Description

Diagnosis: Can be distinguished from all other microhylids in the western Amazon basin by having five toes, a moderately pointed head, basal webbing on the feet, dorsal coloration (gray with reddish blotches on the posterior dorsum and on the limbs), ventral coloration (creamy white venter with dark mottling having pale centers), and lacking the following characters: no occipital fold, no visible tympanum, no black inguinal spot and no distinct demarcation between dorsal and flank color. It can also be distinguished from other similar species of Chiasmocleis in the Amazon basin by its larger body size (females to 42 mm SVL), reddish coloration on limbs and posterior dorsum, and by having a bright golden yellow iris (Funk and Cannatella 2009).

Description: Adult females measure 42.2 mm SVL. Head is narrower than body, with small eyes and a moderately pointed snout. Round canthus rostralis with a flat loreal region. Lacks an occipital fold. Lacks a visible tympanum, but has a well developed supratympanic fold, with the skin beneath the fold bulging laterally. Bulge behind the head in the suprascapular region. Fingers have basal webbing, rounded but not expanded tips, and lateral fringe, particularly on Finger III. Toes are basally webbed, have rounded tips, and lateral fringe, especially Toes III and IV. Prominent subarticular tubercles on toes. An oval-shaped inner metatarsal tubercle is present but the outer metatarsal tubercle is very weakly developed. Posteriorly directed vent with a crease from the cloacal opening to the venter. Dorsum is slightly textured, but still smooth (Funk and Cannatella 2009).

In life, the dorsal surfaces are dark gray. The posterior and the limbs have rusty red blotches. A cream-colored mid-dorsal stripe runs from the eyes to the vent. Creamy white ventral surfaces with large grayish brown blotches that are light in the centers; markings are largest on the belly and chest, smaller and denser towards the hind limbs and throat. Pale line runs along outer tarsus. The snout and eyelids are a shiny gray. Golden yellow iris (Funk and Cannatella 2009).

In preservative, the dorsum is gray with a reddish brown tint. Creamy mid-dorsal line extends from the eyes to the venter. On the flanks, the colors on the dorsal and the ventral surfaces blend smoothly together. Light creamy yellow venter with prominent black-brown blotches with a light center. Posterior surfaces of the thigh are uniformly brown-gray. Palmar and plantar surfaces are a solid gray (Funk and Cannatella 2009).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Peru

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Endemic to Peru. Collected at the Amazon Conservatory for Tropical Studies (ACTS) Field Station, Departamento de Loreto, Peru at an elevation of 102 m ASL. Habitat is lowland Amazonian rainforest (Funk and Cannatella 2009).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Breeding sites are not known; no ponds, swamps, or lakes were near the type locality. However, small depressions 2-5 m in diameter were noted on the forest floor; these may become temporary pools during the rainy season. The female holotype contained numerous small, mature pigmented eggs of about 1 mm in diameter (Funk and Cannatella 2009).

Trends and Threats
This species is known only from the holotype; three weeks of searching at the type locality yielded a single specimen, so it appears to be rare at this locality (Funk and Cannatella 2009).

Comments
Chiasmocleis devriesi is named after Philip J. DeVries, a researcher specializing in tropical ecology and tropical biology of the Amazon basin. His work on Amazonian butterflies illustrates how rare species are both ubiquitous and important in lowland Amazonian rainforest habitat (Funk and Cannatella 2009).

References

Funk, W.C., and Cannatella, D.C. (2009). ''A new, large species of Chiasmocleis Méhelÿ 1904 (Anura: Microhylidae) from the Iquitos region, Amazonian Peru.'' Zootaxa, 2247, 37-50.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2010 Chiasmocleis devriesi <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/7381> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 21, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 21 Nov 2024.

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