The Systematics of the Frogs of the Hyla Rubra Group in Middle AmericaLeón, Juan R.
Science
The Systematics of the Frogs of the Hyla Rubra Group in Middle America
León, Juan R.
Frogs -- Central America; Hyla rubra
_Hyla staufferi_ Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 17:165,
October 1, 1865 [Holotype.--USNM 15317, Orizaba, Veracruz, México;
Francis Sumichrast collector].
_Diagnosis._--Small frogs (Male to 29 mm., Female to 31.6 mm.); skull
longer than wide; palatine absent; large cartilaginous crista parotica
present; snout flat, elongate and protruding; dark interorbital bar and
dorsal stripes usually present.
_Description._--Head flat, especially in females, longer than wide;
snout long, protruding beyond mouth; loreal region concave; canthus
ill-defined; length of eye greater than internarial distance or width
of eyelid; length of eye less than interorbital space; tympanum
distinct; interorbital spot irregular; supratympanic fold faint; arms
short; fingers free of webs; discs on third and fourth fingers equal to
diameter of tympanum; inner metatarsal tubercle on base of first finger
distinct; first finger shorter than second; palmar tubercle distinct
(Fig. 1C); legs short (usually less than 50 per cent of snout-vent
length); tarsal fold absent; metatarsal tubercles small, outer tubercle
smaller than inner; subarticular tubercles small, simple, distinct;
toes less than half webbed (Fig. 1D); skin smooth above with a few
small pustules on head, scapular region, flanks, and supratympanic
region; arms and legs smooth; skin of belly coarsely granular;
posteroventral surfaces of thighs finely granular; tongue small,
rounded, longer than wide, slightly free and notched posteriorly; vocal
slits small, lateral to tongue; choanae moderate in size.
_Variation._--The largest males of _Hyla staufferi_ are from Jalapa,
Guatemala, and from San Salvador, El Salvador. In these samples the
average snout-vent length is 27 mm. In Panamanian specimens the average
snout-vent length is 23.6 mm. Slight variation in the ratio of tibia
length to snout-vent length exists throughout the range; more variation
exists in the ratio of the diameter of the tympanum to that of the eye;
the tympanum is proportionately larger in northern populations (Table
7). The primary differences between Panamanian and more northern
populations are in size, color pattern on the dorsum and shanks, amount
of webbing between the toes, and duration of notes in the mating call
(Table 2, Pl. 4).
The color in Panamanian _staufferi_ is gray or gray-brown with a pair
of distinct, complete, dark brown dorsolateral stripes, a pair of
entire paravertebral stripes, and in some specimens a vertebral stripe.
About five per cent of the individuals have interrupted stripes on the
dorsum, whereas in the more northern populations complete paravertebral
stripes are present in less ten per cent of the specimens; when
complete stripes are present, they are irregular. The dorsal ground
color in non-Panamanian specimens is brown, olive-brown, or dark brown.
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