Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Article
Published: 2017-05-01
Page range: 327–344
Abstract views: 162
PDF downloaded: 3

The dark side of pumpkin toadlet: a new species of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from Serra do Brigadeiro, southeastern Brazil

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Museu de Zoologia João Moojen, Vila Gianetti 32, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-900, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
Departamento de Biologia Animal, Museu de Zoologia João Moojen, Vila Gianetti 32, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-900, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Museu de Zoologia João Moojen, Vila Gianetti 32, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-900, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Animal, Museu de Zoologia João Moojen, Vila Gianetti 32, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-900, Viçosa, MG, Brazil. Departamento de Biologia Animal, Museu de Zoologia João Moojen, Vila Gianetti 32, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 36570-900, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
Amphibia Brachycephalus darkside sp. nov. Atlantic Rainforest osteology histology bioacoustics natural history

Abstract

Brachycephalus is a frog genus endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and characterized by the bright yellow-orange aposematic colors and the high degree of miniaturization. Herein, we describe a new species of Brachycephalus from Serra do Brigadeiro, Municipality of Ervália, Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil. Specimens were collected at high altitudes (i.e., 1266–1498 m above sea level) amidst the leaf litter. The new species is characterized by the presence of black connective tissue covering all dorsal muscles, body completely yellow-orange in life, presence of skull and post-cranial plates, large size (SVL of adults: 14.8–18.5 mm), bufoniform body, absence of metacarpal and metatarsal tubercles, and presence of harmonics in its advertisement call.

 

References

  1. Almeida-Santos, M., Siqueira, C.C., Van Sluys, M. & Rocha, C.F.D. (2011) Ecology of the Brazilian flea frog Brachycephalus didactylus (Terrarana: Brachycephalidae). Journal of Herpetology, 45, 251–255.
    https://doi.org/10.1670/10-015.1

    Alves, A.C.R., Ribeiro, L.F., Haddad, C.F.B. & dos Reis, S.F. (2006) Two new species of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from th Atlantic Forest in Paraná state, southern Brazil. Herpetologica, 62, 221–233.
    https://doi.org/10.1655/05-41.1

    Alves, A.C.R., Sawaya, R., Reis, S.F. & Haddad, C.B.F. (2009) A new species of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from the Atlantic rain forest in São Paulo state, southeastern Brazil. Journal of Herpetology, 43, 212–219.

    https://doi.org/10.1670/0022-1511-43.2.212

    Araújo, C.B., Guerra, T.J., Amatuzzi, M.C.O. & Campo, L.A. (2012) Advertisement and territorial calls of Brachycephalus pitanga (Anura: Brachycephalidae). Zootaxa, 3302, 66–67.

    Bioacoustics Research Program (2014) Raven Pro: Interactive Sound Analysis Software (Version 1.5) [Computer software]. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY. Available from: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/raven (accessed 10 April 2017)

    Bornschein, M.R., Firkowski, C.R., Belmonte-Lopes, L.C., Ribeiro, L.F., Morato, S.A.A., Antoniazzi-Jr., R., Reinert, B.L., Meyer, A.L.S., Cini, F.A. & Pie, M.R. (2016a) Geographical and altitudinal distribution of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest. PeerJ, 4, e2490,

    https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2490

    Bornschein, M.R., Ribeiro, L.F., Blackburn, D.C., Stanley, E.L. & Pie, M.R. (2016b) A new species of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. PeerJ, 4, e2629.
    https://doi.org/10.771/peerj.2629

    Campos, L.A., da Silva, H.R. & Sebben, A. (2010) Morphology and development of additional bony elements in the genus Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 99, 752–767.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.2010.01375.x

    Clemente-Carvalho, R.B.G., Antoniazzi, M., Jared, C., Haddad, C.F.B., Alves, A.C.R., Rocha, H.S., Pereira, G.R., Oliveira, D.F., Lopes, R.T. & dos Reis, S.F. (2009) Hyperossification in miniaturized toadlets of the genus Brachycephalus (Amphibia: Anura: Brachycephalidae): Microscopic structure and macroscopic patterns of variation. Journal of Morphology, 270, 1285–1295.
    https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.10755

    Clemente-Carvalho, R.B.G., Klaczko, J., Perez, S.I., Alves, A.C.R., Haddad, C.F.B. & dos Reis, S.F. (2011) Molecular phylogenetic relationships and phenotypic diversity in miniaturized toadlets, genus Brachycephalus (Amphibia: Anura: Brachycephalidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 61, 79–89.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2011.05.017

    Clemente-Carvalho, R.B.G., Giaretta, A.A., Condez, T.H., Haddad, C.F.B. & dos Reis, S.F. (2012) A new species of miniaturized toadlet, genus Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae), from the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. Herpetologica, 68, 365–374.
    https://doi.org/10.1655/HERPETOLOGICA-D-11-00085.1

    Clemente-Carvalho, R.B.G., Perez, S.I., Tonhati, C.H., Condez, T.H., Sawaya, R.J., Haddad, C.F.B. & Reis, S.F. (2015) Boundaries of morphological and molecular variation and the distribution range od miniaturized froglet, Brachycephalus nodoterga (Anura: Brachycephalidae). Journal of Herpetology, 50 (1), 169–178.

    Condez, T.H., Clemente-Carvalho, R.B.G., Haddad, C.F.B. & dos Reis, S.F. (2014) A new species of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from the highlands of the Atlantic Forest, Southeastern Brazil. Herpetologica, 70, 89–99.

    https://doi.org/10.1655/HERPETOLOGICA-D-13-00044

    Condez, T.H., de Monteiro, J.P.C., Comitti E.J., Garcia, P.C.A., Amaral, I.B. & Haddad, C.F.B. (2016) A new species of flea-toad (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from Southern Atlantic Forest, Brazil. Zootaxa, 4083 (1), 40–56.
    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4083.1.2

    Dayrell, J.S., Oliveira, E.F., Cassini, C.S. & Feio, R.N. (2006) Brachycephalus ephippium (Pumpkin Toadlet): geographic distribution. Herpetological Review, 37, 357.

    Dorigo, T.A., Siqueira, C.C., Vrcibradic, D., Maia-Carneiro, T., Almeida-Santos, M. & Rocha, C.F.D. (2012) Ecological aspects of the pumpkin toadlet, Brachycephalus garbeanus Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920 (Anura: Neobatrachia: Brachycephalidae), in a highland forest of southeastern Brazil. Journal of Natural History, 46, 2497–2507.

    https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2012.713525

    Estrada, A.R. & Hedges, S.B. (1996) At the lower size limit in tetrapods: a new diminutive frog from Cuba (Leptodactylidae: Eleutherodactylus). Copeia, 1996, 852–859.

    https://doi.org/10.2307/1447647

    Fontoura, P.L., Ribeiro, L.F. & Pie, M.R. (2011) Diet of Brachycephalus brunneus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) in the Atlantic Rainforest of Paraná, southern Brazil. Zoologia, 28, 687–689.
    https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-46702011000500019

    Frost, D.R. (2017) Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Electronic Database accessble. Available from: http://research.amnh.org/herpetology/amphibia/index.html (accessed March 10 2017)

    Garey, M.V., Lima, A.M.X., Hartmann, M.T. & Haddad, C.F.B. (2012) A new species of miniaturized toadlet genus Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae), from southern Brazil. Herpetologica, 68, 266–271.
    https://doi.org/10.1655/HERPETOLOGICA-D-11-00074.1

    Haddad, C.F.B., Alves, A.C.R., Clemente-Carvalho, R.B.G. & Reis, S.F. (2010) A new species of Brachycephalus from Atlantic Rain Forest in São Paulo State, Southeastern Brazil (Amphibia: Anura: Brachycephalidae). Copeia, 2010, 410–420. https://doi.org/10.1643/CH-09-102

    Hanken, J. & Wake, D.B. (1993) Miniaturization of body size: Organismal consequences and evolutionary significance. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 24, 501–519.

    https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.es.24.110193.002441

    Heyer, W.R., Rand, A.S., Cruz, C.A.G., Peixoto, O.L. & Nelson, C.E. (1990) Frogs of Boracéia. Arquivos de Zoologia, 31, 231–410.

    Karnovsky, M.J. (1965) A formaldehyde-glutaraldehyde fixative of high osmolarity for use in electron microscopy. Journal of Cell Biology, 27, 137–138. [137–138A]

    Lima, M.S.C.S., Pederassi, J. & Souza, C.A.S. (2013) Habitat use by the pumpkin toadlet, Brachycephalus ephippium (Anura, Brachycephalidae), in the Atlantic Rain Forest of Brazil. Boletín de la Asociación Herpetológica Española, 24, 11–14.

    Miranda-Ribeiro, A. (1920) Os Brachycephalideos do Museu Paulista (com tres especes novas). Revista do Museu Paulista, 12, 307–316.

    Moura, M.R., Motta, A.P., Fernandes, V.D. & Feio, R.N. (2012) Herpetofauna da Serra do Brigadeiro, um remanescente de Mata Atlântica em Minas Gerais, Brasil. Biota Neotrop, 12 (1), 209–235.
    https://doi.org/10.1655/03-41

    Napoli, M.F. (2005) A new species allied to Hyla circumdata (Anura: Hylidae) from Serra da Mantiqueira, Southeastern Brazil. Herpetologica, 61, 63–69.
    https://doi.org/10.1655/03-41

    Napoli, M.F., Caramaschi, U., Cruz, C.A.G. & Dias, I.R. (2011) A new species of flea-toad, genus Brachycephalus Fitzinger (Amphibia: Anura: Brachycephalidae), from the Atlantic rainforest of southern Bahia, Brazil. Zootaxa, 2739 (1), 33–40. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2739.1.3

    Padial, J.M., Grant, T. & Frost, D.F. (2014) Molecular systematics of terraranas (Anura: Brachycephaloidea) with an assessment of the effects of alignment and optimality criteria. Zootaxa, 3825 (1), 1–132.
    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3825.1.1

    Pie, M.R., Meyer, A.L.S., Firkowski, C.R., Ribeiro. L.F. & Bornschein, M.R. (2013) Understanding the mechanisms underlying the distribution of microendemic montane frogs (Brachycephalus spp., Terrarana: Brachycephalidae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest. Ecological Modelling, 250, 165–176.

    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.10.019

    Pie, M.R. & Ribeiro, L.F. (2015) A new species of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from the Quiriri mountain range of southern Brazil. PeerJ, 3, e1179.
    https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1179

    Pires, O.R., Sebben, A., Schwartz, E.F., Morales, R.A.V., Bloch, C. & Schwartz, C.A. (2005) Further report of the occurrence of tetrodotoxin and new analogues in the anuran family Brachycephalidae. Toxicon, 45, 73–79.
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2004.09.016

    Pombal Jr, J.P., Sazima, I. & Haddad, C.F.B. (1994) Breeding behavior of the pumpkin toadlet, Brachycephalus ephippium (Brachycephalidae). Journal of Herpetology, 28, 516–519.
    https://doi.org/10.2307/1564972

    Pombal Jr., J.P., Wistuba, E.M. & Bornschein, M.R. (1998) A new species of Brachycephalid (Anura) from the Atlantic Rain Forest of Brazil. Journal of Herpetology, 32, 70–74.

    https://doi.org/10.2307/1565481

    Pombal Jr, J.P. (1999) Oviposicão e desenvolvimento de Brachycephalus ephippium (Spix) (Anura, Brachycephalidae). Revista Brasileira de Zoologia, 16, 967–976.

    https://doi.org/10.1590/S0101-81751999000400004

    Pombal Jr., J.P. (2001) A new species of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from Atlantic Rain Forest of southeastern Brazil. Amphibia-Reptilia, 22, 179–185.
    https://doi.org/10.1163/15685380152030409

    Pombal Jr., J.P. & Gasparini, J.L. (2006) A new Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from the Atlantic Forest of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. South American Journal of Herpetology, 1, 87–93.
    https://doi.org/10.2994/1808-9798(2006)1[87:ANBABF]2.0.CO;2

    Pombal Jr., J.P. (2010) A posição taxonômica das “variedades” de Brachycephalus ephippium (Spix, 1824) descritas por Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920 (Amphibia, Anura, Brachycephalidae). Boletim do Museu Nacional, Nova Série, Zoologia, 526, 1–12.

    Pombal Jr., J.P. & Izecksohn, E. (2011) Uma nova espécie de Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) do estado do Rio de Janeiro. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, 51, 443–451.
    https://doi.org/10.1590/s0031-10492011002800001

    Ribeiro, L.F., Alves, A.C.R., Haddad, C.F.B. & dos Reis, S.F. (2005) Two new species of Brachycephalus Günther, 1858 from the State of Paraná, southern Brazil (Amphibia, Anura, Brachycephalidae). Boletim do Museu Nacional, Nova Série, Zoologia, 519, 1–18.

    Ribeiro, L.F., Ströher, P.R., Firkowski, C.R., Cini, F.A., Bornschein, M.R. & Pie, M.R. (2014) Brachycephalus pernix (Anura: Brachycephalidae), a new host of Ophiotaenia (Eucestoda: Proteocephalidea). Herpetology Notes, 7, 291–294.

    Ribeiro, L.F., Bornschein, M.R., Belmonte-Lopes, R., Firkowski, C.R. & Morato, S.A.A. (2015) Seven new microendemic species of Brachycephalus (Anura: Brachycephalidae) from southern Brazil. PeerJ, 3, e1011.
    https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1011

    R Core Team (2014) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Available from: http://www.R-project.org/ (accessed 2 December 2015)

    Rocha, P.C., Thompson, J.R., Leite, F.S.F. & Garcia, P.C.A. (2016) The advertisement call of Bokermannohyla flavopicta Leite, Pezzuti & Garcia, 2012 (Anura: Hylidae) from the mountains of Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil. Zootaxa, 4061 (3), 277–280.
    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4061.3.6

    Silva, H.R., Campos, L.A. & Sebben, A. (2007) The auditory region of Brachycephalus and its bearing on the monophyly os the genus (Anura: Brachycephalidae). Zootaxa, 1422 (1), 59–68.
    https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1422.1.4

    Sueur, J., Aubin, T. & Simonis, C. (2008) Seewave: a free modular tool for sound analysis and synthesis. Bioacoustics, 18, 213–226.

    https://doi.org/10.1080/09524622.2008.9753600

    Taylor, W.R. & Van Dyke, G.C. (1985) Revised Procedures for staining and clearing small fishes and other vertebrates for bone and cartilage study. Cybium, 9, 107–119.

    Toledo, L.F., Martins, I.A., Bruschi, D.P., Passos, M.A., Alexandre, C. & Haddad, C.F. (2015) The anuran calling repertoire in the light of social context. Acta Ethologica, 18, 87–89.
    https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-014-0194-4

    Trueb, L. & Alberch, P. (1985) Miniaturization in the anuran skull: A case study of heterochrony. In: Duncker, H.R. & Fleischer, G. (Eds.), Vertebrate Morphology. Gustav Fisher Verlag, pp. 113–121

    Verdade, K.V., Rodrigues, M.T., Cassimiro, J., Pavan, D., Liou, N. & Lange, M.C. (2008) Advertisement call, vocal activity, and geographic distribution of Brachycephalus hermogenesi (Giaretta and Sawaya, 1998) (Anura, Brachycephalidae). Journal of Herpetology, 42, 542–549.
    https://doi.org/10.1670/07-287.1

    Warshall, P. (1995) The Madrean Sky Island Archipelago: A planetary overview. In: Biodiversity and Management of the Madrean Archipelago: The Sky Islands of Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. General Technical Report RM-GTR-264. U.S. Forest Service, Tucson, Arizona, pp. 6–18.

    Wistuba, E.M. (1998) História natural de Brachycephalus pernix Pombal, Wistuba & Borschein, 1998 (Anura) no Morro Anhangava, Município de Quatro Barras, Estado do Paraná. Ms. Thesis, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, 89 pp.

    Yeh, J. (2002) The effect of miniaturized body size on skeletal morphology in frogs. Evolution, 56, 628–641.
    https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0014-3820.2002.tb01372.x