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

BRYOPHRYNE QUELLOKUNKA View in CoL SP. NOV.

( FIG. 2)

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Holotype: MUBI 5380 (field number 4626), adult female from Qorpinte , 2 km from Tambopampa towards Marcapata , Palquilla river valley, province Quispicanchis, department Cusco, Peru, 13°36 ′ 18.8 ″ S, 71°03 ′ 8.8 ″ W, 3964 m ( Fig. 3), collected on 20 February 2006 by I. De la Riva, J. M. Padial, S. Castroviejo-Fisher, and J. C. Chaparro. GoogleMaps

Paratopotypes: MUBI 5374 , 5375 , 5377 (field numbers 4617, 4618, 4620), and MNCN 43780 About MNCN , 43782 About MNCN (field numbers 4616, 4622) (adult males) ; MNCN 43784 About MNCN (field number 4627) (adult female) ; MUBI 5376 , 5378 , 5379 (field numbers 4619, 4624, 4625) and MNCN 43799 About MNCN , 43781 About MNCN , 43783 About MNCN (field numbers 4615, 4621, 4623) (juveniles), same data as the holotype GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis: Bryophryne quellokunka is characterized by: (1) skin on dorsum uniformly warty, warts round to conical and low, with two incomplete dorsolateral folds barely reaching midbody and continuing sometimes as an irregular row of warts; skin of head shagreen to smooth, warty dorsally; belly and chest areolate, throat smooth; (2) tympanic membrane and tympanic annulus slightly perceptible beneath skin, smaller than 2/3 of EL, supratympanic fold composed of a row of warts; (3) snout short, round in dorsal view, blunt in lateral view; (4) upper eyelid lacking tubercles, bearing small conical warts; (5) dentigerous process of vomers absent; (6) vocal slits and sac present, nuptial pads absent; (7) Finger I shorter than Finger II, tips of digits rounded, lacking ungual flap and circumferential grooves; (8) fingers lacking lateral fringes; (9) ulnar region bearing warts; (10) heel lacking tubercles, tarsus lacking tubercles and folds; (11) two metatarsal tubercles, inner slightly larger than outer; supernumerary tubercles inconspicuous; (12) toes lacking lateral fringes; webbing absent; Toe III longer than V, tips of digits rounded, lacking ungual flap and circumferential grooves; (13) dorsal coloration reddish-brown to dark brown, sometimes with a blackish-grey interorbital and/or middorsal mark; ventral coloration variable, from greyish-purple with diffuse black blotches to brown, throat and plantar surfaces orange to yellow, axillae and groins without flash marks; (14) females larger than males, SVL 27.6–28.2 in adult females (n = 2), 18.0– 20.3 mm in adult males (n = 5) ( Table 3).

Bryophryne quellokunka is sister to B. cophites , and this clade is in turn sister to B. bakersfield . The three species in this clade are similar but have some morphological differences. Bryophryne bakersfield has complete dorsolateral folds and short but conspicuous dorsal and occipital fold, and the dorsal skin is less homogeneously warty. Also, while the coloration of B. quellokunka is mostly homogeneously brown, colour patterns in B. bakersfield are diverse (orange, yellow, black, olive green, etc.). Bryophryne cophites has a less warty dorsal skin, almost smooth or with low warts, while the skin of B. quellokunka is conspicuously and homogeneously warty and has two incomplete dorsolateral folds sometimes shown as an irregular row of warts. Another species, B. zonalis , is known from near the type locality of B. quellokunka but at a lower elevation (Kusillochayoc, 3129 m; Lehr & Catenazzi, 2009), and both species have marked differences. Bryophryne zonalis has metallic blue to metallic orange spots surrounded by bold black in the lower part of the belly

SVL, snout-vent length; HL, head length; HW, head width; IND, internarial distance; END, distance from eye to nostril; ED, eye diameter; TL, tibia length; FL, foot length.

and ventral parts of shanks, lacking in B. quellokunka . It has a shagreen to smooth dorsal skin, and the upper third of iris is golden with fine black reticulations (bluish-grey in B. quellokunka ). Also, B. quellokunka is larger in size (maximum SVL of females 28.2 mm vs. 24.4 mm).

Description of the holotype: An adult female, 28.2 mm SVL. Body robust; dorsal skin homogeneously warty; ventral skin areolate; dorsolateral folds present, incomplete; pectoral fold absent; head wider than long; HW 32.9% of SVL, HL 31.9% of SVL; snout moderately short, rounded in dorsal view and in profile; nostrils not prominent, closer to snout than to eyes; canthus rostralis barely marked; eye–nostril distance 59.4% of eye length; loreal region slightly concave; cranial crests absent; tympanic membrane and tympanic annulus small, slightly evident beneath the skin; supratympanic fold absent; tongue large, oval; choanae small, oval, broadly separated; dentigerous processes of vomers absent; limbs short; tips of digits round, not expanded laterally; ulnar tubercle and fold absent; inner palmar tubercle oval, flattened, poorly defined, the same size as round outer; fingers moderately short, not fringed, tips rounded and lacking circumferential grooves and ungual flap; subarticular tubercles at the base of fingers round, large; supernumerary tubercles round, poorly marked; first finger slightly shorter than second, relative length of fingers 1 <2 <4 <3; tibia length 32.9% of SVL; tarsal fold absent; two round metatarsal tubercles, inner approximately the same size as outer; supernumerary tubercles flat, not well marked; subarticular tubercles round, moderately swollen; toes lacking basal webbing or lateral fringes, toe tips round, lacking circumferential groves and ungual flap; relative length of toes 1 <2 <3 <5 <4; foot length 39.0% of SVL.

In preservative, dorsum uniformly brown, venter and throat pale brown with a uniform, fine marbled cream pattern; digits cream. In life, the dorsum was uniformly brown with some reddish-brown warts, the venter was grey with irregular brown markings, the throat was yellowish orange, and the digits were orange; there were small orange irregular blotches on axillae and groins; the venter was greyish-brown with irregular dirty-yellow patterns; the digits were yellowish-orange; the two inferior thirds of the iris were dark brown while the upper third was metallic bluish-grey.

Measurements (in mm) of the holotype: SVL, 28.2; HL, 9.0; HW, 9.3; IND, 2.2; END, 2.2; ED, 3.7; TL, 9.3; FL, 11.0.

Variation: Dorsal colour pattern is similar in all specimens; some of them (e.g. MUBI 5375 , 5377 ) have irregular, feeble dark brown markings on the sides of the scapular region, above the groins, on limbs and on the canthal region; the venter and throat vary from almost uniformly brown ( MUBI 5376 ) to almost uniformly cream ( MUBI 5375 ). Only two specimens out of 13 did not have the bluish-grey upper third of the iris, having it brown as the rest of the eye. For morphometric variation, see Table 3 .

Distribution and natural history: Known only from the type locality ( Fig. 3). Individuals were found during the day under stones in wet puna.

Etymology: The species epithet is used as a name in apposition, and derives from the Quechua word Q’ello Kunka meaning yellow throat (q’ello yellow, kunka throat), and refers to the yellowish throat of the species. Q’ello Kunka is also the name of a mountain (5100 m) in the Quispicanchis province, Marcapata district, that belongs to the Vilcanota (Willkamayu) mountain range.