''Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides'', also known as the Rio Grande chirping frog, Mexican chirping frog, or lowland chirping frog, is a small eleutherodactylid

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 ...

. It is found from the southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, and in the northeastern

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 United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in the states of

Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila * Hidalgo, Nuevo Le� ...

, and

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. Its range in Texas has expanded because of transport in potted plants, and there is also a likely introduced population in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Subspecies

Two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are sometimes recognized, although they are poorly delineated: Only ''Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides campi'' occurs in Texas.

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The snout is pointed and the body is flat and elongated. Tympanum is visible. The finger tips are slightly expanded. Dorsal skin is weakly pustular, that of venter is smooth to areolate. Dorsal coloration is variable (brown, gray, or yellow-green) and includes dark spots. Ventral skin is translucent. The hind limbs have dark crossbars.

Behavior

Both males and females produce calls, which is rare in anurans. Moreover, male and female calls are remarkably similar. A smaller proportion of females compared to males were observed calling in two Mexican populations. Moreover, calling females were, on average, smaller than non-calling females. The function of female calling is not known, but it might function as an advertisement, similarly as the

male call ''Male Call'' is an American comic strip series created and drawn by Milton Caniff on a volunteer basis, exclusively for US military publications during World War II. The strip began January 24, 1943. Caniff continued ''Male Call'' until seven ...

s. Males appear to be territorial.

Reproduction

Reproduction is terrestrial and direct, without a free-living larval stage. Under laboratory conditions,

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

are laid just under the soil surface. Clutch size is 5–13 eggs measuring in diameter. The eggs hatch as froglets that measure approximately .

Habitat and conservation

''Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides'' occurs at low elevation coastal plains and at low to moderate elevations in foothills. Individuals can be found in moist shaded vegetation, palm groves, thickets, ditches, resacas, lawns, and gardens. Many records are from urban settings. They can hide under cover objects during the day. They have been observed to utilize arboreal perches above the ground. This species is quite common throughout its range and no major threats to it are known; rather, they appear to thrive in the presence of humans. Its Mexican range includes Sierra del Abra-Tamchipa and El Cielo Biosphere Reserves.

References

External links

ARMI Atlas: ''Eleutherodactylus cystignathoides''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eleutherodactylus Cystignathoides cystignathoides Amphibians of Mexico Amphibians of the United States Fauna of the Rio Grande valleys Amphibians described in 1877 Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope