Descriptions of the tadpoles of two poison frogs, Ameerega parvula and Ameerega bilinguis (Anura: Dendrobatidae) from Ecuador

Summary

Tadpoles of two sister species of Ameerega are described. Tadpoles of Ameerega parvula can be distinguished from those of A. bilinguis based on slight differences in their oral disc structure and configuration of the tail fin. Both tadpoles have a tooth row formula 2/3 that is typical for many Ameerega, Epipedobates, and Allobates species. The two species differ in the relative length of the second lower tooth row (P-2). Ameerega parvula tadpoles have a slightly longer P-2 than P-1 row, whereas the P-2 row of A. bilinguis tadpoles is shorter than their P-1. The upper fin at midtail is slightly wider than the lower fin in A. parvula, whereas the lower fin is slightly wider than the upper fin in A. bilinguis tadpoles. Both tadpoles can be discriminated from those of sympatric species based on color and oral disc morphology. However, the oral disc morphology of Ameerega tadpoles provides no synapomorphic characteristics to distinguish Ameerega tadpoles from other dendrobatoid genera.