A New Genus of Terrestrial-Breeding Frogs (Holoadeninae, Strabomantidae, Terrarana) from Southern Peru

Abstract

We propose to erect a new genus of terrestrial-breeding frogs of the Terrarana clade to accommodate three species from the Province La Convención, Department of Cusco, Peru previously assigned to Bryophryne: B. flammiventris, B. gymnotis, and B. mancoinca. We examined types and specimens of most species, reviewed morphological and bioacoustic characteristics, and performed molecular analyses on the largest phylogeny of Bryophryne species to date. We performed phylogenetic analysis of a dataset of concatenated sequences from fragments of the 16S rRNA and 12S rRNA genes, the protein-coding gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), the nuclear protein-coding gene recombination-activating protein 1 (RAG1), and the tyrosinase precursor (Tyr). The three species are immediately distinguishable from all other species of Bryophryne by the presence of a tympanic membrane and annulus, and by males having median subgular vocal sacs and emitting advertisement calls. Our molecular phylogeny confirms that the three species belong to a new, distinct clade, which we name Qosqophryne, and that they are reciprocally monophyletic with species of Microkayla. These two genera (Qosqophryne and Microkayla) are more closely related to species of Noblella and Psychrophrynella than to species of Bryophryne. Although there are no known morphological synapomorphies for either Microkayla or Qosqophryne, the high endemism of their species, and the disjoint geographic distribution of the two genera, with a gap region of ~310 km by airline where both genera are absent, provide further support for Qosqophryne having long diverged from Microkayla. The exploration of high elevation moss and leaf litter habitats in the tropical Andes will contribute to increase knowledge of the diversity and phylogenetic relationships within Terrarana.

Climatic Heterogeneity in the Bolivian Andes: Are Frogs Trapped?

“…Given the broad range of possible responses, we interpret the T pref values recorded for Microkayla, even if few, as suggesting that these frogs do not have well-defined thermophilic behavior and that temperature does not drive their preference in a thermal gradient. In contrast, the critical thermal maxima ( = 35.2°C), was consistent for all individuals and uncommonly high compared to other grassland, high-Andean craugastorid anurans at similar elevations in the Peruvian Andes, which have an average CT max of 28.1°C (Catenazzi et al, 2014;von May et al, 2017).…”

“…Further searches for other Microkayla species in the following days in other areas of the Bolivian Andes rendered identical low results. Thus, we ran the experiments on this limited number of specimens realizing it would be valuable because there are very few data on the thermal biology of small, cold-adapted, direct-developing frogs confronting climate change and disease risk in the Andes (Catenazzi et al, 2014;von May et al, 2017). We measured three thermal parameters for these individuals (Table 2): Temperature preference (T pref ), Performance at different target temperatures, and Critical Thermal Maximum (CT max ).…”

“…Periodically, we turned the frogs over on their backs and measured their body temperature with an infrared thermometer. The body temperature at which they could no longer right themselves was considered the CT max (Navas et al, 2007;Catenazzi et al, 2014) (Table 2).…”

“…The microhabitat used or selected by ectothermic animals determines the thermal environment they confront, the thermal range they are exposed to, and the effects of such range on their physiological performance, in some contexts with a toll on individual fitness (Huey, 1991;Adolph and Porter, 1993;Storlie et al, 2014). Because high Andean craugastorid frogs are small and have low vagility (De la Riva, 2007;Duellman and Lehr, 2009;Catenazzi et al, 2014), we expect these frogs to experience body temperatures matching those of their thermal environments, being thermoconformers (versus thermoregulators) and active at low body temperatures in their retreat sites and the immediate surroundings, as described for other small, terrestrial, high-elevation craugastorids such as members of the genus Pristimantis Jiménez de la Espada, 1870(Navas, 1996a. Under these circumstances, operative environmental temperatures (= T e , equilibrium body temperatures that one animal experiments in its habitat; Bakken and Gates, 1975) are appropriate to construct the thermal map of the habitat of that these frogs occupy at different sites.…”

“…Under these circumstances, operative environmental temperatures (= T e , equilibrium body temperatures that one animal experiments in its habitat; Bakken and Gates, 1975) are appropriate to construct the thermal map of the habitat of that these frogs occupy at different sites. Determining the thermal maps at different elevations in the Andes can provide a framework to identify not only possible temperature barriers to species dispersal, but also exceptional contexts of thermal biology and other issues (such as disease) generally relevant to understanding how Andean amphibians may be threatened by climate warming (Rohr et al, 2008;Navas et al, 2013;Catenazzi et al, 2014;Burrowes and De la Riva, 2017;von May et al, 2017).…”