Phyllonastes Heyer, 1977

Phyllonastes Heyer, 1977 View in CoL

( Fig. 4 View Figure 4 )

Type species: Euparkerella myrmecoides Lynch, 1976 , by original designation.

Definition ( Tables 2 View Table 2 and 3 View Table 3 ): (1) Adult female average SVL <17.5 mm, adult male <15.6 mm, Table 4 View Table 4 ; (2) head narrower than body, wide body; (3) tympanic annulus present; (4) cranial crest absent; (5) finger I <finger II; (6) distal phalanges of fingers and toes narrowly T-shaped; (7) knees and heels without tubercles; (8) presence of inner tarsal tubercle; (9) toes bearing circumferential grooves; (10) toe V <toe III; (11) foot phalangeal formula 2-2-3-4-3; (12) dark facial mask extending at least to the middle of the flanks, triangular cloacal blotch present; (13) frontoparietals longer than wide, narrower at the anterior end; (14) premaxillary and maxillary teeth present; (15) nasal bones small, separate from maxilla; (16) zygomatic branch of squamosal much shorter than otic branch; (17) vomers reduced, broadly separated from each other, vomerine teeth absent; (18) occipital condyles widely separated from each other; (19) medial ridges present at least on presacral vertebrae III–IV; (20) urostyle crest very prominent; (21) expanded to broadly expanded sacral diapophyses; and (22) small prepollex and prehallux present.

Content (15 species): Phyllonastes cerrogolondrinas , Phyllonastes coloma ( Guayasamin & Terán-Valdez, 2009) comb. nov., Phyllonastes ecuadoriensis , Phyllonastes dicaprioi , Phyllonastes heyeri Lynch, 1986 , Phyllonastes lynchi Duellman, 1991 , Phyllonastes lochites ( Lynch, 1976) , Phyllonastes mindo ( Reyes-Puig et al., 2021) comb. nov., Phyllonastes macuma , Phyllonastes myrmecoides ( Lynch, 1976) ; Phyllonastes naturetrekii ( Reyes-Puig et al., 2019) comb. nov., Phyllonastes personinus ( Harvey et al., 2013) comb. nov., Phyllonastes plateadensis , Phyllonastes sardinayacu , and Phyllonastes worleyae ( Reyes-Puig et al., 2020) comb. nov.

Distribution: Pacific foothills and western slopes of the Andes of Ecuador, in Western Foothill Forest and Western Montane Forest between 1100 and 2554 m a.s.l.; on the western Amazon Basin, eastern Andean slopes of Ecuador, in Eastern Montane Forest, Eastern Foothill Forest ≤ 2400 m.a.s.l. in Ecuador and Amazonian Tropical Rainforest from southeastern Colombia to northern and central Peru, and northwestern Brazil, ≥ 90 m a.s.l. ( Fig. 3 View Figure 3 ).

Remarks: The specific epithet personina is replaced by the specific epithet personinus to match the masculine gender of the genus Phyllonastes . Thus, Noblella personina becomes Phyllonastes personinus . In the new specific epithet, the root person- is maintained, and the diminutive suffix -ina is replaced by the Latin suffix - us. We include P. lynchi in the genus Phyllonastes because it has the synapomorphies of the group: (1) absence of vomerine teeth; (2) subacuminate toe tips; (3) toes distally expanded; and (4) presence of circumferential grooves in toes ( Duellman 1991). Additionally, it presents characteristics more frequently found within the northern clade: (1) presence of tympanic membrane; and (2) presence of inner tarsal tubercle. In addition, its distribution range is closer to the northern clade ( Fig. 3 View Figure 3 ). It is ~ 218 km in a straight line from the confirmed record of P. lynchi to the nearest confirmed record of the northern clade ( P. heyeri ) and ~ 490 km to the nearest record of the southern clade ( N. duellmani ).