A new salamander of the genus Bolitoglossa (Caudata: Plethodontidae) from the highlands of western Panama.

We describe a new species of salamander of the genus Bolitoglossa from the Cordillera de Talamanca in western Panama. The new species is distinct from its congeners by its dorsal and ventral coloration, finger and toe webbing, and a comparatively high maxillary teeth count in relation to SVL. Analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences revealed an isolated phylogenetic position of the new species which is related to the B. robinsoni, B. subpalmata and B. epimela species groups, all four of which form a subclade within the subgenus Eladinea.

Revision of the genus Lepidoblepharis (Reptilia: Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae) in Central America, with the description of three new species.

Based on morphological and molecular data, we describe three new species of the genus Lepidoblepharis with granular dorsals from Panama (Lepidoblepharis emberawoundule sp. nov., Lepidoblepharis rufigularis sp. nov., and Lepidoblepharis victormartinezi sp. nov.). The results of our molecular analyses confirm the existence of five deeply differentiated genealogical lineages among Panamanian Lepidoblepharis. We present detailed descriptions of their morphology, including some new valuable scalation characters (ventral and subfemoral escutcheon) and hemipenes, as well as comparisons with the other two species of the genus known to occur in Panama (L. sanctaemartae and L. xanthostigma) and their South American congeners. Last, we provide an updated identification key for the genus Lepidoblepharis in Central America.

A new species of Andinobates (Amphibia: Anura: Dendrobatidae) from west central Panama.

Dendrobatid frogs are among the best known anurans in the world, mainly due to their toxicity and associated bright colors. A recently described dendrobatid genus, Andinobates, comprises frogs distributed among the Colombian Andes and Panama. During field work in the Distrito de Donoso, Colón province, Panama, we found a poison frog that we here describe as a new species. The new species belongs to the A. minutus species group and is described herein as Andinobates geminisae sp. nov. This new species differs from all other members of the group by having uniformly orange smooth skin over the entire body and a distinctive male advertisement call. The new species is smaller than other colorful dendrobatids present in the area, such as Oophaga pumilio and O. vicentei. We also provide molecular phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequences of dendrobatids and summarize genetic distances among Andinobates species. Andinobates geminisae occurs in Caribbean versant rainforest on the westernmost edge of the known distribution of A. minutus, and represents the fourth species within this genus in Panama. This is vulnerable to habitat loss and excessive harvesting and requires immediate conservation plans to preserve this species with a restricted geographic range.

Two new fringe-limbed frogs of the genus Ecnomiohyla (Anura: Hylidae) from Panama.

Forest canopy-dwelling frogs are usually among the rarest anuran species observed in the neotropical forest, mainly because they fall outside of the scope of the standard search methods used by herpetologists. During field explorations undertaken in western and eastern Panama in recent years, we discovered two species belonging to the genus Ecnomiohyla, which showed significant differences in genetic distances (16S mtDNA gene) and morphological characteristics different from any known Ecnomiohyla species. The first specimen originates from the Serranía de Jingurudó, Darién province, southeastern Panamá, and is described herein as E. bailarina sp. nov., and the second specimen was found at Santa Fe National Park, Veraguas province, central-western Panama, and is described as E. veraguensis sp. nov. We provide a detailed description of both new species, including comparisons of morphological and molecular characters of almost all members of the genus in lower Central America, as well as an identification key for the entire genus.