Bryophryne wilakunka, Riva & Chaparro & Castroviejo-Fisher & Padial, 2018

BRYOPHRYNE WILAKUNKA View in CoL SP. NOV.

( FIG. 6)

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Holotype: MUBI 5425 (field number 4704), adult female from Ayapata valley , province Carabaya, department Puno, Peru, 13°51 ′ 10.6 ″ S, 70°18 ′ 52.2 ″ W, 3947 m ( Fig. 3), collected on 24 February 2006 by I. De la Riva, J. M. Padial, S. Castroviejo-Fisher, and J. C. Chaparro. GoogleMaps

Paratopotype: MNCN 43788 About MNCN (field number 4705) (adult male), same data as the holotype GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis: Bryophryne wilakunka is characterized by: (1) skin on dorsal surfaces, including extremities and head, densely and uniformly warty (warts irregular in shape, low and flat to conical); flanks more densely warty and with larger and sharper warts than dorsum; dorsal folds absent; skin on belly and throat areolate (apparently smooth in preservative); (2) tympanic membrane and annulus small, slightly differentiated, tympanic fold conspicuous; (3) snout short, rounded in dorsal and lateral views; (4) upper eyelid covered with small low warts, cranial crests absent; (5) dentigerous process of vomers absent; (6) vocal slits present, nuptial pads absent; (7) Finger I equal to Finger II, tips of digits rounded, lacking circumferential grooves, ungual flaps and pads; (8) fingers lacking lateral fringes; (9) ulnar region bearing warts; (10) heel lacking tubercles, tarsus lacking tubercles and folds; (11) plantar surfaces of feet bearing two metatarsal tubercles, inner slightly larger than outer; supernumerary plantar tubercles low, weakly defined; (12) toes short and broad, lacking lateral fringes; feet webbing absent; Toe III equal to V, tips of digits rounded, lacking ungual flap and pads; (13) dorsal coloration dark grey to dark brown and black; ventral coloration orange to bright dark red with irregular orange spots on shanks, groins, and throat; palmar and plantar surfaces, and inner dorsal surfaces the same colour as belly; (14) females larger than males, SVL 17.9 (one adult male) to 24.6 (one adult female) ( Table 3).

The sister species and also the geographically closest species to B. wilakunka is B. tocra sp. nov. (type localities separated by 19.8 km straight line distance), from which it differs by having slightly areolate belly (coarsely areolate in B. tocra ), densely warty head and extremities (slightly warty to smooth), a dark grey to black dorsal coloration (dark brown with metallic hues), bright dark red to orange ventral coloration (white with black spots or marbled with black stripes), and reddish-orange blotches on flanks, groins, and axillae (groins, axillae and posterior surfaces of thighs with yellow flash marks surrounded by bold black). Two other species, B. quellokunka and B. zonalis occur in the Marcapata Valley, 80 km northwest of B. wilakunka . From B. quellokunka , B. wilakunka differs by having skin on head densely and uniformly warty (shagreen to smooth in B. quellokunka ), ventral coloration orange to bright dark red (variable, from greyish-purple with diffuse black blotches to brown), and iris dark brown (two inferior thirds dark brown and upper third metallic bluish-grey). From B. zonalis , B. wilakunka differs by lacking dorsolateral folds (present in B. zonalis ), having tympanic membrane and annulus slightly differentiated (absent), vocal slits present in males (absent) and ventral coloration orange to bright dark red (dark grey with white flecks).

Description of the holotype: An adult female, 24.6 mm SVL. Body moderately robust; dorsal skin warty, especially in posterior third of body and flanks; ventral skin slightly areolate, but with large and flat glandular warts; complete dorsolateral folds absent, faintly visible folds in the anterior third of body; pectoral fold absent; head wider than long; HW 34.5% of SVL, HL 31.3% of SVL; snout short, rounded in dorsal view and in profile; nostrils prominent, closer to snout than to eyes; canthus rostralis straight in dorsal view, rounded in profile; eye–nostril distance 57.6% of eye length; loreal region concave; cranial crests absent; tympanic membrane and tympanic annulus small, differentiated beneath the skin; supratympanic fold conspicuous in life; tongue large, oval; choanae small, rounded, broadly separated; dentigerous processes of vomers absent; limbs moderately short; tips of digits round, not expanded laterally, lacking circumferential groves and ungual flap; ulnar tubercle and fold absent; inner palmar tubercle single, round, slightly smaller than oval outer; fingers moderately short, not fringed; Variation: The male MNCN 43788 is smaller than the holotype (see Table 3), but otherwise highly similar in all other respects; it lacks nuptial pads. In life, the paratype was greenish-brown, with ventral surfaces cream instead of reddish-orange.

Distribution and natural history: Known only from the type locality. Individuals were found during the day under rocks in open wet puna at almost 4000 m ( Fig. 7); they moved quite fast and were able to make short leaps (something unusual in other species of this genus).

Etymology: The species epithet is used as a name in apposition and derives from the Aymara ‘Wila Kunka’, meaning red throat (wila = red, kunka = throat), which we use to refer to the bright dark red to orange ventral coloration of this species. Wila Kunka is also the name of a mountain (5350 m) in the Kallawaya mountain range of Puno, Peru.