''Alsodes hugoi'' is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

s in the family

Alsodidae The Alsodidae are a small family of frogs from South America between Patagonia and southern Brazil. It contains 30 species in three genera. This family, along with several other families, used to be included in the family Leptodactylidae. It was ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Chile and only known from its type locality, Río Lircay, in Alto de Vilches, Talca Province, on the western slopes of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''hugoi'' honors Professor Hugo Campos Cereceda, for his "remarkable contributions to the development of the natural sciences in Chile".

Description

The

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

consists of two adult males and two adult females. The males measure and females in snout–vent length. A juvenile specimen measured SVL. tympanum is absent. The body is robust with well-developed arms and legs. The fingers have rounded tips and no webbing. The toes are long, thick, and with rounded tips. There is no webbing but some membrane between the toes IV and V. The dorsal coloration is light brown with golden tints. The legs and arms have black bars on their dorsal surfaces. There is a black triangular mark between the eyes and pointing backward. The venter is whitish. Late-stage

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...

s (

Gosner stage Gosner stage is a generalized system of describing stages of embryonal and larval development in anurans (frogs and toads). The Gosner system includes 46 numbered stages, from fertilized embryo (stage 1) to the completion of metamorphosis (stage ...

40) measure in body length and in total length.

Habitat and conservation

Natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

of ''Alsodes hugoi'' is temperate '' Nothofagus'' forest at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. They live in water in streams or very close to streams under rocks. The species shares this habitat with ''

Telmatobufo venustus ''Telmatobufo venustus'' is a species of frog in the family Calyptocephalellidae. It is endemic to Chile and occurs on the western slopes of the Andes in Maule and Bío Bío Regions. Its natural habitats are streams in temperate ''Nothofagus'' ...

''. The species is threatened by tourists who disturb its habitat and by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

through forest fires. However, the species is protected by

Altos de Lircay National Reserve Altos de Lircay National Reserve is a nature reserve located in Talca Province, Maule Region, Chile. It lies in a pre-Andean area close to Radal Siete Tazas National Park, as well as Descabezado Grande and Cerro Azul volcanoes. The reserve is h ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2209297 hugoi Endemic fauna of Chile Amphibians of Chile Frogs of South America Amphibians described in 2001 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot