Hyla rubra Laurenti
Hyla rubra Laurenti, Synopsis Reptilium Emendatum, p. 35, 1768. Daudin, Hist. Nat. Rainettes Grenouilles Crapauds, II:26, 1802. Daudin, Hist. Nat. Particuliere Reptiles, 8:53, 1803. Günther, Catalogue Batrachia Salientia Brit. Mus., p. 110, 1859. Boulenger, Catalogue Batrachia Salientia s. Ecaudata, p. 403, February 1, 1882. Dunn, Occas. Papers, Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 5:413, October 10, 1931.
Hyla elaeochroa (part): Dunn and Emlen, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 84:25, March 22, 1932.
Diagnosis.—Size medium; skull longer than wide; frontoparietal fontanelle absent in adults; snout subovoid; choanae rounded; dorsal stripes present; black vermiculations on posterior surfaces of thighs.
Description.—Head flat, longer than wide; snout long, subovoid, slightly protruding beyond lower lip; loreal oblique, concave; canthus rounded, indistinct; diameter of eye about equal to interorbital space; tympanum large, about three fifths diameter of eye, smaller than internarial distance; supratympanic fold indistinct; arms short; fingers free of webs; subarticular tubercles distinct; median palmar tubercle large, bifid; inner palmar tubercle on base of first finger flat, elongate; disc of third finger about one half diameter of tympanum; legs moderately long; tarsal fold absent; inner metatarsal tubercle distinct, oval; toes about half webbed; web on fourth toe extending to disc; discs of toes about size of those on fingers; skin smooth above with small granules on head and in scapular region in some specimens; skin on flanks, throat, belly, and lower surfaces of thighs granular; tongue oval, longer than wide, not free behind; choanae small, oval; vocal slits long, lateral to tongue.
In preservative, dorsum pale brown with darker dorsolateral stripes; narrow dark brown line from nostril to eye; groin, anterior surface of thighs, and posteroventral surfaces of shanks creamy tan with dark brown vermiculations; white spots present on thighs in some specimens; throat flecked with brown; belly creamy white or gray.
Remarks.—The taxonomic history of Hyla rubra Laurenti is confused. Seba (1734:70) illustrated and diagnosed a frog for which he used the name Ranula, Americana, Rubra. Linnaeus (1758:213) considered Seba's frog to be a variety of Hyla arborea. Laurenti (1768:35) apparently examined the same individual that Seba called Ranula, Americana, Rubra. For this specimen, Laurenti used the binominal Hyla rubra and provided a brief diagnosis. The type locality was given as America.
Daudin (1802:26) redescribed the same specimen(s?) treated by Seba and Laurenti and provided a fairly good description and figures. Daudin restricted the type locality to Surinam and indicated that Marin de Baize was the probable collector. Daudin (1802:26 and 1803:53) neglected to consider Laurenti's work, but he applied the same name used by Laurenti. Most authors have credited Hyla rubra to Daudin, but Rivero (1961:120) noted that Hyla rubra Laurenti, 1768, has priority over Hyla rubra Daudin, 1802. Since both Laurenti and Daudin worked on Seba's material, it is reasonable to assume that Daudin redescribed the same frog that was named by Laurenti; this was not an uncommon practice in the early nineteenth century. Thus I conclude that Hyla rubra Daudin, 1802, is a junior synonym of Hyla rubra Laurenti, 1768.
Dunn (1931a:413) first reported Hyla rubra from Central America; he recorded the species from the Canal Zone and San Pablo, Panamá. I have examined the material of Hyla rubra from Panamá deposited in various museums. Most of the specimens are faded, discolored, and do not have distinct brown vermiculations on the thighs. The specimens seem to be more like Hyla rubra than any of the other species in the rubra group. The presence of oval choanae and a tympanum larger than the largest finger disc separate these specimens from Hyla elaeochroa, a species with which rubra has been confused. Hyla elaeochroa does not occur in the Canal Zone or eastern Panamá. All museum specimens from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and western Panamá that have been called Hyla rubra, plus those mentioned by Dunn and Emlen (1932:25) and Dunn (1933:61) are Hyla elaeochroa.
The taxonomic status of the many South American populations referred to Hyla rubra and of other populations now recognized as different species is not clear at the present time. Considerable variation in external characters and in cranial features has been observed in South American rubra. A review of the taxonomy of these populations is beyond the scope of this paper. Possibly the Central American specimens herein referred to rubra will ultimately be found to be specifically distinct from those in Surinam. Since I have no osteological material from Central America, I have been unable to describe the cranium in this account. Furthermore, I have no data on the ecology and life history of rubra in Central America.