The tadpole of Ameerega berohoka Vaz-Silva and Maciel, 2011 (Anura, Dendrobatidae)

Abstract

The genus Ameerega currently comprises 29 species that present exclusively a cis-Andean diversification (Grant et al. 2017; Frost 2024). Currently, nine species of the genus are distributed in Brazil in areas of Cerrado and Amazonia: Ameerega berohoka Vaz-Silva & Maciel, A. braccata (Steindachner), A. flavopicta (A. Lutz), A. hahneli (Boulenger), A. macero (Rodriguez & Myers), A. petersi (Silverstone), A. picta (Bibron), A. pulchripecta (Silverstone), and A. trivittata (Spix). Tadpoles of Ameerega species are poorly studied and until now only 13 from the 29 species in the genus have their tadpoles described: A. altamazonica (Twomey & Brown 2008), A. bilinguis (Duellman 1978, as Dendrobates parvulus; Poelman et al. 2010), A. braccata (Haddad & Martins 1994), A. flavopicta (Haddad & Martins 1994; Costa et al. 2006; Dias et al. 2018; Pezzuti et al. 2021; Santos et al. 2023), A. hahneli (Haddad & Martins 1994; Rodríguez & Duellman 1994; Duellman 2005; Menin et al. 2017), A. macero (Rodríguez & Myers 1993), A. parvula (Poelman et al. 2010), A. petersi (Silverstone 1976), A. picta (Lescure 1976; Silverstone 1976; Haddad & Martins 1994; Duellman 2005; Schulze et al. 2015), A. pulchripecta (Pezzuti et al. 2022), A. rubriventris (Lötters et al. 1997), A. silverstonei (Silverstone 1976; Myers & Daly 1979), and A. trivittata (Wyman 1859; Silverstone 1976; Rodríguez & Duellman 1994). Ameerega berohoka Vaz-Silva & Maciel was described based on specimens from central Brazil (type-locality: Arenópolis, Goiás State), is known to occur in western and southwestern regions in the State of Goiás, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul (Frost 2024), and its tadpole remains unknown. Here, we describe the external morphology of the tadpole of A. berohoka and provide a comparison with other species in the genus