Research Article |
Corresponding author: Alexander Tamanini Mônico ( alexandermonico@hotmail.com ) Academic editor: Luis Ceríaco
© 2025 Alexander Tamanini Mônico, Esteban Diego Koch, Jussara Santos Dayrell, Jiří Moravec, Albertina Pimentel Lima.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Mônico AT, Koch ED, Dayrell JS, Moravec J, Lima AP (2025) An Amazonian hidden gem: a new metallic-colored species of Ranitomeya (Anura, Dendrobatidae) from Juruá River basin forests, Amazonas state, Brazil. ZooKeys 1236: 51-83. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1236.146533
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The genus Ranitomeya has 16 known species, and the last of them was described 13 years ago. The forests of the Juruá River basin are known for their enormous vertebrate diversity, despite being one of the least sampled regions in the entire Amazonia. Our recent expeditions to the region resulted in the discovery of a Ranitomeya species with blue-green dorsal stripes and quite peculiar behavior. Here, it is described as a new species using morphological, morphometric, advertisement call, natural history, and genetic data. This new species is strongly nested within the R. vanzolinii clade, with interspecific p-distances ranging from 2.94 to 3.91%, and it was confirmed in all the delimitation methods used. It differs from its closest relatives mainly by (i) its size (male SVL 15.4–17.7 mm, n = 8; female SVL 17.3–18.5 mm, n = 5), (ii) its unique color pattern that is metallic pale yellowish green to metallic pale turquoise-green dorsal stripes pattern, limbs metallic chrome with dark carmine spotting), (iii) presence of a conspicuous sulfur yellow spot on the dorsal surface of the thighs, (iv) tadpoles with posterior tooth rows P1 > P2 > P3 in all stages, head translucent brownish and lack of emarginate lateral papillae, and (v) its advertisement call (composed of 21–45 notes, call duration of 647–1,424 ms, note rate of 28–36 notes/s and dominant frequency of 4,996–6,288 Hz).
Advertisement call, Amphibia, biodiversity, integrative taxonomy, morphology, phylogeny
The genus Ranitomeya Bauer, 1986 currently comprises 16 recognized species (
Currently, Ranitomeya is organized into the following five monophyletic species groups (
(i) R. defleri species group
R. defleri Twomey & Brown, 2009
(ii) R. reticulata species group
R. benedicta Brown, Twomey, Pepper & Sanchez-Rodriguez, 2008
R. fantastica (Boulenger, 1884); R. reticulata (Boulenger, 1884)
R. summersi Brown, Twomey, Pepper & Sanchez-Rodriguez, 2008
R. uakari (Brown, Schulte & Summers, 2006); R. ventrimaculata (Shreve, 1935)
An undescribed species phylogenetically close to R. uakarii
An undescribed species phylogenetically close to R. benedicta
(iii) R. vanzolinii species group
R. cyanovittata Pérez-Peña, Chávez, Twomey & Brown, 2010
R. flavovittata (Schulte, 1999)
R. imitator (Schulte, 1986)
R. sirensis (Aichinger, 1991)
R. vanzolinii (Myers, 1982)
R. yavaricola Pérez-Peña, Chávez, Twomey & Brown, 2010
An undescribed species related to R. sirensis from eastern Peru (R. sirensis “biolat”)
(iv) R. variabilis species group
R. amazonica (Schulte, 1999)
R. variabilis (Zimmermann & Zimmermann, 1988)
(v) R. toraro species group
R. toraro Brown, Caldwell, Twomey, Melo-Sampaio & Souza, 2011
In general, numerous studies of the genus have focused on ecological aspects (
The greatest diversity of species is concentrated in eastern-central and north-eastern Peru (
The forests of the Juruá River basin, a southwestern tributary of the Amazonas River, are known for their enormous vertebrate diversity, despite being one of the least sampled regions in the entire Amazonia (
Our recent expeditions to the Eiru and Juruá rivers resulted in the discovery of a new species of Ranitomeya with blue-green dorsal stripes and quite peculiar behavior. In the present study, we describe it as a new species using morphological, morphometric, advertisement call, natural history, and genetic data from four mitochondrial loci.
Adult specimens
Thirteen adult individuals of the new species were manually collected in the RAPELD sampling module of the Comunidade de Santo Antônio (6°47'04.9"S, 69°52'00.3"W), Eiru River, tributary of the Juruá River, municipality of Eirunepé, Amazonas state, Brazil. The specimens were anesthetized and killed with 5% topical lidocaine. Muscle and liver tissue were preserved in 100% ethanol for posterior genetic analysis, whereas the specimens were fixed in 10% formalin and preserved in 70% ethanol. Specimens were sexed by the presence of vocal slits (exclusive to males) and internally by the condition of the gonads. Vouchers were deposited in the herpetological collection of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (
The tadpoles were collected at the same site as the adult individuals. They were euthanized as described above, and fixed and preserved in 5% neutral-buffered formalin. Tadpoles were deposited at
Protocols of collection and animal care followed the Brazilian Federal Council for Biology (resolution number 148/2012) and study was approved by the Ethics Committee on the Use of Animals of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - CEUA-INPA (Process No. 35/2020, SEI 01280.001134/2020-63). Specimens were collected under collection permit number 13777-1, issued by the Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Répteis e Anfíbios of the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade – ICMBio.
Morphometric measurements were taken from eight adult males and five adult females of the new species, following
The format of the description and terminology of the morphological characters follow
Description of the external morphology of the Ranitomeya sp. nov. tadpole was based on three individuals, at stage 26, 29, and 39 (
The advertisement calls of sixteen males of the new species were recorded using a digital recorder (PCM-D50, Sony) and unidirectional microphone (K6/ME66, Sennheiser, Germany). Air temperatures (24.3–26.1 °C) and humidity (89–98%) during call recording were measured with a thermohygrometer (7663.02.0.00, Incoterm). Each calling male was recorded for two min using frequency rate of 16 kHz and 16 bits of resolution in mono.
The recordings were deposited in the Fonoteca Neotropical Jacques Vielliard of the Universidade de Campinas (FNJV; Campinas, Brazil) under access number FNJV 124331 to 124339.
Bioacoustic variables were analyzed using Raven Pro 1.6 (
Genomic DNA was extracted from ten adult specimens (liver or muscle tissues) from both localities (Suppl. material
The sequences were subjected to BLAST searches (
Sequences that represented all the diversity of Ranitomeya species were selected, preferably containing material assigned to the type series or from the type locality. Our complete dataset comprises 266 sequences of the four loci (33 for 12S, 120 for 16S, 17 for CO1, and 96 for cyt-b) that correspond to 120 terminals. Sequences of each locus were aligned using the MAFFT online server using the E-INS-i strategy for 12S and 16S gene and G-INS-i for CO1 and cyt-b (
The operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were delimited to confirm the candidate species as a single OTU. Three DNA-based species delimitation methods were used: (1) the pairwise distance-based method Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning (ASAP,
The phylogenetic analyses were performed with Bayesian inference (BI) using the complete matrix for the four loci via the software Beast 2.6.6 (
Raw data are provided in Suppl. materials: morphometrics (Suppl. material
Individuals of the new species show no intraspecific genetic variation (16S p-distance = mean 0.0%). The new species is nested within a strongly supported clade grouping R. vanzolinii and R. flavovittata (Fig.
Part of the phylogenetic reconstruction showing the relationships of Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov. Bayesian inference tree for genes 16S, 12S, COI, and cyt-b. Posterior probability support is shown on the branches. The species name is preceded by the specimen voucher number (continuation of the tree in Suppl. material
Interspecific and intraspecific genetic distances between Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov. and closely related taxa. Uncorrected p-distances (%; lower diagonal) and Kimura-2-parameter (%; upper diagonal) for sequences in a matrix with 532 characters from 16S mtDNA gene and expressed as percentages. Numbers in bold represent intraspecific p-distance values.
Species | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. R. aquamarina sp. nov. | 0.00 | 2.08 | 4.03 | 4.05 | 3.16 | 3.02 | 9.97 | 10.01 | 3.45 | 4.74 |
2. R. cyanovittata | 3.89 | 0.97 | 3.13 | 3.96 | 3.76 | 3.86 | 9.14 | 8.99 | 4.06 | 3.63 |
3. R. aff. cyanovittata | 3.05 | 2.04 | 0.13 | 3.13 | 2.26 | 3.16 | 8.16 | 8.00 | 2.55 | 3.27 |
4. R. aff. flavovittata | 3.91 | 3.06 | 3.91 | 0.00 | 1.62 | 4.37 | 10.42 | 10.57 | 2.05 | 5.53 |
5. R. flavovittata | 3.07 | 2.21 | 3.07 | 1.60 | 0.25 | 3.73 | 9.48 | 9.64 | 1.68 | 4.90 |
6. R. imitator | 2.94 | 3.07 | 2.94 | 4.21 | 3.60 | 0.60 | 8.85 | 9.29 | 4.01 | 3.97 |
7. R. sirensis | 9.19 | 7.67 | 9.19 | 9.61 | 8.78 | 8.26 | 1.65 | 5.65 | 9.25 | 6.93 |
8. R. aff. sirensis | 9.27 | 7.56 | 9.27 | 9.78 | 8.97 | 8.68 | 5.40 | 0.00 | 9.91 | 8.01 |
9. R. vanzolinii | 3.35 | 2.50 | 3.35 | 2.02 | 1.66 | 3.87 | 8.61 | 9.21 | 0.12 | 4.65 |
10. R. yavaricola | 4.53 | 3.19 | 4.53 | 5.28 | 4.69 | 3.84 | 6.58 | 7.56 | 4.47 | 0.24 |
Family Dendrobatidae Cope, 1865 (1850)
Subfamily Dendrobatinae Cope, 1865 (1850)
Genus Ranitomeya Bauer, 1986
Ranitomeya sp. Envira –
Suggested English name: Metallic poison frog.
Suggested Spanish name: Rana venenosa metálica.
Suggested Portuguese name: Rãzinha-venenosa-metalizada.
Holotype.
•
We assign the new species to Ranitomeya, based on the phylogenetic placement (Fig.
This new species of Ranitomeya is characterized by the following combination of characters: (1) dorsal color jet black with three parallel stripes metallic light yellowish green to metallic light turquoise-green, mid-dorsal stripe extending from between eyes to slightly before the vent, dorsolateral stripes extending from the snout to the groin, where they become medium sulfur yellow; (2) venter jet black with metallic olive-yellow to metallic light yellowish green reticulations on belly, and gular region metallic light yellowish green to olive-yellow; ventrolateral stripes light yellowish green; extending from through the loreal region, to the thighs integrating into the ventral reticulate pattern, becoming medium sulfur yellow on the arms; (3) limbs medium metallic chrome orange with dark carmine spotting, presence of a conspicuous sulfur yellow spot on the dorsal surface of the thighs, forming an ‘ocellus’ like pattern; (4) dorsal skin shagreen to granular, and smooth on head; (5) gular and ventral skin shagreen to granular; (6) limbs smooth to shagreen; (7) SVL in adult males of 15.4–17.7 mm (n = 8) and in females of 17.3–18.5 mm (n = 5); (8) sexual dimorphism, females with greater SVL, BW and KK; presence of vocal slits in males, located near jaw articulation; (9) head width 0.8–1.0× body width; (10) head width 1.1–1.2× larger than head length; (11) head width 31–34% of SVL; (12) snout moderately long (SL 36–42% of HL), rounded in dorsal view and rounded to protruding in lateral view; (13) canthus rostralis rounded, loreal region flat; (14) nostril directed frontolaterally at the angle of the snout, internarial distance 33–39% of head width; (15) tympanum visible, tympanic membrane poorly differentiated, tympanum diameter 38–48% of eye diameter; (16) tongue ovoid, attached anteriorly; (17) dentigerous processes of vomers absent; (18) choanae ovoid and small, located marginally in the maxilla; (19) hand 24–28% of SVL, arm 25–30% of SVL; (20) fingers III > IV > II > I, Finger I 58–68% of Finger II, finger discs rounded on Finger I, and expanded and truncate on fingers III and IV; (21) thenar tubercle elliptical, palmar tubercle large and ovoid; (22) proximal subarticular tubercles ovoid, present in each finger; distal subarticular tubercle present only on Finger III; (23) knee-knee distance 80–84% of SVL, femur 94–98% of tibia; (24) toes IV > III > V > II > I, Toe I 48–64% of Toe II, finger discs not expanded and rounded on Finger I to elliptical on toes III and IV and truncate on Finger V; (25) outer metatarsal tubercle ovoid, poorly visible; inner metatarsal tubercle elliptical; (26) proximal subarticular tubercles ovoid on all toes, distal subarticular tubercles on toes III–V; (27) advertisement call with 21–45 notes and average call duration of 647–1,424 ms, note rate (28–36 notes/s) and dominant frequency of 4,996–6,288 Hz; and (28) tadpole head translucent in life, and posterior tooth rows P-1 > P-2 > P-3.
External morphology.
The new species differs from all currently recognized Ranitomeya species (R. amazonica, R. benedicta, R. cyanovittata, R. defleri, R. fantastica, R. flavovittata, R. imitator, R. reticulata, R. sirensis, R. summersi, R. toraro, R. uakarii, R. vanzolinii, R. variabilis, R. ventrimaculata, and R. yavaricola) by its unique coloration (light yellowish green to light metallic turquoise-green dorsal stripe pattern, medium metallic chrome orange limbs with dark carmine spotting, and conspicuous sulfur yellow ocellus-like spot on the dorsal surface of the thighs). Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov. is generally most similar to R. cyanovittata and R. yavaricola but it can be easily distinguished from R. cyanovittata by light yellowish green to light metallic turquoise green dorsal stripes and medium metallic chrome orange limbs with dark carmine spotting (dorsal stripes turquoise blue, limbs with bluish reticulation and black spots;
In addition, Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov. is distinguished by its smaller male SVL (15.4–17.7 mm) from R. fantastica (~ 20 mm;
Bioacoustics.
The advertisement call of R. aquamarina sp. nov. is distinguished by its longer call duration (647–1,424 ms) from the call of R. amazonica (160–360 ms;
The advertisement call of R. aquamarina sp. nov. is highly similar to the calls of all other species of the R. vanzolinii group, which have long-lasting trills, but it can still be distinguished from the call of R. vanzolinii, which has slightly lower note rate of 26–28 notes/s (
Tadpole morphology. There is little information available about the tadpoles of the Ranitomeya species, but we did find information for ten species (R. amazonica, R. benedicta, R. defleri, R. flavovittata, R. imitator, R. reticulata, R. toraro, R. uakarii, R. vanzolinii and R. variabilis). The tadpoles of R. aquamarina sp. nov. differ from the tadpoles of all these species by absence of emarginate marginal papillae.
Because there is great variation between the initial (25–27), intermediate (28–32), and final (37–40) stages, we compared them using the ratios between measurements (the characteristics of compared species are given in parentheses). The labial tooth row formula in R. aquamarina sp. nov. is 2(2)/3(1) in all stages and differs from the formula of R. toraro 2(2)/2(1) (
The ratios tail muscle width/tail muscle height are in R. aquamarina sp. nov. (91% at stage 26 and 115% at stage 29) greater than in R. flavovittata (63% st. 26;
Posterior tooth row formula of R. aquamarina sp. nov. (P-1 > P-2 > P-3 in all stages) differs from the formulas of all other described tadpoles: R. amazonica (P-1 = P-2 > P-3, P-3 = 80% of P-1;
In life, tadpoles of R. aquamarina sp. nov. have a translucent brownish head in all stages, which differs from all the other tadpoles described: R. amazonica (head and body black to gray;
Adult male (
Forelimbs slender, hands relatively large, 25.9% of SVL. Finger I shorter (66.9%) than Finger II; Finger III > IV > II > I. Discs on fingers III and IV considerably expanded and truncate, disc of Finger II moderately expanded and elliptical, disc of Finger I rounded. Ulnar tubercles absent. Hands lacking lateral fringes and webbing. Palmar tubercle rounded, unpigmented, ~ 4× larger than the subarticulars. Thenar tubercle elliptical, small. Large unpigmented, rounded, proximal subarticular tubercles present on base of each finger. Rounded distal subarticular tubercle visible only on Finger III (Fig.
Length of legs moderate, femur slightly smaller than tibia, with 93.7% of the tibia length; knee-knee distance 80% of SVL. Relative lengths of appressed toes IV > III > V > II > I. First toe short, Toe I disc not expanded and rounded, Toe II with slightly expanded and rounded disc, toes III–V with moderately expanded discs, III and IV elliptical, and V truncated. Tarsal tubercle absent; feet lacking webbing; lateral fringes poorly developed. Outer metatarsal tubercle ovoid, unpigmented, poorly visible. Inner metatarsal tubercle elliptical, unpigmented. Proximal subarticular tubercles present at base of each toe, large and ellipticals on toes I and II, small and rounded on toes III–V, all unpigmented. Distal subarticular tubercles large on toes III and V, and poorly distinguished on Toe IV. Two medial subarticular tubercles diffused on Toe IV (Fig.
Morphometric measurements (mm) of adult type specimens of Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov. Values express mean ± standard deviation, and range.
Morphometric measurements | Holotype | Males (n = 7) | Females (n = 5) |
---|---|---|---|
SVL – Snout to vent length | 17.1 | 16.9 ± 0.73 (15.4–17.7) | 17.9 ± 0.45 (17.3–18.5) |
HL – Head length | 5.1 | 5.1 ± 0.18 (4.8–5.4) | 5.2 ± 0.05 (5.1–5.2) |
HW – Head width | 5.7 | 5.6 ± 0.34 (4.9–5.9) | 5.8 ± 0.08 (5.7–5.9) |
IOD – Interorbital distance | 2.3 | 2.4 ± 0.10 (2.2–2.5) | 2.3 ± 0.13 (2.2–2.5) |
UEW – Upper eyelid width | 1.4 | 1.4 ± 0.12 (1.2–1.6) | 1.6 ± 0.08 (1.5–1.7) |
MTD – Mouth-tympanum distance | 0.8 | 0.7 ± 0.07 (0.5–0.7) | 0.8 ± 0.08 (0.7–0.9) |
TD – Tympanum diameter | 0.9 | 0.9 ± 0.06 (0.8–1.0) | 1.0 ± 0.09 (0.9–1.1) |
DET – Distance from eye to tympanum | 0.6 | 0.6 ± 0.04 (0.6–0.7) | 0.7 ± 0.05 (0.6–0.7) |
ED – Eye diameter | 1.0 | 2.0 ± 0.11 (1.8–2.2) | 2.1 ± 0.09 (2.0–2.2) |
SL – Snout length | 2.0 | 1.9 ± 0.10 (1.7–2.0) | 2.1 ± 0.11 (1.7–2.2) |
END – Eye-nostril distance | 1.5 | 1.4 ± 0.07 (1.3–1.6) | 1.5 ± 0.07 (1.4–1.6) |
BW – Body width | 5.8 | 5.6 ± 0.28 (5.1–5.9) | 6.6 ± 0.36 (6.2–7.1) |
TSCN – Snout-nostril distance | 1.0 | 0.9 ± 0.07 (0.8–1.0) | 1.1 ± 0.02 (1.1–1.1) |
IND – Internarial distance | 2.0 | 1.9 ± 0.17 (1.6–2.1) | 2.2 ± 0.09 (2.1–2.3) |
KK – Knee-knee distance | 13.7 | 13.8 ± 0.46 (12.9–14.3) | 14.7 ± 0.33 (14.2–15.0) |
FL – Femur length | 6.6 | 6.9 ± 0.21 (6.6–7.2) | 7.2 ± 0.14 (7.0–7.4) |
TL – Tibia length | 7.0 | 6.9 ± 0.37 (6.3–7.3) | 7.5 ± 0.18 (7.2–7.6) |
TaL – Tarsus length | 3.7 | 4.0 ± 0.32 (3.6–4.4) | 4.4 ± 0.16 (4.1–4.6) |
FoL – Foot length | 7.1 | 6.7 ± 0.37 (6.0–7.1) | 6.8 ± 0.38 (6.3–7.2) |
LT1 – Toe I length | 1.9 | 1.7 ± 0.17 (1.5–2.0) | 1.9 ± 0.12 (1.7–2.0) |
LT2 – Toe II length | 3.0 | 3.0 ± 0.16 (2.8–3.3) | 3.1 ± 0.21 (2.9–3.5) |
LT3 – Toe III length | 4.8 | 4.9 ± 0.30 (4.4–5.3) | 5.1 ± 0.29 (4.6–5.3) |
LT4 – Toe IV length | 7.1 | 6.7 ± 0.37 (6.0–7.1) | 6.8 ± 0.38 (6.3–7.2) |
LT5 – Toe V length | 4.8 | 4.4 ± 0.44 (3.9–4.9) | 4.8 ± 0.25 (4.4–5.1) |
W1TD – Width of disc on Toe I | 0.3 | 0.4 ± 0.04 (0.3–0.4) | 0.4 ± 0.06 (0.3–0.5) |
W1T – Width of Toe I just below disc | 0.3 | 0.3 ± 0.04 (0.3–0.4) | 0.4 ± 0.04 (0.3–0.4) |
W2TD – Width of disc on Toe II | 0.6 | 0.5 ± 0.06 (0.4–0.6) | 0.6 ± 0.04 (0.5–0.6) |
W2T – Width of Toe II just below disc | 0.4 | 0.4 ± 0.04 (0.4–0.5) | 0.5 ± 0.02 (0.4–0.5) |
W3TD – Width of disc on Toe III | 0.7 | 0.7 ± 0.08 (0.5–0.8) | 0.7 ± 0.09 (0.6–0.8) |
W3T – Width of Toe III just below disc | 0.5 | 0.5 ± 0.05 (0.5–0.6) | 0.6 ± 0.06 (0.5–0.6) |
W4TD – Width of disc on Toe IV | 0.8 | 0.8 ± 0.09 (0.7–0.9) | 0.9 ± 0.11 (0.7–1.0) |
W4T – Width of Toe IV just below disc | 0.6 | 0.7 ± 0.08 (0.5–0.7) | 0.7 ± 0.08 (0.6–0.8) |
W5TD – Width of disc on Toe V | 0.7 | 0.8 ± 0.08 (0.6–0.8) | 0.8 ± 0.11 (0.7–1.0) |
W5T – Width of Toe V just below disc | 0.6 | 0.7 ± 0.07 (0.5–0.7) | 0.7 ± 0.08 (0.6–0.8) |
AL – Arm length | 4.5 | 4.8 ± 0.23 (4.4–5.0) | 5.1 ± 0.19 (4.8–5.3) |
FAL – Forearm length | 4.1 | 4.1 ± 0.12 (3.9–4.3) | 4.2 ± 0.10 (4.1–4.4) |
HaL – Hand length | 4.4 | 4.5 ± 0.27 (4.0–4.7) | 4.6 ± 0.16 (4.5–4.8) |
L1F – Finger I length | 2.1 | 1.9 ± 0.08 (1.8–2.1) | 2.1 ± 0.07 (2.0–2.2) |
L2F – Finger II length | 3.1 | 3.2 ± 0.21 (2.8–3.5) | 3.3 ± 0.19 (3.1–3.5) |
L3F – Finger III length | 4.4 | 4.5 ± 0.27 (4.0–4.7) | 4.6 ± 0.16 (4.5–4.8) |
L4F – Finger IV length | 3.5 | 3.5 ± 0.26 (3.0–3.8) | 3.7 ± 0.13 (3.5–3.8) |
W1FD – Width of disc on Finger I | 0.4 | 0.4 ± 0.07 (0.4–0.6) | 0.4 ± 0.03 (0.4–0.5) |
W1F – Width of Finger I just below disc | 0.4 | 0.4 ± 0.06 (0.3–0.5) | 0.4 ± 0.04 (0.3–0.4) |
W2FD – Width of disc on Finger II | 0.7 | 0.7 ± 0.08 (0.6–0.8) | 0.8 ± 0.14 (0.7–1.0) |
W2F – Width of Finger II just below disc | 0.6 | 0.5 ± 0.08 (0.4–0.7) | 0.6 ± 0.06 (0.5–0.7) |
W3FD – Width of disc on Finger III | 1.1 | 0.9 ± 0.09 (0.8–1.1) | 0.9 ± 0.10 (0.8–1.0) |
W3F – Width of Finger III just below disc | 0.7 | 0.7 ± 0.08 (0.6–0.8) | 0.7 ± 0.09 (0.6–0.8) |
W4FD – Width of disc on Finger IV | 0.9 | 0.9 ± 0.07 (0.8–0.9) | 0.9 ± 0.09 (0.7–1.0) |
W4F – Width of Finger IV just below disc | 0.7 | 0.7 ± 0.06 (0.6–0.7) | 0.7 ± 0.04 (0.6–0.7) |
Skin texture nearly smooth to shagreen on head, becoming weakly granular on the dorsum and limbs. Ventral surface of limbs smooth to shagreen. Gular region and venter shagreen. Arms smooth to shagreen.
In life, dorsal surface jet black (color 300 by
After four months in alcohol, general color pattern remained, but colors faded (Fig.
SVL ranges from 15.4 to 17.7 mm in males (n = 7) and from 17.3 to 18.5 mm in females (n = 5) (Table
The head stripes have five patterns in the type series (Fig.
The coloration of the stripes varies from metallic light yellowish green (color 100 by
The advertisement call of Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov. (n = 7 males) consist of a long-lasting trill of 21–45 notes (n = 44 calls)—most commonly of 32–38 notes (n = 24 calls)—a call duration of 984 ± 197 ms (647–1,424 ms)—and silence between calls of 5.8–115.3 s (most commonly between 7 and 18 s) (n = 24 silence between calls). Notes are distinct, separated by silence intervals, with note duration of 11.7 ± 0.14 ms (9.6–14.8 ms), a silence between notes of 19.4 ± 0.2 ms (15.6–22.7 ms), and a note rate of 32.8 ± 2.2 s (28–36). Calls are emitted with a minimum frequency (LF) of 5,139 ± 283 Hz (4,699–5,860 Hz), a maximum frequency (HF) of 6,054 ± 255 Hz (5,545–6,600 Hz) and a dominant frequency (DF) of 5,633 ± 289 Hz (4,996–6,288 Hz) (Fig.
Acoustic variables of the advertisement call of 44 analyzed calls of seven males of Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov. Abbreviation: SD – standard deviation.
Variables | Mean | SD | Minimum | Maximum |
---|---|---|---|---|
CD – Call duration (ms) | 984 | 197 | 647 | 1,424 |
SBC – Silence between calls (s) | 19.3 | 20.6 | 5.8 | 115.3 |
NN – Number of notes per call | 32.4 | 6.7 | 21 | 45 |
ND – Note duration (ms) | 11.8 | 0.13 | 9.6 | 14.8 |
SBN – Silence between notes (ms) | 19.4 | 0.19 | 15.6 | 22.7 |
NR – Note rate (notes per second) | 32.4 | 2.4 | 28 | 36 |
LF – Minimum frequency (Hz) | 5,132 | 272 | 4,699 | 5,860 |
HF – Maximum frequency (Hz) | 6,059 | 244 | 5,545 | 6,600 |
DF – Dominant frequency (Hz) | 5,640 | 277 | 4,996 | 6,288 |
Tadpole description is based on three specimens (vouchers
Morphometric measurements (mm) of three tadpoles of Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov. from Eirunepé municipality, Amazonas state, Brazil.
Measurements | Tadpole stages | ||
---|---|---|---|
26 | 29 | 39 | |
TL – Total length | 13.7 | 19.9 | 25.0 |
BL – Body length | 5.1 | 7.3 | 9.1 |
TAL – Tail length | 8.6 | 12.7 | 16.0 |
BH – Body height | 2.4 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
BW – Body width | 3.3 | 5.0 | 6.0 |
BHN – Body height at the nostril | 1.3 | 1.7 | 2.0 |
BHE – Body height at the eyes | 1.8 | 2.6 | 3.4 |
BWN – Body width at the nostril | 2.2 | 2.6 | 3.0 |
BWE – Body width at the eyes | 3.0 | 4.1 | 4.6 |
TMW – Tail muscle width at base | 1.1 | 1.9 | 2.1 |
MTH – Maximum tail height | 2.3 | 3.6 | 4.5 |
DF – Dorsal fin height | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.3 |
VF – Ventral fin height | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.2 |
TMH – Tail muscle height | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.3 |
IOD – Interorbital distance | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.8 |
IND – Internarial distance | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.5 |
RED – Rostro-eye distance | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.5 |
RND – Rostro-nostril distance | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
RSD – Rostro-spiracle distance | 3.5 | 4.4 | 5.7 |
ED – Eye diameter | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
END – Eye-nostril distance | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.9 |
SL – Spiracle length | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
SW – Spiracle width | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
SH – Spiracle height | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
VL – Vent tube length | 0.5 | 1.1 | - |
ODW – Oral disc width | 1.4 | 1.8 | 2.1 |
AL – Anterior (upper) labium | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
PL – Posterior (lower) labium | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
A-1 – First anterior tooth row | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.4 |
A-2 – Second anterior tooth row | 1.2 | 1.4 | 1.5 |
A-2 GAP – Medial gap in second anterior tooth row | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.6 |
P-1 – First posterior tooth row | 0.9 | 1.2 | 1.4 |
P-2 – Second posterior tooth row | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.2 |
P-3 – Third posterior tooth row | 0.8 | 1.0 | 1.1 |
P-1 GAP – Medial gap in the first posterior tooth row | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
LP – Lateral process of upper jaw sheath | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
LJ – Lower jaw sheath | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.8 |
UJ – Upper jaw sheath | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
Body shape in stage 26 ovoid in dorsal and lateral view (Fig.
Oral apparatus located antero-ventrally, not emarginated laterally. Transverse width of oral disc 42% of body width at stage 26, 36% at stage 29, and 35% at stage 39, respectively. Lower and lateral labium free from body wall. Anterior labium with groups of five or six short elliptical papillae, distributed in a single row on each side of the lateral margins and split by a medial gap. Posterior labium with a single row of marginal short elliptical papillae in all stages. Jaw sheaths oval, upper jaw sheath slightly wider than lower jaw sheath, edges of both jaw sheaths serrated along their entire length. Labial tooth row formula 2(2)/3(1) in all stages; tooth row A-1 complete; tooth row A-2 interrupted medially, consisting of two pieces of tooth of the same length, the medial gap broadly larger than tooth lines. Posterior tooth rows P-1 slightly longer than P-2, and P-2 longer than P-3 in all stages. P-1 with medial gap, 0.1 mm, 0.3 mm, and 0.1 mm, respectively (in each stage).
After four months preserved in 10% formalin, the tadpoles have a cream background color with brown reticulations on lateral, dorsal, anterior half of the belly, spiracles, tail muscle, and fins. Ventral fin less reticulated than dorsal fin (Fig.
In life, translucent head, eyes black, anterior portion of body gray in the middle and translucent on sides, posterior body portion gray. Tail musculature uniform gray, dorsal and ventral fins transparent Abdomen mostly transparent, digestive tract gray, heart visible (Fig.
The specific epithet ‘aquamarina’ is a Latin adjective that means “pale blue-green”, referring to the coloration of the dorsal-lateral stripes of the new species. Another aspect that led us to use this epithet was the metallic blue and greenish tones of the stripes, which resemble seawater. Additionally, aquamarine is a gemstone, which philosophically conveys the value of this discovery.
Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov. is only known from its type locality, in preserved forests on the Eiru River, a tributary of the Juruá River, near the Comunidade de Santo Antônio, municipality of Eirunepé, state of Amazonas, Brazil (Fig.
Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov. is diurnal, showing greater activity in the early morning and late afternoon. On rainy days, activity lasts throughout the day. Most individuals were observed in clusters of ‘banananeirabrava’ (Phenakospermum guyannense, Strelitziacaea; Fig.
Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov. natural history and breeding aspects A example of the habitat used by the species B phytotelma used by a couple of the species for reproduction C adult male climbing (unvouchered) D eggs E juvenile F calling male (
Eggs are deposited in water accumulated in cavities in the vegetation. We found eggs (Fig.
Males perform calling perched on vegetation (Fig.
The new species was found in only one of the four sampling sites (5 km RAPELD trails) and appears to be strongly associated with ‘bananeira brava’ plants. Therefore, this species is not expected to be abundant nor homogeneously distributed throughout its range. Its known extent of occurrence and area of occupancy are restricted, suggesting that its conservation status deserves attention. Nevertheless, we currently do not have enough information to assign Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov. to any IUCN category, and here we classify it as Data Deficient (DD).
All the species of the Ranitomeya vanzolinii species group are distributed across the southwestern Amazonia (
Unlike other dendrobatids (e.g., Ameerega, Dendrobates and Phyllobates), Ranitomeya species are especially difficult to detect in fieldwork due to their diminutive body size, conspicuous habits, calls that cannot be heard over long distances, specific microhabitats, and because they are hardly ever seen during the night (
The genus Ranitomeya was recovered to be monophyletic with a posterior probability of 1. Species relationships were found to be mostly consistent with the revisions of Grant et al. (2017) and
Our species delimitation results also presented some incongruences to the current Ranitomeya taxonomy. While most valid species were correctly recovered as a single OTU, some species were merged within another OTU (R. flavovittata and R. vanzolinii; R. benedicta and R. fantastica; R. ventrimaculata and R. reticulata) and others were split into multiple OTUs (R. sirensis, R. variabilis and R. ventrimaculata). Also, while the new species and others were congruent among all the delimitations, some incongruences were found, specially within the OTUs cited above. The diversity within R. sirensis, R. variabilis and R. ventrimaculata was already discussed before and some nominal taxa (e.g., R. duellmani, R. biolat, and R. lamasi) were already synonymized with the former species. The possible revalidation of R. biolat was already discussed in
The last description of a species of Ranitomeya was published more than ten years ago (R. toraro;
Finally, it is generally accepted that the true diversity of frogs is still very poorly known in Amazonia (e.g.,
The authors would like to thank S. Dantas and A. Ferreira for their assistance with the fieldwork; Edgar Lehr and Alexandre Roland for their kind review and suggestions for improving the manuscript; Fernanda P. Werneck (
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
No ethical statement was reported.
This study was funded by the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas (FAPEAM process No. 01.02.016301.03252/2021-67 from 007/2021 BIODIVERSA grant to A.P. Lima). ATM receives a post-doctorate fellowship from CNPq (process No. 174978/2023-5), EDK receives a PhD fellowship from FAPEAM, JSD received a AT/III fellowship from FAPEAM (process No. 01.02.016301.03252/2021-67 from 007/2021 BIODIVERSA) and AP Lima receives a productivity fellowship (CT&I Edital #013/2022) from FAPEAM. The work of JM was financially supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic (DKRVO 2024–2028/6.I.b, National Museum of the Czech Republic, 00023272).
Conceptualization: ATM, EDK, APL. Data curation: ATM, JD, APL. Formal analysis: ATM, EDK, APL. Investigation: ATM, EDK, JM, APL. Resources: ATM, JM, APL. Visualization: ATM, EDK, JD, JM, APL. Writing – original draft: ATM, EDK, APL. Writing – review and editing: ATM, EDK, JM, APL.
Alexander Tamanini Mônico https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2965-8020
Esteban Diego Koch https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1181-403X
Jussara Santos Dayrell https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4211-421X
Jiří Moravec https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4114-7466
Albertina Pimentel Lima https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4586-5633
All of the data that support the findings of this study are available in the main text or Supplementary Information.
The sequences are available at GenBank: PV190292–PV190301 (16S), PV197204– PV197209 (12S), PV189994–PV189997 (COI) and PV191292–PV191297 (cyt-b).
The call recordings are available at The Audiovisual Collection of the Museum of Biological Diversity (MDBio), Fonoteca Neotropical Jacques Vielliard (FNJV), UNICAMP (https://www2.ib.unicamp.br/fnjv/):
Morphometric measurements (in mm) of the type specimens of Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov.
Data type: docx
Acoustic parameters of advertisement call of Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov.
Data type: docx
Species of Ranitomeya, Andinobates, and Excidobates used in phylogenetic analyses, with respective voucher, Genbank acession numbers and references
Data type: docx
Species delimitation results of Ranitomeya
Data type: xlsx
Continuation of phylogenetic reconstruction showing the position of Ranitomeya aquamarina sp. nov.
Data type: tif
Explanation note: Bayesian inference tree inferred with 16S, 12S, COI, and cyt-b. Posterior probability is shown close to nodes (See Fig.