''Ischnocnema holti'' 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

Brachycephalidae The Brachycephalidae () are a family of frogs confined to eastern and southern Brazil and northern Argentina. The family is composed of two externally quite different genera: the tiny, often (but not always) colourful and plump saddleback toads ( ...

. 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 the state of

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 ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, and is known from the

Serra da Mantiqueira The Mantiqueira Mountains (Portuguese: ''Serra da Mantiqueira iterally: Mantiqueira Mountains Chain') are a mountain range in Southeastern Brazil, with parts in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. It rises abruptly from the ...

Itatiaia Itatiaia () is a Brazilian municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is located at an altitude of . Its population was 32,064 in 2020 and its area is . The oldest Brazilian national park, Itatiaia National Park (Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, ...

and

Serra dos Órgãos The Serra dos Órgãos ("Organ Range") is a mountain range in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It contains the Serra dos Órgãos National Park. Location The Serra dos Órgãos is the name of the region of the Serra do Mar in the central pa ...

in Teresópolis. Common name Holt's robber frog has been coined for this species.

Description

Adult males measure and females in snout–vent length. The habitus is robust. The head is wider than long. The snout is rounded. The tympanum is distinct. The dorsum is smooth to granular, with small granulations on the sides. Discs on fingers and toes are well-developed. The dorsal coloration is variable: uniformly dark brown or gray, exhibiting green or irregularly distributed red spots, sometimes with two dark longitudinal bands running from the eyes to the posterior region, or light green with brown spots.

Habitat and conservation

''Ischnocnema holti'' inhabits forests, ravines, and high-altitude grasslands. Its altitudinal range in Itatiaia is

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 ...

, although a male was heard calling at 1670 m in . In Serra dos Órgãos it occurs above . Males call from vegetation up to 4 m above the ground. The species is present in the Itatiaia National Park, where its type locality lies, as well as in the

Serra dos Órgãos National Park Serra dos Órgãos National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos: "Organs Range") is a national park in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It protects the Serra dos Órgãos mountain range and the water sources in the range. It was ...

. It is abundant in both locations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ischnocnema Holti holti Endemic fauna of Brazil Amphibians of Brazil Taxa named by Doris Mable Cochran Amphibians described in 1948 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot