Taxonomy of the Capensibufo rosei group (Anura: Bufonidae) from South Africa
Author
Channing, A.
Author
Measey, G. J.
Author
De Villiers, A. L.
Author
Turner, A. A.
Author
Tolley, K. A.
text
Zootaxa
2017
4232
2
282
292
journal article
36524
10.11646/zootaxa.4232.2.11
18721cfb-fd84-4caf-9076-db69d1885823
1175-5326
292784
24B25647-2702-4829-9BC8-62CF53DEE4B9
Capensibufo deceptus
sp. nov.
Deception Peak Mountain Toadlet (
Fig. 2
A, B)
Capensibufo rosei
(part)
Holotype
. A female
NMB
A8099, collected from a plateau below
Deception Peak
in the
DuToits Mountains
(
33.78419°S
,
19.19886°E
,
1686 m
), by
A. Rebelo
,
A.A. Turner
,
D. Rossouw
and
R. Howat
,
19 September 2016
.
Paratypes
.
PEM
A10159, a female from below
Deception Peak
,
1635 m
,
Dutoits Mountains
,
South Africa
(
33.79472°S
,
19.21806°E
) collected by
M.J. Cunningham
and
C.L. Henderson
,
6 October 2003
, and a smaller female NMB A8100 from nearby (33.78397°S, 19.19633°E,
1701 m
), collected by A. Rebelo, A.A. Turner, D. Rossouw and R. Howat,
19 September 2016
.
Other material.
Two large specimens from near the top of Koeël Mountain (Kogelberg) (
CNCH
6847–48) are provisionally assigned to this species, on the basis of their large size and the presence of a tympanum. Although
C. tradouwi
also has a tympanum, the nearest confirmed record for this species is on the Langeberg Mountains,
150 km
east. Fresh material for sequencing is required to confirm this assignment.
Sequences.
Two 16S sequences
FN652323
–4 and two ND2 sequences
FN650111
–
2 (
Tolley
et al.
2010
) from
Du Toit's Kloof
Mountains
, vouchers
PEM
A10159 and MH 0 201. The
holotype
GenBank 16S accession number is
KY171944
.
Diagnosis.
Capensibufo deceptus
is larger than the other species in the group. The female
holotype
SUL
36.3 mm
, and a female PEM A10159, 38 mm. The largest specimens of the other species include
C. rosei
28.3 mm
(SAM 43270, Table Mountain),
C. magistratus
26 mm
(Jonaskop), and
C. selenophos
23.5 mm
(
holotype
, Maanskynkop). It possesses a visible tympanum, which distinguishes it from
C. magistratus
,
C. rosei
,
and
C. selenophos
. In preservative, the dorsal spots have no thin white outer margin, which is usually present in
C. magistratus
and
C. selenophos
. The umbraculum is angular, but rounded in
C. rosei
,
C. selenophos
and
C. tradouwi
. Parotids are usually not expanded, in contrast to the wide parotid middle of
C. magistratus
,
C. selenophos
,
and
C. tradouwi
. The vertebral stripe consists of a thin white line inside a broad pale band, while a vertebral stripe is usually absent in
C. rosei
, and it consists of a diffuse band in
C. magistratus
. The belly is immaculate to lightly speckled, while there are white spots on a darker background in
C. magistratus
and
C. selenophos
.
Capensibufo tradouwi
has a belly that is flecked, the marks running together into thin interrupted lines. The intraspecific uncorrected p distances for 16S are 0–0.2 (n=3), and 2.5–3.4 between
C. deceptus
and the other three species previously included in
C. rosei
, and 2.6–3.8 from
C. tradouwi
(
Table 1
).
TABLE 1.
Uncorrected 16S p distances, as percentages.
C. deceptus
(n = 3)
|
C. magistratus
(n = 14)
|
C. rosei
(n = 13)
|
C. selenophos
(n = 3)
|
C. deceptus
|
0–0.2 |
C. magistratus
|
2.5–3.4 |
0–1.4 |
C. rosei
|
2.8–3.0 |
2.6–3.8 |
0–0.4 |
C. selenophos
|
2.6–3.0 |
3.0–4.0 |
3.7–4.0 |
0.2–0.6 |
C. tradouwi
|
2.6–3.8 |
3.2–4.5 |
2.4–4.5 |
3.8–4.6 |
Description of
holotype
. A male,
36.3 mm
SUL, in breeding condition, robust, widest at mid-body; head wide (SUL/HW 2.5), not wider than trunk, wider than long (HW/HL 1.2); snout long (SL/HL 0.39), nearly square in dorsal view, angular in profile, slightly projecting beyond lower jaw, shorter than wide (SL/IO 0.85); canthus rostralis gently rounded; loreal region almost vertical, slightly concave; nostril raised, rimmed, with a small outer flap, directed dorsolaterally; situated closer to eye than to tip of snout, separated from each other by distance less than distance between eye and nostril (IN/EN 0.89); eyes directed anterolaterally, relatively small (EYE/HL 0.3); umbraculum present; eye diameter shorter than snout (EYE/SNT 0.81); interorbital distance less than eye diameter (IO/EYE 0.84), and greater than internarial distance (IO/IN 1.33); tympanum distinct, round, less than eye diameter (TYM/EYE 0.58), situated close to eye (ET/EYE 0.21); choanae small, round, located far anterolaterally at margins of roof of the mouth; no vomer processes; median lingual process of tongue absent. Viewed from below the snout does not protrude beyond the lower jaw.
Lateral and dorsal surfaces of trunk smooth; ventral surfaces of limbs and gular smooth; supratympanic fold absent. Parotid elongated, smooth, not expanded, (PL/PW 2.36), (PL/SUL 0.18); raised, rounded rictal gland behind angle of jaw; inguinal gland rugose, not extending forward beyond thighs; vent opens posteriorly, no large surrounding glandular structures.
Forelimbs moderately robust; hand gracile; tips of fingers rounded, slightly expanded but without discs; relative length of fingers: III>I>II>IV (F3/HW 0.58); subarticular tubercles single, well developed; small supernumerary tubercles present on the palm; thenar tubercle raised; a single rounded metacarpal tubercle present; fingers lightly pigmented, with pigment extending along outer surface of forearm, confluent with dorsal pigment. Nuptial pads cover the upper surfaces of the first two fingers, and the inner surface of the third finger. They consist of small dark raised spots, evenly spaced.
Foot as long as tibia (FT/TIB 0.99); Relative length of toes: I<II<V<III<IV; subarticular tubercles small, rounded: webbing absent; inner metatarsal tubercle small, prominent; outer metatarsal tubercle flat, rounded.
Colour in life.
(
Fig. 2
A, B) The back is a dark reddish-brown, with a thin pale-grey vertebral stripe. The parotids have a dark orange tinge. The iris is speckled silver. The tympanum is mottled brown. The lateral glandular ridge extending from the parotid is grey, with the posterior third dark orange. The snout is dark brown, extending to the upper lip. A pale area runs from below the eye to the upper lip, continuing as a glandular ridge to the upper arm. The upper surfaces of the limbs are light brown, with darker transverse blotches. The belly is pale grey with darker lateral markings that extend from the back. The inguinal gland is dark red. The throat is white. The soles and palms are black with pale tubercles.
Colour in preservative
. The pattern of the specimen has faded, but some details are apparent. The dorsal spots consist of a dark circle, with no white outer ring. Some specimens have white-tipped warts inside the dark rings. The parotids are orange, and there is a thin white vertebral stripe within a more diffuse pale vertebral band. Ventral markings consist of grey speckles.
Paratype
variation.
The
paratypes
are similar in morphology, with the largest female SUL
38 mm
. The colour patterns are similar.
Advertisement call
. Unknown. This species has a tympanum, and it is expected to produce an advertisement call.
Distribution
. The species is so far only known from the DuToits Mountains in
South Africa
(
Fig. 1
), from below Deception Peak. Two specimens from Koeël Mountain (Kogelberg) ±
980 m
(CNCH 6847–48) have been provisionally assigned to this species. They have snout-urostyle lengths of 31 and
35 mm
, much larger than any other species, and both possess a visible tympanum. They were previously called
Capensibufo rosei
, but the latter does not have a tympanum, nor any hearing organs. This assignment will require fresh material for molecular confirmation.
FIGURE 2.
Illustrations of the species. A—
Capensibufo deceptus
(NMB A8099), holotype, Deception Peak. B—Ventral surface of
Capensibufo deceptus
holotype (NMB A8099). C—
Capensibufo magistratus
(NMB A8101), holotype, Landdroskop. D—Ventral surface of
Capensibufo magistratus
(NMB A8102). E—
Capensibufo selenophos
, no voucher, Maanskyn Nature Reserve. F—
Capensibufo rosei
, no voucher, Silvermine, Cape Peninsula.
Etymology
. This species is named for the
type
locality, below Deception Peak, DuToits Mountains,
South Africa
. The specific epithet is Latin for 'deceive'.