo, J. Robayo, and P. Melo for
companionship in the field, and to R. Sevilla and
C. Burneo for allowing access to Mashpi. Field and
laboratory work was partially supported by the
2002 Research Training Program, Smithsonian
Institution, Smithsonian’s Women Committee,
Universidad San Francisco de Quito, and Ma. E.
and L. Heredia.
Literature Cited
Castro, F., J. V. Rueda, W. Bolívar, R. A.
Estupiñan, L. A. Coloma, S. Ron, and A.
Almendáriz. 2004. Cochranella resplendens.
In: IUCN 2004. 2004 IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species. <www.redlist.org>.
Captured on 10 November.
Coloma, L. A., S. Ron, and D. Almeida. 2004a.
Cochranella cochranae. In: IUCN 2004. 2004
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
<www.redlist.org>. Captured on 10
November 2005.
Coloma, L. A., S. Ron, J. Lynch, D. F. Cisneros-
Heredia, and E. Wild. 2004b. Centrolene
peristictum. In: IUCN 2004. 2004 IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species.
<www.redlist.org>. Captured on 10
November 2005.
Duellman, W. E. 1978. The biology of an
Equatorial Herpetofauna in Amazonian
Ecuador. University of Kansas, Museum
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65: 1-352.
Duellman, W. E. and P. A. Burrowes. 1989. New
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Pacific versant of Ecuador and southern
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Frost, D. 2004. Amphibian Species of the World:
an online reference. V.3.0 (22 August 2004).
http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibi
a/index.html. American Museum of Natural
History, New York, USA. Captured on
October 2005.
Lynch, J. D. and W. E. Duellman. 1973. A review
of the Centrolenid frogs of Ecuador, with
descriptions of new species. Occasional
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Kansas 16: 1–66.
Lynch, J. D. and W. E. Duellman. 1997. Frogs of
the genus Eleutherodactylus in Western
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Ruíz-Carranza, P. M. and J. D. Lynch. 1991. Ranas
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una nueva clasificación genérica. Lozania, 57:
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Ruíz-Carranza, P. M. and J. D. Lynch. 1998. Ranas
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especies de ranas cristal del género
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Hyalinobatrachium. Revista de la Academia
Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y
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Savage, J. M. 2002. The Amphibians and Reptiles
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934 p.
Received November 2005
Accepted November 2005
Published online November 2005
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