''Sphaenorhynchus platycephalus'', commonly known as the South American lime treefrog or Lutz's lime treefrog, 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
Hylidae. 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 south-eastern Brazil where it occurs in the
Serra do Mar and
Serra da Mantiqueira
The Mantiqueira Mountains (Portuguese: ''Serra da Mantiqueira iterally: Mantiqueira Mountains Chain') are a mountain range in Southeastern Brazil, with parts in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. It rises abruptly from the ...
ranges in the states of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
,
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, and
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...
.
[ However, Araujo-Vieira and colleagues suggests that the Serra da Mantiqueira population could represent '' Sphaenorhynchus canga''; the two species are similar.]
Systematics
This species was originally described by Franz Werner
Franz Josef Maria Werner (15 August 1867 in Vienna – 28 February 1939 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist and explorer. Specializing as a herpetologist and entomologist, Werner described numerous species and other taxa of frogs, snakes, inse ...
in 1894 based on a specimen with no other collection information than its origin, "S. Amerika". In 1981 designated a neotype for the species, erroneously believing that the holotype (the only known specimen, in the collections of the Institut für Zoologie der Universität Wien
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
) was lost. However, the neotype specimen was not a hylid but a centrolenid, later described as a distinct species, ''Centrolenella savagei'' (now synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...
of '' Ikakogi tayrona''[).]
Description
The holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
is a female, in poor condition of preservation. It measures in snout–vent length. The body is robust and the snout is rounded. The fingers are one-third and the toes four-fifths webbed. It is clearly distinct from other ''Sphaenorhynchus'' species.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 ...
.
Habitat and conservation
''Sphaenorhynchus platycephalus'' lives on vegetation above large ponds or lakes or at the edge of forests. Breeding takes place in relatively deep permanent ponds and lakes. It is threatened by drainage of its breeding habitat for mosquito control and the application of insecticides to kill mosquitoes. This practice also occurs within protected areas.
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q2714187, from2=Q2713008
platycephalus
''Platycephalus'' is a genus of mostly marine, demersal ray-finned fish belonging to the family Platycephalidae. They are found in the eastern Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean.
Taxonomy
''Platycephalus'' was first pro ...
Endemic fauna of Brazil
Amphibians of Brazil
Amphibians described in 1894
Taxa named by Franz Werner
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot