Honoring the Afro-Colombian musical culture with the naming ofEpipedobates [to be revealed]sp. nov. (Anura: Dendrobatidae), a frog from the Pacific rainforests

Abstract

The number of amphibian species described yearly shows no signs of slowing down, especially in tropical regions, implying that the biodiversity of amphibians remains woefully underestimated. We describe a new species of poison frog from the Pacific lowlands of southwestern Colombia:Epipedobates [to be revealed]sp. nov., named for the Pacific music and dance genre known asbambuco viejoor [to be revealed]. This species inhabits lowland forests from 0–260 m. This taxon differs from congeners by having a combination of yellow blotches in the dorsal anterior region of the thigh and upper arm, homogenous dark-brown dorsal coloration, and advertisement calls of long duration and many pulses. We also describe the courtship call ofE. [to be revealed], which is lower in frequency and shorter in duration than the advertisement call. Molecular phylogenetic analyses confirm the monophyly of the populations sampled and its position as the sister-group ofEpipedobates narinensis, which occurs in southwestern Colombia. Among species ofEpipedobates, the new species has been previously confused withE. boulengeri, but we find that the two species are allopatric and represent two divergent clades (1.77% divergent for12S–16Sand 5.39% forCYTB). These species can be distinguished by the presence of a bright yellow blotch in the dorsal anterior region of the thigh inE. [to be revealed], which is absent or diffuse and pale or cream inE. boulengeri. Epipedobates [to be revealed]is the most northern species ofEpipedobates, which extends southwards along the western edge of the Andes. Known as the Chocó, this biogeographic region has been largely converted to agriculture in Ecuador and is experiencing widespread transformation in Colombia, which may endangerE. [to be revealed]and biodiversity in the region. This version is a preprint, and we only intend to name the species in the final published version.