Description

Diagnosis: This species is a member of the Pristimantis orestes group, and can be distinguished by the following combination of characters: (1) dorsum shagreened with small tubercles that coalesce into discontinuous dorsolateral folds; (2) areolate venter; (3) discoidal fold; (4) tympanum and annulus visible, with the upper edge somewhat concealed by a supratympanic fold; (5) snout rounded in profile and acutely rounded when viewed from above; (6) small tubercles on upper eyelid; (7) upper eyelid narrower than width of interorbital space; (8) lack of cranial crests; (9) vomerine dentigerous processes small and oblique; (10) males have vocal sac and vocal slits but lack nuptial excrescences; (11) Finger I < Finger II; (12) discs on outermost fingers and on toes widely expanded and somewhat truncated; (13) lateral fringe on fingers; (14) ulnar and tarsal tubercles present; (15) small tubercles on heel; (16) tarsal fold present; (17) inner metatarsal tubercle is oval, 2x size of outer metatarsal tubercle, which is subconical; (18) supernumerary tubercles present but few in Toe V slightly longer than Toe III; (19) coloration in preservative consists of pale brown dorsum with tiny dark brown spots and narrow, lighter middorsal stripe; brown venter with light tan blotches; axilla, flanks, groin, thighs, inner shanks dark brown with lighter tan blotches; iris dark gray; (20) robust body of 17.8-21.8 mm SVL in males, 29.4 mm in female specimen (Lehr and Kohler 2007).

Description: Adult males measure 17.8-21.8 mm SVL. Single adult female specimen measures 29.4 mm SVL. Shagreened dorsum with small tubercles, which coalesce to form two pairs of discontinuous dorsolateral folds. Throat, chest, belly, and ventral thighs are areolate, but otherwise the venter is smooth. Head as wide as body. Discoidal and thoracic folds are present. Snout is long and rounded in lateral view (acutely rounded in dorsal view), with a terminal tubercle, a straight canthus rostrals, and a concave loreal region. Upper eyelid has several small tubercles and is nearly as wide as the interorbital distance. Rounded lips with small oblique dentigerous processes of vomerine teeth. Choanae are small and oval and not concealed by palate. Side of head has a ridge formed by fusion of enlarged postrictal tubercles. Tympanic membrane and round tympanic annulus are both visible with the upper and posterodorsal region slightly covered by the supratympanic fold. Fingers have lateral fringes. Fingers I and II have slightly expanded discs, with discs on Fingers III and IV more expanded. Finger pads have circum-marginal grooves. Three small ulnar tubercles on each forearm. Slender hind limbs with tubercles on upper surfaces. Tarsal tubercles present. Heels with small tubercles. Oval inner metatarsal tubercle which is twice the size of the subconical outer metatarsal tubercle. Basally webbed toes with lateral fringes. Toe V slightly longer than Toe III. Toe discs and finger discs are about the same size. No large tubercles around cloaca (Lehr and Kohler 2007).

In ethanol preservative, the dorsum is pale brown with dark brown flecks and a tan mid-dorsal stripe. Brown venter with lighter blotches. Axilla, flanks, groin, thighs, inner shanks are darker brown than dorsum, with light tan blotches. Dark gray iris (Lehr and Kohler 2007).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Peru

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Endemic to the Cordillera Occidental of northern Peru. The type locality is Hacienda Taulis, Provincia de Santa Cruz, Departamento de Cajamarca, Peru. Found in montane forests at elevations of 1700-1800 m ASL (Lehr and Kohler 2007).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
The female holotype and one of the male paratypes were found in amplexus.

Comments
The type series was collected in January and February of 1952 and only described as P. guttatus in 2007. The species name is derived from the Latin words venter (belly) and guttatus (spotted), referring to the distinct pattern of tan spots on the dark brown background (Lehr and Kohler 2007).

References

Lehr, E. and Kohler, G. (2007). ''A new species of the Pristimantis orestes Group (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from the Cordillera Occidental in northern Peru.'' Zootaxa, 1621, 45-54.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2010 Pristimantis ventriguttatus <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/7030> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Apr 18, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 18 Apr 2024.

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