ON THE IDENTITY OF CYCLORAMPHUS JORDANENSIS HEYER, 1983 (ANURA: CYCLORAMPHIDAE) VANESSA K. VERDADE 1,2 AND MIGUEL T. RODRIGUES 1 1 Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biocie ˆncias, Universidade de Sa ˜o Paulo, Caixa Postal 11.461 CEP: 05422-970, Sa ˜o Paulo, Brazil ABSTRACT: Cycloramphus jordanensis was described based on a single preserved specimen from Campos do Jorda ˜o (22u 449 S, 45u 359 W), State of Sa ˜o Paulo, Brazil. While examining the holotype; we noticed the presence of toe and tarsal fringes. Because these characters are absent in Cycloramphus, we suspected that the species was mistakenly placed in the genus. X-ray images of the holotype revealed T-shaped terminal phalanges and fang-like teeth. Together with the presence of toe and tarsal fringes, these characters squarely place the specimen in the genus Megaelosia. Considering the striking niche differences between Cycloramphus and Megaelosia, we expect the new combination will facilitate location of new individuals of this rare frog. Key words: Anura; Atlantic forest; Cycloramphus; Megaelosia; Megaelosia jordanensis (Heyer) comb. nov.; Taxonomy THE GENUS Cycloramphus Tschudi, 1838 is presently allocated to Cycloramphidae (Frost et al., 2006; Grant et al., 2006) and comprises 27 nocturnal species (Brasileiro et al., 2007; SBH, 2007) restricted to the Atlantic forest Domain (Ab’Saber, 1970). Most forms are associated with the fast flowing streams in montane areas of southern and southeastern Brazil (Frost, 2007; Heyer, 1983a,b; Heyer and Maxson, 1983). Relationships among Cycloramphus species were recently assessed in a phylogenetic analysis based on morpho- logical characters in Verdade’s (2005) unpub- lished Ph.D. thesis. According to this analysis, Cycloramphus can be considered a monophy- letic assemblage only if species of Zachaenus Cope 1866 are included in the genus. We follow such an arrangement. Cycloramphus jordanensis Heyer, 1983 was described from a single preserved specimen collected in Campos do Jorda ˜o (22u 449 S, 45u 359 W), State of Sa ˜o Paulo, Brazil. No other specimen has been collected since the original description. While examining the holotype, we were surprised to find well- developed toe and tarsal fringes. These characters are absent in Cycloramphus but are considered to be a synapomorphy of Hylodidae (Frost et al., 2006; Grant et al., 2006). Hylodids also share, among other characters, the presence of dermal scutes on the top of digital discs, and T-shaped terminal phalanges (Frost et al., 2006). Like Cyclor- amphus, hylodids are stream dwellers, living along the Atlantic forest and in open areas beyond the tree line in eastern and southeast- ern Brazil (Frost, 2007; IUCN, 2006). How- ever members of the Hylodidae are primarily diurnal, whereas Cycloramphus are nocturnal frogs. We took X-ray images of the holotype of Cycloramphus jordanensis (MZUSP 4522) using a Faxitron MX-20 machine with a specimen radiography system formatted to take digital images captured under a 10 3 5 cm area. Museum acronyms are Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sa ˜o Paulo, Sa ˜o Paulo, Brazil (MZUSP) and Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (MNRJ). The external morphology of the holotype of Cycloramphus jordanensis was described and illustrated by Heyer (1983a: 308–309). Al- though we fully agree with most of Heyer’s description, we did see the tympanum exter- nally, and we clearly recognized a tarsal fringe on the specimen (Fig. 1). Heyer (1983a), however, described the existence of a hidden tympanum and the presence of a tarsal fold. We believe that this difference may be due to dehydration of the preserved specimen. Ad- ditionally, we noticed the existence of expand- ed toe tips bearing a barely visible pair of dorsal scutes (Fig. 2). 2 CORRESPONDENCE: e-mail, vverdade@usp.br Herpetologica, 64(4), 2008, 452–457 E 2008 by The Herpetologists’ League, Inc. 452