''Ptychohyla zophodes'' is a species of frogs in the family Hylidae. It is endemic to Mexico and known from the Atlantic slopes of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca in northern Oaxaca and adjacent central-western Veracruz. Before being described as a new species in 2000, it was mixed with '' Ptychohyla leonhardschultzei''. 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 ...

''zophodes'' is a Greek word meaning "dusky" or "gloomy" and refers to the distinctive dark coloration of the species as well as its cloud forest habitat. Common name gloomy mountain stream frog has been coined for it.

Description

Adult males in 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 ...

measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The snout is rounded in dorsal view and truncate in profile. The supratympanic fold is well developed and covers the upper edge of the tympanum. The forelimbs are moderately robust; the fingers are moderately long, have large discs, and are about one-third webbed. The hind limbs are moderately long and slender. The toe discs are only slightly smaller than those on the fingers; the toes are about three-fourths webbed. The dorsal ground color is deep brown, grading into purplish brown on the sides. There is irregular black mottling and two irregular black transverse bars on the shanks; these markings are not conspicuous in all specimens. Females are slightly paler than males. The male advertisement call is a deep "wraack". The largest tadpoles (

Gosner stage Gosner stage is a generalized system of describing stages of embryonal and larval development in anurans (frogs and toads). The Gosner system includes 46 numbered stages, from fertilized embryo (stage 1) to the completion of metamorphosis (stage ...

40) measure in body length and in total length.

Habitat and conservation

''Ptychohyla zophodes'' occurs in

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 and lower montane rainforests 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 ...

. It typically occurs in vegetation close to streams. The tadpoles develop in streams. Adults are mostly seen at night. The species is threatened by habitat loss from small-scale farming and wood extraction and by chytridiomycosis.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2750069 zophodes Frogs of North America Endemic amphibians of Mexico Fauna of the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca Taxa named by Jonathan A. Campbell Taxa named by William Edward Duellman Amphibians described in 2000 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot