''Alsodes igneus'' 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 ...

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 ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

; it is only known from its type locality,

Tolhuaca National Park Tolhuaca National Park () is a Protected Area created on October 16, 1935, in an area of 3,500 ha that was previously part of the Malleco National Reserve. In 1985, a second section of Malleco National Reserve was also made part of the national ...

, Malleco 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 ''igneus'', meaning "something that is of fire", was chosen to symbolize the survival of the population from a great forest fire that affected the type locality in 2000.

Description

Male ''Alsodes igneus'' measure about in snout–vent length (based on a single male) and females about (based on two females, including the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

). The snout is short and slightly truncated in dorsal view. There is a black ribbon extending below the canthus rostralis; the background colour is khaki. The dorsal surface is granular. Toes are scarcely fringed and webbing is absent.

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 are up to in length.

Habitat

The

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 ''A. igneus'' is '' Nothofagus'' woodland; adults have been found at the edge of a small stream and the

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 among rocks within the stream. The altitude of the type locality is .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1593586 igneus Endemic fauna of Chile Amphibians of Chile Amphibians of Patagonia Frogs of South America Amphibians described in 2005 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot