''Pristimantis variabilis'' 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

Strabomantidae The Strabomantidae are a family of frogs native to South America. These frogs lack a free-living larval stage and hatch directly into miniature "froglets". This family includes ''Pristimantis'', the most speciose genus of any vertebrate. System ...

. It is found in the lowland

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

and

Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the List of mountain ranges#Mountain ranges by length, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range i ...

slopes in southern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, and western Brazil (Amphibian Species of the World includes Brazil only tentatively). The specific name ''variabilis'' refers to the variable dorsal coloration of this frog. Common name variable robber frog has been proposed for it.

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

. The snout is acuminate in dorsal view and sloping in lateral profile. The tympanum is round and the supratympanic fold is well defined. The finger tips bear discs but no lateral fringes or webbing. The toe tips bear discs. The toes have poorly developed lateral fringes and slight webbing. Skin is dorsally shagreened, rarely smooth. The dorsum has variable coloration: the ground color can be cream, greenish brown, red, brown, or yellow, and there are brown, greenish brown, or reddish brown spots or stripes; these can be edged in yellow or yellow-green. The flanks are paler than the dorsum and marked with brown or black spots or bars. The posterior surface of thigh is usually dark gray-brown but is reddish-brown and reticulated with gray-brown in some individuals. The venter is white to creamy white and is flecked or spotted with black or greenish-brown. The groin is lemon-yellow edged with black. The

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

is bronze with reddish or bronze horizontal stripe. The lip is bronze. There is also yellow or yellow-bronze spot below eye and dark brown or black canthalstripe.

Habitat and conservation

''Pristimantis variabilis'' occurs in primary and secondary forests and in disturbed areas at elevations of

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 can be found on low vegetation at night and on the forest floor during the day. Development is direct (i.e, there is no free-living larval stage). ''Pristimantis variabilis'' appears to be a common species over much of its range, and large areas of suitable habitat remain. It does not appear to face significant threats. It is present in a number of protected areas.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4459522 variabilis Frogs of Brazil Amphibians of Colombia Amphibians of Ecuador Frogs of Peru Amphibians described in 1968 Taxa named by John Douglas Lynch Taxonomy articles created by Polbot