p. 441-446 ; 24 cm.Includes bibliographical references

Johnson, R. D. O.

Noble, Gladwyn Kingsley, 1894-1940.

American Museum of Natural History Scientific Publications

59.78(86)Article IX.-TWO NEW BATRACHIANS FROM COLOMBIABY G. K. NOBLEIn an earlier paper' I have indicated that a number of valuablecollections of reptiles and amphibians from South America have beenacquired in recent years by The American Museum of Natural History.The collection of amphibians from near Mesopotamia, Department ofAntioquia, Colombia, presented to the American Museum by Mr. R. D.0. Johnson contains two new species of batrachians in addition to thosespecies discussed in the earlier paper. I have selected one of thesespecies as the type of a new genus, very distinct from Hylella with whichit has hitherto been confused. Hylella has for a long time been recog-nized as an assemblage of unrelated species of specialized Hylas. Butit is obvious from the following that all the species of Hylella cannot beindiscriminately referred to Hyla.Centrolenella, new genus (Leptodactylidae)DEscRIPTIoN.-Closely related to Centrolene, from which it differs in the ab-sence of vomerine teeth and humeral spines; no omosternum; sternum narrow,cartilaginous; sacral diapophyses moderately dilated; fingers and toes webbed;outer metatarsals united; tips of the digits dilated into adhesive disks which aretruncate or sub-truncate distally; pupil horizontal; tympanum exposed; tongueslightly notched, scarcely free behind.TYPE. C-entrolenella antioquiens8i, new species.REMARKS.-Centrolenella bears nearly the same relations to Cen-trolene that Hylella does to Hyla. Still, it is more than a Centrolenewhich has lost the vomerine teeth. The Johnson collection contains alarge female Centrolene geckoideum (A. M. N. H. No. 1383) from SantaRita Creek. This specimen is 57 mm. in length, and has its ovaries welldevelopbd. It possesses the large humeral spines hitherto consideredcharacteristic of the male. It, therefore, seems highly improbable thatthese humeral spines have any copulatory significance. From theirposition and form it seems more probable that they have some scansorialfunction, perhaps enabling the frog to retain its hold on a tree. Centro-lenella lacks these humeral spines in the adults of both sexes.1Noble, 1917, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., XXXVII, pp. 793-814, Pis. xciii-xcvI. Through errorone of the captions on p. 796 was repeated. The caption for drawing A of figure 1 should read Eleuthero-dactilus martinicensis in place of Leptodctylu8 lineatus. Typographical errors occur in the spellingof Leptodactylus melanonotus on pages 795 and 796, of Hylodes anomalus on page 806, and of Lepto-dactylus mystaceus on page 812.4414Bulletin American Museum of Natural HistoryHyla prosoblepon, described by Boettger (1892, Kat. Batr. Senck.Mus., p. 45) from Costa Rica, possesses so many external features incommon with Centrolene that one is inclined to refer it to that genus.Still, the humeral spine of H. prosoblepon was described as peculiar tothe tnale only, and the vomerine teeth may or may not be present as inmany species of Hyla. Without an examination of its internal structure,the true relationships of H. prosoblepon ,cannot be determined with anydegree of certainty.It seems very probable that Centrolenella will be shown to embrace anumber of species usually referred to Hylella. C. antioquiensis, as statedbelow, stands intermediate between H. ocellata and H. parambe. Itseems probable that both these species will be shown referable toCentrolenella. I have examined a specimen (M. C. Z. No. 2526) ofHylella buckleyi in the Museum of Comparative Zoology collected byRosenberg in Ecuador and probably identified by Boulenger as thatspecies. It agr-ees entirely with his original description and figure(Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Sal. Brit. Mus., p. 420, P1. xxv, fig. 5),This specimen was found on dissection to be a Centrolenella. H. buckleyimust be referred to-that genus.The question immediately arises whether the type species of Hylellapossesses the T-shaped terminal phalanges and other features characteriz-ing Centrolenella. If so, the name Hylella would have priority, but it wouldhave to be restricted to a limited, group of species. No specimens of H.tenera, the type species, are available for study but every indication pointstoward the conclusion that it is a Hyla which has failed to develop thevomerine teeth, as in the case, of many other species of Hyla. The ver-tical loreal region, the distinct canthus rostralis, the type of color pattern,-all suggest the relationship of I. tenera to the genus Hyla.An equally important argument, perhaps, is the fact that Centro-lenella antioquiensis and C.. buckleyi, as well as their apparently closestalfies, are confined to the northern Andes just as is Centrolene froh whichthis group of species seems to have evolved. H. tenera is a Brazilianspecies probably most closely related to certain Brazilian species ofHylella or Hyla. It seemns extremely unlikely that H. tenera is a Centro-lenella.The relationship of Centrolenella to Centrolene is obvious, but therelationship of these two genera to any other is obscure. Centrolenewas placed in the Leptodactylidae by Boulenger (1882) but it has itssacral diapophyses expanded as much as the majority of hylids. If wesearch for the relationships of Centrolene among the Leptodactylidae, we442 [Vol. XLIINoble, JNTew Batrachian.s from Colombnthi44find that it differ's radically from all neotropical leptodactylids in lack-ingr an omosternuin and in possessing moderately expanded sacral diapo-physes. The mere tabulation of its characters in general use in classifica-tion would show that it has most in commnon with the South AfricanHeleophryne. But it differs from that genus in possessing an intercalarybone (or partly ossified cartilage) between the two terminal phalanges,in having its outer metatarsals bound together, and in exhibiting anarrow sternum, horizontal pupil, and webbed fingers. The severalAustralian-New Guinean genera of leptodactylids lacking the omoster-num and possessing inoderately dilated sacral diapophyses have littlemore in common with Centrolene than has Heleophryne. Centroleneseems to be an aberrant genus not closely allied to any of the known lep-todactylids but possessing, perhaps through convergence, more featuresof certain Australian-South African genera than any nieotropical.So far as the characters used at the present time in batrachianclassification would indicate, Centrolene and Centrolenella cannot beproperly assigned to any of the existing famiilies. They stand midwaybetween the Leptodactylidae and Hylidee. In the paper mentioned aboveI have discussed in some detail the relationships of Hyloscirtus,- a lep-todactylid with claw-shaped terminal phalanges. If we should againattribute primary importance to the form of the sacral diapophyses, wemight consider Centrolene and Cent0olenella as hylids with T-shapedterminal phalanges. It is then obvious that all (listinction between theHylidte and Leptodactylidue breaks down.There is some doubt as to how much emphasis slhould be laid on theform of the sacral diapophyses. Fry (1915, Proc. Queensland Roy.Soc., XXVII, p. 75, figs. 2a-2c) has shown that the distinction betweenthe pelobatid Lechriodus and the leptodactylids Chiroleptes and Heleio-porus is an artificial one, since their sacral diapophyses are nearly equallyexpanded. The sacral diapophyses of Centrolene are dilated about asmuch as those of Heleioporus (idem, fig. 2b). It seeiims most advisableto regard Centrolene and Centrolenella as leptodactylids which havedeveloped expanded sacral diapophyses. These sacral diapophyses arenot less expanded than those of several species of Hyla and several generaof hylids. The limits of the families Hylidae and Leptodactylide gradeinto each other. Whether or not it is advisable to combine these twofamilies is a matter of opinion, especially in view of the present unsatis-factory state of the classification of the Salientia.43.920]Bulletin American Museum of Natural HistoryCentrolenella antioquiensis, new speciesDIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS.-Canthus rostralis very rounded, the eyes directedpartially forward; inner finger distinctly longer than the second, two outer fingers one-half webbed; toes nearly completely webbed; tibio-tarsal articulation extending alittle beyond the snout; bluish gray above spotted with white.DISTRIBUTION. Known only from the type locality.TYPF,.-A. M. N. H. No. 1354 from Santa Rita Creek, fourteen miles north ofvillage of Mesopotamia, in the southern part of the Department of Antioquia,Colombia; R. D. 0. Johnson, collector.DESCRIPIION OF TYPE.-(Adult female.) Tongue niearly circular, slightlynotched behind; head about as long as broad, semicircular as seen from above; eyesdirected partly forward, their greatest length equal to their distance from the end ofthe snout; canthus rostralis rounded off, not distinct; loreal region gradually slop-ing to the edge of the mouth; the two nostrils raised a little above the gradual slopeof the snout; interorbital space one and a half times as wide as the width of the uppereyelid; tympanum distinct, one-third or one-fourth the greatest diameter of the eye.Fingers long, the first distinctly longer than the second, digital expansions about afourth wider than the digits, squarely truncated, giving certain of the digital expan-sions a sub-triangular form; two outer fingers half webbed, the web extending to thebase of the penultimate phalanx of the outer finger and to the distal third of the ante-penultimate of the third finger; two inner fingers webbed only at the base; toeswebbed to the digital expansions except the fourth which is webbed to the base of thepenultimate phalanx; a single, inner metatarsal tubercle; subarticular tuberclessmall, not distinct; no tarsal fold or spur. Tibio-tarsal articulation extending a littlebeyond the end of t.he snout; tibia contained one and two-thirds times in the headand body length; uipper surfaces smooth, belly and ventral surfaces of the thighsgranular, no distinct fold across the chest.Color above a bluish or purplish gray; about twenity whitish spots scattered widelyover the dorsal surfaces; ventral surface including the concealed portions of the thighsa uniform yellowish white.Dimension.sTip of snout to vent. 22 mnm.Width of head...................S..........."Length of limb from axilla................... 12Hind limb from vent to top of longest toe...... 38NO'IES ON PARATYPES.-In addition to the type we have an adult male, A. M. N.H. No. 1353, 20 mm. in length, and an immature specimen, A. M. N. H. No. 1356,14 mm. long, both from the same locality as the type. The white dorsal spots ofthese two paratypes are not so numerous as in the type and the ground tone of themale is lighter. The general bodv proportions of all three specimens are identical.]RELATIONS.-C. antioquiensis appears to be intermediate betweenthe two species described by Boulenger as Hylella parambw and H.ocellata respectively. The half-webbed outer fingers, long inner finger,and special coloration distinguishes C. antioquiensi.s from these species.444 [VOl. XLIINoble, Neuw Batrachians from ColombiaC. antioquiensis and C. buckleyi have the rounded snout, flat head,anteriorly directed eyes, truncate digits, and small tympanum ofCentrolene. A number of species of Hylella have been described from theAndes and southern Central America with similar features. Futurework will probably show that many, if not all, are referable to Centro-1enella.Bufo rostratus, new speciesDIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS.-Crown of the head with or witlhout projecting ridges;snout produced into a three-edged rostrum; paratoid glands triangular, not longerthan the greatest diameter of the eye; tympanum hidden; fingers one-third, toesthree-fourths webbed; no tarsal fold; skin tubercutlar above; a prominent series oflarge tubercles along each side of the back.DISTRIBUTION.-Known only from the type locality.TYPE.-A. M. N. H. No. 1359, from Santa Rita Creek, fourteen miles north ofthe village of Mesopotamia irL the southern part of the Department of Antioquia,Colombia; R. D. 0. Johnson, collector.DESCRIPTION OF TYPE SPECIMEN.-(Adult male.) Head pointed, the snoutproduced into a rostrum which projects beyond the mouth for a distance equal tothree-fourths the diameter of the eye; this rostrum flat above, the sides approachingeach other to form a sharp ventral edge; distance from the angle of the jaw to thetip of the rostrum exactly equal to the greatest width of the head, one-third thehead and body length; canthus rostralis very sharp, loreal region concave; inter-orbital space twice as wide as the width of the upper eyelid; dorsal surface of headtubercular but no cranial ridges apparent except for a short temporal crest extendingfrom the posterior border of the eye to the parotoid gland; tympanum hidden;parotoid glands small, sub-triangular, about equal to the greatest diameter of the eye.Fingers long, webbed only a little beyond the metacarpals, but the web extending intothe metacarpal region making the fingers appear about one-third webbed, the webcontinued along the edges of the fingers as a narrow seam; first finger about half aslong as the second, in other words, extending only slightly beyond the metacarpal ofthe second finger; toes about three-fourths webbed, the web extending to the end ofthe last phalanx of the two inner toes, to the base of the last phalanx of the third andfifth toes, and to the base of the antepenultimate of the fourth toe; web continued as aseam to the tips of all the toes; two metatarsal tu bereles, the inner much the larger;subarticular tubercles indistinct; no tarsal fold. Tibio-tarsal articulation extendingonly to the anterior end of the parotoid gland; tibia contained two and one-half timesin the head and body length; skin of the back tubercular, a series of large tuberclesforming a well-marked dorsolateral denticulated ridge; other large tubercles scatteredover the back and dorsal surface of the appeildages.Color above yellowish brown, indistinctly marked with darker brown, formingcrossbands on the legs; ventral surfaces yellowish white reticulated with dark brownDimensionsTip of snout tovent.41 mm.Width of head.............................. 14 "Length of fore limb from axilla.................. 31Hind limb from vent to tip of longest toe......... 514_45Bulletin American Museum of NaturalHistoryXNOTES ON PARATYPES.-TwO other specimens, A. M. N. H. Nos. 1384, 1362,complete our series of the species. They come from the same locality as the type butthey are apparently immature for they measure only 36 mm. and 23 mm. respectively.The larger of these two specimens differs radically from the type in having the skin ofthe skull involved in cranial ossification and produced in a series of ridges. Thecanthus rostralis is very sharp in this specimen and is continued posteriorly as asupraciliary ridge to the posterior border of the eye where it divides into two ridges,one continued posteriorly to the occipital region and the other extending outwardalong the posterior border of the orbit until it joins the short temporal ridge describedin the type. This series of cranial ridges is very similar to that found in B. con#ferusbut here it does not form a specific nor, so far as I have been able to determine, even asexual character. The three specimens of our series show a little variation in tbedistribution of the dorsal tubercles. Further, the two paratypes are redder, lessyellow, than the type.RELATIONS.-B. rostratus is apparently most closely related to B.coniferus Cope, which ranges from Nicaragua to Colombia. It agreeswith that species in the formation of the cranial ridges. (when present),in the short first finger, the dorsolateral series of tubercles, and smallparotoid glands. It differs from B. coniferus in its greatly producedsnout, hidden tympan-um, and more extensively webbed digits. It isnoteworthy that B. rostratus simulates several species of Atelopus ingeneral form, agreeing especially well with A. festce Peracca of Ecuador.446 [Vol. XLII

New batrachians from Colombia

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