''Peltophryne guentheri'', the southern crested toad or Gunther's Caribbean toad, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...

in the family

Bufonidae {{Cat main, Toad This category contains both species commonly called toads, and the true toads from the family Bufonidae {{Cat main, Toad This category contains both species commonly called toads, and the true toads from the family Bufonidae {{Cat m ...

. 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 ...

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

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 ...

s of ''Peltophryne guentheri'' are dry lowland valleys in both mesic and

xeric Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this h ...

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, including a rainwater-filled roadside ditch. Breeding is triggered by heavy rains, and the breeding season corresponds to the Atlantic hurricane season.

Conservation

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 livestock grazing and selective logging, and by

agricultural pollution Agricultural pollution refers to biotic and abiotic byproducts of farming practices that result in contamination or degradation of the environment and surrounding ecosystems, and/or cause injury to humans and their economic interests. The pol ...

. All observations of these animals are from degraded habitats 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 The cane toad (''Rhinella marina''), also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, terrestrial true toad native to South and mainland Central America, but which has been introduced to various islands throughout Oceania ...

'') and American bullfrogs (''

Lithobates catesbeianus The American bullfrog (''Lithobates catesbeianus''), often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is a large true frog native to eastern North America. It typically inhabits large permanent water bodies such as swamps, po ...

''). 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