Rediscovery of Osteocephalus vilarsi (Anura: Hylidae): an overlooked but widespread Amazonian spiny-backed treefrog

PeerJ

article

Miquéias Ferrão¹  Jiří Moravec³  Leandro J.C.L. Moraes⁴  Vinicius T. de Carvalho⁵  Marcelo Gordo⁵  Albertina P. Lima⁶ 

[1] Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University;Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia;Department of Zoology, National Museum;Programa de Capacitação Institucional, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia;Departamento de Biologia, Universidade do Amazonas;Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

关键词: Amphibia;    Amazonia;    Brazilian biodiversity;    Integrative taxonomy;    Advertisement call;    Tadpoles;    White-sand ecosystems;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.8160

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Osteocephalus vilarsi (Melin, 1941) is an Amazonian treefrog species known for over 75 years from its holotype only. Due to a lack of published data on its morphological diagnostic characters and their variations, as well as the absence of molecular, acoustic and ecological data supporting its identity, a highly dynamic taxonomic history has led this species to be confused and even synonymised with other Osteocephalus species from distinct species groups. The molecular phylogenetic relationships of O. vilarsi were investigated based on recently collected specimens from eight Northwestern Brazilian localities in the state of Amazonas, leading to its removal from the Osteocephalus taurinus species group and placement in the Osteocephalus planiceps species group. Furthermore, detailed data on morphology and colour variation are provided, as well as advertisement call and tadpole descriptions. Finally, the currently known geographic range of O. vilarsi is considerably extended, first data on the natural history of the species are provided, and the possible ecological preference of O. vilarsi for Amazonian white-sand forests is discussed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY