Bioacoustics of Pristimantis blasi

Distribution and Natural history. Pristimantis blasi inhabits primary and secondary in tropical humid forests of the western slope of the Cordillera Occidental, from 1000 to 1350 m a.s.l ( Fig. 6 ). The individuals of this species are nocturnal, being active from 2100 to 2300 h; however, it is possible to find inactive individuals during the day by removing the fallen leaves. The individuals are found in ferns, giant ear plant ( Xanthosoma sp. ) and trunks at a height from 0.1 to 1.5 m . The advertisement call of P. blasi consists in a pulsed note similar as “Ñec” to the human ear, like P. erythropleura and P. cruentus , unfortunately we were unable to record the vocalizing males. The individuals of this species generally have a strong smell in their groin, similar to the macerated herbs. When finding and handling these frogs, no defensive behaviors were observed other than fleeing quickly or staying immobile in the vegetation when found. Sympatric species include Diasporus quidditus , Oophaga histrionica , Phyllobates bicolor , Pristimantis orpacobates and P. labiosus . Conservation status of the new species. Pristimantis blasi was found within ESMA Alto Amurrupá ( type locality) and NNP Tatamá (González-Durán coms. pers.). In these localities there are secondary and primary forests, and the presence of agriculture, which includes livestock, mining activities and logging. Although P. blasi was not as abundant, 5 to 10 individuals could be found in a few hours of sampling. We suggest that this species should be “Endangered” according to the IUCN category, by criterion “B1(a)” (extent of occurrence less than 5000 km ² and a number of localities <5).