Urnero

Diagnosis A slender, small-sized leptolactylid (snout vent length 32-37 mm in males; 33-40 mm in females) with snout sloping, slightly sharpened; postympanic gland of the males inconspicuous; tympanum Å? or 2/3 of the eye diameter, large hindlegs and moderate tibiae and tarsi. With a remarkable spot red in life in middle of the dorsum.

Known from Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Corrientes, Córdoba, Chaco, Entre Ríos, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, Salta, Santa Fe, San Luis, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán (Argentina); Chuquisaca, Santa Cruz, Tarija (Bolivia); Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil); southern Paraguay; and Uruguay. Its altitudinal range is from 0-600m asl.

Adult morphology Snout-vent of about 30-40 mm: males slightly smaller than females. Head acumnate, almost as large as wide, less than 1/3 of the body length. Snout. round and pointed in dorsaI profile, sloping and projecting far on the lower jaw in lateral and ventral profile. Some specimens or populations with a bucking nose. Nostrils dorso-latera1, close to the tip of snout; their interval larger than interocular distance, equal to the width of the upper eyelid and narrower than the eye diameter. Canthus rostralis rounded; loreal region gently sloping up to the upper lip. Eyes prominent, laterally located. Maxillary teeth present; vomerine teeth in two small patches, between and behind the choanae. Tongue oval, slightly notched behind. Tympanum large, round and transparent, about 3 /4 of the eye diameter. A thick supratympanic fold, reaching the axilla and extending laterodorsally above, up to the groin, with a strong glandular ridge. No postympanic gland in males, Fingers and toes frees. Rate of the finger lengths: II-IV-I-III. Metacarpal tubercles well-developed; subarticular tubercles conocial and prominent in fingers and toes. Metatarsal tubercles small and rpunded. Tarsal fold weak. When hindleg is adpressed, heel reaches the eyes; when the femurs are bent at right angles to body, the tibio-tarsal articulations overlap. No njptial pads; brown bilateral gular spots but a single sac in males. Skin smooth, with scantly glandular flat warts on the back; closely glandular on the sides; closely glandular on the lower posterior surface of thighs. Thoracic and discoidal folds evident. Dorsally brownish, with irregular dark spots, and reddish light rhomboidal wash on the shoulder. Transverse, wide dark bands on the limbs. Ventrally whitish, immaculate. Larval morphology Tadpoles at stages 34�36 (Gosner, 1960) are about 23.1 ± 2.0 mm of total length, and they have a depressed body The body length is about 40% of total length, body shape is ovoid in dorsal view and the maximum width is placed at the beginning of the spiracular tube. In lateral view, the ventral contour of the body is slightly convex. The snout is slightly truncated in dorsal and lateral views. The nostrils are oval; they are dorsolaterally positioned, closer to the tip of the snout than to the eyes, more visible laterally than dorsally and its opening is laterodorsally directed. The eyes are large and dorsolateral, not visible from ventral view. Pineal organ and lateral line system were not visible. The spiracle is single, lateral, sinistral, short, with its inner wall entirely fused to the body, and it is placed at the middle of the body length, posterodorsally directed; its opening is oval, with a small elevated rim, being its diameter slightly smaller than the tube diameter, and is visible only laterally. The intestinal assa was usually observed approximately at the center of the abdominal ventral surface, but in two exemplars was left sided. The vent tube is medial, and in one specimen it opened to the left due to a fold in the origin of the ventral fin. The tail is large, and both fins are slightly higher than the body height. The dorsal fin originates at the body-tail junction and it has a regularly curved, convex free margin. The ventral fin originates from the longitudinal axis of the posterior wall of the vent tube and its free margin is convex. The tail axis is straight, and the tail smoothly stretches towards the tip, ending rounded. The tail musculature almost reaches the tail end. The oral disc is anteroventral, medium sized, lacks lateral constrictions (not emarginated) and has a large dorsal gap. Marginal papillae are usually arranged in a single row on both sides of the dorsal gap, in a double row in sub angular regions, and in a single or double row in the ventral portion of the oral disc. Papillae are simple, longer than wide, subconical, with rounded tip. Submarginal papillae are absent. The upper jaw sheath is widely arch-shaped, and the lower jaw sheath is V-shaped. Both jaw sheaths are well developed, finely serrated and heavily pigmented on their distal halves. Labial tooth row formula is 2(2)/3(1). Coloration in life: the body is brown dorsally and laterally with greenish shines, with a light fine reticulated black pattern visible with magnification. The ventral surface of the body is yellowish with scarce dark pigmentation, and greenish and golden shines. Caudal musculature is brown, also with greenish shines and ventral irregular yellowish areas in the first half. Both fins are irregularly pigmented with dark blotches, which are less intense in the anterior part of the ventral fin. The iris is light yellow. Coloration in preservative: The body and caudal musculature coloration turns light brown. The ventral surface of the body has a less intense coloration and unpigmented areas in the gular region and in the centre of the abdomen. The coloration of both fins lightens and the small dark blotches of melanophores are more numerous along the upper half of the dorsal fin. The myomers become more evident in the two distal thirds of the tail.

LC. Least Concern.

Leptodactylus latinasus (common name: oven frog, in Spanish urnero) is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. It is found in the Gran Chaco of northern Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay and east and south to southern Brazil and Uruguay. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical grasslands near waterbodies. It tolerates anthropogenic disturbance well. It breeds in underground chambers. This abundant and adaptable species is not facing any important threats.

It is now known to have kneecaps, a feature previously unknown in amphibians and thought to have evolved in different taxonomic classes, the reptile and the mammal.