A team of scientists from the United States, Argentina, and Brazil has described a new species of small treefrog from the rocky outcrops of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
The Teresensis’ bromeliad treefrog (Dendropsophus bromeliaceus), male. Image credit: Ferreira R.B. et al.
The newly discovered species is a member of the treefrog genus Dendropsophus, which is currently composed of 96 species distributed from Mexico to Argentina, according to the team, led by Dr Rodrigo Ferreira of the Universidade Vila Velha in Brazil and Utah State University.
The scientists named the species Dendropsophus bromeliaceus and gave it the common name Teresensis’ bromeliad treefrog, which refers to the people born in the municipality of Santa Teresa, Brazil where it was found.
“Dendropsophus bromeliaceus is currently only known from three rocky outcrops in the area surrounding the Reserva Biológica Augusto Ruschi in the Municipality of Santa Teresa, a mountainous region of the State of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil,” Dr Ferreira and co-authors wrote in a paper in the journal PLoS ONE.
They compared the appearance of all Dendropsophus species and determined that the new one is distinguished by its small size, framed color pattern on the back, and short webbing between the fourth and fifth toes, among others qualities.
“Dendropsophus bromeliaceus can be distinguished from all other known congeners by having a tadpole phase associated with rainwater that accumulates in bromeliad plants,” the scientists said.
The new treefrog uses a variety of bromeliad plant species to breed in, and may be both territorial and exhibit male parental care.
The scientists said Dendropsophus bromeliaceus is s a nocturnal frog with males calling in both the rainy (October through December) and dry season (June and July).
“The most distant populations of Dendropsophus bromeliaceus were about 13.5 km straight line apart. All the rocky outcrops studied are on private property. Based on the known distribution of Dendropsophus bromeliaceus, its extent of occurrence is about 50 sq km,” Dr Ferreira and his colleagues wrote in the paper.
Although Dendropsophus bromeliaceus could be listed as Critically Endangered under IUCN criteria, at this time it should be listed as Data Deficient due to the lack of information on its exact geographic distribution and population size.
“The fact that the current three populations are only known from private property highlights the vital importance of preserving these natural areas.”
_____
Ferreira R.B. et al. 2015. The First Bromeligenous Species of Dendropsophus (Anura: Hylidae) from Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. PLoS ONE 10 (12): e0142893; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142893
