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FACULTAD 02 CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS 
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VOLUMEN 9 
LIMA-PERU 
Biotempo 2009, Volumen 9, 71-76 
A NEW SPECIES OF Chiasmocleis (ANURA: MICROHYLIDAE) FROM SOUTHERN 
AMAZONIAN PERU WITH COMMENTS ON SOME OTHER MICHROHYLIDS. 
Victor R. Morales' 
Roy W. McDiarmid! 
RESUMEN 
Se describe una especie nueva de Chiasmocleis de Pakitza, Parque Nacional del Manu, Peru, esta en simpatria con 
Chiasmocleis ventrimaculata y vocaliza en la hojarasca. Esta nueva especie esta muy relacionada a C. bassleri y 
podrian formar un grupo supraespecifico. Se comentan algunos caracteres de C. ventrimaculata y C. bassleri. 
Palabras claves: Nueva especie de Chiasmocleis, Anura, Amazonia, Manu, Peru. 
SUMMARY 
A new species of Chiasmocleis from Pakitza, National Park of Manu, Peru described herein, is symtopic with C. 
ventrimaculata and its leaf litter calling. The new species is related to C. bassleri and could be form a supra-species 
group. Some characters of C. ventrimaculata and C. bassleri are commented upon. 
Key words: New Species Chiasmocleis from Peru, Amphibians, Anura, Manu, Amazonian, Peru. 
INTRODUCTION 
Six of the 18 genera of michrohylid frogs present in 
South America occur in the Peruvian Amazon (Rodri- 
guez et al, 1993; Morales, 1995, Wild, 1995). Of these 
six, only Ctenophryne lacks a clavicle and procoracoid, 
and the other five Altigus (with clavicle long, Wild, 
1995), Chiasmocleis, Elachystocleis, Hamptophryne 
and Syncope present a much-reduced clavicle 
(Zweifeld, 1986). The genus Chiasmocleis has 19 
recognized species that occur from Panama and north- 
western Colombia through the Amazonian and Guyana 
west forest of northern South America, the Atlantic 
Tropical Forest of southern Brazil, and the dry forest 
and Cerrados of Bolivia, central and southern Brazil, 
and Paraguay (Frost, 1985; Frost, 2006) Three species 
of Chiasmocleis, C. anatipes Walker and Duellman, 
1974, C. bassleri Dunn, 1949, and C. ventrimaculata 
(Anderson, 1945), have been reported from the wet 
forest of Amazonian Peru (Rodriguez et al, 1993; 
Morales, 1995). 
During our work on the herpetofauna of Madre de Dios 
(Morales and McDiarmid, 1996), we collected a num- 
ber of interesting species some of which proved to be 
new (e.g. Colostethus conspicuus, Morales, 2002, 
Dendrobates biolat, Morales, 1992; Eleutherodactylus 
buccinator Rodriguez&Duellmar, 1994, iT. olivaceus, 
Kohler, et al. 1998, E. skydmainos Flores and Rodri- 
guez, 1997). Among the many frog species collected in 
the forest near Pakitza, a guard station for the National 
Park of Manu (11?56'S, 71?18'W), 350 m elevation, on 
the Rio Manu, Madre de Dios, Peru, was an undes- 
cribed species of michrohylid frog of the genus 
Chiasmocleis. Here we describe that species and 
comment on other population of Peruvian frog of the 
genus Chiasmocleis. 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
The type material was deposited in the Museo de 
Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San 
Marcos, Lima, Peru (MHNSM) and the National 
Museum of Natural History of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion, Washington, DC, U.S.A. (USNM). 
The following measurement is utilized only for the new 
specie: Long from snout to vent (SVL), head width 
(HW), head long (HL), tibia long (TL), distance 
between center of external narines (N-N), distance 
Museo de Historia Natural - Universidad Ricardo Palma, Av. Benavides 4550, Apartado Postal 18-01, Las Gardenias, Surco, 
Lima 33, Peru, email: victor9901@yahoo.com 
USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC. 20560, U.S.A. 
71 
Biotempo 2009, Volumen 9, 71-76 
between center of the narine to angle anterior of the eye 
(N-E), distance between angle anterior of the eyes (E- 
E). Osteological terminology follows Trueb (1973), de 
Sa and Trueb (1991) and Trueb (1992). This study was 
based in different expositions (20 - 31 sees) of the X- 
ray of USNM 342862. The call analysis has made with 
Canary 1.2.1 (Chanf etal., 1995). 
Chiasmocleissupercilialbus new species 
Figure 1 - Male of Chiasmocleis supercilialbus new species, 
paratype USNM 342862, National Park of Manu, Station 
Pakitza, Madre de Dios, Peru. No scale. Photo: Victor R. 
Morales. 
HOLOTYPE. - MHNSM 16174; a mature male from 
Pakitza, Reserve Zone, Manu National Park, ca. 57 km 
(airline) NW of the mouth of the Rio Manu, on the Rio 
Manu, 350m, 11 ?56'47"S, 71? 17'00"W, Madre de Dios, 
Peru. Collected by. Victor R. Morales and Maria E. 
Guevara (field series VRM 18377), 11 .February. 1990. 
PARATYPE. - MHNSM 16175 (field series VRM 
18380) and USNM 342862 (field series VRM 18379) 
same date of holotype. 
DIAGNOSIS 
1)SVL, male= 18.4- 18.7 mm, female unknow; 2) body 
trunk ovoid with dermal smaller spine; 3) snout project- 
ing in ventral view; round in dorsal view; 4) fingers 
robust with a few dermal smaller spines; 5) second 
finger slightly longer than the fourth; 6) fourth finger 
shorter; 7) third finger more robust that other fingers; 8) 
toes with fringes and few dermal smaller spines;; 9) 
webbing absent; 10) supratympanic fold extends from 
below the posterior angle of the eye to the shoulder; 11) 
first toe much shorter, the tip reaches one-third under the 
first articular tubercle of the second toe; 12) flank with 
one or two dark spots on a light background; 13) ventral 
pattern with spots on a light background. 
Chiasmocleis supercilialbus is similar to C. bassleri, 
and both may form the bassleri group with the follow- 
ing characters: finger robust and short; flanks with one 
or two dark spots, but if the spots are not present, the 
flanks show a fine clear line between the joint of the 
ventral and dorsal pattern coloration; ventral pattern 
with dark spots on a light background. The morphologi- 
cal difference features among Chiasmocleis species is 
summarize in the Table 1. Chiasmocleis supercilialbus 
differ from the other species of microhylid that are 
present in the South Amazonian of Peru by the follow- 
ing features: clavicle and procoracoid present, toes free 
(Ctenophryne geayi without clavicle and procoracoid 
and toes with extended web); the first finger very short 
and uniform dorsum coloration pattern (Hamptophryne 
boliviana with first finger longer than second and 
dorsal coloration pattern with dark rhombus-shaped. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE HOLOTYPE 
(Fig. 1) 
Adult male, 18.7 mm snout-vent length; snout pointed 
in dorsal view and rounded in lateral view; snout tip 
projects beyond the mouth; canthus rostralis straight, 
loreal region vertical; tympanum concealed; 
supratympanic fold extends from below the posterior 
angle of the eye to the shoulder; eyes small and 
anterolateral; fingers and toes with few dermal spine; 
limbs robust and short; first finger shorter than second, 
second finger slightly longer than fourth; third finger 
with extensive fringe and the other fingers with a slight 
fringe; articular tubercles visible on second, third and 
fourth fingers, articular tubercles on first finger are 
corn-like; palmar tubercles moderately round; tips of 
fingers and toes round; toes with fringe; first toe does 
not extend to the first articular tubercle of the second 
toe; granulation on the sole of the foot minute and 
scattered; inner metatarsal tubercle oval and inconspic- 
uous; inner tarsal tubercle and webbing absent. Dorsum 
with few smaller dermal spines also on the dorsum of 
the thigh and tibia; venter smooth (Figure 2 a,b). 
Figure 2.- Hand and foot of Chiasmocleis supercilialbus new 
species, holotype MUSN 16174. Line = 3 mm. 
72 
Biotempo 2009, Volumen 9, 71-76 
Coloration in alcohol. - Dorsum brown with a narrow 
white vertebral line that extends from the cloaca to the 
posterior angle of the eye; small white granules; narrow 
white band extends from the anterodorsal border of the 
arm, with a short interruption at the shoulder, to the 
supratympanic fold and to the border of the eyelid and 
above the nares to terminate at tip of the nose where it 
forms a point with the other band; upper lip with white 
spots on a brown background; the area of the tympa- 
num is darker than the dorsum; the anterior dorsum of 
the arm and dorsum of the forearm patterned with large 
dark mottling; dorsum of the arm with clear spots on a 
brown background; posterior region of the arm with 
small dark brown mottling; flanks with one or two dark 
brown irregular blotches bordered by small clear brown 
spots; dorsal region of the groin with dark brown 
mottling; dorsal and posterior region of the thigh 
brown; anterior region of the thigh with dark brown 
mottling on a white background; dorsum of the tibia 
and tarsus brown; metatarsus with dark brown mottling 
on a white background; three brown spots on a white 
background occur on the anteroventral border of the 
tibia and on the posteroventral region of the thigh; 
throat dark with clear spots; chest, venter and the venter 
of the thigh with dark brown irregular mottling on a 
white background. 
In life, dorsum dark brown with light orange-copper 
flecks; flanks brown and venter dark brown with white 
background; pupil black; iris copper. 
MEASUREMENTS (in mm) AND RATE OF 
HOLOTYPE 
SVL = 18.7; HW = 7.95; HL = 6.52; LT = 9.40; N-N = 
1.70; N-E = 1.95; E-E = 3.36; LT/SVL = 0.50; HL/SVL 
= 0.35; NE/HL = 0.30; E-E/HW = 0.42; N-N/HW = 
0.21;N-N/E-E = 0.50. 
OSTEOLOGY 
Quadratojugal reduced to small spur; squamosal 
slender, triradiate; maxillary arch incomplete; 
septomaxilla large, arcuate and with a large distal 
crista; premaxillary with palatal shelf and alary process 
expanded; anterior vomer small, reach with a distal 
crista; palatine absent; a paired sphenothmoid very 
developed (Fig. 3A); clavicle slightly curved, not 
meeting coracoid; procoracoid conspicuus, and proxi- 
mal portion extend nearly to epicoracoid; proximal 
ossified portion of scapula unicapitate with the pars 
acromialis very pronounced; slender and large, ossified 
cleithrum; omosternum absent (Fig. 3B); phalangeal 
formula of hand 2-3-4-3, of foot 3-3-4-5-4; terminal 
phalanges triangle-like with reduced lateral expansion; 
eight presacral vertebrae, procoelous, vertebrae 7 and 8 
with a paired posterior apophyses; sacral diapophyses 
expanded; coccyx with small transverse processes. 
dorsal      ventral 
alary p (pmax) 
|wr?~ spmax 
r? pmax 
"? ant vra 
X> ,      pr acr  ^ 
- ^--cla       L    /fsp$cap p cor?- ?-._. 
Figure 3.- A) Some craneal bons of Chiasmocleis 
supercilialbus new species, paratype USNM 342862, X-ray. 
Abbreviations: alary p (pmax) = alary process of premaxilla, 
spmax = septomaxilla, pmax = premaxilla, ant vrn = anterior 
vomer, nas = nasal, sph = sphenethmoid, max = maxillary, pte 
= pterygoid, sq = squamosal, qj = quadratojugal, Line = 2 
mm. B) Ventral view of pectoral girdle of Chiasmocleis 
supercilialbus new species, holotype MUSM 16174. 
Abbreviations: cor = coracoid, p cor = precoracoid, cla - 
clavicle, pr acr = pars acromialis, scap = scapula, clei = 
cleithrum, sp scap = suprascapula. Line = 1 mm. Stippled 
pattern cartilaginous area. 
ADVERTISIMENT CALL 
The species calls at night on the leaflitter near the bannk 
of a small reservoir at 25?C. The call (Fig. 4) corre- 
sponds to a long trill of pulses about 12.4 sec, and 
composed of two set pulses. The pulses of each set are 
0.031 sec in duration with 0.037 sec between each pulse 
of each set. The time between each set was 0.066 sec. 
The range of frequency of the pulses was 2985.8 - 
3205.5 Hz (Dominant frequency 3100 Hz). Nelson 
(1973) showed the call of five Chiasmocleis ranged 
over 3350 Hz. Of these, the sonogram of C. panamensis 
has pulse duration 0.03 - 0.04 similar to C. 
supercilialbus, but the frequency in C. panamensis was 
higher (4800-5500 Hz). Other species, C. 
schudikarensis, mentioned by Zimmerman & Bogart 
(1988), had a pulse duration (0.03) similar to C. 
supercilialbus but also with higher frequencies (5830 - 
7420 Hz). 
73 
Biotempo 2009, Volumen 9, 71-76 
?r- 
e 
?r- 
o o 
03 
w 
o     M 
M (S 
(zfM) A3M3(lt)3*La 
Figure 4.- Sonogram of the advertisement call of 
Chiasmocleis supercilialhus new species, paratypc 
MUSM 16175 from Pakitza Station, National Park of 
Manu; air temperature 25?C; wide band 345 Hz. 
o 
2g     O 
"as 
r?K. 
O 
V3 
H 
C5 
o 
1 
o ? 
00 
1 
o ? 
1 
? 
? 
Om) ADMaaDaHd 
Figure 5.- Sonogram of one synchronize chorus of 
Chiasmocleis ventrimaculata MUSM 16176 (field series 
VRM 18372) from Pakitza, National Park of Manu, 
Peru. Air Temperature 24?C, wide bands 345 Hz. The 
arrows show the beginning-pulse that made the speci- 
mens synchronize with their neighbors. 
ETYMOLOGY 
The nome supercilialbus of this species (sepercilius = 
eyebrow and albus = white) is referent to the conspicu- 
ous white band over eyes like a eyebrow. 
COMMENT OF OTHER MICROHYLID 
Chiasmocleis bassleri. - Duellman (1978) and Rodri- 
guez & Duellman (1994) distinguished the population 
from Santa Cecilia, Ecuador and Iquitos region, Peru as 
C. bassleri with basally webbed toes, dorsum and flank 
are brown, throat and chest are gray and venter with 
large dark spots, but they did not mentioned the number 
of spots. Dunn (1949), in the description of C. bassleri, 
mentioned toes free and the abdomen with five large 
dark spot. The population from near Panguana (< 1,000 
m, Pasco, Peru, MHNSM 14274 & 14279) has the 
characteristics of C. bassleri sensu stricto: not toe 
webbing, five large black spots in the abdomen and the 
clavicle is slender, reduced and does not touch the 
coracoid. The population of C, bassleri reported from 
Santa Cecilia and Iquitos could be a different species 
than C. bassleri. 
Chiasmocleis ventrimaculata. - Nelson (1973) 
reported the call of C. ventrimaculata from Vaupes, 
Colombia with a frequency between 3350 - 3700 Hz 
and pulse duration from 0.10-0.18 sec. The call of the 
C. ventrimaculata from Peruvian central amazon 
(Panguana) has a frequency range of 5120 - 6960 Hz 
and a pulse duration of 0.09 - 0.011 sec (Schliiter, 1980; 
Schluter & Salas 1989). VRM & RWM recorded the 
call of C. ventrimaculata at Pakitza, Manu, and this call 
had a frequency range of 6278 - 6762 Hz (Dominant 
frequency 6460 Hz), a pulse duration of 0.09 sec. 
he call began with two pulses (Fig. 5). The first pulse 
had a frequency range of 5262 - 5742 Hz (Dominant 
frequency 5600 Hz) and 0.063 sec duration, and the 
second pulse had a frequency range of 5520 - 6969 Hz 
(Dominant frequency 6460) and a 0.06 sec duration. 
These two first pulses have not been mentioned in the 
74 
Biotempo 2009, Volumen 9, 71-76 
populations from Vaupes (Colombia) and Panguana 
(Peru). In the sonogram of C. panamensis Nelson 
(1972, 1973) showed one initial pulse of the call, but he 
did not mention the characteristic of the pulse. Appar- 
ently, the beginning-pulses of C. ventrimaculata, from 
Pakitza, synchronized the chorus. On the other hand, 
the population of C. ventrimaculata from Vaupes 
(Colombia) could be a different species than the 
Panguana and Manu (Peru) populations, because the 
species from Colombia has a lower frequency than the 
Peruvian species. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
To Jesus Cordova of the Museo de Historia Natural, 
UNMSM, Peru borrowed the specimens, and we 
acknowledge all scientific people that work at Pakitza. 
Steve Goethe made the X-ray. Ron Altig comments the 
manuscript. 
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75 
Table 1. Summary of morphological features among species of Chiasmocleis: Body Form (BF), Snout Size (SS), Snout Dorsal view (SD), Snout 
Lateral view (SL), Fingers and Toes Disc (FTD), Web on Finger (WF), Web on Toes (WT), Flank Spot (FS), Inguinal Spot (IS), Pattern Dorsal 
(PD), Vertebral Line (VL), Pattern Ventral (PV), Dorsal Dermal Spine (DDS) and Web Dermal Spine (WDS). 
Species BF SS SD SL FTD WF WT FS IS PD VL PV DDS WDS 
supercilialbus ovoid short rounded rounded present absent absent present present uniform present reticulate present present 
alagoanus ovoid short truncate rounded absent absent absent absent absent uniform present reticulate absent absent 
albopunctatta elongate short rounded rounded absent absent absent absent absent marble absent reticulate present present 
anatipes elongate short rounded protruding absent absent present absent absent marble absent reticulate absent absent 
atlantica ovoid short truncate protruding absent absent absent absent absent uniform absent reticulate present present 
bassleri ovoid short rounded protruding absent absent absent present present uniform present reticulate absent absent 
capixaba elongate short rounded rounded absent absent present absent absent marble absent uniform present present 
carbalhoi ovoid short rounded rounded absent absent absent absent absent uniform absent uniform present present 
cenlralis ovoid large rounded protruding present absent present absent absent uniform absent reticulate absent absent 
cordeiroi ovoid large rounded rounded absent absent present absent absent uniform absent uniform present present 
crucis ovoid short rounded rounded absent present present absent absent    ? uniform absent uniform present present 
gnoma ovoid short truncate rounded absent absent absent absent absent uniform absent reticulate present present 
hudsoni ovoid large rounded rounded absent absent absent absent absent uniform absent reticulate absent absent 
jimi ovoid short rounded rounded absent absent absent absent absent uniform absent reticulate absent absent 
leucosticta ovoid short truncate protruding absent present present absent absent uniform present reticulate present present 
mehelyi ovoid large rounded rounded absent absent absent absent absent marble absent reticulate present present 
panamensis elongate short truncate protruding absent absent absent present absent marble absent reticulate absent absent 
schubarti ovoid short rounded rounded absent absent present absent absent uniform present reticulate present present 
schudikarensis ovoid short truncate protruding present absent present absent present uniform present reticulate absent absent 
ventrimaculata ovoid large rounded protruding present absent absent absent absent uniform present reticulate absent absent