TL;DR: A new, monophyletic taxonomy for dendrobatids is proposed, recognizing the inclusive clade as a superfamily (Dendrobatoidea) composed of two families (one of which is new), six subfamilies (three new), and 16 genera (four new).
Abstract: The known diversity of dart-poison frog species has grown from 70 in the 1960s to 247 at present, with no sign that the discovery of new species will wane in the foreseeable future. Although this growth in knowledge of the diversity of this group has been accompanied by detailed investigations of many aspects of the biology of dendrobatids, their phylogenetic relationships remain poorly understood. This study was designed to test hypotheses of dendrobatid diversification by combining new and prior genotypic and phenotypic evidence in a total evidence analysis. DNA sequences were sampled for five mitochondrial and six nuclear loci (approximately 6,100 base pairs [bp]; x¯ = 3,740 bp per terminal; total dataset composed of approximately 1.55 million bp), and 174 phenotypic characters were scored from adult and larval morphology, alkaloid profiles, and behavior. These data were combined with relevant published DNA sequences. Ingroup sampling targeted several previously unsampled species, including Ar...
TL;DR: It is relevant that the type species of Minyobates resulted as the sister group of the genus Dendrobates, and that species of Mannophryne and Nephelobates formed monophyletic clades, corroborating the validity of these genera.
TL;DR: A description of the new species of Colostethus from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a review of the distribution of neopalatines in dendrobatids, and a discussion of the implications of that character in the systematics the dendrobids are provided.
Abstract: -A new species of Colostethus from Colombia is described. This species is related to those Colostethus having males with Finger III expanded. The presence or absence of neopalatines is examined in 25 species of Colostethus, two Dendrobates, three Mannophryne, one Minyobates, and two Nephelobates. The absence of neopalatines is synapomorphic within the Dendrobatidae. The absence of neopalatines suggests that Colostethus (sensu lato) is paraphyletic with respect to the aposematic dendrobatids. RESUMEN.-Se describe una nueva especie de Colostethus de Colombia. Esta especie esta relacionada a aquellos Colostethus cuyos machos tienen el Dedo III expandido. La presencia o ausencia de neopalatinos se examina en 25 especies de Colostethus, dos Dendrobates, tres Mannophryne, uno Minyobates, y dos Nephelobates. La ausencia de neopalatinos es sinapomorfica dentro de los dendrobatidos. La ausencia de neopalatinos sugiere que Colostethus (sensu lato) es parafiletico con respecto a los dendrobatidos aposematicos. Searching for specimens of Colostethus subpunctatus at the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, I found an undescribed species cataloged under this name from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia. Specimens were first collected in 1913 by A. G. Ruthven, A. S. Pearse, and E M. Gaige as part of the Bryant Walker expedition to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta; additional specimens were obtained in 1920 by Ruthven and Gaige. Ruthven and Gaige (1915) described the breeding habits and larval morphology of this Colostethus from Santa Marta. At that time, they considered it to be Colostethus subpunctatus because of its general resemblance to that species, although they had noticed that the Colostethus from Santa Marta was much smaller than C. subpunctatus. Later, Ruthven (1922) provided a detailed diagnosis of the Santa Marta specimens as C. subpunctatus. Based on the descriptions made by Ruthven and Gaige (1915) and Ruthven (1922), Dunn (1944) mentioned that the Colostethus from Santa Marta was not C. subpunctatus but did not comment further. Later, Stebbins and Hendrickson (1959:511) stated that Dunn had informed them that the specimens from Santa Marta were probably C. brunneus. Since Dunn (1944), the Colostethus from Santa Marta has not been considered to be a population of C. subpunctatus (Cochran and Goin, 1970 and Frost, 1985), but it still remains undescribed. Silverstone (1975) observed that neopalatines bones can be present or absent in Colostethus. Myers et al. (1991) suggested that the absence of neopalatines might be a synapomorphy within Colostethus. Herein I provide: (1) a description of the new species from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, (2) a review of the distribution of neopalatines in dendrobatids, and (3) a discussion of the implications of that character in the systematics the dendrobatids. MATERIALS AND METHODS The species description was based on old, but well preserved, specimens. Data for adult coloration, tadpole morphology, ecology, life history, and distribution were obtained from Ruthven and Gaige (1915) and Ruthven (1922). Measurements were taken with dial calipers using a dissecting microscope. Terminology for oral external morphology of larvae follows Altig (1970), and stripe patterns of adults follow Rivero ("1988" [1990]); flank patterns of the species having Finger III expanded was obtained from Rivero ("1988" [1990]). Neopalatines (terminology of Trueb, 1993) were examined in cleared and stained specimens prepared in the manner of Dingerkus and Uhler (1977). Specimens examined are listed in the Appendix. Acronyms for museums: ICN = Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Bogota, Colombia; UMMZ = University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Colostethus ruthveni sp. nov. Holotype.-UMMZ 54618, an adult female, from Quebrada Viernes Santo, in the mountains near Santa Marta, Departamento de Magdalena, This content downloaded from 207.46.13.191 on Mon, 01 Aug 2016 04:23:55 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
TL;DR: Molecular evidence indicates that species richness in Mannophryne is largely underestimated and, consequently, current priorities for conservation are inadequate, and maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses support the monophyly of Mannophileryne.
TL;DR: Assessment of gut contents showed that females foraged more than males, but that transporting males foraged as much as did calling males, and there were no differences between the three classes of adult frogs in fat body weight.
Abstract: Previous work has shown that male Mannophryne trinitatis (Dendrobatidae) carry their larvae on their backs for up to 4 days in search of a predator‐free pool in which to deposit them. The experiments reported here investigated whether costs to the larvae or to the adults limit transport duration. We simulated transport durations of 0, 4, 8, and 12 days for larvae, but found no deterioration in terms of ability to grow to metamorphosis; indeed, 12‐day larvae grew better than all the others. After 8 days of simulated transport, larvae had used up all their yolk reserves and begun to lose dry weight. Larvae on wet substrates gained wet weight and length but on drier substrates merely maintained weight, suggesting that dehydration could be a problem on the male's back. In a trial of locomotor performance (mean jump length; number of jumps to traverse a runway), females performed best with calling males not significantly different from transporting males, despite an average larval load equivalent to 15–20% of ...