<em>Teratohyla sornozai</em> Cisneros-Heredia, Yánez-Muñoz and Ortega-Andrade is a junior synonym of <em>Rulyrana orejuela</em> Duellman y Burrowes (Amphibia, Anura, Centrolenidae)

oleh: Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia, Mario H. Yánez-Muñoz, Mauricio Ortega-Andrade

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ 2010-12-01

Deskripsi

<p><em>Teratohyla sornozai</em> was recently described [1] based on specimens collected at three locations in the provinces of Esmeraldas, Imbabura and Pichincha, northwestern Ecuador. In the original description[1], T <em>sornozai</em> differed from Rulyrana orejuela [2] by the shape of the muzzle (projected profile in T <em>sornozai</em>, truncated profile in <em>R. orejuela</em>), the extension of the membrane in the hands and feet (higher in T. <em>sornozai</em>), the presence of melanophores in the hands and feet (higher in <em>R. orejuela</em>), iris color (dark gray with a yellow circumpupilar ring in <em>R. orejuela</em> vs. gold with dark crosslinks in <em>T. sornozai</em>) and body size (higher in <em>R. orejuela</em>). However, the acquisition of more material about <em>R. orejuela</em> and reassessment of the specimens assigned to T. sornozai allowed us to determine that both names correspond to the same species. The differences observed in the specimens assigned to <em>Teratohyla sornozai</em> are due to intraspecific variation (eg, iris color) or ontogenetic changes (juvenile specimens of <em>R. orejuela</em> have less melanophores in the legs and to a greater extent in the foreleg and hoof membranes ). The variation in the shape of the snout appears to correspond to a common pattern observed in several species of Centrolenidae, where juvenile specimens have the muzzle projected in the side view or profile view. Based on this new evidence, we put <em>Teratohyla sornozai</em> Cisneros-Heredia, Yánez-Muñoz y Ortega-Andrade as a junior synonym of <em>Rulyrana orejuela</em> Duellman y Burrowes (Figures 1-2). With this change, the number of localities known for <em>Rulyrana orejuela</em> in Ecuador is increased to four: Mashpi, Saguangal [3], Río Naranjal y Canadé [1].</p>