On a putative type specimen of Pleurodema bibroni Tschudi, 1838 from Chile (Anura: Leptodactylidae)

Abstract

The original description of the Neotropical frog Pleurodema bibroni was based on material collected at “Monte-Video” [Montevideo, Uruguay], but no type specimen was originally designated. In several publications, a specimen deposited at the National Museum of Natural History of Leiden (The Netherlands, RMNH 2277) and col­lected at Valparaíso, Chile, has been referred as type specimen of P. bibroni. Herein, it is argued that RMNH 2277 is not a type specimen of P. bibroni; nor can it be assigned to P. bibroni, but probably to Pleurodema thaul, a species with which P. bibroni was long confused.