Descripción de una nueva especie de Allobates (Anura, Dendrobatidae) del Este del piemonte andino, Venezuela

Describimos un nuevo sapito niñera del género Allobates (Dendrobatidae) proveniente de Río Negro, Municipio Córdoba, Estado Táchira, oeste de Venezuela. Esta nueva especie es habitante terrestre de bosque tropical primario y secundario en tierras bajas y medias entre los 400 y 1000 msnm. La nueva especie es similar a especies del grupo de Allobates marchesianus y su distribución se restringe a las faldas occidentales de los Andes Venezolanos. Difiere de sus congéneres por su patrón dorsal manchado irregularmente, con línea oblicua lateral difusa, línea ventro-lateral presente, y vientre de color amarillo en los machos.We describe a new nurse frog in the genus Allobates (Dendrobatidae) from Río Negro, Municipio Córdoba, Estado Táchira, in western Venezuela. This species is a leaflitter inhabitant of primary and secondary lowland rainforest at altitudes from 400 to 1000 m. The new species is similar to the species in the Allobates marchesianus group and is restricted to the slopes of the western Venezuelan Andes. It differs from its congeners by having an irregularly spotted dorsal pattern, diffuse oblique lateral stripe, ventrolateral stripe and yellowish belly on males.Descrevemos aqui uma nova espécie de anuro do gênero Allobates (Dendrobatidae) proveniente de Río Negro, Município de Córdoba, Estado de Táchira, oeste da Venezuela. Trata-se de um anfíbio terrestre que habita a floresta tropical primária e secundária de baixas e médias altitudes, entre 400 e 1000 m. A nova espécie é similar àquelas do grupo de Allobates marchesianus, e sua distribuição geográfica se restringe às encostas ocidentais dos Andes venezuelanos. Difere de seus congêneres por seu padrão dorsal com manchas irregulares, com linha lateral oblíqua difusa, linha ventro-lateral presente e ventre amarelo nos machos

An addition to the diversity of dendrobatid frogs in Venezuela: description of three new collared frogs (Anura: Dendrobatidae: Mannophryne)

Three new species of collared frogs of the genus Mannophryne are described from Venezuela. Two are newly discovered taxa from the Venezuelan Andes, whereas the third species, previously confused with M. trinitatis, is from the Caracas area in the Cordillera de la Costa. The call of the three new species and that of Mannophryne collaris are described. Taxonomic, zoogeographic, and conservation issues are discussed

Description of a new Allobates (Anura, Dendrobatidae) from the eastern Andean piedmont, Venezuela

We describe a new nurse frog in the genus Allobates (Dendrobatidae) from Río Negro, Municipio Córdoba, Estado Táchira, in western Venezuela. This species is a leaflitter inhabitant of primary and secondary lowland rainforest at altitudes from 400 to 1000 m. The new species is similar to the species in the Allobates marchesianus group and is restricted to the slopes of the western Venezuelan Andes. It differs from its congeners by having an irregularly spotted dorsalpattern, diffuse oblique lateral stripe, ventrolateral stripe and yellowish belly on males

Aposematism increases acoustic diversification and speciation in poison frogs

Multimodal signals facilitate communication with conspecifics during courtship, but they can also alert eavesdropper predators. Hence, signallers face two pressures: enticing partners to mate and avoiding detection by enemies. Undefended organisms with limited escape abilities are expected to minimize predator recognition over mate attraction by limiting or modifying their signalling. Alternatively, organisms with anti-predator mechanisms such as aposematism (i.e. unprofitability signalled by warning cues) might elaborate mating signals as a consequence of reduced predation. We hypothesize that calls diversified in association with aposematism. To test this, we assembled a large acoustic signal database for a diurnal lineage of aposematic and cryptic/non-defended taxa, the poison frogs. First, we showed that aposematic and non-aposematic species share similar extinction rates, and aposematic lineages diversify more and rarely revert to the nonaposematic phenotype. We then characterized mating calls based on morphological (spectral), behavioural/physiological (temporal) and environmental traits. Of these, only spectral and temporal features were associated with aposematism. We propose that with the evolution of antipredator defences, reduced predation facilitated the diversification of vocal signals, which then became elaborated or showy via sexual selection. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved

Aposematism increases acoustic diversification and speciation in poison frogs

Multimodal signals facilitate communication with conspecifics during courtship, but they can also alert eavesdropper predators. Hence, signallers face two pressures: enticing partners to mate and avoiding detection by enemies. Undefended organisms with limited escape abilities are expected to minimize predator recognition over mate attraction by limiting or modifying their signalling. Alternatively, organisms with anti-predator mechanisms such as aposematism (i.e. unprofitability signalled by warning cues) might elaborate mating signals as a consequence of reduced predation. We hypothesize that calls diversified in association with aposematism. To test this, we assembled a large acoustic signal database for a diurnal lineage of aposematic and cryptic/non-defended taxa, the poison frogs. First, we showed that aposematic and non-aposematic species share similar extinction rates, and aposematic lineages diversify more and rarely revert to the non-aposematic phenotype. We then characterized mating calls based on morphological (spectral), behavioural/physiological (temporal) and environmental traits. Of these, only spectral and temporal features were associated with aposematism. We propose that with the evolution of anti-predator defences, reduced predation facilitated the diversification of vocal signals, which then became elaborated or showy via sexual selection