''Pristimantis simonbolivari'' 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 Ecuador and known only from the region of its type locality, Cashca Totoras, Cordillera Occidental, in the Bolívar Province (central Ecuador). The specific name ''simonbolivari'' honors

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

. Common name Simon's ground frog has been proposed for it.

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. The tympanum is visible but indistinct; no supratympanic fold is present. The finger tips are dilated into small pads that are less developed in the inner two fingers. The toe tips have small discs. No toe webbing or lateral fringes are present. Dorsal coloration is dark brown (females, sometimes with reddish tone) or reddish brown with darker spots (males). The venter is orange in males but dark brown to black with lighter spots in females. The

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

is gray with a median horizontal brown streak.

Habitat and conservation

''Pristimantis simonbolivari'' inhabits humid montane forest and forest edge at

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 ...

. Specimens have been found in leaf litter, under rotten logs, under moss growing on logs, and under rocks. It is locally abundant. 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 ...

and degradation caused by agriculture and logging.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pristimantis Simonbolivari simonbolivari Amphibians of the Andes Amphibians of Ecuador Endemic fauna of Ecuador Amphibians described in 1992 Taxa named by Luis Aurelio Coloma Simón Bolívar Taxonomy articles created by Polbot