Paraphrynus laevifrons (Pocock, 1894 b)

Paraphrynus laevifrons (Pocock, 1894 b) View in CoL

Figs 10 A – F View Figure 10 , 11 A – D View Figure 11 , 15 View Figure 15

Material examined.

Colombia • 1 ♀ 1 ♂; Providencia Island; Represa túnel artificial; Freshwater Bay , Isla de Providencia, Archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina; 12°20'38.4"N, 81°23'16.9"W; 0 m a. s. l.; Carlos A. Lasso leg. ( IAvH -I-7879 ) (New record) GoogleMaps . • 1 ♀ 1 ♂; Cueva Bat Hole, Chay Hill , Isla de Providencia, Archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina; 13°20'20"N, 81°23'44.8"W; 0 m a. s. l.; Carlos A. Lasso leg. ( PV-39 ) (New record) GoogleMaps . • ♀ ♂; Cueva de Sara , Isla de San Andrés, Archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina; 12°32'41.4"N, 81°43'37.8"W; 0 m a. s. l.; Carlos A. Lasso leg. ( IAvH -I-7881 ) GoogleMaps .

Records.

Colombia, San Andrés ( Chirivi and Armas 2012); Providencia; Chocó ( Chirivi and Armas 2012).

Remarks.

Paraphrynus laevifrons is a species with a wide distribution in Central and North America, including the Yucatán Peninsula, where it inhabits various environments, including caves ( Reddell 1981; Chirivi and Armas 2012). The species lacks a precise type locality, being broadly described from “ West coastal America. ” In Colombia, it has only been recorded from two localities — Isla San Andrés and Chocó ( Chirivi and Armas 2012). Our study provides the first record of this species from Providencia Island (Caribbean Sea), as well as the first record of P. laevifrons in a cave habitat in Colombia. Due to (1) the absence of a specific type locality, (2) the lack of direct examination of the holotype, and (3) the morphological similarity of our specimens with those described by Chirivi and Armas (2012), we have followed their identification to designate the specimens from Providencia studied here. It is noteworthy, however, that the material identified as Paraphrynus laevifrons from Guatemala by ( Armas et al. 2017) shows significant differences, casting doubt on the conspecificity of these populations. Integrative systematics studies reveal a cryptic diversity in some populations from Southwestern North America ( Cazzaniga and Prendini 2024).

Natural history.

The specimens from Providencia Island were collected from a cave located along the coast, with the upper section consisting of sand and dry guano, while the lower section is inundated with seawater and subjected to wave action. The cave is situated approximately 10 meters from the shoreline, exposed to the effects of wave impact. The adaptation of these species to such conditions remains unclear.