ETYMOLOGY (Origin or explanation of scientific name):

Herpetologists are often ill-equipped in the rainy season when Synapturanus zombie are found, causing researchers to become soaked and muddy like zombies coming from the ground. Raffael Ernst stated that the species epithet comes from the appearance of the researchers when digging frogs out of the ground at night in the mud (Fouquet et al. 2021a, Martel 2021).

Description

DESCRIPTION: (A description of species morphology as if you had the amphibian in your hand, typically starting with the snout-vent length, then focusing from the head to the body and extremities)

Synapturanus zombie is a large, fossorial Synapturanus frog with males having an average snout-vent length of 39.3 mm, (37.0 - 40.6 mm, n = 4) and females being larger with an average snout-vent length of 39.9 mm (38.7 - 42.1 mm, n = 3). The head is as long as it is wide, having a head length about 20% of the snout-vent length. In the lateral view, the dorsal side of the head is convex. The snout is long, round, and protrudes well beyond the lower jaw by a few millimeters. The eyes are slightly larger than half the distance between the eyes and the nares. The nares are positioned laterally and closer to the snout tip than to the eyes. The canthus rostralis is rounded and the loreal region is very concave. There is a supratympanic fold at the posterior edge of the eyes that curves toward the axilla and is continuous with the osteopathic fold and gular fold. A thoracic fold is present. The tympanum is concealed by the supratympanic fold and is only distinct anteroventrally. The forelimb is robust and the hand length is about 20% of the snout-vent length. The thenar tubercle is large and the palmar tubercle is indistinct. The fingers are unwebbed and all taper except for finger IV, which has a rounded tip, and all fingers lack subarticular tubercles. Relative finger lengths are III > IV > II > I. The fingers have pre- and postaxial fringes, except for finger IV, which only has preaxial fringes. The fringes are especially developed on fingers II and III, with the fringes extending to the base of the fingers. The hind limbs are robust. While the inner metatarsal tubercle is ovoid and large, the outer metatarsal tubercle is indistinct. The relative toe lengths are IV > III > V > II > I. The toes have expanded tips,. The skin is smooth and in life (Fouquet et al. 2021a).

DIAGNOSIS: (How this species is differentiated from similar species)

Prior to this species’ description, Synapturanus mirandaribeiroi, S. rabus, and S. salseri were the only three named species that made up the genus. Synapturanus zombie can be distinguished from S. mirandaribeiroi, from which S. zombie was split, in its larger size, with S. zombie males having a snout-vent length between 37.0 - 40.6 mm and S. mirandaribeiroi males having a snout-vent length ranging from 26.6 - 30.8 mm. Synapturanus zombie males also have smaller eyes that are 3.9% of the snout-vent length, compared to S. mirandaribeiroi males having eyes that are 5.2% of the snout-vent length. Fingers II and III in S. zombie taper and have well-developed fringes while the tips of these fingers in S. mirandaribeiroi are rounded and have rudimentary fringes. Synapturanus zombie has abundant orange spots and blotches on its brown dorsum, compared to the diffuse mottled pattern on a brown dorsum present in S. mirandaribeiroi. Synapturanus mirandaribeiroi has a stripe along the canthus rostralis and upper eyelid that S. zombie lacks. The call of S. zombie is made up of tonal notes, unlike the S. mirandaribeiroi call, which is pulsed. Synapturanus zombie occurs in the eastern part of the Guiana Shield while S. mirandaribeiroi is found in the southwest part of this area, with the two species not overlapping in range (Fouquet et al. 2021a).

Synapturanus zombie can be distinguished from S. rabus with its larger size, having a snout-vent length ranging from 37.0 - 42.1 in males and females while S. rabus has a snout-vent length ranging from 16.2 - 19.0 mm. Synapturanus zombie has smaller eyes that are 3.9% of the snout-vent length compared to eyes that are 7.3% of the snout-vent length in S. rabus. There are fringes on fingers II and III in S. zombie, while S. rabus lacks fringes. Synapturanus zombie has a convex head in lateral view, while S. rabus has a flat head in lateral view. Unlike the brown dorsum with spots and blotches in S. zombie, S. rabus has a uniformly dark brown dorsum with no spots. Synapturanus rabus has a stripe along the canthus rostralis and upper eyelid, unlike S. zombie. In S. zombie, the call consists of longer notes with a length ranging from 0.147 - 0.167 s, while S. rabus has a call consisting of notes around 0.039 s (Fouquet et al. 2021a).

Lastly, S. zombie can be distinguished from S. salseri with its larger size, having a male snout-vent length ranging from 37.0 - 40.6 mm compared to the male snout-vent length in S. salseri ranging from 23.7 - 26.4 mm. Synapturanus zombie has smaller eyes that are 3.9% of the snout-vent length, compared to S. salseri eyes that are 5.4% of the snout-vent length. There are extensive fringes on fingers II and III of S. zombie, while S. salseri only has rudimentary fringes. The head is convex in S. zombie and the head is flat in S. salseri. Compared to the brown dorsum with abundant spots and blotches in S. zombie, S. salseri only has sparse spots. There is a discontinuous stripe between the canthus rostralis and upper eyelid in S. salseri, which S. zombie lacks. Synapturanus zombie has a call consisting of longer notes that last 0.147 - 0.167 s compared to 0.079 s in S. salseri (Fouquet et al. 2021a).

COLORATION: (In life and/or in preservative)

In life, the dorsal coloration is a medium brown with abundant orange spots and blotches all over the back, head, arms, and legs. The venter is pearl-white with melanophores and the throat is colored like the dorsum. In preservative, the spots are cream-colored (Fouquet et al. 2021a).

VARIATION: (if known)

There is some sexual dimorphism and individual variation. Females have a snout-vent length of 38.7 - 42.1 mm, which is larger than the male snout-vent length ranging from 37.0 - 40.6 mm, though the snout-vent lengths may overlap and the difference is subtle. A supracarpal pad is present in males. The linea masculina are visible through the ventral skin in males and yellow ovaries are visible through the skin in females. Between individuals, coloration ranges from light to medium brown and the splotches can be orange or yellowish in life (Fouquet et al. 2021a).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Brazil, French Guiana

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

It is likely that S. zombie is endemic to the easternmost area of Guiana Shield, South America. Synapturanus zombie occur in six areas of French Guiana–Savane Virginie/Mataroni, Trois Pitons, Saut Maripa, Alikéné, Saul, Itoupé, Mont Chauve–and one region in Oiapoque, Amapá, Brazil. It is possible that S. zombie also occur in Rivière Lunier, Amapá, Brazil. The holotype is a male collected from Itoupé, French Guiana (3.0230°N 53.0955°W) at about 600 ft in elevation. Synapturanus zombie can be found in well-drained terra firme soiled in primary forests on massif slopes and on sandy soils by inselbergs (Fouquet et al. 2021a).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Males call from underground galleries that are spaced a few meters from each other during and after heavy rains preceding the rainy season in October - November. Females are assumed to use the same galleries. The call consists of a 0.154 s long note on average that ranges from 0.147 - 0.167 s in length. It has a downward frequency modulation (104 - 194 Hz). The dominant frequency is 1.06 - 1.19 kHz, 1.11 kHz on average (n = 4). Calls occur every 8.47 s on average (Fouquet et al. 2021a).

Trends and Threats
At the time of the species description, the species authority suggested an IUCN Red List status for S. zombie of Data Deficient. Known S. zombie populations exist in protected regions such as Parc Amazonien de Guyane (Fouquet et al. 2021a).

Comments

PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS:

Synapturanus zombie was described based on morphology, advertisement calls, and osteology (Fouquet et al. 2021a).

Based on Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian analyses of a 577 bp fragment of 16S rDNA sequences, Synapturanus is split into three monophyletic clades: the Eastern Clade, the Western Clade, and the Central Clade. Synapturanus zombie, previously referred to as Synapturanus sp. “Eastern Guianas,” is sister to the undescribed S. sp. “Manaus” (Fouquet et al. 2021b).

OTHER INTERESTING INFORMATION:

References
Fouquet, A., Leblanc, K., Fabre, A.-C., Rodrigues, M.T., Menin, M., Courtois, E.A., Dewynter, M., Hölting, M., Ernst, R., Peloso, P.L.V., and Kok, P.J.R. (2021a). Comparative osteology of the fossorial frogs of the genus Synapturanus (Anura, Microhylidae) with the description of three new species from the Eastern Guiana Shield. Zoologischer Anzeiger 293: 46–73. [ link]

Fouquet, A. Leblanc, K., Framit, M., Réjaud, A., Rodrigues, M.T., Castroviejo-Fisher, S., Peloso, P.L.V., Prates, I., Manzi, S., Suescun, U., Baroni, S., Moraes, L.J.C.L., Recoder, R., de Souza, S.M., Dal Vecchio, F., Camacho, A., Ghellere, J.M., Rojas-Runjaic, F.J.M., Gagliardi-Urrutia, G., de Carvalho, V.T., Gordo, M., Menin, M., Kok, P.J.R., Hrbek, T., Werneck, F.P., Crawford, A.J., Ron, S.R., Mueses-Cisneros, J.J., Rojas Zamora, R.R., Pavan, D., Simões, P.I., Ernst, R., Fabre, A-C. (2021b). Species diversity and biogeography of an ancient frog clade from the Guiana Shield (Anura: Microhylidae: Adelastes, Otophryne, Synapturanus) exhibiting spectacular phenotypic diversification. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 132(2), 233–256. [link]

Martel, Isabela. (2021, June 5). Meet the ‘zombie frog.’ Deutsche Welle. https://www.dw.com/en/meet-the-zombie-frog-a-new-species-found-in-the-amazon/a-58162216. Accessed in October 2024.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2024 Synapturanus zombie: Zombie frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/9394> 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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