Description of Three New Cryptic Species from Southern Ecuador

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PAUL SZEKELY
DIANA SZEKELY
DIEGO ARMIJOS-OJEDA
SANTIAGO HUALPA-VEGA
JUDIT VOROS

We review the species content of the Pristimantis orestes group and, by integrating genetic and morphological data, we distinguish and describe three new cryptic species from the subparamos of southern Ecuadorian Andes: Pristimantis sagedunnae, Pristimantis paladines, Pristimantis numbala. We briefly discuss the current species composition of the group, the role that natural history might have in determining the shape of the bodies, and the cryptic diversity and distribution pattern of some of the species in southern Ecuador.

Annemarie Wurz
Department of Biology, Conservation Ecology, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
Jörg Bendix
Department of Geography, Laboratory for Climatology and Remote Sensing, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
Jürgen Homeier
Resource Management, University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HAWK), Göttingen, Germany
Felix Matt
Department of Biology, Conservation Ecology, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
Pedro Paladines
Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional, Loja, Ecuador
Felipe Serrano
Naturaleza y Cultura Internacional, Loja, Ecuador
Nina Farwig
Department of Biology, Conservation Ecology, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany