GBIF Taxonomic Backbone & Wikipedia Registry Profile
Morphology. The external morphology of the two specimens (MUSM 33259, 33260) largely matched the diagnosis and description provided by Shreve (1938). Specifically, I observed the following characteristics (observations by Shreve, if slightly different, included in parentheses): tongue suboval; no dentigerous processes of vomers (vomerine teeth none); snout rounded in dorsal and lateral views; loreal region concave; canthus rostralis distinct, curved; nostril closer to the tip of the snout than the eye; interorbital space broader than upper eyelid; tympanic membrane and tympanic annulus absent (no tympanum); tips of digits bulbous, rounded (not or but extremely feebly swollen); finger I shorter than finger II; toe I shorter than toe II; inner metatarsal tubercle ovoid (rather large but ill defined), outer metatarsal tubercle narrow, weakly defined (outer virtually indistinguishable from many surrounding poorly defined tubercles); skin on dorsum and flanks with scattered, low tubercles (granulate above, especially posteriorly; sides very coarsely granulate); skin on throat smooth, skin on chest and venter areolate (belly, chest, throat, and lower surface of thighs also very coarsely granulate); dorsolateral folds and discoidal folds absent (not indicated). I also reviewed the characteristics provided by Duellman & Lehr (2009), and one difference pertains the condition of the tympanic annulus. According to Duellman & Lehr (2009) the tympanic annulus is “ visible beneath the skin. ” However, this condition was not observed in the newly collected individuals reported here. It is also worth noting that the specimen shown in Figure 102 in Duellman & Lehr (2009; p. 118) likely represents a different species (i. e., not P. montium) because it was collected at Maraynioc, Tarma Province, which is the type locality of P. oblivius and P. peruanus (Lehr 2007 ab). A dissection of the preserved specimens revealed that both are female. One of them, MUSM 33259, contained two ovarian eggs (diameter <2 mm) and the other, MUSM 33260, contained 15 – 20 ovarian eggs (diameter <1 mm) in each ovary. Individual body measurements (in mm) are as follows. MUSM 33259: SVL 26.3; TL 10.3; FL 10.7; HL 8.3; HW 8.9; ED 2.7; IOD 2.6; EW 1.5; IND 2.4; E-N 2.0. MUSM 33260: SVL 20.9; TL 8.1; FL 8.5; HL 7.1; HW 7.2; ED 2.3; IOD 2.0; EW 1.4; IND 1.8; E-N 1.4. Coloration in life. Individuals of P. montium exhibited variable coloration in life (Figure 2). Individual MUSM 33259 had pale grayish brown dorsum with a pale, thin mid-dorsal stripe, 4 – 5 small pale yellow spots on each side of dorsum and one pale yellow spot on the left flank; dorsal surface of forearms and flanks colored as dorsum, slightly paler; side of head and groin with no markings; posterior surfaces of thighs colored as dorsum, with 2 – 3 small pale yellow spots; throat, chest, and belly pale gray; fingers I and II cream above and pale salmon below, fingers III and IV gray above and dark gray below toes I – III pale gray, toes IV – V gray; palmar and plantar surfaces, including subarticular tubercles, dark gray; iris bronze with fine black reticulations. Individual MUSM 33260 had grayish brown dorsum with a pale, thin mid-dorsal stripe and a small pale yellow spot on each side of dorsum; dorsal surface of forearms and flanks reddish brown; side of head with a pale gray bar under the eye; groin and anterior surface of thighs reddish brown; posterior surfaces of thighs colored as dorsum, with no spots; throat, chest, belly, and ventral surface of thighs salmon; fingers I and II tan, fingers III and IV pale brown; toes I – III pale tan, toes IV – V gray; palmar and plantar surfaces, including subarticular tubercles, dark gray; iris bronze with fine black reticulations. Coloration in preservative. Both specimens of P. montium exhibit similar coloration in preservative. Specimen MUSM 33259 with dorsum gray with small white flecks; throat and chest pale cream and gray, with pale mid-ventral stripe; ventral surfaces of hands, forearms, and feet pale gray; fingers I and II white above and below, fingers III and IV pale gray above and below; toes I – III white above and below, toes IV – V light gray above and below; iris uniformly gray. Specimen MUSM 33260 as above, except that ventral surfaces of hands and forearms are primarily pale cream instead of gray. A lateral view of the head and a ventral view of left hand of both specimens are provided in Figure 3.
