PROC. BIOL. SOC. WASH. 101(1), 1988, pp. 209-220 NOTES ON THE FROG GENUS THOROPA (AMPHIBIA: LEPTODACTYLIDAE) WITH A DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES {THOROPA SAX ATI LIS) Reginald B. Cocroft and W. Ronald Heyer Abstract. —A new species of Thoropa {T. saxatilis) is described from the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. This species and the two other large Thoropa occur allopatrically in the middle and southern Atlantic Forest Domain and campos rupestres of Brazil. The ranges of the two small Thoropa species overlap with each other and with T. mUiaris in the middle Atlantic Forest region. Immu-nological microcomplement fixation albumin distances indicate that the large forms share a similar ancestral morphology and that distributions cannot be explained on the basis of recent allopatric speciation of a widespread ancestor. Adult male Thoropa have clusters of dark spines or a pad on the hand, and males of four out of five species either show scarring on the dorsum indicative of male combat or are reported to be territorial. While preparing a description for a new species of Thoropa, we found considerable previously unpublished data on localities, natural history, and nomenclature of this genus. The purpose of this paper is to sum-marize these findings in addition to describ-ing the new species. Nomenclature While reviewing previously proposed names for Thoropa to verify that the new species was undescribed, we encountered one locality citation and one synonymy worthy of comment. As Cochran's work (1955) often serves as a starting reference for those interested in the frogs of southeast Brazil, an error in a type locality is worth pointing out. Cochran (1955:293) gives the type locality o^Cystig-nathus missiessii Eydoux & Souleyet, 1 842 (the type species of Thoropa Cope), as "Ei-jouja." The locality as it appears in Eydoux & Souleyet (1842:149) is ". . . Tijouka, aux environs de Rio-Janeiro." Bokermann (1966:33) gives the type locality correctly as Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, without comment. Cochran (1955:297) stated that "In Vi-enna I examined Fitzinger's type of Eup-sophus fuliginosus, from Rio de Janeiro tak-en by the Novara Expedition, 1857-1859; it appears to be a young E. miliaris.''' She also presented a photograph of the type (plate 25, fig. E), for which the original photo-graphs are still available (in our files). We disagree that E. fuliginosus is a synonym of T. miliaris. Thoropa miliaris typically has dark squarish or oblong dorsal blotches and distinct light markings on the posterior sur-face of the thigh (shown in Cochran's [1955] photograph of T. miliaris, plate 25, fig. F). The holotype of E. fuliginosus has a dark inverted V-shaped mark on the dorsum and the posterior surfaces of the thighs are al-most uniformly dark, lacking distinct light marks. The dorsal pattern of the holotype of E. fuliginosus is the same as that found in individuals of Thoropa lutzi and T. pet-ropolitana and differs from the dorsal pat-terns of both the new species and T. mega-tympanum. The finger tips of the holotype of E. fuliginosus are not swollen or expand-ed, as are those of T. miliaris, T. lutzi, and the new species. The second finger is longer
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