Integrative taxonomy reveals a new but common Neotropical treefrog, hidden under the name Boana xerophylla.

Boana xerophylla is a common treefrog widely distributed in northern Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. A recent study found molecular, acoustic, and morphometric differences between the populations located on opposite sides of the Orinoco River. Here, we carry out an updated molecular phylogenetic analysis, including new samples from all the countries along the distribution area, and analyzed additional call recordings from Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. Our phylogenetic inference reveals three geographically restricted lineages: one in the eastern Guiana Shield (corresponding to B. xerophylla sensu stricto), another in the western Guiana Shield, and a third one north of the Orinoco River. Morphological and acoustic data agree with the differentiation between the populations north of the Orinoco River and the eastern Guiana Shield despite the low genetic p-distances observed (16S rRNA: 0.72.2 %). We argue that the populations north of the Orinoco River correspond to a new species, sister of B. xerophylla. We name and describe Boana platanera sp. nov. from the southern versant of the Cordillera de Mérida (08º48'26'' N, 70º30'46'' W, WGS 84; 947 m asl), Venezuela, and refer all the populations north of the Orinoco River currently identified as B. xerophylla to this species. The new species can be readily diagnosed from B. xerophylla (characters of the latter in parentheses) by a pale orange-yellow or light brown dorsal coloration (dark brown to green), palpebral membrane with dark pigments (pigments absent); pericloacal region dark brown (cream), advertisement call with shorter first note length than B. xerophylla. This study represents an empirical example regarding false negatives behind genetic thresholds for species discovery, appraising the use of integrative taxonomic approaches.

Contrasting genetic, acoustic, and morphological differentiation in two closely related gladiator frogs (Hylidae: Boana) across a common Neotropical landscape.

Mountain chains and rivers are often found to represent barriers promoting vicariant differentiation in terrestrial vertebrates. Previous studies have supported the idea that the Cordillera de Mérida (CM), the easternmost branch of the Northern Andes, represents a geographic barrier for vertebrates, including frogs. Previous studies have also suggested that the Orinoco River (OR), the biggest river in Venezuela, also represents a geographic barrier for terrestrial vertebrates. Boana pugnax and B. xerophylla are two Neotropical hylids, members of the B. faber species group, that are distributed on either side of the CM, and whose ranges extend up to 605 and 2450 m in elevation, respectively. In addition, B. xerophylla occurs on either side of the OR. Herein, we assess the genetic, acoustic, and morphological differentiation within B. pugnax and within B. xerophylla across the CM and within B. xerophylla across the OR, and test if genetic differentiation is correlated with geographic distance. We also evaluated the acoustic differentiation between the recently recognized B. xerophylla and its sister species, B. crepitans, and found marked differences between advertisement calls, corroborating their status as distinct species. Genetic and morphometric analyses of populations from opposite sides of the CM revealed differentiation in B. pugnax but not in B. xerophylla. Within the latter species, we found molecular, acoustic, and morphometric differentiation among samples of B. xerophylla from western Venezuela versus the Guiana Shield. Genetic variation within B. pugnax and within B. xerophylla was not explained by geographic distance. Thus, our data show conspecific population structure across the CM in B. pugnax, plus the possible existence of two species within what today is considered B. xerophylla, yet the CM apparently is not involved in this divergence. These results suggest that even for closely related species with shared ecology and distribution, genetic and phenotypic differentiation respond differently to common ecological or historical factors.

Unveiling species diversity in collared frogs through morphological and bioacoustic evidence: a new Mannophryne (Amphibia, Aromobatidae) from Sierra de Aroa, northwestern Venezuela, and an amended definition and call description of M. herminae (Boettger, 1893).

Species diversity in collared frogs of the genus Mannophryne is presumed to be underestimated due to the paucity of external morphology characters, but combining morphology with bioacoustics and other lines of evidence has shown to be useful in delimiting species of this group. Herein we describe a new species of Mannophryne from Sierra de Aroa in northwestern Venezuela. The new species is morphologically similar to M. herminae but is readily recognized by its strikingly different advertisement call. It also can be distinguished from all its congeners by the unique combination of its small body size, general color pattern, basal toe webbing, and advertisement call consisting of long trills of single tonal notes emitted at a rate of 2-3 notes/s. Additionally, to facilitate future diagnosis of undescribed species related to M. herminae, we amend the definition of the latter, describe in detail its advertisement call, and redefine its known distribution range. The new species increases the number of described species of Mannophryne to 20.