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First country records of Pristimantis luscombei (Duellman and Mendelson) and Syncope tridactyla (Duellman and Mendelson) in eastern lowlands of Ecuador (amphibia: Anura: Strabomantidae, Microhylidae)

Abstract:

The Upper Amazon Basin is located closer to Andes along the Equator, at eastern lowlands of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, which receives one of the highest levels of rainfall within all lowland Amazonia (Vigle 2008). These environmental conditions seem to favor the presence of the highest known species richness and complex herpetological communities (Dixon and Soini 1975; Duellman 1978; Duellman and Mendelson 1995; Lynch et al. 1997; Duellman 1999; Lynch 2005; Vigle 2008). For long time Amazonia was considered as one of the best studied regions in South America (Lynch 2005). Anyway, despite intense effort our knowledge of the Amazonian herpetofauna is far from beeing complete (Duellman and Mendelson 1995). Central Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador are not an exception and many areas remain unexplored and several species unreported or undescribed (Cisneros-Hebkp_redia and Meza-Ramos 2007; McCracken et al. 2007; Elmer and Cannatella 2008; Vigle 2008; Cisneros-Hebkp_redia et al. 2009; Ortega-Andrade 2009). Herpetological studies by Ecuadorian institutions through past fifteen years in the Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador resulted in the collection of novel species for the country, which we are glad to report herein.