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Glassfrogs (family: Centrolenidae) represent a fantastic radiation (~150 described species) of Neotropical anurans that originated in South America and dispersed into Central America. In this study, we review the systematics of Ecuadorian glassfrogs, providing species accounts of all 60 species, including three new species described herein. For all Ecuadorian species, we provide new information on the evolution, morphology, biology, conservation, and distribution. We present a new molecular phylogeny for Centrolenidae and address cryptic diversity within the family. We employ a candidate species system and designate 24 putative new species that require further study to determine their species status. We find that, in some cases, currently recognized species lack justification, specifically, we place Centrolene gemmata and Centrolene scirtetes under the synonymy of Centrolene lynchi, C. guanacarum and C. bacata under the synonymy of Centrolene sanchezi, Cochranella phryxa under the synonymy of Cochranella resplendens, and Hyalinobatrachium ruedai under the synonymy of Hyalinobatrachium munozorum. We also find that diversification patterns are mostly congruent with allopatric speciation, facilitated by barriers to gene flow (e.g., valleys, mountains, linearity of the Andes), and that niche conservatism is a dominant feature in the family. Conservation threats are diverse, but habitat destruction and climate change are of particular concern. The most imperiled glassfrogs in Ecuador are Centrolene buckleyi, C. charapita, C. geckoidea, C. medemi, C. pipilata, Cochranella mache, Nymphargus balionotus, N. manduriacu, N. megacheirus, and N. sucre, all of which are considered Critically Endangered. Lastly, we identify priority areas for glassfrog conservation in Ecuador.

Se describe una especie nueva de Chiasmocleis de Pakitza, Parque Nacional del Manu, Perú, está en simpatría con Chiasmocleis ventrimaculata y vocaliza en la hojarasca. Esta nueva especie está muy relacionada a C. bassleri y podrían formar un grupo supraespecífico. Se comentan algunos caracteres de C. ventrimaculata y C. bassleri.

The Glassfrogs (Centrolenidae) are an apparently monophyletic group of Neotropical anurans that includes 136 described species. The phylogenetic relationships of the family with other clades are still poorly understood and at the moment the family can be defined only by shared apomorphies. The current generic concepts that recognize Centrolene, Cochranella and Hyalinobatrachium do not seem to reflect the true evolutive relationships of the family. Study of ca. 500 specimens from different localities across Central and South America shows the existence of new undescribed species, taxonomic and nomenclatural confusions, and the need to review and reconsider the intra and intergeneric and specific relationships of the Centrolenidae. We restrict the name Hyalinobatrachium petersi for a taxon from the lowlands of the Ecuadorian Choco and report the first records of Centrolene lemniscatum and Hyalinobatrachum ruedai from Ecuador. The discovery of a new species of the group of Centrolene gorzulai on the eastern Andean slopes of Ecuador raises questions about the synapomorphies assigned to each genus and about the biogeography of the family. New data on internal and external morphology and behavior allow reconsidering the classification of intrageneric groups of Centrolene and Cochranella and re-evaluating the taxonomic usefulness of certain characters (e.g., shape/color of liver, humeral spine, color of bones). Our analysis suggests the need to divide the species of southeastern Brazil into a different genus, restricting Hyalionobatrachium to the fleischmanni group; the situation is still confused for the pulveratum group and conservatively is kept within the genus Hyalinobatrachium until additional morphological and phylogenetic analysis. At least five species of glass frogs of Ecuador are critically endangered; some considerations on the state of conservation of Centrolenidae in the country are presented.

Ecuador has the biggest number of amphibian species per unit of area in the world (427 species in 276,840 km2). Glass frogs (Centrolenidae), with 30 species, constitute 7.06 % of the Ecuadorian anurans. However, the current state of knowledge of this family in Ecuador is still very basic. Several species of glass frogs are currently undescribed, confused with previously described taxa, not yet reported from the country but present in local museum collections, not yet discovered in Ecuador, or even described under two different names. The genus Hyalinobatrachium is poorly known in the country (four species), but at least three undescribed taxa are present in the western lowlands of Ecuador. Among the genera Cochranella and Centrolene, at least 6 new species are known from tropical and subtropical areas in western and eastern slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes. Several characters such as the patterns of skin, eye, peritoneum and pericardium color, the prepollical spine, the nuptial pad, and the presence of the bulla are discussed, especially around its taxonomic potential. At least one undescribed taxon from western lowlands of Ecuador is critically endangered, if not extinct. In the last decade, conservative estimates indicate that at least 26 species of Ecuadorian amphibians have declined or gone extinct, two of them belong to the family Centrolenidae. The reasons for this crisis are not clear but have been related to habitat destruction, climate change, and fungal disease such as the chytridiomycosis.

We describe a new species of toad of the genus Rhaebo from the Amazonian lowlands of Colombia and Ecuador. The newspecies is characterized by have a large-size (SVL 156.7 mm in adult female, 92.8–127.0 mm in adult males), lacking apreocular ridge and most cephalic crests except for the low parietals crests; having the cloacal opening towards the middlelevel of thighs; rounded to slightly oval parotoids; and dark to cream brown groin. The new species was previouslyconfused with Rhaebo glaberrimus, but the latter differs by having the cloacal opening at the ventral level of the thighs,small body size, skin texture mainly smooth, and a pink or yellowish color in the groin. The new species is also similar to Rhaebo guttatus that differs by having a preocular ridge and a different ventral coloration (throat, chest and belly withcream round spots). We also comment on the identity of R. glaberrimus and R. guttatus, correct some reports published in the literature, and present new information on their natural history and distribution.

A new species of the genus Pristimantis is described from Churi tepui, in the Chimanta massif, Estado Bolívar, Venezuela. The new species was discovered during the Muchimuk Expedition 2009, an ongoing speleological exploration of the Charles Brewer cave system, the largest sandstone cave on Earth. The species is known from only one female, collected near the mouth of the Muchimuk cave, in “non-gramineous tubiform meadows”. The new species can be distinguished from other Pristimantis on the highlands of the Guiana Shield by its unique coloration, indistinct tympanum, dorsal and ventral skin smooth, well-developed lateral fringes on the fingers and toes, and basal webbing on Toes III–V.

Sibon argus Cope, 1875, long known only from the holotype, is redescribed based on material from Costa Rica and Panama. It differs from the only other member of the genus having an ocellate dorsal pattern (S. longifrenis) in its attenuate habitus, enlarged blunt head, protuberant eyes, and high segmental counts (ventrals 181-201, subcaudals 112-121, total segmental counts 294-312). Sibon longifrenis of Atlantic slope Costa Rica and western Panama (ventrals 151173, subcaudals 82-103, total segmental counts 231-275) is also redescribed. These species differ from all other Sibon in having an ocellate pattern and an enlarged penultimate supralabial bordering the orbit. The allied species, S. annulatus (Costa Rica and Panama) and S. dimidiatus (Mexico to southwestern Costa Rica), are shown to be distinct from S. argus and S. longifrenis in scalation and coloration. Although allopatric, S. annulatus and S. dimidiatus differ from one another most strikingly in adult coloration, postmental character states, and ventral counts (F = 175.8 in annulatus and 193.6 in dimidiatus), and are regarded as valid species. Sibon annulatus occurs sympatrically with S. argus in Panama and with S. longifrenis in Costa Rica. Although S. argus and S. longifrenis occur in the same general area on the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica, they have not yet been taken at the same locality.

Specimens in a small collections of reptiles and amphibians from Parque Nacional Cerro Cora, Departamento Amambay, Paraguay are reported. Included are the first records of Bachia bresslaui, Phrynop...

The breeding habits of Bufo coccifer were studied in northwestern Costa Rica between 1971 and 1974. This species breeds during the rainy season, at least from May through August. Males chorus from areas of shallow water. Their calls resemble those of Mexican representatives of the species in pulse rate and duration, but are closer to those of other Costa Rican and Panamanian populations in dominant frequency. Thus, our data do not clearly support recognition of Bufo cycladen as a distinct species for the Mexican populations. Amplexus is axillary, and two strings of eggs are extruded simultaneously during oviposition. Tadpoles, described for the first time in this paper, are secretive and do not aggregate. Development to metamorphosis requires about 5 weeks. Bufo coccifer Cope is a medium sized toad known from localities primarily along the Pacific versant of Mexico and Central America from sea level to about 2000 m elevation (Zweifel, 1965; Porter, 1964a, 1965; Meyer and Wilson, 1971). The mating calls of the Mexican and Central American populations of Bufo coccifer differ (Zweifel, 1965; Porter, 1965). These vocal characteristics, together with slight morphological differences, were used to justify recognition of the Mexican populations as a distinct species, Bufo cycladen (Lynch and Smith, 1966). Porter (1967) argued that Bufo cycladen was a nomen dubium. Although Smith and Smith (1976) recognized the distinctness of the Mexican populations, little information has been published on the species in the past 15 years. The tadpole has not been described. During the course of our work on the reproductive ecology and behavior of frogs in the Tropical Dry Forest formation of northwestern Costa Rica, we obtained considerable data on the breeding biology of Bufo coccifer. Herein, we report our observations and describe the tadpole of this species. STUDY SITE.-The study area was located on the property of Estaci6n Experimental Enrique Jimenez Nufiez in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. This station, owned and operated by the Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganaderia of Costa Rica lies about 13.6 km SW Canfas in a zone of Tropical Dry Forest (Tosi, 1969). General site descriptions of the area exist (e.g., Orians and Paulson, 1969; Holdridge et al., 1971; Sawyer and Lindsey, 1971; Janzen, 1973; McDiarmid et al., 1977). However, these papers refer primarily to the forested regions of the farm, particularly those in riparian areas. Although individual Bufo coccifer occasionally are found in forest habitats, these toads are located more commonly in areas where the forest has been cleared for pasture or cultivation. Observations were made in two types of cleared areas. One was a pasture about 2.4 by 1.0 km located at the base of Cerro Eskameca and adjacent hills (Fig. 1). The somewhat irregular pasture (ca. 10 m elev.) is sown with various introduced forage grasses and supports small weedy herbs (e.g., Compositae, Malvaceae, Euphorbiaceae), vines (e.g., Cucurbitaceae, Leguminosae, Bignoniaceae), small saplings of various forest trees (especially Enterolobium cyclocarpum), and a number of leguminous shrubs. One of the shrubs, Mimosa pigra, grew in dense stands covering large areas. Usually, toward the end of each dry season, the pasture areas were plowed and all surface vegetation was turned under. With the first rains, new grass sprouted, and cattle and horses were turned out to graze. Within the pasture areas three ponds filled in May or June and, except in E SOUTHWESTERN ATURALIST 26(4):353-363 NOVEMBER 20, 1981 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.224 on Wed, 14 Dec 2016 05:03:07 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms The Southwestern Naturalist FIG. 1.-Irrigation canal (above), flooded pasture (middle), and flooded roadside (below) at Estaci6n Experimental Enrique Jimenez Nuiiez, used as breeding sites by Bufo coccifer. 'LI IIIWI L C-lC1----I 354 vol. 26, no. 4 -....,-'' .,. __M ._liB36 . ^ This content downloaded from 157.55.39.224 on Wed, 14 Dec 2016 05:03:07 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms McDiarmid and Foster-Costa Rican Bufo coccifer