Epipedobates Cainarachi at www.poison-frogs.com

Poison Frogs - Species - Epipedobates Cainarachi

Discovery	Schulte, R. (1989): Nueva especie de rana venenosa del género Epipedobates registrada en la Cordillera Oriental, departamento de San Martin. Bol. Lima 63: 41-46.
Type locality	Close to milestone 33 km on the road from Tarapoto to Yurimaguas, in the valley of the upper Rio Cainarache drainage, Cordillera Oriental, Department San Martin, Peru.
Holotype	The holotype: AMNH A-136282 is located in the American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Collected by Rainer Schulte, on 4 January 1982 on the above mentioned type locality.
Etymology	Named after the region where the species was found: the valley of the Rio Cainarache in Peru.
Classification	According to Schulte (1999: 199-203) Epipedobates cainarachi is a member of the Epipedobates petersi-subgroup of the Epipedobates petersi-group (other subgroup is the Epipedobates pictus-subgroup) of the genus Epipedobates (Myers, 1987), together with Epipedobates petersi (Silverstone 1976), E.labialis (Cope 1874), E.smaragdinus (Silverstone, 1976), E.zaparo (Silverstone, 1976), E.macero (Rodriguez & Myers, 1993), E.pongoensis (Schulte, 1999).
Synonymy	Dutch name: Cainarache roodrug gifkikker? English name: Cainarachi Poison Frog German name: Rio Cainarache-Giftfrosch Epipedobates petersi non Silverstone 1976 (part) Epipedobates zaparo non Silverstone 1976, door Schulte (1987) Epipedobates ardens Jungfer, 1989
History	Rainer Schulte (1989, Bol. Lima 63: 41-46) described Epipedobates cainarachi on the basis of four specimens, he collected in the valley of the upper Rio Cainarache drainage, along the road from Tarapoto to Yurimaguas close to milestone 33, at 550-600 m elevation. According to Schulte (1989 and 1999) E.cainarachi is closely related to E.petersi. According to him that is why E.cainarachi has never been recognised as a separate species by other authors, for they did see this species as E.petersi. Silverstone described E.petersi in 1976 based on a considerable amount (50 exx) of specimens on several locations in central Peru. The specimens from the river basin of the Rio Huallaga and from Contamani in the district Loreto, have to be accounted to E.cainarachi according to Schulte. Schulte himself (1987, Sauria 9(1): 17-18) mixed specimens of this type up with E.zaparo in 1987. In 1989, Karl-Heinz Jungfer described Epipedobates ardens using specimens coming from the road from Tarapoto to Yurimaguas from about milestone km 28 on. 600 m elevation. This is only 5 km away from the type locality of E.cainarachi and this must be the same species. Since Schulte's publication on E.cainarachi was published before the article by Jungfer's, Schulte has priority according to the international nomenclature rules. Rodriguez & Myers (1993, Amer. Mus. Novit. 3068: 12-13) found this fact.
Physical description	E.cainarachi is a medium sized (up to 31,3 mm) cylindrical shaped species with a reed back. The males are with max 25 mm a bit smaller. The skin on the back and upper side of the limbs is granular. The skin and underside of the body and limbs are smooth. The tympanum is about half the diameter of the eye. According to Schulte (1999: 200) there is a difference in distance from the nose opening to the eye between males and females. In males this distant is about 1.3 times as long. The first finger is longer then the second finger. The finger disks are small, mix 1.5 times as wide as the finger. The colour of the granular back is brown. On the back of the body the red granuli are on a black background. The flanks are black. A quite broad yellow lateral stripe goes from loin to over the eye. From the upper arm to the eye the stripe gets smaller and the colour changes from yellow to coppery. From under the nose opening to up the upper arm there is a yellow stripe. The belly and the under parts of the flanks are blue with slim dark stripes or spots, just like the underside of the limbs. On the fore end of the thigh is a yellow-green spot. The male has a dark blue throat. The eye is black. E.cainarachi can be distinguished from E. petersi by the red back (E.petersi has red granuli on a black base) and because E.petersi has a greenish lateral stripe and a green belly with blue marbled pattern. E.zaparo is clearly stockily build, the lateral stripe is only available on the hind part of the flank, the belly is black. E.parvulus is significantly smaller then E.cainarachi and has an incomplete lateral stripe. With E.macero the second finger is as long as or longer then the first finger. The lateral stripe stops on the shoulder and the lighter stripe starts on the side of the head, not by the nose, but under the eye.
Distribution	The exact distribution area of this species is not known. All known locations are in the river basin of the Rio Huallaga a tributary of the Rio Maranon, a tributary of the Rio Ucayali/Amazonian near Contamani on the Rio Ucayali in the province of San Martin in central Peru. All known locations are in between 400 and 800 meter elevation. Also in the river basin of the more southern tributary of the Ucayali, the Rio Pisqui, E.cainarachi seems to live. Even further south in the river basin of the Rio Pachitea, E.petersi is found. And even further south in the river basin of the Rio Manu, E.macero. The northern boundary of the distribution area of E. cainarachi is not known.
Biotope	E.cainarachi is only found in undisturbed tropical rainforest and stays around small streams, waterfalls and other moist places. The larvae are found in very shallow water (max 4 cm) in relatively cool little streams (Schulte, 1999: 202).
Care and breeding	Until this moment, only a few people keep E. cainarachi and even fewer (in Germany) breed them. Keeping this species does not seem to be too hard. The usual tropical rainforest vivarium with moist absorbing material, some wood and bromeliads, ferns, mosses and orchids will do fine. For a group of 4-5 animals a vivarium of 50 x 40 x 40 cm should be big enough (temperature about 25-27°C), but breeding in such a vivarium has not been successful with the only Dutch person who keeps them. Schulte (1999: 203) also mentions only a few people have been able to breed this species. The larvae are very specialised according to him, but he does not mention how. A lot of data has to be collected about this species.
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