''Eleutherodactylus gundlachi'' 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

Eleutherodactylidae The Eleutherodactylidae are a family of direct-developing frogs native to northern South America, the Caribbean, and southernmost North America. They are sometimes known under the common name rain frogs. Formerly the subfamily Eleutherodactylina ...

. 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 southeastern

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. 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 ...

''gundlachi'' honors Johannes Christoph Gundlach, a German zoologist. Common names Turquino spiny frog and Gundlach's robber frog have been coined for it.

Description

Adults can grow to in snout–vent length. The head is as wide as the body or narrower. Dorsal skin has many granules and tubercles. There is a conspicuous W-shaped suprascapular fold. The finger and toe discs are small. Coloration is dark brown or greenish brown, either relatively uniform or with irregular spots. Clear dorsolateral stripes or two rounded spots on the middle of the back are present in some individuals. The belly can be whitish, pinkish, or yellowish. The throat is white or with brown reticulation. The limbs have dark bands.

Habitat and conservation

''Eleutherodactylus gundlachi'' occurs closed mesic forests at elevations of or

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 ...

. It is a

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

species; males

call Call or Calls may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Call, a type of betting in poker * Call, in the game of contract bridge, a bid, pass, double, or redouble in the bidding stage Music and dance * Call (band), from Lahore, Paki ...

from the ground. Development is direct, without free-living larval stage. It is a common species in suitable habitat, but its range is restricted. It 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 agriculture, woodcutting, disturbance from tourist activities, and infrastructure development. It occurs in a number of protected areas, but many of these are not well managed for conservation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eleutherodactylus Gundlachi gundlachi Endemic fauna of Cuba Amphibians of Cuba Amphibians described in 1920 Taxa named by Karl Patterson Schmidt Taxonomy articles created by Polbot