New frog from the Western Flank of the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia

Zootaxa 1389: 61-68 (11 Jan. 2007)
New frog (Brachycephalidae: Eleutherodactylus) from the Western Flank of the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia
S.B. ARROYO (Colombia)

A new Eleutherodactylus species is described from the western flanks of the Cordillera Oriental in the Departamento de Santander. It is a member of the Eleutherodactylus conspicillatus phenetic group. It appears to be most closely related to E. carranguerorum.

Field work carried out by Professor John D. Lynch on the northern part of the Cordillera Oriental between 1986 and 1991 revealed that various Eleutherodactyles species occurred there... Although the Cordillera Oriental of Columbia is the least species-rich of the three Cordilleras in Columbia in terms of the frogs of the genus Eleutherodactylus, new material collected by pesons from the Universidad Industrial de Santander in the last few years gives us evidence that this Cordillera harvours more Eleutherodactylus species than previously recognized.

From March 1999 to February 2002 field work was done at the Estacion Experimental El Rasgon in the Municipality of Piedecuesta, Santander, Columbia... The collections made in this area contain two new species of Eleutherodactylus. Subsequent collections made in the south-eastern portion of the Departamento de Santander at the Santuario de Fauna y Flora Guanenta have turned up more new species. One of these species is shared between the two reserves, and is named here.