Cacosternum cederbergense Angus, Telford, Ping & Conradie, 2024, sp. nov.
Year: 2024
Type: other
Abstract: Cacosternum cederbergense sp. nov. http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub: EB8244CD-4650-47A8-80D6-6D4DC66122B8 Cederberg Dainty Frog (Figs. 6, 7, 8a) Holotype. An adult male, PEM A15391 (Fig. 6), collected from the eastern end of Pakhuis Pass in the northern Cederberg, Western Cape, South Africa (-32.10561˚ 19.06342˚, 491 m above sea level) by Oliver Angus on 14 June 2023. The specimen has a ventral incision from where liver tissue was removed for phylogenetic analyses. Paratypes. Sixteen adults collected from different localities in the northern Cederberg, Western Cape, South Africa by Oliver Angus, Tyrone Ping and Nicolas Telford (Fig. 7). PEM A15287, PEM A15288, and PEM A15289 from Kleinfontein farm (-32.095˚ 19.055˚, 515 m) on 19 July 2022; PEM A15290–1, and PEM A15292–3 from the ‘ Powerlines’ rock climbing site on Traveller’s Rest property (-32.086˚ 19.062˚, 487 m) on 19 July 2022; PEM A15294 from the ‘ Hollanders’ rock climbing site on Traveller’s Rest property (-32.066˚ 19.036˚, 451 m) on 20 July 2022; PEM A15295 from near Bushman’s Cave Bergteater (-31.958˚ 18.885˚, 494 m) on 20 July 2022; PEM A15296, PEM A15297, PEM A15298, PEM A15299, and PEM A15300–1 from ‘ Klein Bergie’ on Alpha Excelsior property (-32.106˚ 19.062˚, 565 m) on 20 July 2022; and PEM A15302 from Kleinfontein Campsite, Cederberg, Western Cape, South Africa (-32.095˚ 19.055˚, 515 m). Etymology. The name is derived from the Cederberg mountain range from where the species occurs. The toponym is formed in agreement with the neuter genus. Diagnosis. Referable to the genus Cacosternum based on the absence of webbing between fingers and toes, concealed tympanum and smooth ventrum with brown mottling on white background, and molecular monophyly of the 16S mitochondrial marker within Cacosternum. This new species differs from other Cacosternum species with regard to the 16S fragment, by a net uncorrected p-distance value of 1.9–7.1% (Table 1). This new species forms part of the morphologically and phylogenetically distinct C. capense group, which can be separated from other species of Cacosternum on the basis of their large size, pulse count of their ‘creak’ call, and possession of dorsolateral glands that produce defensive secretions. Morphologically, C. cederbergense sp. nov. is intermediate between C. capense and C. namaquense but can be diagnosed based on the following character states: (1) rictal glands: enlarged, forming an uninterrupted arc with the angle of the jaw (interrupted in C. capense; continuous with the upper lip and reaching the base of the arm in C. namaquense), (2) supratympanic fold: continues posteriorly as a thickened fold (similar to C. namaquense; indistinct in C. capense), (3) nostrils: when viewed from above they are within one nostril diameter of the anterior snout edge (similar in C. capense, but located on the anterior margin of the snout in C. namaquense), (4) pupil of the eye: absence of a dark streak of variable length running downward, from the pupil into the iris (present in C. capense and C. namaquense), (5) dorsum: smooth, with a diffusion of small dark protuberances concentrated between the scapular and sacral regions (smooth to granular in C. namaquense, usually free of warts; covered with large rounded warts in C. capense, each surrounded by dark flecks), (6) dorsal glands: a pair of dorsoventral subcutaneous glands run longitudinally from the vicinity of the urostyle to the scapula region (in C. capense glands are bean-shaped and two pairs are present, one above the vent in a semi-fused condition, another anterior to the thighs; condition similar in C. namaquense), (7) dorsal colouration: orange and olive-green tinges common (also present in C. capense but rare in C. namaquense), (8) a pale interorbital patch present but diffuse (in C. namaquense the patch is free of mottling and forms an uninterrupted interorbital bar; absent in C. capense, replaced by a dark triangle with a posterior vertex), (9) pale patch present between the scapular and sacral regions, diffuse (in C. namaquense the patch on the back often extends to the flanks and is usually free of mottling; absent in C. capense), (10) ventrum: breeding males with a rim of diffuse grey colouration around the lower jaw, brown spots underneath, extending to the base of the forearms (blotches rapidly coalesce towards the throat in C. namaquense (Fig. 8c), becoming paler and smaller; throat black in C. capense (Fig. 8b)), (11) belly white with dark blotches often fusing together but never forming stripes (broad stripes often present in C. namaquense and sometimes in C. capense), (12) supernumerary tubercles: count of three to five, rounded, outer row closer to palmar tubercle than to proximal subarticular tubercles (same in C. capense, in C. namaquense conical, count of four to five, outer row closer to proximal subarticular tubercles than to palmar tubercles), and (13) palmar tubercle: heart-shaped (bifid in C. namaquense; depressed in C. capense). Meristic differences indicate the head of C. cederbergense sp. nov. is proportionately wider than C. namaquense, but roughly equal to C. capense (Fig. 3). Cacosternum cederbergense sp. nov. also has proportionately larger eyes than C. capense and C. namaquense. Snout length is longer in C. capense than in C. namaquense and C. cederbergense sp. nov. The advertisement call consists of a brief pulsed creak emitted at long intervals (Fig. 9a, Table 3). It differs from the harsh creaks produced by C. capense and C. namaquense which always have a mean dominant frequency greater than 2 kHz. The call of C. namaquense can have more than 26 pulses and often a duration greater than 0.30 s, whereas that of C. cederbergense sp. nov. ranges from 18 to 26 pulses and lasts less than 0.30 s. Description of the holotype. An adult male in breeding condition, SVL 23.2 mm (Fig. 6). Body slender, urostyle posterior to vent, widest around the angle of the jaw (HW = 9.7 mm). The head is bluntly rounded from above, truncated in profile. Head length is about one quarter of the body length (HL/SVL 0.26). Canthus rostralis rounded, straight from eye to nostril, loreal region slightly concave; nostrils small, rounded, directed anterolaterally, raised marginally. The nostrils are placed closer to the snout than to the eye (EN/SL 0.66). Internarial distance is slightly less than distance between eye and nostril (NN/EN 0.94). Eyes directed anterolaterally, the eyes protrude, and barely visible from below, relatively large (ED/SL 1.02). Distance between anterior corners of eyes more than double the internarial distance (NN/EE 0.45). The angle of the jaw is posterior to a line drawn vertically from the back of the eye. Tympanum not visible. The dorsal surfaces of the head, trunk and limbs are smooth, with small indistinct protuberances; the rictal gland is unbroken, continuing around the posterior angle of the jaw, expanded posteriorly. The supratympanic fold continues posteriorly, thick and glandular to the arm insertion, forming a thickened saddle. Subcutaneous dorsolateral glands running from urostyle along the flanks, small, do not reach the insertion of the forelimbs. The forelimbs are slender, hands small (HAN/SVL 0.26), fingertips bluntly rounded without discs. Relative finger lengths I<II<IV<III; subarticular tubercles distinct, rounded, with one on fingers I and II, two on fingers III and IV. No webbing between fingers, although each digit tapers laterally to a thin margin. Thenar tubercle moderate size, partially obscured by nuptial pad that reaches the distal phalanx of the first finger; palmar tubercles large, heart shaped. Four supernumerary tubercles on palm. Hind limbs moderately long (TIB/SVL 0.42; FOT/SVL 0.45), foot slightly longer than tibia (TIB/ FOT 0.93); thighs are poorly developed, granular on the posterior faces with a diffusion of small glands; relative toe lengths are I<II<V<III
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6911699665
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