''Pristimantis scolodiscus'' 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. It is found on the Pacific slopes of the

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 ...

in northern Ecuador ( Esmeraldas and Carchi Provinces) and in the

Colombian Massif The Colombian Massif (from the Spanish Macizo Colombiano), also known colloquially as ''Nudo de Almaguer'', refers to a group of mountains within the Andes of south central Colombia. The massif is mainly within the area of the Cauca, Huila, and ...

in the Nariño Department in the adjacent south-western Colombia. Its elevational range is

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

Males measure and 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 dorsum is slightly granular and (pale) orange in colouration, sometimes with brown specks; the belly is white. The iris is greyish blue. The tympanum is indistinct. The males have vocal sacks. The disk of the third finger has a papilla on its tip, hence 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 ...

''scolodiscus'', from Greek ''skolos'' (pointed) and ''diskus'' (disk).

Habitat and conservation

''Pristimantis scolodiscus'' inhabit dense, undisturbed

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. They are

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

and usually found active on vegetation above the ground, sometimes along streams. The species 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 agricultural development. Also chytridiomycosis might be a threat. It occurs in the La Planada National Reserve in Colombia—its type locality—and might occur in the Reserva Ecológica Cotacachi-Cayapas in Ecuador.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pristimantis Scolodiscus scolodiscus Amphibians of the Andes Amphibians of Colombia Amphibians of Ecuador Amphibians described in 1990 Taxa named by John Douglas Lynch Taxonomy articles created by Polbot