# Head in the clouds: two new microendemic tepui-summit species of Stefania (Anura: Hemiphractidae)

## TL;DR

This paper describes two new frog species found only on isolated tabletop mountains in Venezuela, highlighting their limited range and conservation status.

## Contribution

The paper formally describes two new microendemic frog species previously misidentified as Stefania satelles.

## Key findings

- Two new species of Stefania are described from Angasima-tepui and Upuigma-tepui.
- Both species have ranges under 3 km² and are classified as Critically Endangered.
- The findings are based on molecular, morphological, and osteological comparisons.

## Abstract

In addition to the type locality (the summit of Aprada-tepui, Bolívar State of Venezuela), the distribution of the egg-brooding frog Stefania satelles was long thought to include several isolated tabletop mountain (tepui) summits surrounding the large Chimantá Massif in Bolívar State (hence the Latin name “satelles”). However, multilocus molecular phylogenetic analyses have revealed that this taxon includes several undescribed morphologically cryptic species, and that S. satelles should be restricted to its type locality. Two tepui-summit species confused under that name in the literature remain to be named, and the present paper aims at describing these populations previously referred to as Stefania sp. 3 and S. sp. 5. Stefania sp. 3 is only known from the small summit of Angasima-tepui, while S. sp. 5 is only reported from the small summit of Upuigma-tepui, both mountains being located south of the Chimantá Massif. These new, phylogenetically distinct species are described based on external morphology and osteology and in comparison to close relatives in the S. ginesi clade, which consists exclusively of tepui summit species. Both new species have highly restricted geographic ranges (less than 3 km2) and should be listed as Critically Endangered according to IUCN criteria.