''Alsodes valdiviensis'' 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 ...

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 ...

and only known from its type locality, Cerro Mirador in the

Cordillera Pelada Cordillera Pelada (Spanish for Bald Range or Barren Range) is a mountain range in southern Los Ríos Region, southern Chile. It is located along the Pacific coast and forms part of the larger Chilean Coast Range. It got its name ''pelada'' from the ...

, Valdivia Province. 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 ...

refers to this province.

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The body is robust with well-developed arms and legs. The snout is strongly truncated in dorsal profile. No tympanum is present. The fingers are long with globular tips and lack webbing. The toes are long, thin, and fringed. Dorsal surfaces and the limbs are light brown with golden tints. Skin on the flanks and dorsal surface is granular. The venter and throat are whitish. The iris is black and has bronze reticulations.

Habitat and conservation

''Alsodes valdiviensis'' is known from temperate '' Nothofagus'' and ''

Fitzroya ''Fitzroya'' is a monotypic genus in the cypress family. The single living species, ''Fitzroya cupressoides'', is a tall, long-lived conifer native to the Andes mountains and coastal of southern Chile, and only to the Andes mountains Argentina, ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s and bogs at

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 ...

. Adult males have been found under logs at the border of the forest in spring and summer. Breeding takes place in cold fast-moving streams. Threats to it are unknown, and it is not known from any protected area.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q247316 valdiviensis Endemic fauna of Chile Amphibians of Chile Amphibians of Patagonia Frogs of South America Amphibians described in 2002 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot