''Ischnocnema nigriventris'' 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

Serra do Mar The Serra do Mar (, Portuguese for ''Sea's Ridge'' or ''Sea Ridge'') is a 1,500 km long system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeastern Brazil. Geography The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state ...

in eastern

São Paulo state SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...

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 ...

. Until a population was found in

Bertioga Bertioga is a Brazilian municipality of the state of São Paulo in the Baixada Santista. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 64,723 (2020 est.) in an area of 490.15 km2. Because it neighbors resort ...

in 2006, the species was only known from the brief

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 ...

published in 1925 and a single specimen collected in the 1980s.

Description

Males measure and females, based on just three specimens, in snout–vent length. The head is wide with a short, rounded snout. The eyes are large and prominent. The fingers and toes are unwebbed. The

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

colouration consists of dark brown background with lighter or darker brown blotches. Males differ from females by having bright yellow mottling on the inguinal region and hidden areas of hindlimbs, whereas in females this mottling is bright orange. The belly light brown belly at night and deeply dark brown during daytime. 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 silver with a yellowish copper band. The dorsal skin is shagreen with tubercles or warts.

Habitat and conservation

Its 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 ...

Atlantic forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

s. Calling males are usually found perching on trees or shrubs, sometimes as high as above the ground. A couple in

amplexus Amplexus (Latin "embrace") is a type of mating behavior exhibited by some externally fertilizing species (chiefly amphibians and horseshoe crabs) in which a male grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process, and at the same ...

was spotted on the leaf litter. At the time of the latest assessment by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN), there was not enough information on this species to assess its conservation status. The species occurs in the

Serra do Mar State Park The Serra do Mar State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar) is a state park in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It covers of the Serra do Mar mountain range, and is one of the largest remaining areas of continuous Atlantic Forest. The State ...

, and the Bertioga population is within a private reserve.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ischnocnema Nigriventris nigriventris Endemic fauna of Brazil Amphibians of Brazil Taxa named by Adolfo Lutz Amphibians described in 1925 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot