''Arcovomer'' is a genus 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

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 63 genera and 11 subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family. Evolution A molecular phylo ...

. It is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

, being represented by the single species ''Arcovomer passarellii'', commonly known as Passarelli's frog. 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 south-eastern Brazil and found in

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (, , ; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attra ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, and

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

states. Frogs from Espírito Santo may represent another, undescribed species. The name honours Antonio Passarelli who collected 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 ...

Description and behaviour

''Arcovomer passarellii'' is a small, slender-bodied frog. The male is about in snout–vent length, and the female . Its body is brown above with a distinct irregular dark pattern running the whole length of the animal. Male frogs call after sunset. The advertisement call is a sharp, short whistle. When disturbed, these frogs may jump and then assume a stiff-leg posture, possibly as a means to avoid detection by predators relying on their sight.

Habitat and conservation

This species inhabits lowland primary and secondary forests. It is a ground-dwelling frog that breeds in temporary pools. Although it is a common species, it is declining in abundance, probably because of

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 ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q10734949, from2=Q1817325 Microhylidae Taxa named by Antenor Leitão de Carvalho Amphibians described in 1954 Endemic fauna of Brazil Amphibians of Brazil Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Monotypic amphibian genera