Eleutherodactylus galacticorhinus
ZOQUITLAN RAIN FROG
Eleutherodactylus galacticorhinus - Canseco-Márquez & Smith 2004
IDENTIFICATION:
DISTRIBUTION:
Eleutherodactylus galacticorhinus is known only from a single high-elevation (2155 m) locality in the Sierra Negra of southeast Puebla, Mexico.
HABITAT:
The only known specimen of this species was found in an area of disturbed cloud forest, composed primarily of oak trees. This locality lies at an elevation of 2155 m.
NATURAL HISTORY:
Almost nothing is known about this newly-discovered frog. The only known specimen, an adult male, was discovered calling at 18:25 hours from within a small hole at the base of a dirt bank along a mountain trail. It’s call is reportedly an extremely soft single “peep” repeated about every minute. Like other frogs in this genus, E. galacticorhinus reproduces by direct developement. It probably calls throughout the year. Other amphibians known to occur in sympatry with this species are Tomodactylus nitidus, Eleutherodactylus mexicanus, Hyla euphorbiacea, Plectrohyla bistincta and Plectrohyla arborescandens.
TAXONOMY:
In the Eleutherodactylus alfredi group as defined by Lynch and Duellman (1997).
TYPE:
Described as Eleutherodactylus galacticorhinus by Canseco-Márquez & Smith (2004). Holotype: MZFC-14461. Type locality: 2 km E of Zoquitlán, Sierra Negra, Estado de Puebla, México, 2155 m elev. An adult male collected on March 15 1997 by Luis Canseco-Márquez and Guadalupe Gutierrez-Mayen.
PERSONAL NOTES:
I have been to the Sierra Negra of Puebla once, in 2006 but was unable to locate this species in the two nights I surveyed for frogs. I did hear, but was unable to locate a calling Eleutherodactylus from within a rock-pile in cloud forest a few miles west of the type-locality. The call matched the description of that of this species, and was not that of Tomodactylus nitidus or Eleutherodactylus mexicanus. This observation was made at dusk, during a soft rain in the month of June. The call was so soft that it could not be heard until I was situated directly above the rock-pile.
CONSERVATION STATUS:
IUCN Red List status for this species is currently not listed. It will probably be listed as “Vulnerable” due to the continued degradation and transformation of it’s cloud forest habitat, and poorly known distribution. Mexico protects E. galacticorhinus under the “Special Protection” category.
REFERENCES:
Canseco-Márquez, L. and E. N. Smith. 2004. A Diminutive Species of Eleutherodactylus (Anura: Leptodactylidae), of the alfredi Group, from the Sierra Negra of Puebla, Mexico. Herpetologica 60(3):358-363.