Strong differentiation between amphibian communities on two adjacent mountains in the Upper Rio Pastaza watershed of Ecuador, with descriptions of two new species of terrestrial frogs

Abstract

We present the results of herpetological surveys in two adjacent mountains where the EcoMinga Foundation protects the cloud forest in the Upper Rio Pastaza watershed, in the Llanganates Sangay Ecological Corridor in Ecuador. A rapid assessment of the amphibian communities of the study sites reveals a diverse and heterogeneous composition, dominated by terrestrial frogs from the genus Pristimantis. We also identify a cryptic diversity with a significant number of candidate new species. We describe two new species of terrestrial frogs of the genus Pristimantis. Pristimantis maryanneaesp. nov. is characterised by not having tympanum externally visible and having 2–3 subconical tubercles in the upper eyelid; and Pristimantis burtoniorumsp. nov. is characterised by the presence of red colouration in hidden surfaces of the hind-limbs, tubercles on the upper eyelid, interorbital tubercle and a row of rounded tubercles along the snout to the tip and a pale red venter with dark brown mottled pattern. Our samples from the two Reserves do not share species between them, so the proportion of shared species seems to be relatively low. In addition, we highlight the importance of updating the knowledge of amphibians that are restricted to this important conservation region and comment about the threats and composition of the amphibian communities on the eastern slopes of the Upper Rio Pastaza watershed.

First insights in terrestrial mammals monitoring in the Candelaria and Machay Reserves in the Ecuadorian Tropical Andes

“…The foothills and eastern slopes of Ecuador are characterised by rugged topography and dense vegetation that creates montane cloud forests and paramos ( Simpson 1975 , Sánchez et al 2018 ). These ecosystems, typical of the tropical Andes, provide suitable habitats for the distribution of a wide variety of species, many of them with restricted distributions and endemic to the area ( Gradstein et al 2004 , Jost and Shepard 2017 , Reyes-Puig et al 2022 ), but also large and medium-sized mammal species with much larger territory requirements due to their nature and dispersal ability. In this context, studies focused on mammal monitoring on the central-eastern slopes of Ecuador are scarce, as well as those attempting to address the variables affecting the species' site occupancy.…”