DOI

10.5479/si.00810282.635.1

Abstract

A cluster of morphologically similar frogs of the genus Leptodactylus having a pair of distinct dorsolateral folds on the dorsum and well-developed lateral fringes on the toes has never been systematically evaluated by examining materials from throughout its geographic range. The species involved are herein referred to as members of the Leptodactylus bolivianus complex. There have been three names proposed for members of this complex: Leptodactylus bolivianus Boulenger, 1898; Leptodactylus insularum Barbour, 1906; and Leptodactylus romani Melin, 1941. The collective range for the L. bolivianus complex is from Costa Rica southward through Panama, extending across northern South America (east of the Andes) in the river valleys draining to the Caribbean, and throughout much of the Amazon basin with southernmost limits in the Bolivian departments of La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz.

We analyze variation in this complex of frogs throughout its geographic range to understand inherent patterns of differentiation and to interpret those patterns in terms of species-level recognition, distributions, and relationships.

Document Type

Published Paper

Publication Date

2011

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2011 Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. This article first appeared in Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, no. 635 (2011): 1-58. doi:10.5479/si.00810282.635.1.

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