''Stefania riae'' (common name: Sarisarinama carrying frog, es, rana stefania del Sarisarinama) is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Hemiphractidae The Hemiphractidae are a family (biology), family of frogs from South America, South and Central America. Previously, this group had been classified as a subfamily (Hemiphractinae) under family Hylidae. More recent research classifies these gen ...

. This species is only known from Cerro Sarisariñama, a

tepui A tepui , or tepuy (), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran S ...

in the Bolívar State,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Etymology

The specific name ''riae'' honors Ria Hoogmoed-Verschoor, spouse of the second author.

Description

Adult males measure and females in snout–vent length. The tympanum is visible and relatively large. The

canthus rostralis In snakes and amphibians, the canthus, canthal ridge or ''canthus rostralis'',Spawls S, Branch B. 1995. ''The Dangerous Snakes of Africa''. Ralph Curtis Books. Dubai: Oriental Press. 192 pp. . is the angle between the flat crown of the head and the ...

is distinct. All fingers and toes have well-developed discs. The toes have basal webbing. There are four color forms without consistent relationship with a specimen's sex. Possible patterns are 1) mostly pale brown, possibly with a few indistinct darker spots, 2) pattern that is other wise variable but always with paler dorsal background than dorsolateral stripes, 3) chevrons or spots on the dorsum, and 4) brown dorsum without dorsolateral stripes and chevrons, but with several dark brown spots and golden spots scattered around the head, body, and limbs. The two first forms are the most common ones.

Habitat and conservation

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 ...

was collected from the plateau on top of Cerro Sarisarifiama at an elevation 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 ...

. In 2002, ''Stefania riae'' was abundant in humid environments inside the

Sima Humboldt Sima Humboldt (Sima Mayor) is an enormous sinkhole located on the summit of the plateau of Sarisariñama tepui in Bolívar State, Venezuela. It is unusual for several reasons, including its enormous size and depth, its location on the top of th ...

(=Sima Mayor) sinkhole (but none were found from near its edge); many specimens were found on mossy walls soaked by water, bushes and plants, and on sandstone walls. None was found One specimen was found on a mossy wall near a small, slow creek on the southern slope of Sarisariñama at . There are no known threats to this species. Cerro Sarisariñama is within the

Jaua-Sarisariñama National Park Jaua-Sarisariñama National Park (Spanish: ''Parque nacional Jaua-Sarisariñama'') was located in the Guayana Highlands, within Bolívar State of southeastern Venezuela.BirdLife International (2015Important Bird and Biodiversity Area factsheet: ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q545525 riae Amphibians of Venezuela Endemic fauna of Venezuela Amphibians described in 1984 Taxa named by William Edward Duellman Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Marinus Steven Hoogmoed Amphibians of the Tepuis