On the taxonomy of snakes in the genus Leptodeira, with an emphasis on Costa Rican species

Considerable confusion surrounds the taxonomy of snakes in the genus Leptodeira, which contains 12 currently recognized species. Herein I review the genus and recognize 15 species based on previously published morphological and genetic data. Easily recognized traits can be used to identify Costa Rican species of Leptodeira, and taxonomic insights into all species in the L. annulata-septentrionalis complex are discussed. Photographs of all currently recognized species and subspecies are included

Bolitoglossa spongai

Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science

A new minute Andean Pristimantis (Anura: Strabomantidae) from Venezuela

A new species of Pristimantis is described from the Venezuelan Andes. The new species is the smallest in its genus known in Venezuela and belongs to the Pristimantis unistrigatus Group. It differs from the rest of Venezuelan Andean congeners in body size (mean male SVL < 21.3 mm, female SVL < 26.3 mm), expanded discs on fingers and toes, absence of dorsolateral folds, and a distinctivecall consisting in 2–5 cricket-like short notes. The new species inhabits the southwestern part of the Cordillera de Mérida in Venezuela and the Venezuelan side of the Cordillera Oriental deColombia, and could be present on the Colombian portion of the cordillera as well

Material herpetológico colectado por Roberto Donoso Barros en Venezuela (excepto geckos) en el Museo de Zoologia de la Universidad de Concepción, Chile

The material collected by Roberto Donoso Barros in Venezuela between 1963 and 1964 deposited at the Universidad de Concepción in Chile is catalogued and commented. Species are ordered following current systematic; specimens and species of interest are commented, especially those type material described by RDB.Se revisa el material herpetológico recolectado por Roberto Donoso Barros en Venezuela entre los años 1963 y 1964, el cual se encuentra depositado en la colección de vertebrados de la Universidad de Concepción, Chile. Se ordena taxonómicamente respetando los conceptos actualmente establecidos. Por último, cuando es necesario se hacen comentarios de los ejemplares y especies con confusión taxonómica, haciendo énfasis en el material tipo descrito por este autor

Phyllomedusa tarsius

Phyllomedusa tarsius group De la Riva (1999) comments on the poorly defined tarsius group, which to him consisted in the following species: Phyllomedusa boliviana, P. camba, P. coelestis, P. tarsius, P. trinitatis and P. venusta. Faivovich et al. (2005) only tested (based on 5100 base pairs from four mithochondrial and five nuclear genes) P. t a r s i u s of the group. Creating a new Hylidae taxonomy, they included P. sauvagii in the same group with P. tarsius, P. boliviana and P. c a m b a. However, P. boliviana and P. c a m b a (which are definitely very similar to each other) differs considerably from P. coelestis, P. tarsius, P. trinitatis and P. venusta, especially in appearance of the eye (see below), and P. sauvagii is clearly not assignable to this group (it is one of the most distinctive Phyllomedusa, and probably it deserves its own species group, Cannatella 1980; De la Riva 1999). I propose the following definition of the P. tarsius group (osteological and larval characters not considered: the larvae of P. coelestis, P. neildi, and P. v e n u s t a are unknown): moderate to large phyllomedusines with sexual dimorphism in size (males from 53.3 to 97 mm ­smallest measurement corresponding to P. coelestis, the biggest to P. t a r s i u s from Ecuador­; females from 63 to 111.8 mm –smallest measurement corresponding to P. n e i l d i, the biggest to P. t a r s i u s ­): (1) Foot and hands without webbing; (2) parotoid glands indistinct (in P. neildi, P. tarsius from Venezuela and some P. trinitatis), moderately developed (P. coelestis, P. trinitatis) to well developed (some P. t a r s i u s and P. venusta); (3) dorsal skin smooth with fine and scattered small tubercles (P. neildi, P. trinitatis), pustules (P. venusta), shagreen (P. tarsius), or posteriorly tuberculate (P. coelestis); (4) males with vocal slits (P. coelestis) or without (P. n e i l d i, P. tarsius, P. trinitatis); (5) Toe I longer than II; (6) iris golden, orange or reddish, with black fine reticulations (P. coelestis, P. neildi, P. tarsius, P. trinitatis, P. venusta); (7) vomerine processes present. I propose to exclude P. boliviana and P. c a m b a (included in the group by De la Riva 1999) and P. sauvagii (included in the group by Faivovich et al. 2005) because they do not share the most striking character (herein considered as a synapomorphy) of the group, the golden iris with black reticulations.Published as part of Barrio-Amorós, César L., 2006, A new species of Phyllomedusa (Anura: Hylidae: Phyllomedusinae) from northwestern Venezuela, pp. 55-68 in Zootaxa 1309 on page 64, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17382

Colostethus breweri Barrio-Amorós, 2006, sp. nov.

&lt;i&gt;Colostethus breweri&lt;/i&gt; sp. nov. &lt;p&gt;(Fig. 1)&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Holotype&lt;/b&gt; &mdash; MHNLS 17044. An adult female with circunvoluted oviducts from the entry of Cueva del Fantasma, northwestern slope of Aprada tepui, 05&ordm; 27&rsquo;N, 62&ordm; 27&rsquo;W, 660 m above sea level, Estado Bol&iacute;var, Venezuela, collected by Charles Brewer&shy;Car&iacute;as, Alberto Tovar and Fernando Tamayo, on February 9, 2004.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Paratypes&mdash;MHNLS 17045, 17046, two adult males, and MHNLS 17047, an unsexed juvenile with the same data as the holotype.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Diagnosis&lt;/b&gt; &mdash;A relatively small species (male SVL up to 21 mm, only known female 23.8 mm SVL), Finger I approximately equal to Finger II; Finger III of males not swollen; venter in preservative dirty white in males, immaculate white in the only known female; in life venter of males dirty white, female yellow; toes moderately webbed; dorsolateral stripe absent; oblique lateral stripe short, white; ventrolateral stripe absent; median lingual process (MLP) present; cloacal tubercles absent; anal sheath absent; black armband absent.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Comparison with other species&lt;/b&gt; &mdash; &lt;i&gt;Colostethus breweri&lt;/i&gt; shares with the following species from Venezuelan Guayana the presence of a MLP: &lt;i&gt;C. parkerae&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. shrevei&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. tamacuarensis&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. tepuyensis&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. triunfo&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. wothuja&lt;/i&gt; (Grant &lt;i&gt;et al.&lt;/i&gt; 1998; Myers and Donnelly 1997; Barrio&shy;Amor&oacute;s &lt;i&gt;et al.&lt;/i&gt; 2004), &lt;i&gt;C. praderioi&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;C. roraima&lt;/i&gt; (T. Grant, pers. comm.). Species from the Venezuelan Guayana lacking the MLP are &lt;i&gt;C&lt;/i&gt;. aff. &lt;i&gt;brunneus&lt;/i&gt; (probably a similar species to &lt;i&gt;C. brunneus&lt;/i&gt;: see Morales 2000), &lt;i&gt;C.&lt;/i&gt; aff. &lt;i&gt;marchesianus&lt;/i&gt; (see Morales 1994 and Caldwell &lt;i&gt;et al.&lt;/i&gt; 2002), and &lt;i&gt;C. undulatus&lt;/i&gt; (Myers and Donnelly 2001).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;i&gt;Colostethus breweri&lt;/i&gt; can be also distinguished from those species having scanty toe webbing (&lt;i&gt;C. beebei, C. brunneus, C. praderioi&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;C. roraima&lt;/i&gt;) because of its moderately developed toe webbing. It is distinguishable from other species from the Guiana Shield that also present MLP and moderate toe webbing by the following character (those of &lt;i&gt;C. breweri&lt;/i&gt; in parentheses). &lt;i&gt;Colostethus ayarzaguenai&lt;/i&gt; has a dorsally&shy;rounded snout (nearly truncate), Finger I shorter than II (equal); and an uniform pattern without dorsal spots (consistent pattern). &lt;i&gt;Colostethus degranvillei&lt;/i&gt; has Finger I shorter than II (equal), oblique lateral stripe absent (present), a post tympanic white bar (absent) and ventral surfaces brown with white spots (whitish or yellow). &lt;i&gt;Colostethus guanayensis&lt;/i&gt; has Finger I shorter than II (equal), dark ventral coloration (dirty white or yellow). &lt;i&gt;Colostethus murisipanensis&lt;/i&gt; has a Finger I shorter than II (equal), no oblique lateral stripe (present), dark ventral colouration (dirty white or yellow). &lt;i&gt;Colostethus parimae&lt;/i&gt; has non consistent pattern (consistent), a dorsally rounded snout (truncate), Finger I shorter than II (equal). &lt;i&gt;Colostethus parkerae&lt;/i&gt; has a rounded snout in dorsal view (truncate), oblique lateral stripe absent (present). &lt;i&gt;Colostethus sanmartini&lt;/i&gt; has tympanum large, 57% of eye diameter (indistinct), pale dorsolateral stripes (absent). &lt;i&gt;Colostethus shrevei&lt;/i&gt; is larger, up to 36 mm (up to 23.8), Finger I shorter than II (equal). &lt;i&gt;Colostethus tamacuarensis&lt;/i&gt; has anal tubercles (absent), Finger III slightly swollen in males (not swollen). &lt;i&gt;Colostethus tepuyensis&lt;/i&gt; has a rounded snout in dorsal view (truncate), Finger I shorter than II (equal), oblique lateral stripe absent (present). &lt;i&gt;Colostethus triunfo&lt;/i&gt; has smooth dorsal skin (granular in life), metacarpal tubercle triangular (rounded), tarsal fold short, 1/3 of the tarsus (1/2). &lt;i&gt;Colostethus wothuja&lt;/i&gt; has a distinct tympanum (indistinct), and no particular pattern (consistent).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Description of holotype&lt;/b&gt; &mdash;Dorsal and ventral skin smooth in preservative; shagreen in life with small but protuberant tubercles on the posterior part of the dorsum. Dorsal skin forming usually a well&shy;defined rounded, posteriorly projecting flap well above vent, which opens at upper level of thighs; no anal tubercles; anal sheath absent.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Head slightly longer than wide, head width (between angles of jaws) 33.6% of SVL. Snout protruding in profile, nearly truncate in dorsal and ventral views. Nares situated near the tip of the snout and directed slightly posterolaterally; nares visible from the front, barely or not visible dorsally, but well visible from below. Canthus rostralis rounded, rather indistinct; loreal region barely concave. Interorbital region slightly wider than upper eyelid. Snout slightly longer than eye diameter. Tympanum barely visible; positioned close behind eye and low, nearly touching angle of jaws.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Hand length moderate, 27.7 % of SVL. Relative lengths of appressed fingers III&gt;IV&gt;I=II; Finger I equal in length to Finger II. Discs of all fingers moderately expanded; Finger III disc 1.5 times width of distal end of adjacent phalanx. Base of palm with large, nearly round, median palmar tubercle; oval inner thenar tubercle on base of Finger I; one subarticular tubercle on Fingers I and II, and two on Fingers III and IV, distal tubercles small, indistinct; all tubercles low, round. No fringes on fingers.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Hind limbs of moderate length; shank 49.5 % of SVL. Relative lengths of appressed toes IV&gt;III&gt;V&gt;II&gt;I; first toe reaching when appressed half subarticular tubercle of second toe. Toe discs moderately expanded; toe IV disc 1.4 times width of distal end of adjacent phalanx. Feet moderately webbed, the web distally continuous with a narrow fringe on all toes, including external edges of toes I and V. Webbing formula I 1&ndash;2 II 1 &frac12;&ndash;3 III 2 &frac12;&ndash;3&frac12; IV 3 &frac12;&ndash;1&frac12; V. One to three non protuberant subarticular tubercles on toes as follows: one on toes I and II, two on toes III and V, and three on toe IV (distal tubercle ill defined). Sole with two metatarsal tubercles, similarly sized, a round outer metatarsal tubercle, and an elliptical inner metatarsal tubercle. A narrow tarsal fold or keel, straight, extending almost half the length of tarsus, distally continuous with the narrow fringe on free (preaxial) edge of toe I; fringe distinctly raised proximally, not tubercle&shy;like.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Maxillary teeth present. Tongue longer than wide, elliptical, posterior half free; MLP very small, longer than wide, positioned on the anterior third of the tongue.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Colour in life&lt;/b&gt; &mdash;Dorsal ground colour pale brown with diffuse markings on the back, consisting of a dark brown interorbital bar, straight, usually with an apex at the posterior margin, a moderately large chevron between shoulders, three spots at midbody, forming an inverted V; and a single small and median posterior spot near the end of the body. Canthal stripe dark brown; supratympanic stripe black, and very distinct. In the holotype the upper lip bar is immaculate white, containing the indistinct tympanum. Upper lips also white in the other specimens. Supratympanic stripe is continuous above the arm, widening at mid body, forming a dark brown to black flank, where the white oblique lateral stripe is present. Flanks darker than dorsum but without definite borders. Upper flank dark brown. Throat, chest, and belly immaculate yellow; inferior surfaces of thighs dark orange. Iris bronze.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Upper arms and forearms pale brown, the latter with dark crossbars. Thighs with illdefined dark brown crossbars.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;After one year and a half in preservative, dorsal ground colour became dark brown; flanks dark brown; ventral surfaces white. The rest of the body remains without changes.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Measurements of holotype&lt;/b&gt; (in mm)&mdash;SVL: 23.8; SL: 11.8; ThL: 12; HeL: 8.3; HW: 8; UEW: 2; IOD: 2.2; ED: 3; TD: 1; ETS: 3.2; FD: 1; 4TD: 1; 1FiL: 3.2; 2FiL: 3.3.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Variation&lt;/b&gt; &mdash;All specimens have a similar dorsal colour pattern, which is more or less conspicuous. It is most distinct in MHNLS 17045 (a male), and the juvenile (MHNLS 17047) and is less defined (but still detectable) in the female holotype and male MHNLS 17046. The oblique lateral stripe occurs in all specimens, although varying in shape (always short), and never well defined. It is best defined in MHNLS 17045, or fragmented into three small white spots, as in the holotype. Males differ from the single female in at least three external characters (these may be due to sexual dimorphism rather than individual variation): First, the belly of adult males is immaculate white, whereas that of the adult female is immaculate yellow; second, the presence of short vocal slits, extending from near tongue insertion to nearly the end of tongue; and third, the presence of a larger lingual process, longer than wide; this last character was also observed in &lt;i&gt;Colostethus wothuja&lt;/i&gt; (Barrio&shy;Amor&oacute;s &lt;i&gt;et al.&lt;/i&gt; 2004).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; In preservative, holotype and MHNLS 17046 dorsal ground colour became dark brown with diffuse markings; MHNLS 17045 and juvenile (MHNLS 17047) pale gray with conspicuous dark gray markings; flanks dark brown to dark gray. Black arm band (&lt;i&gt;sensu&lt;/i&gt; Grant and Castro 1998) absent, but in all specimens except the juvenile, a black longitudinal stripe on the anterior surface of the arms and forearms is present.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Males (MHNLS 17045 and 17046) with dirty white throat (white with profusion of melanophores) and larger white spots especially at edges of throat; anterior part of chest also with melanophores in MHNLS 17045 but not in MHNLS 17046; posterior part of chest, belly and ventral surfaces of the thighs immaculate white. Testes white.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Distribution&lt;/b&gt; &mdash;The species is known only from one locality at Aprada tepui, a flattopped sandstone mesa (tepui) of Guayana highlands in Venezuela, at 660 masl (Fig. 2). This locality lies in medium to tall, evergreen, basimontane and lower montane forests (Huber &amp; Alarc&oacute;n 1988). To found the type series inside a &ldquo;cave&rdquo; must not be significant, as this &ldquo;Cueva de El Fantasma&rdquo; (Fig. 2) is a huge, collapsed steep gorge and is not strictly a cave. The maximum altitude of Aprada is at 2500 m, with a tepui surface of 4.37 km 2 (Huber 1995), although its slopes embraces at 1000 m of altitude a wider area including the Chimant&aacute; massif and even the whole Gran Sabana area. The species could be an endemic, or more widely expanded through uplands of the Gran Sabana.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Aprada tepui was first explored by an expedition leaded by C. Brewer&shy;Car&iacute;as on February 25, 1978, accompanied by Roy McDiarmid, as herpetologist, Luis Jos&eacute; Joly as enthomologist, Julian Steyermark as botanist and G.C.K. Dunsterville and his wife Nora as orchidologists (Dunsterville 1979). This paper becomes the first written reference about this huge &quot;cave&quot; at N 05&ordm; 27.480&rsquo;W 62&ordm; 27.588&rsquo; on the northwestern slope of the Aprada tepui.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Natural history&lt;/b&gt; &mdash;This species is a fast&shy;moving frog that lives along creeks and in quiet pools along small streams on the slopes of Aprada&shy;tepui. An undescribed species of &lt;i&gt;Eleutherodactylus&lt;/i&gt; and the lizard &lt;i&gt;Neusticurus rudis&lt;/i&gt; (Gymnophtalmidae) were found syntopically. Tadpoles and call of the new species are unknown.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Etymology&lt;/b&gt; &mdash;I dedicate this frog to the indefatigable explorer of the Venezuelan Guayana, Charles Brewer&shy;Car&iacute;as, in recognition for his endless support of biological research in the Guiana highlands.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Discussion&lt;/b&gt; &mdash;Currently, knowledge of Guayanan &lt;i&gt;Colostethus&lt;/i&gt; is increasing, and several characters have been observed recurrently for most of the species. The most apparent is the presence of a MLP (Grant et al. 1997); although it is not exclusive of Guayanan &lt;i&gt;Colostethus&lt;/i&gt;, it seems most of the species share it. Furthermore, all species known to have a MLP (&lt;i&gt;Colostethus breweri C. parkerae&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. praderioi, C. roraima&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. shrevei&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. tamacuarensis&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. tepuyensis&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. triunfo&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. wothuja and C. sp.&lt;/i&gt; from Sarisari&ntilde;ama (Barrio&shy;Amor&oacute;s and Brewer&shy;Car&iacute;as, &lt;i&gt;in press&lt;/i&gt;), also share other characters, such as a short oblique lateral stripe, absence of dorsolateral and ventrolateral stripes, moderate to scant webbing, and in at least two species, &lt;i&gt;C. triunfo&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;C. wothuja&lt;/i&gt;, absence of palatine bones. I assume that most of the species of the Venezuelan Guayana (and probably the rest of the Guiana Shield) that do not belong to the &lt;i&gt;C. trilineatus&lt;/i&gt; group (&lt;i&gt;sensu&lt;/i&gt; Morales 2002), will have a MLP (which can be larger in males) and absence of palatine bones, which suggest they might form a monophyletic group.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; The remaining species are not known to have the MLP, but it is probable to occur in &lt;i&gt;C. ayarzaguenai, C. guanayensis, C. murisipanensis, C. parimae&lt;/i&gt;, and &lt;i&gt;C. sanmartini&lt;/i&gt; (unpublished data).&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt; The geography of the MLP is of interest. Grant &lt;i&gt;et al.&lt;/i&gt; (1997) recognized eight species (only four named at that time) of &lt;i&gt;Colostethus&lt;/i&gt; having a MLP. I mentioned above Venezuelan species currently known to have a MLP, which are 11 (plus two more without proper name). Of all species with the MLP, only three (&lt;i&gt;C. atopoglossus&lt;/i&gt;, &lt;i&gt;C. lacrimosus&lt;/i&gt; and &lt;i&gt;C.&lt;/i&gt; aff. &lt;i&gt;chocoensis&lt;/i&gt; from Ecuador) are known from the Chocoan bioregion (Pacific versant of Panama, Colombia and Ecuador), and the rest (13) occur at the Guiana Shield. The distance between the closest Guayanan and Chocoan species, respectively &lt;i&gt;C. shrevei&lt;/i&gt; from Venezuelan Amazonas state and &lt;i&gt;C. lacrimosus&lt;/i&gt; from Valle del Cauca in Colombia, is of about 1200 km, separated by Los Llanos, the Cordillera Oriental and Central de Colombia. No relationship can be inferred between the Chocoan and Guayanan groups of &lt;i&gt;Colostethus&lt;/i&gt; having MLP. Grant &lt;i&gt;et al.&lt;/i&gt; (1997) considered the MLP to be a dendrobatid plesiomorphy. I consider here the presence of the MLP in both biogeographically separated groups, as a convergence.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Due to its restricted distribution to a single tepui of 4.37 km 2, I consider the species to be potentially endangered and sensitive to natural or artificial catastrophes, as was predicted by Barrio&shy;Amor&oacute;s (2001) for other tepui endemics. I should locate the species in the category VU D2 of the IUCN, following Young et al (2004).&lt;/p&gt;Published as part of &lt;i&gt;Barrio-Amorós, César L., 2006, A new dendrobatid frog (Anura: Dendrobatidae: Colostethus) from Aprada tepui, southern Venezuela, pp. 59-68 in Zootaxa 1110&lt;/i&gt; on pages 60-66, DOI: &lt;a href="http://zenodo.org/record/171517"&gt;10.5281/zenodo.171517&lt;/a&gt

Phyllomedusa neildi Barrio-Amorós, 2006, sp. nov.

Phyllomedusa neildi sp. nov. (Fig. 1, 2) Holotype: MBUCV 6684, adult male, from the vicinity of Murucusa, Municipio Petit (11 º 02’ N, 69 º 35 ’ W), 550 masl, spurs of Sierra de San Luís, Estado Falcón, Venezuela, collected by C. Morón in August 1994. Paratypes: CVULA 6500, 6502, adult males; CVULA 6501, 6503, adult females; EBRG 4754 – 5, adult males; MBUCV 6685 – 6, adult males (6685 cleared and stained). All with the same data as the holotype. Referred material: MHNLS 1503 Estado Falcón: Curimagua, distrito Petit. Etymology: The specific name is a patronym for Andrew Neild, lepidopterologist associated with the Natural History Museum of London (UK) in recognition of his productive work in Venezuela (Neild 1996). Diagnosis: A member of the genus Phyllomedusa sensu stricto (Gonçalves da Cruz 1990; Faivovich et al. 2005) and of the Phyllomedusa tarsius group (defined below), with the following combination of characters: (1) moderate size (= 59.8 in males; = 73.3 in females); (2): snout of males strongly sloping in lateral profile, rounded to truncate in females; (3) Finger I longer than, and opposable to FII; (4) parotoid glands not apparent; (5) dentigerous processes of vomers present; (6) calcars and dermal appendages absent; (7) palpebral membrane not reticulated; (8) iris golden with black reticulations in life; (9) dorsal coloration green; concealed surfaces of hind limbs pink with white transverse bars or spots. Comparison with other species: Compared with other species in the Phyllomedusa tarsius group, P. neildi is similar to P. trinitatis, P. tarsius and P. venusta, but can be easily distinguished by its significantly smaller size; SVL in Phyllomedusa trinitatis (Fig 3) males is from 70 to 81 mm (= 76.3); in females is from 90 to 95.5 (= 92 mm) [own data]; SVL in Phyllomedusa tarsius (Fig 4) ranges in males from 81 to 90 mm (= 84.1 mm); in females from 99.1 to 111.8 mm (= 104.0 mm) (Duellman 1974); SVL in Phyllomedusa venusta ranges in males from 69 to 86.3 mm (= 77.4 mm); the mean in females is 97.7 mm (Duellman and Trueb 1967, and own data combined). On the other hand, P. neildi has the concealed surfaces of the hind limbs coloured with white transverse bars or spots on a pink background (absent or very ill defined in other species). Phyllomedusa venusta has long and prominent parotoid glands (absent or not well developed in P. neildi). Males of P. coelestis, a rare species in the upper Amazon of Peru and Ecuador, are similar in size to those of P. neildi (53.3–64.8 mm; Duellman and Mendelson III 1995), but P. neildi also differs from P. coelestis in coloration of the flanks and concealed surfaces of hind limbs. Phyllomedusa boliviana and P. c a m b a from the south western Amazon Basin lack a golden iris with black reticulation and have conspicuous parotoid glands. Description of the type series: Phyllomedusa of moderate size (males 55.2–63.8, 59.8; females 70.5–76, 73.2). Head (Fig. 5 B) longer than wide; top of head flat; snout short, oval in males, rounded in females in dorsal view; sloping in males, and rounded to truncate in females in lateral profile; canthus rostralis rounded; loreal region slightly concave; lips thin, not flared; nostrils not protuberant, directed laterally; internarial region flat; eyes protuberant; palpebral membrane transparent; parotoid glands indistinct; supratympanic fold apparent only in females, barely developed; tympanum vertically oval, distinct, except dorsally, hidden by supratympanic fold. Tongue enormous, round or cordiform, ½ to 2 / 3 free distally; maxillary teeth present; dentigerous processes of vomers small, transverse between choanae, separated by a distance equal to 2 / 3 of one process; each bearing 2–6 teeth (usually 4–6); vocal slits absent; vocal sac single, medial, not distinct. Axillary membranes absent; arms slender, forearms moderately robust in males; ulnar fold indistinct; indistint row of protuberances, in some specimens; relative length of fingers I 4 m, around ponds. Amplectant pairs were observed in vegetation at various heights above water, but never in the water, as Langone et al. (1985) observed for P. i h e r i n g i. The same night, while in some lagoons many adults were in reproductive activity, in other pools only a few males were calling sporadically. Other species of anurans typical of savannas and xeric habitats of northern South America that were found in the pond where P. neildi was breeding include Chaunus marinus, C. granulosus complex, Dendropsophus microcephalus, D. minutus, Hypsiboas crepitans, Scinax “xsignatus”, Engystomops pustulosus, Pleurodema brachyops, and Leptodactylus insularum. Vocalization: Three types of notes can be recognized. In the audiospectrogram (Fig 7), each call corresponds to a different individual, but all were recorded at the same time (21: 30 h) from a single position (air temperature 22 °C). The first (Fig 7 A) consist of a single note of 104 ms of length and 707 Hz of dominant frequency (fundamental frequency of 168 Hz). The second (Fig 7 B) is a series of eight notes of 871 ms, with a dominant frequency of 736 Hz (fundamental 140 Hz). The third (Fig 7 C) was the most common (that night) and consists of two notes, one principal with a duration of 164 ms and a dominant frequency of 843 Hz, (fundamental 252 Hz), and a secondary of 104 ms. The length of the complete sequence is 302 ms. Rivero & Esteves (1969) showed an audioespectrogram of the call of Phyllomedusa trinitatis, but they did not described it. In their spectrogram, there is a principal note, followed by five secondary notes; as can be extrapolated, the dominant frequency is approximately at 800 Hz, while the fundamental is at 500 Hz; the duration of the sequence is of 1.1 sec. Phyllomedusa neildi can emit up to fifteen consecutive secondary notes. Kenny (1966) described a distress call for P. trinitatis that was not heard in P. n e i l d i. Calls of the Phyllomedusa tarsius group species have been never well analyzed. We cannot conclude any important difference among them. The call of P. c a m b a (out of the P. t a r s i u s group in this paper) has also a dominant frequency of 860 Hz.Published as part of Barrio-Amorós, César L., 2006, A new species of Phyllomedusa (Anura: Hylidae: Phyllomedusinae) from northwestern Venezuela, pp. 55-68 in Zootaxa 1309 on pages 57-62, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17382