Overview
- Researchers named the small terrestrial frogs Phrynopus manuelriosi and Phrynopus melanoinguinis, each with distinctive coloration and morphology.
- Fieldwork in the park’s “bosques enanos” at about 3,280 meters in the Pasco region, including the Santa Bárbara sector, yielded the specimens.
- The study, led by herpetologist Pablo Venegas with Rainforest Partnership and the Instituto Peruano de Herpetología alongside U.S. collaborators, was published in PeerJ after morphological and phylogenetic analyses.
- Phrynopus manuelriosi bears small tubercles on the eyelids and limbs with reddish inguinal tones, while P. melanoinguinis lacks tubercles and shows striking black coloration in the groin and hind legs.
- The species have highly restricted ranges within Yanachaga-Chemillén, prompting calls from the team and Sernanp for stronger habitat protection.