Herpetology Notes, volume 12: 61-69 (2019) (published online on 13 January 2019) New and noteworthy locality records of anurans from northeastern Andes of Colombia Fabio Leonardo Meza-Joya1,*, Wilfredo Chinchilla-Lemus2, Eliana Ramos1, Orlando Armesto3,4, and Aldemar A. Acevedo3,4 Tropical Andes harbour the greatest frog diversity deposited in herpetological collections are still needed to worldwide with a high number of restricted-range species a better documentation of the regional anuran diversity. that are increasingly threatened by habitat modification Expeditions to several localities on the northeastern and climate change (Myers et al., 2000; Grenyer et portion of the Cordillera Oriental and Sierra Nevada al., 2006; La Sorte and Jetz, 2010). In Colombia, the de Santa Marta in Colombian Andes (Santander, Norte Andes Mountains are divided into three major mountain de Santander, and La Guajira departments) between ranges: Cordillera Occidental, Cordillera Central, and August 2012 and April 2016 resulted in the finding of Cordillera Oriental; with the later harbouring the lower unreported populations of eight anuran species belonging anuran diversity (155 species; 21% of the national to five families: Aromobatidae (1 species), Bufonidae anuran diversity; Acosta-Galvis, 2017) but the higher (1 species), Centrolenidae (1 species), Craugastoridae level of endemism (77 species; ca. 50%; Lynch et al., (4 species), and Dendrobatidae (1 species). Specimens 1997; Bernal and Lynch, 2008; Armesto and Señaris, were identified based on the original species descriptions 2017). While most anuran species from the Cordillera (Günther, 1869 “1868”; Lynch and Duellman, 1973; Oriental of Colombia have been described just over Lynch, 1984, 1996; Kaplan, 1997; Barrio-Amorós et the last 50 years, mainly thanks to the taxonomic work al., 2007; Anganoy-Criollo, 2012; Ospina-Sarria et by J.D. Lynch, P.M. Ruiz Carranza, and M.C. Ardila al., 2015). Voucher specimens were deposited in the Robayo, the recent discovery of new species (e.g., herpetological collection of Universidad Industrial de Anganoy-Criollo, 2012; Acosta-Galvis, 2015; Ospina- Santander (UIS-A) and herpetological collection of Sarria et al., 2015; Rivera-Correa et al., 2016; Rojas- Universidad de Pamplona (MCNUP-H). We provide Runjaic et al., 2018) and the report of new localities for updated distributional maps for the reported species described ones (e.g., Duarte-Cubides and Cala-Rosas, based on relevant literature and specimens housed at 2012; Acevedo et al., 2014; Meza-Joya, 2016), suggest herpetological collections. Records containing uncertain that additional surveys in poorly known areas of this or inconsistent geographic information were excluded cordillera and the careful examination of specimens from the maps. Collection acronyms followed Frost (2017). Family Aromobatidae Allobates ignotus Anganoy-Criollo, 2012.—This 1 Colombia Endémica, Asociación para el estudio y la species was described from three localities on the conservación de los recursos naturales, Bucaramanga, western flank of Serranía de Perijá in Cesar, Colombia Colombia. (Anganoy-Criollo, 2012), but recently was reported 2 Grupo de Estudios en Anfibios y Reptiles de Santander from six additional localities on this mountain range in (G.E.A.R.S), Bucaramanga, Colombia. Cesar and La Guajira departments, Colombia (Granda- 3 Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas, Mención Rodríguez et al., 2018). Known localities range in Ecología, Laboratorio de Biología Evolutiva, Pontificia elevation from 400 to 1236 m (Anganoy-Criollo, 2012; Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile. 4 Grupo de Investigación en Ecología y Biogeografía, Granda-Rodríguez et al., 2018). Herein we report a tenth Universidad de Pamplona, Pamplona, Colombia. locality based on three specimens (UIS-A 6015–6017) * Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] collected at La Gran China site, vereda Barriales-Nuevas 62 Fabio Leonardo Meza-Joya et al. Ideas, El Molino river, El Molino municipality, La reported here (see above) is due to intraspecific variation. Guajira department, Colombia (10.5953°N, 72.8571°W, The revision of the photographs of four specimens from 758 m a.s.l.). This report constitutes the northernmost some of the localities reported in Granda-Rodríguez et locality record for this species, extending the species al. (2018) shows evident variation in these characters, distribution by ca. 30 km NE from the closest locality with the specimen of La Guajira department showing a previously reported (Nicaragua creek, La Jagua del colour pattern similar to the specimens reported here. Pilar; Fig. 1). Specimens were on the floor of riparian Sub-Andean Allobates ignotus differs from its congeners by the forest associated to El Molino river. During fieldwork, combination of the following characteristics (Anganoy- from 13:00 to 17:00 h, we recorded one female, six Criollo, 2012): (1) disks on finger III and toe IV, males, five tadpoles, and two metamorphic specimens. slightly expanded; (2) faintly differentiated lateral keels Males were found calling under rocks in the margins of on all fingers; (3) fringes on all toes, slightly expanded; the river, suggesting reproductive activity. (4) pale dorsolateral stripe extended from eyes to mid- level of insertion of thigh (to the posterior-level of the Family Bufonidae of insertion of thigh in the specimens reported here), Rhaebo glaberrimus (Günther, 1869).—This species and does not drop onto thigh; (5) diffuse pale oblique is known from the eastern flank of the Cordillera Oriental lateral stripe as a series of spots (diffuse pale but not in Colombia and south-eastern border of Cordillera de in a discrete series of spots in the specimens reported Mérida in Venezuela, at elevations between 300 and here), extending anteriorly from the inguinal region to 1470 m (Chacón-Ortíz et al., 2001, 2002; Mueses- more than middle body; (6) ventrolateral stripe present; Cisneros et al., 2012). In Colombia, R. glaberrimus (7) gular-chest region cream, sexually dimorphic; with has been registered from several localities on the scarce brown stippling in adult females and uniformly eastern piedmont of the Cordillera Oriental in Boyacá, dark, brown to greyish brown, in adult males; (8) cloacal Casanare, Cundinamarca, and Meta departments, tubercles absent; and (9) pattern of coloration on dorsum between 520 and 1470 m elevation (Lynch, 2006; brown to dark brown, with one diffuse wide band from Mueses-Cisneros et al., 2012; but see Ruiz-Carranza et snout to urostyle. We consider that variation in the al., 1996). The type locality of this species (i.e., “Bogotá, dorsolateral and oblique lateral stripes in the specimens Cundinamarca”) is probably in error because Bogotá city and its surroundings are about 1100 m above the upper altitudinal limit of the species (1470 m a.s.l.), this region harbour habitats very different of those where the species occurs, and herpetological surveys in this region has not been recorded the species (Mueses-Cisneros et al., 2012). Likewise, the record from Amazonas department (Puerto Rastrojo, Mirití-Paraná river; IAvH 2502) reported by Acosta-Galvis (2017) was assigned to Rhaebo guttatus by Mueses-Cisneros et al. (2012) based on the morphological examination of the specimen. The specimens reported here (MCNUP-H 0423, 0433, 0441) comes from three sites along an elevational gradient at vereda San Antonio, San Lorenzo river, Toledo municipality, Parque Nacional Natural Tamá, Norte de Santander department, Colombia (7.1604°N, 72.2286°W, 646 m a.s.l.; 7.1503°N, 72.2218°W, 780 m a.s.l.). This report account for the first records of this species from Norte de Santander department and Figure 1. Lateral view of an alive specimen of Allobates extend the species’ distribution by ca. 95 km SSW ignotus (UIS-A 6015) and its updated geographic distribution: the black circle indicates the localities referred in Anganoy- from the closest locality previously reported (Uribante Criollo (2012) and Granda-Rodríguez et al. (2018), and the municipality, Táchira state, Venezuela), filling the red circle indicates the new distributional record reported here. distribution gap between the previously recorded Datum WGS84. Photo: F.L. Meza-Joya. Colombian and Venezuelan localities (Fig. 2). New and noteworthy locality records of anurans from Colombia 63 of the Cordillera Oriental in Boyacá, Casanare, Meta, and Caquetá departments, between 540 and 1650 m elevation (Lynch, 2006; Pedroza-Banda et al., 2014; Astwood-Romero et al., 2016). Here we report this species from San Lorenzo river, vereda San Antonio, National Natural Park Tamá, Toledo municipality, Norte de Santander department, Colombia (7.1569°N, 72.2125°W, 714 m a.s.l; 7.1572°N, 72.2231°W, 829 m a.s.l). Collected specimens (MCNUP-H 0231, 0233) account for the first records of R. flavopunctata at foothills of Tamá Massif in Colombia and extends its distributional range ca. 224 km NNE from the closest known record (La Limonita stream, Pajarito municipality, Boyacá department; Fig. 3). Figure 2. Dorsal and ventral view of a museum specimen Rulyrana flavopunctata can be easily distinguished of Rhaebo glaberrimus (MCNUP-H 0423) and its updated from other glass frogs by the combination of the following geographic distribution: the black circles indicates the localities characters (Lynch and Duellman, 1973): (1) head slightly referred in Chacón et al. (2001), (2002), Lynch (2006), and wider than body; (2) snout short, rounded in dorsal and Mueses-Cisneros