June 2, 2016
A new rain frog species has been
described from Amazonian Peru and the Amazonian foothills of the Andes. The
frog, given the name Pristimantis pluvialis,
was found by researchers from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, the
University of Michigan, and the National University of San Antonio Abad of
Cusco in Peru. The discovery is published in the open access journal ZooKeys.
Several individuals of P. pluvialis were found during
nocturnal surveys near Manu National Park, a region recognized as having the
highest diversity of reptiles and amphibians of any protected area.
The species has also been
collected within the private conservation area Bosque Nublado, owned by the
Peruvian NGO Perú Verde, and within the Huachiperi Haramba Queros Conservation
Concession, the first such type of concession granted to a native community in Peru.
The new species is likely found
within the park as well, bringing the number of known amphibian species in this
area to 156. Similarly to other species within its genus, which is among the
largest vertebrate genera, the new rain frog exhibits direct
development. This means that it is capable of undergoing its entire life cycle
without a free-living tadpole stage.
It can be distinguished from
other members of its genus by call, skin texture, and the presence of a rostral
papilla. It was given the name "pluvialis", translatable to
"rainy" from Latin, to denote the incredibly rain-soaked habitat it
lives in (>8 meters of rain yearly), and because it was found calling only
after heavy rains.
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