''Lynchius parkeri'', also known as Parker's Andes frog, 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 northern Peru (Cordillera de Huancabamba,

Department of Piura Piura () is a coastal department and region in northwestern Peru. The region's capital is Piura and its largest port cities, Paita and Talara, are also among the most important in Peru. The area is known for its tropical and dry beaches. It is ...

) and southern Ecuador ( Yacurí National Park,

Loja Province Loja Province () is one of 24 provinces in Ecuador and shares its southern border on the west with El Oro Province, on the north with El Azuay, and on the east with Zamora-Chinchipe. Founded on its present site in 1548 by Captain Alonso de Mer ...

). The specific name ''parkeri'' honors

Hampton Wildman Parker Hampton Wildman Parker (5 July 1897 – 2 September 1968) was an English zoologist. Parker was Keeper of Zoology at the Natural History Museum from 1947 to 1957. He is the author of several works on snakes and frogs: Parker discovered a new speci ...

, English zoologist and herpetologist.

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 head is as long as it is wide or slightly longer; the snout is rounded. The tympanum is indistinct. The fingers and toes have narrowly rounded tips; no webbing is present. The dorsum is gray, reddish, or grayish brown, or dark brown. The flanks are dark brown with metallic green mottling. The venter is dark gray to black with large yellow blotches on the belly in males, but yellow with brown reticulations on the belly in females.

Habitat and conservation

''Lynchius parkeri'' occurs in humid

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

s and

páramo Páramo () can refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". A narrower ...

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 ...

. Individuals have been found hiding under rocks and in bunchgrass or low vegetation. Development is direct (i.e., there is no free-living larval stage). ''Lynchius parkeri'' is an uncommon species. It is 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 ...

caused by expanding agricultural activities. The Ecuadorian record is from a protected area (Yacurí National Park).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q650826 parkeri Amphibians of the Andes Amphibians of Ecuador Amphibians of Peru Páramo fauna Amphibians described in 1975 Taxa named by John Douglas Lynch Taxonomy articles created by Polbot