A New Cryptic Species of Boana (Hylinae: Cophomantini) of the B. polytaenia Clade from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
A recent systematic revision pointed out that the name Boana polytaenia has been applied to a nonmonophyletic assemblage because populations identified as B. polytaenia from the northern Mantiqueira and southern Espinhaço mountain ranges are not closely related with the species' nominal clade. In this sense, specimens from these two biogeographic regions were recovered within two clades named Boana sp. 3 and Boana sp. 4, respectively. Here we characterized and compared external morphologies, calls, and DNA of specimens of the clade of B. polytaenia and from the two candidate species (Boana sp. 3 and Boana sp. 4). From these comparisons we herein describe a new cryptic species. Boana guarinimirim sp. nov. differs from its closely related species by the presence of a supracloacal crest, calcar appendage, and conspicuous discs on toes. Nevertheless, the new species could not be completely discriminated from its distantly related taxon B. polytaenia. We applied the new name to the clade distributed throughout the northern Mantiqueira range (Boana sp. 3), but the new name could also be applied to the clade from southern Espinhaço range (Boana sp. 4). Additional sampling efforts and new sources of evidence, such as larvae morphology and chromosomal features, should evaluate whether the lineages are conspecifics.ABSTRACT
Scatterplot of the two first axes of discriminant analyses of principal components (DAPC) on the (A) morphometric (9 first Principal Components, ca. 95% retained variance) and (B) acoustic (5 first Principal Components, ca. 95% retained variance) datasets of the tree partitions.
Holotype of Boana guarinimirim sp. nov. (CFBH 46043) from Castelo, Parque Estadual do Forno Grande (Espírito Santo, Brazil): (A) dorsal and (B) ventral views (SVL = 24.1 mm), (C) hand and (D) foot.
Comparison of (A) Boana guarinimirim sp. nov. with other species in the B. polytaenia clade: (B) B. cipoensis (AAG-UFU 0027), (C) B. buriti (AAG-UFU 0433), and (D) B. stenocephala (AAG-UFU 4827). Arrows in (A) indicate the supracloacal crest and the calcar appendage, absent in B–D. Specimens are not to scale.
Advertisement calls (spectrograms and corresponding oscillograms) of (A–B) B. guarinimirim sp. nov. (sound files: Boana_guarinimirimFornoGrandeES2aPM_AAGm671 and Boana_guarinimirimFornoGrandeES3aPM_AAGm671, respectively); (C–D) Boana sp. 4 (sound file: Boana_sp.4BJAmparoMG3aAAGm671); and (E–F) B. polytaenia (sound file: Boana_polytaeniaNovFriburRJ1bLBM_AAGmt). See Appendix 2 for additional information on sound files.
Oscillograms depicting the variation in the envelope structure of the “A” calls of Boana guarinimirim sp. nov. (A) “A” call with a decreasing amplitude modulation; a short (B) and a long (C) “A” call with irregular amplitude modulations (sound files: Boana_guarinimirimFornoGrandeES2aIV_AAG671; Boana_guarinimirimFornoGrandeES4aPM_AAGm671 and FNJV0040231, respectively).
Holotype (CFBH 46043) of Boana guarinimirim sp. nov. in life. (A) Dorsolateral; (B) ventral and (C) dorsolateral view showing the coloration of hidden surfaces of thighs.
Color variation of Boana guarinimirim sp. nov. in life. Dorsolateral view of the paratypes AAG-UFU 6773 (top left), AAG-UFU 6800 (top right), AAG-UFU 6772 (bottom left), and dorsal view of AAG-UFU 6774. Scratch markings produced during aggressive interactions can be noticed on the dorsum of specimens.
Distribution of five species within the B. polytaenia clade in southeastern Brazil (Faivovich et al., 2021; Santos et al., 2009), including that of B. guarinimirim sp. nov.
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