''Leptodactylus albilabris'' 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

Leptodactylidae The southern frogs form the Leptodactylidae, a name that comes from Greek meaning a bird or other animal having slender toes. They are a diverse Family (biology), family of frogs that most likely diverged from other hyloidea, hyloids during the C ...

Common names

Its local name is ranita de labio blanco or sapito de labio blanco ("white-lipped froglet") and English name either Gunther's white-lipped frog or Hispaniolan ditch frog.

Distribution

It is found in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Description

The white-lipped frog is a terrestrial (living on the ground) smooth-bodied frog (not warty like a toad) which passes through a

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 ...

stage. The tadpoles are brown colored, reaching about 1.5 inches (13 millimeters) in length. ''L. albilabris'' can be recognized by its white upper lip (hence the name albilabris), webless fingers and toes, black streak between the eyes and the tip of the snout and between eye and shoulder. In general, adults grow to 1.4 inches (3.5 centimeters) in snout-vent length, but like other Puerto Rican frogs the body size increases with elevation and adults of a snout-vent length greater than 2.0 inches (5.0 centimeters) are not rare in the higher regions of the

El Yunque National Forest El Yunque National Forest ( es, Bosque Nacional El Yunque), formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest (or ''Bosque Nacional del Caribe''), is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rainforest in the United Sta ...

. Individuals have a grayish brown background color with dorsal lines and bands of various shades of brown, cream, and reddish brown. It is white ventrally, and some males have many dark spots on the throat. Its voice is a "pink-pink-pink" sound usually heard from a muddy area.

Habits

The frog's diet includes insects, millipedes and land snails. It lays terrestrial eggs, but they are laid in a foam nest on the ground, usually under a rock or log. Eggs develop into tadpoles, which are washed away by the first rains and finish their development in temporary pools, or bodies of water with low or no water movement.

Habitat

This frog can usually be found in muddy areas near streams, marshes and ditches.

References

*Rivero, Juan A., 1978; The Amphibians and Reptiles of Puerto Rico, Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico {{Taxonbar, from=Q2247965 albilabris Amphibians of the Dominican Republic Amphibians of the United States Virgin Islands Amphibians of Puerto Rico Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 1859 Taxa named by Albert Günther