Bioacoustics of Dendropsophus cannatellai

Definition (Figs 8 , 9 ). In this section, we describe coloration in life. We assign the new species to the genus Dendropsophus based on the phylogeny (Fig. 1 ). The new species is characterized by: (1) mean SVL 23.4 mm in males (range 21–26; n = 115); 30.7 mm in females (range 28–33; n = 14); (2) axillary membrane reaching arm halfway to elbow; (3) reduced webbing on fingers; (4) webbing on feet; (5) palmar tubercle single; (6) pectoral glands present; (7) dorsal background coloration brown with white to bright yellow dorsolateral bands, extending to the eyes and top of head; white or bright yellow well defined sacral mark, fused with dorsolateral bands in some individuals; (8) absence of a light labial stripe in contact with the orbit; (9) dorsal surfaces of the limbs brown, with white to bright yellow ovoid marks, with the forearm typically bearing one to two marks, and the shank one to three; (10) webbing and ventral surfaces vary from orange to yellow; (11) iris dull bronze to coppery bronze, and (12) advertisement call pulsed with a mean dominant frequency = 3274.7 Hz (range 3169.0–3498.7) and mean pulse rate of the primary note = 95 pulses / s (range 87–100).

Distribution, natural history, and conservation status. Dendropsophus cannatellai sp. nov. occurs in Western Foothill Forest and the Chocó Tropical Rainforest in NW Ecuador and SW Colombia . Although the occurrence in Colombia needs to be corroborated, we found the following evidence of its presence: (1) localities in Ecuador near the border with Colombia , and (2) records on iNaturalist (observation numbers 147931034 in Tumaco, Nariño , and 36196673 in San Andrés de Tumaco), morphologically indistinguishable from the new species. Within its distribution range, climatic conditions are generally warm and humid, with an annual average temperature ranging from 22.5 to 25.4 ° C and an average annual precipitation with a range from 1025 to 3348 mm . The physiognomy of these ecosystems consists of big trees that can reach almost 30 m tall, and a great abundance of palms. The Western Foothill Forest has an elevation range from 300 to 1300 m , with a dominance of plants from the families Mimosaceae , Fabaceae , and Burseraceae with a high percentage of endemism. The presence of epiphytes is common. The Chocó Tropical Rainforest has an elevation from 0 to 300 m , with an abundance of ferns and a high diversity of trees ( Ron et al. 2024 ). The new species is found in artificial open areas, near ponds and puddles where herbaceous vegetation is abundant. It is less frequent in secondary forest. Males call from leaves or grasses less than 2 m above water, between the 18: 00 and 0: 00 hours. A couple collected in Río Silanche, laid a clutch in captivity with 190 eggs . Experiments in captivity report average clutch sizes of 84 eggs under shaded conditions and 98 under unshaded conditions ( Touchon et al. 2024 ). In the same experiments, most females laid terrestrial eggs, but 30 % of females laid a few eggs in water, under unshaded conditions. The new species is assigned to the Red List category Near Threatened ( NTU ). Its extent of occurrence ( EOO ) has < 20000 km 2 (minimum convex polygon of the known localities of D. cannatellai sp. nov. ~ 6134 km 2 ). However, populations are predominantly located on disturbed and deforested areas, near roads. The species appears to thrive in human modified habitats including pastures for cattle raising and ponds in artificial open areas with abundant herbaceous vegetation.