ABSTRACT
We describe a new species of the Scinax catharinae group from one of the last remaining fragments of Atlantic Forest in northeastern Minas Gerais. The new species is distinguished from most species of the group mainly by having the mucronate snout in dorsal view, the unique light-yellow coloration on the gular surface in life contrasting with its overall color pattern, and the m. depressor mandibulae with an origin on the dorsal fascia at the level of the m. dorsalis scapulae. These two latter features are novelties in the diagnosis of Scinax species. The new species is currently known only from municipality of Santa Maria do Salto, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This locality is a remaining fragment of Atlantic Forest and has a peculiar geomorphic feature that has been poorly sampled so far.
Subject(s)
Anura , Rainforest , Animals , Body Size , Brazil , Organ SizeABSTRACT
Bokermannohyla nanuzae (Bokermann & Sazima 1973) and B. feioi (Napoli & Caramaschi 2004) belong to the B. cir-cumdata species group. The type locality of the former is Serra do Cipó, Espinhaço mountain range, and of the latter is Parque Estadual do Ibitipoca, Mantiqueira mountain range, both in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Differences on dorsal draw-ing pattern of adults, oral disc morphology of tadpoles, and temporal properties of calls were proposed to distinguish these two species. However, several specimens found between the two type localities remain unidentified because diagnostic characters and states occur in all of these populations. Thus, in order to assess these characters variations, we performed an analysis of the morphology and morphometry of adults, vocalization, and morphology of tadpoles. Specimens were divided into three operational taxonomic units (OTUs): B. nanuzae (Serra do Cipó and northwards, Espinhaço mountain range), B. cf. nanuzae (Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Espinhaço mountain range, south of Serra do Cipó), and B. feioi (Serra do Ibitipoca, Mantiqueira mountain range). Drawing patterns of the dorsum and limbs show clinal variation and the three units are morphometrically very similar. Temporal and spectral properties of calls overlap in these three units. The diagnostic differences originally proposed for tadpoles are intrapopulational variations and occur in specimens from all of the locations analyzed. We found that these three units are morphologically indistinguishable. Therefore, we designate Bok-ermannohyla feioi (Napoli & Caramaschi 2004) as a junior synonym of Bokermannohyla nanuzae (Bokermann & Sazima 1973), extending its geographical distribution to the Mantiqueira mountain range.