Ecuador: No province: Bulun, AMNH 10620. Esmeraldas: Cachabé, AMNH 10625-8; Río Capayas, CNHM 35712; Río Sapaya, UMMZ 58910 (5); Salidero, AMNH 10623-4; San Javier, AMNH 10618. Guayas: Hacienda Balao Chico, UMMZ 123904. Imbabura: Pambelar, AMNH 10629, 10631. Pichincha: Hacienda Espinosa, 9 km. W Santo Domingo de los Colorados, KU 40220.
Smilisca puma (Cope), new combination
Hyla puma Cope, Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc., 22:183, 1885 [Holotype.—USNM 13735 from Nicaragua; J. F. Moser collector]. Günther, Biologia Centrali-Americana: Reptilia and Batrachia, p. 270, Sept., 1901. Nieden, Das Tierreich, Amphibia, Anura I, p. 251, June, 1923. Cochran, Bull. U. S. Natl. Mus., 220:58, 1961.
Hyla wellmanorum Taylor, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 25(1):843, July 1, 1952 [Holotype.—KU 30302 from Batán, Limón, Costa Rica, Edward H. Taylor collector]; Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 36(1):626, June 1, 1954. Duellman and Berg, Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist., 15:194, Oct. 26, 1962.
Smilisca wellmanorum, Starrett, Copeia, 4:303, Dec. 30, 1960.
Diagnosis.—Size small ([M] 38.0 mm., [F] 46.0 mm.), differing from other species in the genus by the following combination of characters: skull about as long as broad; frontoparietal fontanelle keyhole-shaped; supraorbital flanges absent; squamosal small, not in contact with maxillary; bony portion of ethmoid terminating at anterior edge of orbit; tarsal fold weak, two-thirds length of tarsus; inner metatarsal tubercle small, low, flat, elliptical; snout rounded in dorsal profile; lips thin and flaring; fingers having only vestige of web; toes one-half webbed; diameter of tympanum about two-thirds that of eye; narrow labial stripe white; pair of dark brown (sometimes interconnected) stripes on tan dorsum; no blue spots on flanks or thighs; vocal sac in breeding males pale brown. (Foregoing combination of characters distinguishing S. puma from other species in genus.)
Description and variation.—Ten breeding males from the vicinity of Puerto Viejo, Heredia Province, Costa Rica, have snout-vent lengths of 32.5 to 37.9 mm. (34.8 mm.). In these specimens, the length of the tibia to the snout-vent length is 0.48 to 0.53 (0.51), and the tympanum/eye ratio is 0.52 to 0.72 (0.65). Seven females have snout-vent lengths of 40.8 to 45.8 mm. (43.9 mm.). No individual has more than a vestige of a web between the second and third and fourth fingers. None has a web between the first and second fingers. Breeding males lack nuptial excrescences on the thumbs. The vocal sac is moderately large and bilobed.
In preserved specimens the dorsal ground color varies from yellowish tan to grayish brown. All specimens have dark brown dorsal markings in the form of a pair of dorsal stripes, variously modified (Pl. 7A). In some specimens, such as KU 91716, the stripes are discrete and extend from the postorbital region nearly to the vent. In most specimens the stripes are connected by a transverse mark in the scapular region and in many others also by a transverse mark in the sacral region. In some specimens the stripes are fragmented posteriorly; fragmentation is extreme in KU 30300, in which the dorsal pattern consists of two series of dark longitudinal dashes. The other extreme is a nearly complete fusion of the stripes, as in KU 91714. A dark brown interorbital bar usually extends onto the eyelids, but in some specimens this is reduced to a short V-shaped mark or small spot between the eyes. There is no dark post-tympanic mark, but dark brown pigment forms a venated pattern from the axilla to the mid-flank; the inguinal region is white, finely mottled with dark brown. The dorsal surfaces of the hind limbs are colored like the body and have two or three dark brown transverse marks on the thighs, three to five marks on the shanks, and one or two marks or irregularly arranged dark flecks on the tarsi. The anterior and posterior surfaces of the thighs are pale tan to brown. The webbing of the feet is tan to grayish brown. A narrow white labial stripe, white anal stripe, and narrow white stripes on the tarsi and outer edges of the forelimbs are invariably present. The ventral surfaces are creamy white.
In life the dorsum is tan or pale brown with dark brown markings. Some individuals have scattered metallic green flecks on the dorsum. The flanks are mottled dark brown and creamy white. The posterior surfaces of the thighs are dark brown. The vocal sacs are grayish brown, and the iris is a deep bronze color.
Natural History.—Smilisca puma inhabits humid lowland tropical forests having more or less evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year. The equable climatic conditions seemingly permit these frogs to be active throughout most of the year. Taylor (1952:846) found calling males at Batán, Costa Rica, on July 20, 1951. We found the species breeding near Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, on February 19, June 18, July 13, and July 31. Specimens of calling males from Costa Rica in the collection at the University of Southern California were obtained in February at La Fortuna, on August 22 at Los Diamantes, on August 30 at Jabillos, and on September 5 at La Lola. Gravid females were collected in June, July and August.