Author: crarc111

We would like to share the exciting news of a newly discovered and beautiful species of salamander from the Caribbean slopes of Talamanca, Costa Rica. Bolitoglossa aurae is named in dedication to Aura Reyes, the wife of Brian Kubicki, who co-discovered the species; additionally, the name also alludes to the Latin aureus, meaning golden, for the yellow coloration of the salamander. This new species increases the known diversity of salamanders in Costa Rica to 50. Costa Rica has the fifth highest total diversity of salamanders on the planet, behind the USA (#1), Mexico (#2), China (#3), and Guatemala (#4), but when one considers the number of species per area (i.e. number of species per 1,000 km2 of national territory), Costa Rica has the highest diversity density of salamanders on the planet, with nearly 1 species per 1,000 km2 of national territory. What an incredible country, and one that continues to amaze us with beautiful species such as Bolitoglossa aurae that are completely new to science.

To access the full article of this new species description you can click on the image above.

Una nueva especie de salamandra ha sido descubierta en las faldas caribeñas de Talamanca, Costa Rica. Bolitoglossa aurae, nombrada en dedicación a Aura Reyes, esposa de Brian Kubicki, quien co-descubrió la especie, adicionalmente el nombre alude al latín aureus, que significa dorado, por la coloración amarilla de la especie. Esta nueva especie incrementa la diversidad de salamandras en Costa Rica a 50. Costa Rica está en el quinto lugar en diversidad total de salamandras del planeta, después de USA (#1), México (#2), China (#3) y Guatemala (#4), sin embargo considerando el número de especies por área (por ejemplo: número de especies por 1000 km2 de territorio nacional), Costa Rica tiene la densidad de diversidad más alta en el planeta, con cerca de 1 especie por 1000 km2 de territorio nacional. Un increíble país que continua asombrándonos con especies bellas como Bolitoglossa aurae que es completamente nueva para la ciencia.

Para acceder a la publicación de la descripción de esta nueva especie click sobre la imagen de arriba.

We would like to share the exciting news about the rediscovery of the marsupial frog (Gastrotheca cornuta) in Costa Rica, and congratulate our friend Stanley Salazar for this important discovery and publication. If you are interested in reading about this discovery you can access the publication by clicking on the image below.

We would like to share the exciting news about a newly discovered and described species of glassfrog, Hyalinobatrachium dianae, from the Caribbean slopes of Costa Rica. The authors (Brian Kubicki, Stanley Salazar, and Robert Puschendorf) distinguished H. dianae from other glassfrogs due to its unique combination of morphological characteristics, advertisement call, and genetic distance. This new species was described from six specimens collected at three different sites along the Caribbean slopes of Costa Rica between 400 to 900 meters above sea level. Hyalinobatrachium dianae was named in honor of the senior author’s mother Janet Diane Kubicki. With the addition of H. dianae, Costa Rica is known to have 14 glassfrogs inhabiting its tiny national territory! The last time a new glassfrog was described from Costa Rica was back in 1973.

To access the abstract of this new species description you can go to the following link.

http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2015/f/z03920p084f.pdf

Nos gustaría compartir con ustedes acerca de la nueva especie de rana de vidrio recientemente descrita, Hyalinobatrachium dianae, de la vertiente caribeña de Costa Rica. Los autores Brian Kubicki, Stanley Salazar y Robert Puschendorf diferenciaron H.dianae de otras ranas de vidrio debido a su única combinación de características morfológicas, genética y canto. Esta nueva especie fue descrita de seis especímenes colectados en tres diferentes sitios a lo largo de las faldas caribeñas de Costa Rica entre los 400 a 900 m.s.n.m., H. dianae fue nombrada en honor a la madre del autor principal Janet Diane Kubicki. Con la adición de esta nueva especie, ahora Costa Rica cuenta con 14 especies de ranas de vidrio que habitan dentro de su pequeño territorio.

The C.R.A.R.C. recently purchased another smaller property up in the remote and poorly studied mid-elevation cloud forests of the Caribbean slopes of Talamanca. This property was purchased with the purpose to have a base to conduct detailed studies on the amphibian species in one of the remaining least known and studied regions of the Costa Rica. The Río Vereh Cloud Forest Reserve has at total area of 18 hectares (45 acres). Despite its smaller size, this reserve is connected to hundreds of thousands of hectares solid forest. The Río Vereh Cloud Forest Reserve borders the Vereh River and several adjoining protected areas, including the Macho River Forest Reserve, Tapantí National Park, Chirripó National Park, and La Amistad International Park. The Río Vereh Cloud Forest Reserve has an altitudinal range from 1380–1625 masl. We are currently conducting detailed amphibian inventories in the reserve and surrounding area in attempt to learn what species inhabit this region. We are optimistic that our efforts will result in the discovery of numerous species of special importance, potentially including some Critically Endangered amphibians that have disappeared from most of their historically known sites.