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We describe two new species of poison frog from central and southern Peru that have been referred to as Ameerega picta, A. hahneli, or A. altamazonica throughout the past thirty years. Our phylogenies generated with genomic data provide strong support that the two new species are successive sisters to two described taxa, A. rubriventris and A. altamazonica, and collectively comprise the Ameerega rubriventris complex. The first new taxon, Ameerega panguana sp. nov., can be distinguished from all other Ameerega by its combination of a unique white venter and an advertisement call of 1–2 notes per second. The second new taxon, Ameerega imasmari sp. nov., is the only cryptically colored Ameerega species that is disttributed across the Fitzcarrald Arch in Southern Peru which possesses a ‘peep’ advertisement call consisting of 3–4 notes per second and a dominant frequency of 4.3–4.5 kHz. Within the Ameerega rubriventris complex, we observed differences between species in their ventral coloration, tympanum diameter, and call, which suggest that these taxa are reproductively isolated from each other.

We describe and name a new species of poison-dart frog from the Amazonian slopes of the Andes in Manu Province, Madre de Dios Department, Peru; specifically within the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve and the buffer zone of Manu National Park. Ameerega shihuemoy sp. nov. is supported by a unique combination of characters: black dorsum with cream to light orange dorsolateral lines, blue belly reticulated with black, and the lack of axillary, thigh and calf flash marks. Within Ameerega , it shares the general appearance of A. altamazonica, A. boliviana, A. hahneli , A. ignipedis , A. petersi , A. picta , A. pongoensis , A. pulchripecta , A. simulans , A. smaragdina , and A. yungicola ; each possessing a granular black to brown dorsum, a light labial bar, a conspicuous dorsolateral line running from the snout to the groin, and a metallic blue belly and underside of arms and hind limbs. From most of these species it can be distinguished by lacking flash marks on the axillae, thighs, and calves (absent in only A. boliviana and A. smaragdina, most A. petersi, and some A. pongoensis ), by having bright cream to orange dorsolateral stripes (white, intense yellow, or green in all other species, with the exception of A. picta ), and by its blue belly reticulated with black (bluish white and black in A. boliviana , green and blue with black marbling in A. petersi, and green and blue lacking black marbling in A. smaragdina ). Its mating call also shows clear differences to morphologically similar species, with a lower note repetition rate, longer space between calls, and higher fundamental and dominant frequencies. Phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S mitochondrial rRNA fragment also support the distinctiveness of the new species and suggest that A. shihuemoy is most closely related to Ameerega macero , A. altamazonica , A. rubriventris , and two undescribed species ( Ameerega sp. from Porto Walter, Acre, Brazil, and Ameerega sp. from Ivochote, Cusco, Peru). Genetically, the new species is most similar to the sympatric A. macero , from which it clearly differs in characteristics of its advertisement call and coloration. The new species is found near rocky streams during the dry season and near temporary water bodies during the rainy season. Tadpoles are found in lentic water along streams, or in shallow, slow-moving streams. Given its small geographic range, we recommend that A. shihuemoy should be considered 'Near threatened' (NT) according to IUCN Red List criteria.

Phrynopus montium (Shreve, 1938) was described from Cascas, Junín Department, Peru, at an undetermined elevation between 3000 and 4000 m a.s.l. in the Cordillera Central. With the exception of the type specimens used in the original description, no additional sightings of P. montium had been reported for 76 years. Additionally, its coloration in life, microhabitat use, and precise elevational distribution remained unknown. During a field expedition conducted in 2014, two individuals of P. montium were found at an upper cloud forest site in central Peru, 8.7 km south from Hacienda Cascas. Here, I describe the coloration in life, microhabitat use, and elevation of these individuals.

Ranitomeya biolat occurs in the lowland rainforest of southern Peru and northwestern Bolivia and uses bamboo internodes as a retreat and reproduction site (Morales 1992; Maldonado & Reichle 2007). Unlike other members of the vanzolinii group, which exhibit biparental care of tadpoles (Summers & McKeon 2004), we have observed that R. biolat exhibits male–only parental care and that tadpoles are transported individually and deposited in water–filled bamboo internodes (Medina–Müller 2006; R. von May, unpublished data). After more than 12 months of sampling, we never observed individuals providing trophic eggs to tadpoles or observed oophagy as clutches were laid 3.5 ± 1.5 cm above the water (n = 55); hence, tadpole oophagy may not be an important food resource as previously suspected (Waldram 2008). Though basic information on its breeding biology has been published (Waldram 2008), its tadpole remains undescribed. With the purpose of filling this gap, we here describe the tadpole of R. biolat.