''Plectrohyla hartwegi'' (common name: Hartweg's spikethumb 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
Hylidae
Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic.
Taxonomy and s ...
. It is found in the
Sierra Madre de Chiapas
The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is a major mountain range in Central America. It crosses El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras. The Sierra Madre de Chiapas is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges that consists of an almos ...
and eastern
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Sierra de los Cuchumatanes
The Sierra de los Cuchumatanes is the highest non-volcanic mountain range in Central America. Its elevations range from to over , and it covers a total area of .Lovell 2005:11 With an area of situated above , it is also the most extensive hig ...
in western
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
as well as
Sierra de las Minas
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
in eastern Guatemala, and
Sierra de Omoa in southwestern
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
.
[ It might be a composite of two or more species.]
Etymology and history
This species is named after Norman Hartweg, American herpetologist. The holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
, collected by Eizi Matuda
(1894–1978) was a Mexican botanist of Japanese origin. In scholarly works his name is generally romanised
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) scri ...
in 1941, was sent to Hartweg, who recognized it as unique but did not want to describe
Shneur Hasofer is a Hasidic musician known as DeScribe. Hasofer's musical style has been characterized as "Hasidic hip-hop," "Hasidic rap" and "Hasidic R&B".
Background
Hasofer was born to a Chabad Hasidic family in Melbourne, Australia. Hasof ...
a new species based on just one specimen. The species was eventually described in 1968 by , after further specimens had become available.
Description
The type series
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...
consisted of three specimens, an adult male (holotype) measuring in snout–vent length (SVL), and two subadult males measuring SVL. Based on further specimens, adult males reach SVL and females SVL. The body is robust. The head is slightly wider than long and as wide as the body; the snout is short. The eyes are large. The heavy supra-tympanic fold covers the upper edge of the tympanum. The dorsal
Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to:
* Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism
* Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage
* Dorsal co ...
coloration varies is dull olive-brown, olive-green, or pale green. About one fifth of individuals have irregular pale bronze-tan spots on the dorsum and the limbs. The prepollex (the "spikethumb") in males is massive and bifid.
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 high-elevation ( 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 ...
[) ]cloud forest
A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud c ...
s near rocky mountain streams, its breeding habitat. It has disappeared from some locations and appears to be on decline. The reasons are probably chytridiomycosis
Chytridiomycosis ( ) is an infectious disease in amphibians, caused by the chytrid fungi ''Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' and ''Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans''. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or extincti ...
as well as 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 ...
. The Mexican law protects it under the "Special Protection" category.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q917959
hartwegi
Frogs of North America
Amphibians of Guatemala
Amphibians of Honduras
Amphibians of Mexico
Critically endangered fauna of North America
Amphibians described in 1968
Taxa named by William Edward Duellman
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot