The Prince Charles stream tree frog (''Hyloscirtus princecharlesi'') 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 ...

s in the family

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and s ...

found in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. It is considered an endangered species 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 ...

, climate change, pathogens, and other hazards. In June 2012, the species was described as new to science by Luis A. Coloma ''et al.'' in the journal ''

Zootaxa ''Zootaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific mega journal for animal taxonomists. It is published by Magnolia Press (Auckland, New Zealand). The journal was established by Zhi-Qiang Zhang in 2001 and new issues are published multiple times a week. ...

'' and named in honour of

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

King of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwi ...

, recognising the then-Prince's work advocating rainforest conservation.

Taxonomy

An individual in the species was discovered by Luis Coloma in a museum specimen in 2008. Coloma was later part of an expedition in the

Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve Cotacachi Cayapas Reserve contains of land and is located in the Imbabura and Esmeraldas provinces of Ecuador from Quito. Elevations in the reserve range from about in the east to Cotacachi Volcano which reaches an elevation of in the south ...

that found small numbers of the frogs, likely due to deforestation. The

Amphibian Ark The Amphibian Ark (or AArk) is a joint effort of three principal partners: the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG), and the IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG). The A ...

raised several frogs, hoping to boost the endangered population.

Distribution

The frog is endemic to Ecuador, and found only in the northeast, in the Cordillera de Toisán, in

Imbabura Province Imbabura () is a province located in the Andes of northern Ecuador. The capital is Ibarra. The people of the province speak Spanish, and a large portion of the population also speaks the Imbaburan Kichwa variety of the Quechua language. The s ...

. They're found between 2720 and 2794 meters above sea level, in the

tierra fría In Latin America, tierra fría (Spanish for ''cold land'') are mountain locations where high elevation results in a markedly cooler climate than that encountered in the lowlands at a comparable latitude. The combination of low latitude and high al ...

zone.

Cultural importance

Its name is a

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

that honors

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

, for his rainforest conservation work, such as the 2007

Prince's Rainforests Project The Prince's Rainforests Project (PRP) was set up in the UK in 2007 by Charles, Prince of Wales following reports from leading climate change experts, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to promote awareness of the urgent need ...

, and as head of the UK

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

. In all his campaigns, he has used frogs as a symbol of the rainforest, and been affectionately called the "Frog Prince".

References

Hyloscirtus Amphibians described in 2012 Charles III {{Hylidae-stub