Laguna Raimunda Frog

Nov/maio

Diagnosis A stout medium-sized frog characterized by a Pleurodema-like aspect and almost terrestrial habits. Snout short, being the distance from nostril to the anterior corner of the eye less than the eye diameter; strong supratympanic fold; strong discoidal fold; thoracic fold present; very strong metacarpal, metatarsal and subarticular tubercles; web up to 1/2 of the fourth toe, being continued by fringes; back with bright red spots, encircled by black pigment; belly whitish, almost immaculate

Known from five lagoons on the Somuncura Plateau, an isolated basaltic plateau in Río Negro Province, Argentinean Patagonia, at an altitude of 1,000-1,200m asl.

Arborea

Perene

ácido manurônico, galactose e metil-pentose

Sementes

Description of Holotype Adult male having. Snout in lateral profile almost square; in dorsal profile obtusely rounded but with protruding noses; canthus evident; loreal region concave; top of head gently declivous; lips rounded and thick; nostril very protuberant; internarial distance 3.8 mm; interorbital distance (4.3 mm) slightly narrower than width of eyelid (5.0 mm). A strong dermal fold from posterior corner of eye to insertion of forelimb, covering the tympanic region; tympanum not evident, hidden by the dermal fold; forearm slender, slightly stronger than in the female; few low smooth tubercles on ventrolateral surface of forearm; pollex and second finger with nuptial pads; second and fourth fingers equal in length; cutaneous border between the fingers; subarticular tubercles strong, also present on the surface of the palm; inner metacarpal tubercle strong, oval-shaped; outer metacarpal tubercle, rounded, very enlarged. Heels do not overlap when hind limb adpressed, tibio-tarsal articulation reaches the eye; strong tarsal fold; inner metatarsal tubercle moderate, paddle-shaped and pronounced; outer metatarsal tubercle small and conical; subarticular tubercles conical and prominent; length of digits from shortest to longest 1-2-5-3-4; toes webbed; fourth toe about one-half webbed but with broad cutaneous border to the tip; two rows of low rounded tubercles on the lower tarsal surface. Skin of dorsum, upper surface of forearms and legs sharply granular with rounded flat glandular warts, encircled by dark pigmentary areas; that of throat and belly smooth; ventral surfaces of thighsgranular. A well distinguished discoidal fold on the belly. Tongue cordiform, free posteriorly; premaxillary-maxillary teeth strong; vomerine teeth 1-3 in two small prominent patches between and on the median line of the narrow circular choanae. Color in alcohol: Gray yellowish on dorsal surface of head, body and legs; round purplish warts surrounded by dark clear-cut irregular spots on the head, dorsum and forearms; an enlarged creamish interscapular spot; dorsal surface of thighs, tibiae and tarsi with dark brown transverse bars; belly whitish with diminutive almost invisible pigmentary blotches. Color in life: Bright yellowish above, with yellow purple flat warts surrounded by dark regular spots and a light enlarged interscapular stain; dark black bands on the upper surface of the legs; ventral surface whitish, rose-colored on the lower surface of the thighs; minute ventral pigmentation indistinguishable. Measurements (in mm): snout-vent length of 38.0, head length 12.8, head length/snout-vent length 33.6 percent; head width 14.3, head widthfsnout-vent length 37.6 percent; femur length 17.0, tibia length 17.0, tibia length/snout-vent length 44.7 percent; foot length (from inner metatarsal tubercle to tip of longest toe) 16.8, arm (from axilla to tip of longest finger) 23.9, diameter of eye 4.0. Variation The allotype female agrees well with the holotype in morphological characters; the body is somewhat stouter; dorsal color less yellowish in the female specimens than in the male. Measurements of the allotype (in mm) are: snout-vent 38, head length 12.3, head width 13.6, femur length 16.5, tibia length 16.5, foot length 16.0, arm 20.5, diameter of eye 4.4. Thus females have shorter legs and arms than the males. Snout-vent lengths of four adult males are 35.0-37.5 mm (average 36.6). The head length/snout-vent ratio is 32.0-34.2 (average 32.8); the head width/snoutvent ratio is 37.0-37.3 (average 37.2); the tibia length/snout-vent ratio is 42.6-45.0 (average 43.7). Variation in color pattern is slight. Measurements of the female paratype are: snout-vent 36.5, head length 12.0, head width 13.8, femur length 17.0, tibia length 16.9, foot length 16.4, arm 22.8, diameter of eye 5.0 mm. A recount of the premaxillary and maxillary teeth gives for any lateral row an average of 9 (range 8-10) for the premaxillary, and of 24 (range 19-28) for maxillary teeth. Larval morphology Length of body and head almost twice the width of body; head not wider than body; body stout and somewhat depressed; ventral profile slightly convex; snout sucker-like, protruding; eyes large, dorsal; interocular distance less than eye's distance from the tip of snout, but narrower than the width of anterior dorsal musculature; nostril evident, pigmented, dorsal and salient; distance between nostri Is less than their distance from the eye; interorbital distance about twice the internasal distance; spiracle sinistral, opening ventrolaterally, nearer to ventral base of tail than to tip of snout; spiracular tube about equal to diameter of eye; anal tube dextral, extending above an evident fold in ventral fin. Tail musculature longer than head and body; dorsal and ventral fins well developed, lowest near body, becoming higher posteriorly, as musculature narrows; tip of tail gently rounded; dorsal and ventral fins end at base of tail. Skin almost colorless, transparent; viscera visible; width of mouth greater than orbital distance; lips thickened, protruding, folded laterally; edges bordered by numerous, small regular marginal papillae. Mouthparts with tooth rows 2(1)/3(1); upper rows about equal in length, slightly longer than upper beak; second upper row and first lower row narrowly interrupted; other rows continuous, slightly shorter than second lower row. Horny black beak well developed, sharply serrated. Color in life: golden-brownish above; abdomen transparent, internal organs readily visible; dorsum scarcely mottled with melanophores and guanophores; caudal musculature golden yellowish; caudal fin transparent, colorless. In formalin, almost colorless, dorsum scattered with minute chromatophores metamerically disposed on dorsal caudal musculature, marking course of lateral segmental blood vessels; belly and fins transparent. Maximum observed total length 98 mm.

América

EN. Endangered.

Atelognathus reverberii (Cei)

MATERIAL.—USNM 204798 (one specimen dissected, stage 34, SVL 23.0 mm). Collected from Somuncura Plateau, Laguna Raimunda, Rio Negro, Argentina, 20 December 1967, by J.M. Cei.

REFERENCE.—Cei (1980) described and figured the tadpole (as Telmatobius reverberii).

GENERAL

Atelognathus reverberii is a species of frog in the family Batrachylidae. It is endemic to Argentina.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, temperate grassland, freshwater marshes, and intermittent freshwater marshes. It is threatened by habitat loss.