Marsupial frogs are fairly diverse in the Andes, with over 75 species of Gastrotheca, and there are many cryptic species yet to be discovered. Our lab contribution, in collaboration to leading author Pablo Venegas, led to the discovery of a new species from the Cordillera de Colán in northern Peru. The new species, named Gastrotheca gemma lives in the páramo and the ecotone between páramo and humid montane forest of Cordillera de Colán, at elevations around 3100-3200 m.
The new species is distinguished from all its congeners by the combination of the following characters: coarsely granular skin on dorsum, a green dorsal coloration without pattern, finger I shorter than finger II, turquoise iris, and a venter without blotches, flecks or dots. Furthermore, we include a detailed osteological description of the new Gastrotheca species based on Micro-CT scanning (see photo above). The paper is published in the online journal Vertebrate Zoology.
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