PURPLE ADORNED ROBBER FROG Eleutherodactylus decoratus – Taylor 1943 Eleutherodactylus decoratus purpurus – Lynch 1973

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION: The purple adorned robber frog is known only from the cloud forest region of the Rancho del Cielo Biosphere Preserve, in the Sierra de Guadalupe of south-central Tamaulipas, Mexico. It may also [...]]]>
Adult, 4,800′, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Adult, in situ 5′ Above Ground, 4,800′, Tamaulipas, Mexico

PURPLE ADORNED ROBBER FROG
Eleutherodactylus decoratus – Taylor 1943
Eleutherodactylus decoratus purpurus – Lynch 1973

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:
The purple adorned robber frog is known only from the cloud forest region of the Rancho del Cielo Biosphere Preserve, in the Sierra de Guadalupe of south-central Tamaulipas, Mexico. It may also be found near El Chihue, Tamaulipas in a small area of remnant cloud forest but this has yet to be verified.

HABITAT:
E. d. purpurus appears to be found only within cave rich (karstic) cloud forest – both virgin and slightly altered by local inhabitants. They are most often found within the region’s caves, sinkholes and moss-covered boulder jumbles, but may also occasionally be found beneath logs and rocks on the forest floor as they travel from site to site.

Cloud Forest Limestone Karst Region, 4,800′, Tamaulipas, Mexico

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TAXONOMY:
In the Eleutherodactylus alfredi group as defined by Lynch and Duellman (1997).

TYPE:
Described as Eleutherodactylus decoratus purpurus by Lynch (1967). Holotype: UMMZ 102496. Type locality: “a cave near Rancho del Cielo, 5 km. NW Gomez Farias, Tamaulipas, México, 3500 feet elev.”

PERSONAL NOTES:
I have seen the subspecies purpurus only once. In August, 2004 I found the above photographed individual in a small cave near San Jose, in the Rancho del Cielo Biosphere Preserve. It was perched motionless in a small alcove on the cave’s ceiling – a remarkably precarious situation considering the frog must have climbed upside-down along the horizontal ceiling for 5-6′ to get where it was! One look at the well-expanded toe-tips of this species made the scenario believable.

CONSERVATION STATUS:
IUCN Red List status for this species is currently “Vulnerable” due to the continued degradation and transformation of it’s cloud forest habitat, and highly fragmented distribution. Mexico protects E. decoratus under the “Special Protection” category.

REFERENCES:
Campbell, J. A., W. W. Lamar, and D. M. Hillis. 1989. A New Species of Diminutive Eleutherodactylus (Leptodactylidae) from Oaxaca, Mexico. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 102:491-499.
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.

TAYLOR’S STREAM FROG Eleutherodactylus vocalis – Taylor 1940

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TAXONOMY: In the Eleutherodactylus rugulosus group as defined by Lynch and Duellman (1997).

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REFERENCES: Campbell, J. A., W. W. Lamar, and D. M. Hillis. 1989. A New Species of Diminutive Eleutherodactylus (Leptodactylidae) from Oaxaca, Mexico. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 102:491-499. Canseco-Márquez, L. and E. N. Smith. 2004. [...]]]> STUART’S ROBBER FROG
Eleutherodactylus stuarti – Lynch 1967

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In the Eleutherodactylus alfredi group as defined by Lynch and Duellman (1997).

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REFERENCES:
Campbell, J. A., W. W. Lamar, and D. M. Hillis. 1989. A New Species of Diminutive Eleutherodactylus (Leptodactylidae) from Oaxaca, Mexico. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 102:491-499.
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.

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REFERENCES: Adler, K. and D. M. Dennis. 1972. New tree frogs of the Genus Hyla from the cloud forests of western Guerrero, México. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas 7:1-19. Lips, [...]]]> CENTRAL AMERICAN STREAM FROG
Eleutherodactylus rugulosus – Cope 1870

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In the Eleutherodactylus rugulosus group as defined by Lynch and Duellman (1997).

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REFERENCES:
Adler, K. and D. M. Dennis. 1972. New tree frogs of the Genus Hyla from the cloud forests of western Guerrero, México. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas 7:1-19.
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.

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