Revision of the Ranitomeya fantastica species complex with description of two
new species from Central Peru (Anura: Dendrobatidae)
JASON L. BROWN1,4, EVAN TWOMEY1,5, MARK PEPPER2 & MANUEL SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ3
1Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA
2Understory Enterprises, Charing Cross, Ontario, Canada
3Understory Enterprises, Iquitos, Peru
4Corresponding author. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
5Corresponding author. E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Abstract
We describe two new species of poison frogs (genus Ranitomeya) from the central Rio Huallaga drainage and adjacent
Cordillera Azul in central Peru. Both species were previously considered to be members of Ranitomeya fantastica, a species
described from the town of Yurimaguas, Peru. Extensive sampling of putative R. fantastica (including near-topotypic
material) throughout central Peru, and the resulting morphological and phylogenetic analysis has led us to conclude
that R. fantastica sensu lato is a complex of three closely related species rather than a single, widely distributed species.
The first of these species occurs near the type locality of R. fantastica but bears significant dissimilarity to the original
type series and forms a monophyletic clade that is distributed throughout an expansive lowland zone between Rio Huallaga
and Rio Ucayali. This species is diagnosable by its brilliant red head and advertisement call differences. The second
new species has long been considered a color morph of R. fantastica, although our analysis shows that it is genetically
distinct from even adjacent populations of R. fantastica. This species is restricted to the Huallaga Canyon near Chazuta
and is primarily diagnosed on the basis of nucleotide sequences, although it does possess additional morphological and
vocal characteristics which are distinct from R. fantastica.
Key words: benedicta, Dendrobates, Dendrobatidae, fantastica, Ranitomeya, summersi

http://www.dendrobates.org/benedicta.html

http://www.dendrobates.org/summersi.html