Adult, 2,500′, Oaxaca, Mexico
HIGHLAND FROG
Rana maculata – Brocchi 1877
IDENTIFICATION:
DISTRIBUTION:
In Mexico this species is known from the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, Chiapas and the Sierra Atravesada of adjacent Oaxaca. Elevational distribution from 800-2700 m.
HABITAT:
View Over Cerro Baul Region, Habitat of Rana maculata
Stream Microhabitat, 2,500′, Oaxaca, Mexico
Ravine Seep Headwater Habitat, 3,000′, Oaxaca, Mexico
NATURAL HISTORY:
TAXONOMY:
In the Rana maculata group as defined by Dubois (1992).
TYPE:
Described as Rana maculata by Brocchi (1877). Syntypes: MNHNP 6412, 6412A, 6412B; MNHNP 6412A was designated lectotype by Smith, Lynch, and Reese (1966). Type locality: “Totonicapam (Mexique)” = Totonicapan, Guatemala.
PERSONAL NOTES:
I have seen this frog in the Sierra Atravesada of Oaxaca. I found them active only by day along both a swiftly-flowing stream and in a spring-fed headwater pool in a small ravine. No other terrestrial frog species were observed in this habitat.
CONSERVATION STATUS:
REFERENCES:
Lips, K. R., J. R. Mendelson 3rd, A. Muñoz-Alonso, L. Canseco-Márquez and D. G. Mulcahy. 2004. Amphibian population declines in montane southern Mexico: resurveys of historical localities. Biological Conservation 119(2004):555-564.