Elachistocleis cesarii Miranda-Ribeiro 1920

Elachistocleis cesarii (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920) Engystoma ovale cesarii Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920 Engystoma ovale lineatum Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920 Lectotype. MZUSP 529, an adult male, collected at municipality of Piquete, state of S��o Paulo, southeastern Brazil (approximately 22 �� 36 ��� S; 47 �� 10 ��� W; 675 m above sea level), on November 1896 by Zech (Figure 1). Paralectotypes. ��� MZUSP 33 collected on January 1900 by Hempel, at Ipiranga (Ypiranga), municipality of S��o Paulo; MZUSP 36 (gravid female) collected on October 1896 by Bicego, at municipality of Perus; MZUSP 37 (gravid female) collected on 1897 by Bicego, at municipality of Cubat��o; MZUSP 38 collected on January 1898 by Bicego, at Bel��m, municipality of S��o Paulo; MZUSP 42 (gravid female) collected on October 1907 by Ruedervalt and Cheubel at Ipiranga (Ypiranga), municipality of S��o Paulo; MZUSP 264 (gravid female) collected together with the lectotype; MZUSP 715 collected on 1896 by Bicego, at Alto da Serra; MZUSP 2023 (gravid female) collected on 1897 by Bicego at municipality of Cubat��o; MZUSP 2024 - 27 (gravid females; except for 2025 which resembles an young male) collected on October 1896 by Bicego at municipality of Perus. All municipalities are in the state of S��o Paulo, southeastern Brazil. Diagnosis. Elachistocleis cesarii is recognized by the following combination of characters: 1) ventral coloration is white or yellow with gray marks and reticulations; 2) presence of postcommisural glands behind the corner of mouth; 3) tympanum concealed; 4) advertisement call with the mean dominant frequency of about 3.5 kHz. Comparison with other species. In life, Elachistocleis cesarii is readily distinguished from E. erythrogaster by the absence of the reddish coloration of the ventral portion of its body (see Figures 2 C, D and 3 C, D), its smallest body size, and the presence of a well defined femoral stripe (not well defined in E. erythrogaster). Besides this, the frequency of the advertisement call of E. cesarii is lower than that reported to E. erythrogaster (see Kwet & Di-Bernardo 1998; 1999). E. cesarii is distinguished from E. surinamensis by its smaller size (mean of 32.3 mm in males of E. surinamensis) and by differences in body coloration (see plate XIII in Kenny 1969, and Figures 3 C, D, and E). E. cesarii is distinguished from E. bicolor and E. ovalis by the absence of the immaculate, yellow, ventral coloration (spotted in E. cesarii) (see Lavilla et al. 2003 and Figures 2 A, B and 3 C, D). E. cesarii is distinguished from E. skotogaster by presenting postcommisural glands (absent in E. skotogaster; see Figure 2 E) and by its smaller size (minimum size of 27.5 in males of E. stokogaster). E. cesarii is distinguished from E. piauiensis by some advertisement call parameters: the call frequency is lower and call duration is shorter in E. cesarii than in E. piauiensis (see Table 2). Besides this, E. cesarii has a smaller postcommisural gland (more conspicuous in E. piauiensis) and the blotches of the inguinal region are less conspicuous in E. piauiensis than in E. cesarii. In figures 2 and 3 it is possible to observe dorsal and ventral color patterns of some species of Elachistocleis in life. Description of the lectotype. Body robust and ovoid. Texture of the dorsal skin and undersurface of the body smooth. Skin on ventrolateral surface of body and area around the cloacal region smooth. Cloacal flap absent; vent opening positioned posterodorsally. Head small and triangular, broader than long. Cranial crests absent. A conspicuous dorsolateral skin fold from the arms to the groin. Another skin fold crossing the chest between axillae. Eyes small, slightly prominent. Snout pointed in dorsal view and protruding in lateral view. Nostrils directed anterolaterally, slightly protuberant. Choanae relatively small and round. A well developed groove in the terminal part of the lower jaw. Internarial distance small. Canthus rostralis distinct, rounded. Loreal region slightly convex. Interorbital space slightly convex. Lips nearly horizontal when belly is touching the ground. Presence of postcommisural glands behind the corner of mouth. Tympanum concealed. Supratympanic fold absent. Upper jaw projects 1.59 mm beyond the lower jaw. Subgular vocal sac not expanded externally. Vocal slits present. Vomerine odontophores absent. Tongue large, oval. Arms and fingers robust and short. Legs extremely robust; almost equal lengths of thigh, tibia, and foot. Finger lengths IColor in life of individuals apart from the type series (Figure 3 C, D). ��� Dorsum and limbs are dark brownish gray with small white dots. The single, subgular vocal sac is darker than the venter. The chest is yellow with gray marks. Belly white or yellow, with gray marks and reticulations, which reach the flanks. Orange femoral stripe present on the posterior surface of the thigh. Orange inguinal spots present. There is a tiny white vertebral line from the snout to the vent. Color in preservative of individuals other than the type series (70 % ethanol). ��� Dorsum and limbs are dark grayish blue. Ventral region is gray with white spots. These spots reach up to the lateral portion of the animals. The throat is darker than chest and belly. The inguinal spots and femoral stripes on the posterior surface of the thigh are white. Vertebral line undistinguished. Variation. Females are larger than males (see Table 1). Females present variation in size, with the SVL varying from 19.4 up to 42.7 mm (Thom�� & Brasileiro, 2007). The vertebral stripe may be absent. The ventral spots may not reach the flanks and the groin region of some individuals. The throat of males is darker than that of females. Call descriptions. Advertisement calls of E. cesarii were recorded in Itap��, municipality of Rio Claro, S��o Paulo state, Brazil, on 29 January 2002, at air temperature of 23.1 ��C (Figure 4). The call consists of a loud, high pitched, sustained whistle, ranging from 1.49 to 2.66 s of duration, with a mean dominant frequency of 3,515 Hz, with a mean pulse rate of 238.2 per second, and 460.2 pulses per note in average. The frequency ranged from 3.01 to 4.17 kHz. The duration of the pulses did not vary much (mean of 4.23 �� 0.16 ms; n = 50). Further spectral characteristics are presented in Table 2 (see also Figure 4). Advertisement calls of E. piauiensis were recorded in the municipalities of Pacatuba on 13 March 2007 (air temperature 22 ��C), Caucaia on 15 May 2005 (air temperature 27 ��C), and Vi��osa do Cear�� on 24 April 2007 (air temperature 25 ��C), all of them in the state of Cear��, Northeastern Brazil. The call structure of E. piauiensis is very similar to that of E. cesarii and consist of a loud, high pitched, sustained whistle (ranging from 2.45 to 2.51 s of duration). The duration of the pulses did not vary much (3.00 �� 0.23 ms; n = 50). However, the mean dominant frequency is higher in E. piauiensis (4.53 �� 0.06 Hz) compared to the new species and the frequency ranged from 3.18 to 5.10 kHz (Table 2; Figure 4). Tadpoles. Tadpoles are unknown; however, 10 tadpoles collected in the municipality of Vit��ria Brasil, state of S��o Paulo, Brazil, and briefly described under the name Elachistocleis sp. by Rossa-Feres and Nomura (2006), could be E. cesarii. Natural history notes. Elachistocleis cesarii calls during the wet and hot season of the year (summer) as a prolonged breeder; however, after heavy rains during the hot nights it may behave like an explosive breeder (sensu Wells 1977). Males call with the legs in the water and the body out of water, holding the emergent vegetation with the forelimbs. The amplexus is axillar. We collected two amplected pairs that laid eggs in plastic bags. One female deposited 736 eggs and the second deposited 1126 eggs. In nature, the eggs are laid in the water surface as a gelatinous mass attached to floating or emergent vegetation (Figure 3 F). Newly metamorphosed specimens have a mean SVL of 11.83 mm �� 0.38 (11.4 ��� 12.3; N = 6). The ecology of this species has been studied by Thom�� and Brasileiro (2007) and a short communication about the defensive posture was published by Toledo (2004), in both articles under the name Elachistocleis cf. ovalis. Geographical distribution. Besides the localities of the type series, the species is known in the municipalities of Rio Claro, Campinas, Itirapina, S��o Paulo, Angatuba, and Ubatuba, all in the state of S��o Paulo. In the state of Minas Gerais it can be found in the municipalities of Jaboticatubas, Santana do Riacho, Munhoz, and Vi��osa. In the state of Goi��s it can be found in Pontalina (Figure 5). Etymology. The meaning of the specific name of E. cesarii was not stated in the original description. Discussion. The taxonomic status of Elachistocleis ovalis remains unclear. This fact limits the recognition of several related still undescribed species in South America. These species are incorrectly being referred to as E. ovalis and even E. bicolor in the past and current literature, as well as in museum collections. The lack of correct identification of all those taxa has direct implication in conservation, as some of them may be endangered or may be endemic to certain localities, countries or biomes. Therefore, a taxonomic review of the genus urges attention and may reveal a great hidden biodiversity. Additional specimens examined. Elachistocleis bicolor: CFBH 3841; 3859; 4010 S��o Domingos, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil; CFBH 4225 Tabapu��, state of S��o Paulo, Brazil; CFBH 13608 - 10 Tr��s Lagoas, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil; CFBH 18199 Bom Jesus, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. E. cesarii: CFHB 4132 ��� 37; 4147 ��� 48; 4209; 4230 ��� 31; 4233 ��� 37; 4256 ��� 7 Rio Claro, state of S��o Paulo, Brazil; ZUEC 8054 Campinas, state of S��o Paulo, Brazil; ZUEC 12031 Itirapina, state of S��o Paulo, Brazil, CFBH 4997 Itirapina, state of S��o Paulo, Brazil; CFBH 3768 Pontalina, state of Goi��s, Brazil; CFBH 6575-6578 Rio Claro, state of S��o Paulo, Brazil; CFBH 10907 Ubatuba, state of S��o Paulo, Brazil; CFBH 23136 Angatuba, state of S��o Paulo, Brazil; ZUEC 599-600 S��o Paulo, state of S��o Paulo, Brazil; ZUEC 4246 -48, 4250-51, 4263 Munhoz, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil; ZUEC 1417 -18, 2848, 2862 -63, 3031-32, 3069, 3072 - 76 Jaboticatubas, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil; ZUEC 6157 (adult male recorded) Vi��osa, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil; ZUEC 4995 - 97 Santana do Riacho, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. E. erythrogaster: MNRJ 39098 adult male, Paratype. E. piauiensis: CFBH: 15880; 15902 -03; 23465 - 71 Vi��osa do Cear��, state of Cear��, Brazil. E. surinamensis: ZUEC 9422 ��� 23 Rapidos de Komoiran, Estado Bolivar, Venezuela.
Published as part of Toledo, Lu��s Felipe, Loebmann, Daniel & Haddad, C��lio F. B., 2010, Revalidation and redescription of Elachistocleis cesarii (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1920) (Anura: Microhylidae), pp. 50-60 in Zootaxa 2418 on pages 52-59, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.194434
{"references":["Miranda-Ribeiro, A. (1920) Os Engystomatideos do Museu Paulista (com um genero e tres especies novos). Revista do Museu Paulista, 12, 280 - 288, lams. 1 - 2.","Kwet, A. & Di - Bernardo, M. (1998) Elachistocleis erythrogaster, a new microhylid species from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, 33, 7 - 18.","Kenny, J. S. (1969) The Amphibia of Trinidad. In: Hummelinck, P. W. (Ed.). Studies on the fauna of Curacao and other Caribbean islands, 108, pp. 1 - 78.","Lavilla, E. O., Vaira, M. & Ferrari, L. (2003) A new species of Elachistocleis (Anura: Microhylidae) from the Andean Yungas of Argentina, with comments on the Elachistocleis ovalis - E. bicolor controversy. Amphibia-Reptilia, 24, 269 - 284.","Thome, T. C. & Brasileiro, C. A. (2007) Dimorfismo sexual, uso do ambiente e abundancia sazonal de Elachistocleis cf. ovalis (Anura: Microhylidae) em um remanescente de Cerrado do estado de Sao Paulo, sudeste do Brasil. Biota Neotropica, 7 (1), bn 00307012007.","Rossa-Feres, D. C. & Nomura, F. (2006) Characterization and taxonomic key for tadpoles (Amphibia: Anura) from the northwestern region of Sao Paulo state, Brazil. Biota Neotropica, 6 (1), bn 00706012006.","Wells, K. D. (1977) The social behaviour of anuran amphibians. Animal Behaviour, 25, 666 - 693.","Toledo, L. F. (2004) Elachistocleis cf. ovalis (Common Oval Frog). Death feigning. Herpetological Review, 35 (4), 371 - 372."]}