''Pristimantis attenboroughi'', also known as Attenborough's rubber 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

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 the Peruvian

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

and has been recorded in and near the Pui–Pui Protection Forest. It is the first amphibian named after

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

. It was discovered by Edgar Lehr and Rudolf von May during a period of two years of studying the forests of Peru. The

species description A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

was based on 34 specimens caught 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 ...

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 snout is short and rounded. No tympanum is present. The finger and toe tips are narrow and rounded, without circumferential grooves; neither lateral fringes nor webbing is present. The dorsal coloration ranges from pale gray to reddish brown to brownish olive. There are scattered flecks and sometimes an X-shaped scapular mark. Most specimens have dark grayish-brown canthal and supratympanic stripes. Juveniles are paler in coloration, yellowish to reddish brown, bearing contrasting dark brown flecks and distinct canthal and supratympanic stripes. Reproduction occurs by direct development, that is, there is no free-living tadpole stage. The average egg diameter is .

Habitat and conservation

''Pristimantis attenboroughi'' is known from upper

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 high Andean grasslands at

where specimens were found living inside moss pads. A female was found guarding a clutch of 20 eggs inside moss. Although this species could qualify as "endangered" or "vulnerable" because of its small range, the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN) assessed it in 2018 as "

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

". The category was chosen because the overall population is believed to be stable, the species is common, and much of the known range is within a protected area.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28916638 attenboroughi Frogs of South America Amphibians of the Andes Amphibians of Peru Endemic fauna of Peru Endangered species Amphibians described in 2017 David Attenborough