Description

Diagnosis: A member of the Scinax ruber clade (Faivovich et al. 2005, Pombal et al. 1995), distinguished by the following characteristics: (1) medium body size (males 25.0-35.6 mm SVL, females 28.0-34.5 mm SVL); (2) snout projecting when viewed from the side and nearly subovoid when viewed from above; (3) loreal region concave, with a brown spot; (4) finger discs wider than long, almost elliptical, medium-sized; (5) brown dorsal markings from head to inguinal region, consisting of blotches extending longitudinally in an interrupted stripe; (6) interocular marking consisting of an inverted brown triangle; (7) advertisement call: multipulsed note, 6-12 pulses, 0.02-0.03 sec pulse interval, dominant frequency of 1380 to 3190 Hz. Other characteristics also distinguishing S. rogerioi from similar species include dorsal skin texture (smooth or with scattered granules, vs. rugose in S. acuminatus); subgular vocal sac (vs. laterally expanded in S. camposseabrai; lack of brown lateral stripe running from nostril to pupil, above tympanum and onto lateral surfaces (present in S. curicica, S. duartei, S. fuscomarginatus, and S. squalirostris).

Description: Adult males measure 25.0-35.6 mm SVL. Adult females measure 28.0-34.5 mm SVL. Somewhat robust and medium-sized body with a smooth dorsum. Granular throat, chest and belly. Head is as wide as body. Snout projects slightly in lateral view and has a weakly developed canthus rostralis, which is almost straight, as well as a broad concave loreal region. Rounded tympanum with a weakly developed supratympanic fold. Large round tongue. Vomerine teeth in two straight series, with a narrow separation, between small oval-shaped choanae. Slender arms. Forearms somewhat robust. Fingers somewhat robust with expanded, nearly elliptical, adhesive discs. Finger I disc smaller than that of other fingers. Webbing barely visible. Small and rounded subarticular and supernumerary tubercles. Legs somewhat robust. Toes are long and have adhesive discs, with discs on Toes I-II smaller than those of Toes III-IV. Small and rounded subarticular and supernumerary tubercles. Inner metatarsal tubercle is small and oval; outer metatarsal tubercle is small and rounded and protrudes. Males have small, poorly developed nuptial excrescences on the inner surface of Finger I (Pugliese 2009).

In life, dorsal surfaces are a light yellowish-green with dark brown blotches or light grayish-green with brown blotches. Copper or light copper iris (Pugliese 2009).

In preservative, dorsum is grayish-brown with many dark brown blotches, including a pair of interrupted longitudinal blotches running from the eye to the inguinal region. Interocular blotch is a dark brown inverted triangle. Loreal region has a brown spot (absent in one specimen). Canthal stripe that is continuous with supratympanic fold. Brown stripes on the limbs. Posterior thighs have irregular or elongated spots, sometimes in transverse rows. Dorsal surfaces of shank may be unmarked or may have spots or bars. Cream ventral surfaces except for the feet and tarsi which are pale brown (Pugliese 2009).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Brazil

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Endemic to Brazil (known from a total of three localities: the type locality, at Chapada dos Veadeiros, Alto Paraíso de Goiás, State of Goiás, in central Brazil; and two localities in the Serra do Espinhaço range in the State of Minas Gerais, in southeastern Brazil: Parque Estadual do Itacolomi, Ouro Preto, and Municipality of Ouro Preto). This species is found in the campos rupestres (rocky mountain fields) of the Cerrado Domain. The type locality is at an elevation of 1070 m asl (Pugliese 2009).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
This species breeds explosively after the first autumn rains in September-October. Breeding sites include temporary ponds. Males call from low vegetation (grasses and bushes) a few centimeters above the water or ground, from within bromeliads, from rocks or sometimes from the ground near the breeding pond. Calls are multipulsed notes with a dominant frequency of 1380 to 3190 Hz. During the day, this species has been found on grasses that protrude above the flooded muddy soils of ponds (Pugliese 2009).

Trends and Threats
This species occurs within at least one protected area: Parque Estadual do Itacolomi, in the Municipality of Ouro Preto, State of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil.

Comments
The species name honors Dr. Rogério P. Bastos, Universidade Federal de Goiás, for his contributions to knowledge of the Brazilian anuran fauna (Pugliese 2009).

References

Pugliese, A., Baeta, D. and Pombal Jr., J.P. (2009). ''A new species of Scinax (Anura: Hylidae) from rocky montane fields in Southeastern and Central Brazil.'' Zootaxa, 2269, 53-64.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2010 Scinax rogerioi <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/7380> 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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