''Psychrophrynella chirihampatu'' 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 ...

s in the family Strabomantidae. 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 Peru and known only from its type locality, the Japumato Valley in 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 ...

of the

Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the list of cities in Peru, seventh m ...

. The common name Japumayo Andes frog has been coined for this species.

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 ...

''chirihampatu'' is a combination of Quechua words meaning "cold toad" (''chiri hamp'atu''). The genus name ''Psychrophrynella'' has the same meaning. Dorsolateral and ventral views of four paratypes of Psychrophrynella chirihampatu sp

Dorsolateral and ventral views of four paratypes of Psychrophrynella chirihampatu sp

Description

Males measure and females in snout–vent length. Skin on the dorsum is finely shagreen, with some small warts forming linear ridges at mid dorsum. Skin on the venter is smooth. The tympanic membrane is not differentiated and the tympanic annulus is barely visible below skin. The snout short is bluntly rounded. Neither fingers nor toes have lateral fringes or webbing. The dorsal color varies considerably between individuals: the dorsum is tan to brown and gray, with dark brown markings; some individuals have a yellow or orange mid-dorsal line. An inter-orbital bar is present. The chest, venter and ventral parts of the arms and legs are yellow with brown flecks. The throat and palmar and plantar surfaces brown or reddish-brown. Males have

vocal sac The vocal sac is the flexible membrane of skin possessed by most male frogs and toads. The purpose of the vocal sac is usually as an amplification of their mating or advertisement call. The presence or development of the vocal sac is one way o ...

and vocal slits but no nuptial pads.

Reproduction

Males have been observed calling during the day. The advertisement call is composed of multiple notes; the call of the holotype lasted 1–4.5 seconds and consisted of 10–68 single-pulsed notes. Female fecundity is 7–12 eggs. In one nest, eleven unattended eggs measuring about in diameter were found.

Habitat and conservation

''Psychrophrynella chirihampatu'' has been found in areas of disturbed

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 ...

vegetation, often along the forest edges bordering landslides and other open areas. It is known from 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 ...

. This species has been assessed as of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

by 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). The surveyed populations are relatively large, and no direct threats are currently known—the species might actually benefit from some habitat disturbance. The known range is within a protected area.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q25387320 chirihampatu Amphibians of the Andes Amphibians of Peru Endemic fauna of Peru Amphibians described in 2016