A New Diminutive Frog from Hispaniola (Leptodactylidae: Eleutherodactylus)

Abstract

Eleutherodactylus thorectes is described from the highest elevations of the Massif de la Hotte (Haiti) and placed in the bakeri series of the subgenus Euhyas. It is the smallest known species from Hispaniola and one of the smallest in the genus. THE Massif de la Hotte lies at the end of the Haitian Tiburon Peninsula and harbors the most diverse assemblage of frogs in the West Indies. At least 26 species of Eleutherodactylus occur in the mountain range and 20 of those are known from the vicinity of Castillon, a village on the north slope (Schwartz, 1973; Hedges and Thomas, 1987; Hedges et al., 1987). Such diversity of Eleutherodactylus at a single locality rivals that of any comparable area in Central or South America. In 1984 and 1985, C. A. Woods led a general biotic survey of the upper elevations of the Massif de la Hotte, in the vicinity of Morne Formon (2200 m) and Morne Macaya (2340 m), during which several undescribed species of Eleutherodactylus were collected. Among these is a very small and distinctive species found only in the highest elevations. In the account below, the following abbreviations are used: E-N (distance between nostril and eye), EYE (horizontal diameter of eye), HW (greatest width of head), IOD (interorbital distance), MCZ (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University), SHL (shank length), THL (thigh length), and TYM (horizontal diameter of tympanum). Adults were sexed by gonadal examination. Institutional abbreviations are as listed in Leviton et al., 1985. Eleutherodactylus thorectes n. sp. Fig. 1 Holotype.-UF-FSU 64545, an adult female from the crest and peak of Morne Macaya, Dept. du