Ranitomeya aetherea
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| Ranitomeya aetherea | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Dendrobatidae |
| Subfamily: | Dendrobatinae |
| Genus: | Ranitomeya |
| Species: | R. aetherea |
| Binomial name | |
| Ranitomeya aetherea Koch et al., 2025 | |
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| Type locality [★] and other known localities [●] in Brazil | |
Ranitomeya aetherea is a species of small frog in the family Dendrobatidae endemic to the Juruá River basin of Brazil. It is one of at least 18 species named in the genus Ranitomeya and is uniquely characterized by its light blue and dark brown body and metallic spotted legs.
Etymology
A series of four Rapid Assessment Program for Environmental and Long-Term Ecological Research (RAPELD) modules were recently established in the Juruá River basin of Brazil, a region of the Amazon rainforest that is poorly studied and difficult to access. After monitoring these modules through 2023 and 2024, researchers identified an unusual frog in the genus Ranitomeya. It was only observed in one of the four RAPELD sites, in Eirunepé of Amazonas, Brazil. 26 adult individuals—nineteen males and seven females—were collected from this site for further study.[1]
These specimens were preliminarily referred to as Ranitomeya cf. yavaricola by Twomey and colleagues in 2023, who noted their morphological similarity to this species, but noted the significant geographic separation of about 300 kilometres (190 mi) between the two populations.[2] In contrast, Mônico and colleagues described the specimens as Ranitomeya aff. cyanovittata in their 2025 publication naming Ranitomeya aquamarina.[3][1]
In May 2025, Esteban Diego Koch and colleagues described Ranitomeya aetherea as a new species of Ranitomeya based on these specimens. The holotype specimen, INPA-H 47581, is an adult male collected in March 2024. The other collected specimens were assigned as paratypes.[1]
The specific name, "aetherea", is derived from a Latin word meaning "heavenly". This name was chosen to reference both the blue shade of the animals' dorsal stripes and the enchanting feeling noted by the researchers who discovered the species.[1]
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