The Buccopharyngeal Morphology of the Tadpole of Ameerega flavopicta (Anura: Dendrobatidae: Colostethinae), with a Redescription of its External Morphology

We describe the buccopharyngeal morphology of the dendrobatid poison frog Ameerega flavopicta—the first such description for the genus—and discuss diagnostic characters and variation of buccopharyngeal morphology within Dendrobatoidea. We also redescribe the external larval morphology of this species, and compare it with all known tadpoles of the genus. The buccopharyngeal morphology of A. flavopicta most closely resembles that of Hyloxalus species and appears to be the result of convergent evolution. Larval A. flavopicta can be readily distinguished from congeners by the absence of a medial notch in the arch-shaped upper jaw sheaths and the medial interruption of the first posterior tooth row.