A new snouted treefrog (Anura, Hylidae, Scinax) from fluvial islands of the Juruena River, southern Brazilian Amazonia

PLoS One. 2024 Jan 31;19(1):e0292441. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292441. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Southern Amazonia is one of the less-explored regions by anuran taxonomists. We describe a small new species of snouted treefrog, genus Scinax, from this region, from a fluvial archipelago in the Juruena River, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The description is based on external morphology of adults and tadpoles, advertisement call and molecular data. The species is phylogenetically related to other snouted treefrogs of the Scinax cruentomma species group and shows the most southeastern distribution in Amazonia among its close relatives. It is distinguished from congeners mainly by its larger adult body size and bilobate vocal sac that reaches the level of the pectoral fold, a reddish-brown horizontal stripe on the iris, dark melanophores or blotches on the vocal sac and the throat of females, and the uniformly brown posterior portion of the thigh. The advertisement call comprises one pulsed note emitted at regular intervals, with a duration of 189-227 ms, 30-35 pulses/note and a dominant frequency of 2,250-2,344 Hz. The type locality is suffering several environmental impacts, including illegal mining, overfishing, unsustainable agriculture, uncontrolled logging and degradation associated with the construction of new hydroelectric dams. Further study of the biology and regional distribution of the new species is required to propose mitigation measures needed for its conservation.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anura*
  • Brazil
  • Conservation of Natural Resources
  • Female
  • Fisheries
  • Rivers*

Grants and funding

• Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPq. Award number: 428478/2016-6. Recipient: D.J.R. • Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPq. Award number: 154325/2018-0. Recipient: M.F. • David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies – DRCLAS, Harvard University. Award number: none. Recipient: M.F. • Museum of Comparative Zoology – MCZ, Harvard University. Award number: none. Recipient: M.F. • Wetmore Colles Fund of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. Award number: none. Recipient: J.H. • Fundação de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento do Ensino, Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. Award Number: Edital 32/2021, 71/011.029/2022. | Recipient: F.H.O. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.