''Hamptophryne alios'' 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

Microhylidae The Microhylidae, commonly known as narrow-mouthed frogs, are a geographically widespread family of frogs. The 683 species are in 63 genera and 11 subfamilies, which is the largest number of genera of any frog family. Evolution A molecular phylo ...

. It is known from three localities in the southwestern

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

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

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. This species used to constitute the

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

''Altigius'', but

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analyses have shown it to be close relative of the then-monotypic ''Hamptophryne'', and the two genera have been merged.

Etymology

The generic name ''Altigius'' honors Ronald Altig, specialist in amphibian larvae. The specific name ''alios'' is derived from the Latin words ''ala'' for "wing" and ''os'' for "mouth" and refers to the large, scalloped oral flaps pendant over the mouth of the

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...

Description

The

species description A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

is based on a single adult male and series of tadpoles, one of them reared past metamorphosis. The adult male measures in snout–vent length. The head is broad but much narrower than body. The snout is rounded. The eyes are small. Skin is shagreen, and the occipital fold is complete. The fingers and toes have rounded tips and narrow fringes. Webbing is basal between the fingers and more developed between the toes. The dorsum is tan and mottled with dark brown. The venter is black with bluish-white flecks. The tadpoles grow to in length. The body and tail are dark chocolate brown. There is a creamy-tan middorsal stripe running from the snout to the tail. Two large, pendant flaps enclose the mouth dorsally and are presumably used for feeding.

Habitat and conservation

Natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s of ''Hamptophryne alios'' are tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s in association with temporary swamps and permanent waterbodies. It is potentially 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 ...

. The Brazilian record is based on two individuals captured near the

Madeira River The Madeira River ( pt, Rio Madeira, link=no ) is a major waterway in South America. It is estimated to be in length, while the Madeira-Mamoré is estimated near or in length depending on the measuring party and their methods. The Madeira is ...

, in area that may become flooded because of development of hydro power.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28026668

alios AliOS (formerly YunOS and Aliyun OS) is a Linux distribution developed by Alibaba Cloud, a subsidiary of Mainland Chinese company Alibaba Group. It is designed for smart cars and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and it had been used as a mo ...

Amphibians described in 1995 Amphibians of Bolivia Frogs of Brazil Frogs of Peru Taxonomy articles created by Polbot