MIXTECA ALTA TREEFROG
Plectrohyla ameibothalame – Canseco-Márquez, Mendelson & Gutiérrez-Mayén 2003
IDENTIFICATION:
DISTRIBUTION:
Plectrohyla ameibothalame is known from several localities in the Mixteca Alta of northwestern Oaxaca, Mexico. It’s known elevational distribution is between 2455 and 2670 meters.
HABITAT:
This species is known from high-elevation oak woodlands of the Mixteca Alta region. The oaks are covered in arboreal bromeliads and lichens and provide a cool, moist microclimate for the frogs during the dry season. On drier slopes adjacent to the oak-filled ravines, agaves grow and provide shelter for this species during the rainy season.
NATURAL HISTORY:
This species displays an interesting shift in seasonal microhabitat preference. During the dry season, frogs may be found in the axils of arboreal bromeliads within oak trees several meters above the ground; during the summer rainy season, frogs have been found on hillsides taking refuge within the leaves of agave plants. One female from near Nativitas, Oaxaca was found in a bromeliad during the summer rainy season. This species breeds in streams and tadpoles have been found during the month of December. The only other stream-breeding amphibian known to occur with P. ameibothalame is Bufo occidentalis. The mating call and eggs of this species are unknown. Plectrohyla bistincta, Ecnomiohyla miotympanum, and Hyla euphorbiacea are found a short distance to the east of Nativitas at San Miguel Huautla.
TAXONOMY:
In the Plectrohyla bistincta group of Faivovitch et al. (2005).
TYPE:
Described as Hyla ameibothalame by Canseco-Márquez, L., Mendelson III, J.R. and Gutiérrez-Mayén, G. (2003). Holotype: EBUAP 1024. Type locality: 1 kilometer south of Yosocuno, Municipality of San Pedro Nopala, 2455 meters elev. (17° 51′N, 97° 34′W), Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca, Mexico. An adult male collected by L. Canseco-Marquez on 24 July 1998.
PERSONAL NOTES:
I have no experience with this species, having never sought it in the field.
CONSERVATION STATUS:
IUCN Red List status for this newly described species is currently “Data Deficient” due to uncertainties as to its extent of occurrence, status and ecological requirements. It may be threatened due to conversion of it’s habitat to agricultural lands.
REFERENCES:
Canseco-Márquez, L., Mendelson III, J.R. and Gutiérrez-Mayén, G. 2003. A new species of Hyla (Anura: Hylidae) from the Mixteca Alta, Oaxaca, Mexico. Herpetologica. 58(2):260-269.
Faivovich, J., C. F. B. Haddad, P. C. A. Garcia, D. R. Frost, J. A. Campbell, and W. C. Wheeler. 2005. Systematic review of the frog family Hylidae, with special reference to Hylinae: phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 294:1-240.