''Craugastor trachydermus'' 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 ...

in the family

Craugastoridae Craugastoridae, commonly known as fleshbelly frogs, is a family of New World direct-developing frogs. As delineated here, following the Amphibian Species of the World, it contains 129 species. They are found from the southern United States south ...

. 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 ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

and only known from its type locality, Xiacam in the Sierra de Santa Cruz,

Izabal Department Izabal () is one of the 22 departments of Guatemala. Its coastal areas form part of the homeland of the Garifuna people. Izabal is bordered to the north by Belize, to the north east by the Gulf of Honduras, and to the east by Honduras, and by th ...

, where 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 ...

was collected in 1989. The species might already be extinct. However, specimens collected some from the type locality might belong to this species.

Etymology

The specific name ''trachydermus'' is derived from the Greek ''trachys'' (=rough) and ''derma'' (=skin). The name alludes to the extremely rugose nature of this species.

Description

The

consists of two adult males and two adult females. The males measure and the females in snout–vent length. The snout is ovoid in dorsal view and truncate in profile. The

canthus rostralis In snakes and amphibians, the canthus, canthal ridge or ''canthus rostralis'',Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. ''The Dangerous Snakes of Africa''. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. . is the angle between the flat crown of the head and the ...

is well-defined. The tympanum is indistinct in males and hidden in females. The fingers and toes bear discs; the toes have moderate webbing while the fingers are unwebbed. The upper parts of the body, flanks, and upper surface of limbs are strongly granular, with the largest tubercles on the flanks. Dorsal coloration is brown with some indistinct markings; the tubercles are dark brown to black. The venter is yellowish brown with some white blotches.

Habitat and conservation

This species is known from an old-growth premontane wet forest at about

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 ...

. Individuals were seen on rocks at night along a stream. ''Craugastor trachydermus'' is threatened 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 ...

caused by human settlement, agricultural encroachment, and wood extraction.

Chytridiomycosis Chytridiomycosis ( ) is an infectious disease in amphibians, caused by the chytrid fungi ''Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' and ''Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans''. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or extincti ...

is possibly behind dramatic declines seen in many other stream-dwelling frogs, and could also affect this species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1592933 trachydermus Endemic fauna of Guatemala Amphibians of Guatemala Amphibians described in 1994 Taxa named by Jonathan A. Campbell Taxonomy articles created by Polbot