A review of the elusive bicolored iris Snouted Treefrogs (Anura: Hylidae:Scinax uruguayus group)

BALDO, D.; ARAUJO-VIEIRA, K.; CARDOZO, D.; BORTEIRO, C.; LEAL, F.; PEREYRA, M.O.; KOLENC, F.; LYRA, M.L.; GARCIA, P.C.A.; HADDAD, C.F.B.; FAIVOVICH, J.

PLOS ONE

PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE

Lugar: San Francisco; Año: 2019 vol. 14 p. 1 - 45

1932-6203

Thegenus Scinax currently includes more than 120 species, recovered in two majorclades, the S. catharinaeand the S. ruber clades. The latter comprises 75 species, most of which remainunassigned to any species groups, while 12 are included in the S. rostratus and S. uruguayusgroups. In this paper we present a taxonomicreview of the two species currently included in the S. uruguayus group, discussing some putative phenotypic synapomorphies of thisgroup. Although S. pinimaand S. uruguayus have been considered as distinct species, this has been based onscant evidence, and several authors doubted of their distinctiveness. Our studyof available specimens of S. pinima and S. uruguayuscorroborates that both are valid anddiagnosable species based on phenotypic evidence. Furthermore, our results showthat S. pinimapreviously known only from its type locality,has a much widespread distribution than previously thought (including theBrazilian states of Parana´, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul), which,added to the biological information presented here allows to suggest theremoval of this species from the ?Data Deficient? IUCN Red List category to ?LeastConcern?. Also, we describe a new species formerly reported as S. aff. pinima and S. uruguayusfrom NE Argentina and some localities from theBrazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul. All species are diagnosed andcharacterized using adult and larval morphology, osteology, vocalizations,cytogenetics, and natural history.