The Chamula mountain brook frog (''Duellmanohyla chamulae'') is a species of frog in the family Hylidae endemic to

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...

, Mexico. Its natural habitats are moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat destruction and has been rated as " endangered" by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Distribution and habitat

The Chamula mountain brook frog is known only from the northern side of the Central Highlands of Chiapas in the state of

, Mexico. All known localities are between

Jitotol Jitotol is a town and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the ...

and Soluschiapa. It inhabits the moist cloud forests at altitudes of over .

Ecology

Frogs in the genus ''Duellmanohyla'' breed in fast-flowing mountain streams. To adapt to this habitat, the frogs have a moderate degree of webbing on the forefeet and on some digits of the hind-feet. Egg-laying has not been observed in this and other species in the genus, and it is thought that the females may deposit their eggs on the foliage above the water of swift-flowing mountain streams, the tadpoles then falling into the stream when they hatch. The tadpoles have dangling oral discs by which they can attach themselves to the

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (locomotion), the surface over which an organism lo ...

Status

The total area of occupancy of the Chamula mountain brook frog is less than and it is only known from five locations. The montane

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...

s where it lives are under threat from human activities, and although this is quite a common species where it is found, populations of these frogs are thought to be declining. Another possible threat is the fungal disease of amphibians, chytridiomycosis. For these reasons, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the conservation status of this frog as being " endangered".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q910809 Duellmanohyla Endemic amphibians of Mexico Amphibians described in 1961 Taxa named by William Edward Duellman Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Chiapas montane forests