Preliminary note*
During the last years I observed a larger number of Brazilian batrachians and amongst them about thirty species which I considered new, after comparison with the publications I was able to obtain and principally with the monograph of Nieden (Tierreich, n.46). 29 of these species were demonstrated in the Brazilian Société de Biologie either alive, or in preserved specimens, or in coloured drawings and photographs, accompanied by a brief description. As those were published in French only, I thought it convenient to give also a Portuguese and English version, as a preliminary note while the publishing of the illustrations may be delayed.
1. Leptodactylus trivittatus n. sp.
L. trivittatus come certainly very near to L. nanus, as well in size, as by its habits, but the difference in color and marking and the absence of forms of transition do not allow us to consider them as a single species. They were found in the same regions, but in different places. My live specimens of trivittatus used to hide in day time.
Adult females are about 22 mm. Long. The tongue is free at the back and the vomerine teeth form two rectilinear groups with a narrow interval.
The upper side of the body shows longitudinal stripes of terracotta or slightly more intense red. The median one is generally limited to the posterior half of the back. The lateral ones begin on the upper eyelid and end at the inguinal fold. On the last 4 mm. the red color changes into cream. This also prevails on a sinous band beginning under the eye and ending at the root of the arm, becoming narrower while it passes under the tympanun. The terracotta tinge also invades the dorsal side of the elbow and knee and the surrounding parts. In a smaller specimen the median stripe, though narrower and interrupted, appears also on the anterior half of the back.
I have one specimen form the Serra de Cubatão and a few from Campo Belo, two of them found under felled three trunks and one in the grass. The voice is not known.
2. Leptodactylus troglodytes n. sp.
The name refers to an adult female Leptodactylus, collected by Conrad Guenther in the nest of an ant (Atta sp.) in Pernambuco and given to me in 1924.
The specimen in alcohol has a while color, more or less mixed with brownish and chocolate colored spots on the back. Snout rounded, projecting obliquely over the mouth. Canthus rostralis rounded and loreal region some what excavated. Tympanum broader than hight, almost as large as the eye, with a white point in the middle, surrounded by a brown circle; the margin black and the intermediate zone brownish. Above and at the back of the tympanum a crescent shaped, somewhat elevated black fold. Interorbital space oblique and rather narrow. Upper lip with a median groove receiving a toothlike prominence of the under one. Tongue oval, free at the back. Vomerine teeth in two slightly convex and nearly contiguous series just behind the rather large choanae. Skin smooth above and below, granular only on the lower side of the thighs. No large or conspicuous glands. Abdomen with a disk and full of cream-colored eggs with a diameter of 1-2 mm. When the hind leg is put along the side of the body, the tibiotarsal articulation reaches a little beyond the eye.
On the head a nearly wedge shaped spot, with its base between the eyes and its point slightly behind the level of the nostrils. A little more to the front begins on each side a lateral stripe, composed first of small spots, which extends over the nostrils and the frenal region, passing as a narrow line under the eye and broadening between it and the tympanum. One branch continues as an irregular margin above and at the back of the tympanum while the other forms two successive detached spots more inwards. Below the fore margin of the eye a sub-rhombical spot extends obliquely to the margin of the lip, which is otherwise white or only slightly blackened. Between the posterior half of the eyelids and invading the right one, there is a spot in shape of a W without any cavity and with the prongs directed backwards. There are two larger spots on the vertebrae and transverse processes and behind them some smaller ones reaching the anal fold. The lateral zones are brownish and contain a longitudinal stripe of small whitish spots. Limbs above with dark crossbands. Inner sides of the thighs dark, sprinkled with while in the proximal half.
Hands with subarticular and palmar tubercules well developped, the latter fit for digging. Fingers pointed, rather short, the second much more than the first, and without a distinct lateral or interdigital membrane; two moderately developed metatarsal, but no tarsal tubercle.
This specimen seems rather large and thick, due partly to the development of the ovaries.
3. Leptodactylus flavopictus n. sp.
Of this species, I know only one, specimen, apparently a female. It is perfect and was observed and painted alive, for my paper on the genus Leptodactylus, so that it is unnecessary to describe it in full. It clearly seems to occupy an intermediate place between L. pentodactylus and gigas, being quite different from both. It can also be distinguished form L. bufo Anderson which is more like pentadactylus. The dorsal side of flavopictus is not unlike that of pentadactylus, but the ventral aspect is quite different and typical. Also the red ornamentation is substituted by a yellow one, the ground color of which is deeper than in L. gigas and less limited. There are very characteristic and curious markings on the dorsal aspect of the limbs.
One specimen from Monte Serrat, at the foot of the Itatiaia.
4. Pseudis bolbodactyla n. sp.
L. 47mm. Of the other species of this genus, only paradoxa is larger (69 mm.). Upper parts bright green, under parts whitish with some vermiculations and longitudinal black stripes on the thighs; fingers and toes with dilated tips. Purely aquatic species characterised by its short and loud croak. Found in Minas (Belo Horizonte and Lassance).
5. Crossodactylus dispar n. sp.
L. about 26 mm. Upper side brown with darker spots, warts and glandular lines on back and cross bars on the limbs; ventral side whitish. Male with thickened arms; throat and sternal region dotted with black in the male, with a wide-meshed blackish network in the female. Both sexes may show three black horny points on the first finger. Found in the mountains near Rio.
6. Eupemphix maculiventris n. sp.
This species can be distinguished from nana by the head, still narrower in front of the eye, and some rather large black spots with while centers on the venter. The call is different. Lenght 19 to 21 mm. Found in the mountains near Santos.
7. Eupemphix olfersioides n. sp.
L. 18 mm. Though much smaller it ressembles of olfersii.
Upper side light brown, with a broad dark-brown dorsolateral band and a dark-brown, half circular crossband on the thigh. Ventral side light. Habits terrestrial. Litoral of the state of Rio de Janeiro.
8. Eupemphix bolbodactyla n. sp.
L. 17 mm. Fingers and toes with dilated tips. Dorsal side with olive brown ground color and two sub-median wavy stripes and cross bars of darker shade on the limbs. Inguinal region in large extent bright orange. Ventral side blackish with four small white spots on the edge of the jaw, white dots and some darker spots on the venter. Habits terrestrial.
Three specimens from Angra dos Reis
9. Hyla (Hylella) e urygnatha n. sp.
Length 17 mm. Back green, changing to yellow on the snout, fingers, toes and marginal line. Head short, dilated behind the eyes due to the broadness of the jaw. Iris dull gold color. A small median lobe on the upper and lower margin of the pupil. Disseminated black dots, more marked after death. Web short between the fingers, longer between the toes.
Only one specimen from the Serra da Bocaina.
10. Hyla fuscomarginata n. sp.
L. 23 mm. Vomerine leeth small, tympanum covered small. Head short, with almost right preocular and obtuse apical angle. Body elongated, not broader than the head. Rostral canthus distinct, brown edged. Dorsal aspect light brownish (like coffee with much milk), with a median and an interocular streak, forming a brown cross. A double marginal brown cross bands. Vocal sack of male lemon colored. Ventral side of body cream or light grey, dotted with black on the hind limbs.
Rio, S. Paulo and Belo Horizonte
11. Hyla elongata n. sp.
Type as in the preceding species. L. 11 mm. Dorsal side green in life, dotted with somewhat purple red after death. No cross bars on the limbs, but sometimes one to two dark longitudinal stripes on legs and tarsus. A brown band along the canthus, an other round the back, partly divided by a white line. Vocal sack lemon yellow.
This very variable species was found together with the former one but is undoubtedly distinct.
12. Hyla clepsydra n. sp.
L. 40 mm. Upper side light beige, ventral white. Snout with a brown angular spot on top. Another very large brown spot, in the shape of an hour-glass, has its anterior margin on and between the eyelids; the posterior in the lumbar region ends in two lateral oblique extensions connected by a transversal anastomosis. Limbs with brown crossbands. Posterior aspect of thighs immaculate, light pink.
One male from the Serra da Bocaina.
13. Hyla crospedospila n. sp.
L. 30 mm. Fingers free, toes well webbed. Ground color of dorsum beige with brown spots, scattered over the trunk and forming crossbands on the timbs, all of them with a distinct darker margin. Venter light. Found in Rio and São Paulo in bromeliaceous plants or near stagnant water.
14. Hyla cuspidata n. sp.
Near to crospedospila but smaller and the snout still more pointed. Fingers not, toes distinctly webbed. Upper side shows a light brown or olive coloured ground with canthal stripes, an interocular spot and two longitudinal bands along the back, all of them much darker. The dorsal bands are somewhat interrupted and edged with white points. Limbs with rather large brown cross bands. Venter light, gular region of male light yellow. The iris is copper colored and the bones are distinctly green in life.
Commonly found in bromeliaceous plants near Rio.
15. Hyla decipiens n. sp.
Length of adult female less than two centimetres. Characters of Hylella. Frons and side margins of back lemon yellow, the rest brown with darker margins. Back of limbs without cross bands but with a few groups of black dots. Web on toes only. This species somewhat resembles young specimens of Hyla leucophyllata but is easily distinguished by the caracters of Hylella. Found occasionally in marshes near Rio.
16. Hyla fuscovaria n. sp.
L. 41 mm. Near to Hyla rubra but much more mottled. Ground color of the back café au lait with numerous dots and a network of dark blotches containing lighter points. Limbs with brown cross bands. On the thighs, the anterior margin of the tarsi and the posterior and interior margin of the legs the ground is lemon colored. The rest of the ventral aspect is cream, somewhat pink and mottled with brown, principally on the margin of the jaw.
One male, of Agua branca in Minas, kept alive for some time showed no variation in color and marking.
17. Hyla pallens n. sp.
Lenght of adult female 22 mm. Type of Hylella. Head broad and short. Web on toes only. Ground color of back café au lait, with darker but light edged longitudinal blotches which may anastomose between the eyes and in the lumbar region. Under side yellowish white with granular venter. Two oblique brown bars on the legs but no corresponding ones on the thighs. All the colours are very pale.
This species is common in marshes as well in Rio, as in the neighbour states.
18. Hyla semiguttata n. sp.
L. 41 mm. Lenght of web on fingers one third, on toes one half. The tibiotarsal articulation may be brought before the point of the snout. Tympanum rather large, brown. Back light brown with darker, median and lateral, longitudinal bands, sometimes dissolving in logitudinally oval or round spots. On each eyelid and leg a similar spot. The back is while-edged behind and laterally. Limbs light brown, with somewhat reddish brown longitudinal stripes. Under side cream colored, granulated and dotted with grey on the body, the posterior side of the thighs and at the end of the limbs.
A specimen of Santa Catarina, in a good state of preservation, seems adult.
19. Hyla squalirostris n. sp.
L. 28-29 mm. Head larger as body with snout projected over and in front of the mouth. Body and limbs very slender. Web only on toes and little developed. Skin transparent, the tissues shining through on the limbs with a rosy tinge. Ground color of back brownish with a darker vertebral line. Canthal stripe dark with white inner edge. Behind the eyes there is a double black longitudinal band, divided by a while space. Limbs without cross bars but slightly black dolted. Ventral side yellowish white, the skin of the vocal sac lemon yellow.
Several males where taken at night in the marshes of the Serra da Bocaina.
20. Hyla albofrenata n. sp.
Smaller than H. albomarginata Spix (infulata BURM) and lacking the orange colored spots found on that species while alive. A while liné on the sharp edged canthus rostralis. Iris distinctly cooper colored. The call is quite different from that of albomarginata and sounds like drops of water falling into an empty bottle.
The tad-poles in metamorphosis are frequently found in water, but the adults hide in the dense foliage and especially in epiphytic Bromeliaceae. They are not rare, as their call is heard at night in all the woods near Rio.
21. Phyllomedusa guttata n. sp.
I first found a new tadpole hanging from the surface of the water by funnel shaped lips, unlike those of the larvae of Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis. Both the species are about the same size as the European tree frogs, but much more slender. Phyllomedusa guttata shows about twenty round purple spots on the orange colored sides; tho this decoration is formed by the same colors, the pattern is quite different; the ca'l also is quite unlike that of P. hypochondrialis. P. guttata can be caught at night, by listening to its call near the water where the tad-poles are found. It is much rarer than hypochondrialis and known only from the mountains near Rio.
22. Phyllomedusa bahiana n. sp.
Large species. L. 75 mm. First finger shorter, but first toe longer than second. Back green in the living animal. Hands, feet and ventral side of body white. Disk small. This well marked species came from Bahia.
23. Phyllomedusa appendiculata n. sp.
Small species. L.33mm. Dorsal side slate colored in the specimen, but most probably green in life. Fore limbs above the elbow, thighs, hands, feet and belly creamish white. Heel with a conic appendix.
Of this very peculiar species one specimen in alcohol was obtained from São Bento, State of Santa Catarina.
24. Hylaplesia nigriventris n. sp.
L. 21 mm. Ground color of dorsal side reddish cream, immaculate on the forehead, for the rest covered with black spots forming cross bars on the limbs and little white dots, forming a star, on the posterior interscapular region. Ventral side dotted with black and denser black blotches and with some white points. Found on the Itatiaia and in the Serra de Cubatão.
25. Hylaplesia flavopicta n. sp.
L. 32 mm. Dorsum black, with canthal, marginal and sub-median stripes and scattered spots on the limbs, all of them bright yellow, changing into reddish orange in the groins and on the thighs. A lateral spot of the same color on the leg. Ventral side with long, black, wavy or ramified vermiculations on bluish white ground.
Found in the mountains near Belo Horizonte.
26. Corythomantis adspersa n. sp.
Distinguished from C. greeningi by the color and by a shorter snout.
L. 76 mm. Bony crests and hind margin of the helmet dotted with yellow, some elongate black spots on the head. Pupil rhombic. Web only between the three first toes. Disks rather large, black. Back with light chestnut ground. Small black spots on lumbar and lateral regions, on fore arms and legs. Some black longitudinal stripes on the limbs. Venter white with brown network. Throat almost completely black.
27. Hylodes nasutus n. sp.
L. 38 mm. Finger tips somewhat dilates and rounded. Limbs long and thin, the tibiotarsal articulation may be brought before the point of the snout. Upper side light brown, immaculate but dotted with light granulations on the head and the eyelids and darker ones along the canthus and the border of the back. On the fore arms and the thighs there are faint cross-bars and two white stripes across the leg. Ventral face light and immaculate. Snout projected before and over the mouth.
The species is well distinguished form the other Hylodes. It was taken in Nova Friburgo at night following the call of the males.
28. Bufo paracnemis n. sp.
L. 18 cm., bigger than the B. marinus (agua) of Rio e S. Paulo. Male and female more alike. Besides the enormous parotids it shows along the tibia a mass of glands with the same milky and toxic secretion. The mottled back never shows large white blotches but there may be some black ones, at least in the male. The supraocular crest forms an obtuse angle with the retroocular crest. The whole body is covered with lenticular warts, bearing corneous points in the male. Venter light, mottled with black.
Several specimens, kept alive, came from Belo Horizonte in Minas, where they were received by the institute Ezequiel Dias.
29. Bufo rubescens n. sp.
L. of male 8.9, of female up to 12 cm. Both sexes covered with lenticular warts with corneous points in the male, which may show black nuptial brushes on the three first fingers. Upper side brown or olivaceous while the under side is white, very slightly mottled with black. The sides are more or less mottled. Sometimes dark cross bars appear on the limbs. Most peculiar is the brick red color of the cephalic crests and the limbs which may also appear like a rash on the ventral side and on the long and narrow parotids. The supra and retroocular crests join without forming an angle. Tympanum constantly oval.
I have observed more than fifteen individuals sent by the Institute in Belo Horizonte. The species is not known from any other state than Minas.