''Peltophryne guentheri'', the southern crested toad or Gunther's Caribbean toad, is a
species of
toad in the family
Bufonidae. It is
endemic to
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 ...
and found in the lowlands of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Description
Males grow to and females to in snout–vent length.
The
dorsum has a yellowish tan ground color and is heavily overlaid with a very dark brown to black reticulated pattern.
Habitat and ecology
Natural
habitats of ''Peltophryne guentheri'' are dry lowland valleys in both
mesic
Mesic may refer to:
* Mesic, North Carolina, a town in the United States
* Mesic habitat, a type of habitat
See also
*Mesić (disambiguation)
*Mešić Mešić is a Bosnian surname, a patronymic derived from the masculine given name '' Meša'', it ...
and
xeric areas.
These frogs have been observed to sit on or near piles of cattle manure. They appear to use a sit-and-wait foraging strategy to catch insects on the manure.
[
Breeding takes place in temporary pools,][ Breeding is triggered by heavy rains, and the breeding season corresponds to the Atlantic hurricane season.][
]
Conservation
It is threatened by habitat loss caused by livestock grazing and selective logging, and by agricultural pollution.[ where the populations are facing further habitat degradation caused by urban development. A further threat is competition with and predation from introduced cane toads ('' Rhinella marina'') and American bullfrogs ('' Lithobates catesbeianus''). Males have also been observed attempting to mate with a male ''Rhinella marina''.][
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q28008679, from2=Q28031038
guentheri
Endemic fauna of Hispaniola
Amphibians of the Dominican Republic
Amphibians of Haiti
Amphibians described in 1941
Taxa named by Doris Mable Cochran
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot