''Phrynomedusa vanzolinii'', or Vanzolini's leaf frog, is a

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 subfamily Phyllomedusinae. 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 southeastern Brazil where it is currently known from Teresópolis in the state of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

and Boraceia in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. It probably occurs more widely than current records suggest, especially in areas between the two known sites. It is possible that this species is a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of '' Phrynomedusa appendiculata''.

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''vanzolinii'' honors Paulo Vanzolini, a Brazilian herpetologist and composer.

Description

Adult males measure and females—based on the only known specimen— in snout–vent length. The body is slender. The tympanum is visible. Skin on dorsum and limbs is smooth. The webbing between fingers and toes is reduced. The upper surfaces are green or violet brown. There is a narrow, oblique orange stripe running from the posterior border of eye to the arm insertion. The venter is immaculate.

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 ...

s are streams in primary forest 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 ...

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 ...

s have been found in small pools in permanent streams. It is threatened by habitat degradation. However, this species is classified as

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

, meaning more data are needed on the species for categorization by the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

of Threatened Species. Its population trend was unknown at the last assessment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phrynomedusa Vanzolinii vanzolinii Endemic fauna of Brazil Amphibians of Brazil Amphibians described in 1991 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot