PROC. BIOL. SOC. WASH. 102(2), 1989, pp. 500-506 PHYSALAEMUS CROMBIEI (AMPHIBIA: LEPTODACTYLIDAE), A NEW FROG SPECIES FROM ESPIRITO SANTO, BRAZIL WITH COMMENTS ON THE P. SIGNIFER GROUP W. Ronald Heyer and Alan J. Wolf Abstract.— Physalaemus crombiei, a new species of the P. signifer group, is described from the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil. Members of this group are most easily distinguished from each other by advertisement call, although morphological differences also exist. The relationships and distributions of members of this species group are not well understood at present. One species group of frogs of the genus Physalaemus breeds in forest puddles and/ or swamps within the Atlantic Forest sys-tem of Brazil. Members of this group are more easily distinguished from each other by advertisement calls than by their mor-phologies. Perhaps because of this, several species have been described since field re-cording equipment has become more avail-able. We describe another new species of this group, to be known as: Physalaemus crombiei, new species Fig. 1 Holotype.—MZVSP 66252, adult male from Brazil: Espirito Santo; adjacent to Re-serva Biologica Nova Lombardia, near San-ta Teresa, approximately 19°55'S, 40°36'W. Collected on 31 Dec 1977 by one of collec-tors of paratopotypes. Paratopotypes.-MZUSP 66253-66284, USNM 285038-285070, taken by Ronald I. Crombie, Christina Duchene, W. Ronald Heyer, and Francisca C. do Val from 28 Dec 1977 to 1 Jan 1978. Diagnosis.— Physalaemus crombiei is a member of the P. signifer group. The sig-nifer group differs from other Physalaemus species groups (Lynch 1970) by the follow-ing characteristics: absence of an inner tar-sal tubercle, first finger shorter than second, lack of parotoid glands, small to large in-guinal glands, slender build and a size range of 15-35 mmSVL. Physalaemus crombiei differs from P. dei-maticus Sazima and Caramaschi 1986 (which apparently does not belong to any of Lynch's (1970) species groups) by the fol-lowing characteristics: relatively smooth skin (granular in deimaticus), slender build (stocky), and inverse V-shaped marks on back (absent). Physalaemus crombiei can be distin-guished from other members of the P. sig-nifer group [P. signifer (Girard, 1853), P. olfersi (Lichtenstein & Martens, 1856), P. nanus (Boulenger, 1888), P. maculiventris (A. Lutz, 1925) (Frost 1985:253, is in error in placing maculiventris in the cuvieri group), P. obtectus Bokermann, 1966, P. boker-manni Cardoso & Haddad, 1985, and P. franciscae Heyer, 1985] as follows. Physa-laemus crombiei differs from bokermanni, obtectus, olfersi, and signifer by size (P. crombiei 19-22 mm SVL, bokermanni 15-17 mm, obtectus 22-27 mm, olfersi 30-35 mm, signifer 24-31 mm). Physalaemus crombiei also differs from olfersi by the ab-sence of a light outline on the ventral border of the lateral stripe from the eye to the arm (present in olfersi). It is distinguished from bokermanni, maculiventris and nanus by the presence of tubercles on the sole of the foot
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