MORELET’S LEAF FROG Agalychnis moreletii – Dumeril 1853

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION: Historically, Agalychnis moreletii is found in several widely-disjunct regions of southern Mexico; In Puebla it is known from the Sierra Norte, in Veracruz from Cuautlapan and the Los Tuxtlas region, in Oaxaca from the Sierra [...]]]>
Adult Male, 4,500′, Oaxaca, Mexico

Adult Male, 4,500′, Oaxaca, Mexico

Inactive Adult Male, 4,500′, Oaxaca, Mexico

MORELET’S LEAF FROG
Agalychnis moreletii – Dumeril 1853

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:
Historically, Agalychnis moreletii is found in several widely-disjunct regions of southern Mexico; In Puebla it is known from the Sierra Norte, in Veracruz from Cuautlapan and the Los Tuxtlas region, in Oaxaca from the Sierra Juarez and Sierra Miahuatlan, from Chiapas in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and Tapilula/Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacan, and in the Sierra Madre del Sur of Guerrero. Elevational distribution from 300-1500 m.

HABITAT:

Tropical Montane Habitat, 4,500′, Oaxaca, Mexico

Man-Made Oviposition Site, 4,500′, Oaxaca, Mexico

NATURAL HISTORY:

TAXONOMY:

TYPE:
Described as Hyla moreletii by Dumeril (1853). Syntypes: MNHNP 428. Type locality: “Vera-Paz”, Guatemala; corrected to “Coban in [Departamento Alta] Vera Paz, Guatemala” by Kellogg (1932).

PERSONAL NOTES:
On the night of July 8, 2005 I had the good fortune to discover this species calling from around an old well near Vista Hermosa, Sierra Juarez, Oaxaca. Three males were giving half-hearted vocalizations while perched on cattails about 3-4′ above the water. One Smilisca cyanosticta was also calling from a floating position in the well. On a forested slope nearby, what I believe to be Anotheca spinosa called sporadically. There was no rain on this evening.
Also of note was the fact that the well was full of nearly transformed, as well as 50% grown Agalychnis tadpoles. This indicates that A. moreleti has a lengthy breeding season.

CONSERVATION STATUS:
IUCN Red List status for this species is “Critically Endangered” due to a projected population decline of 80% over the next ten years due to habitat loss and infection with the Chytrid fungus; surveyors in the states of Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico reported this species extirpated from all sites they visited. (In July, 2005 I found an extant breeding population in the Sierra Juarez of Oaxaca – photographed above).

REFERENCES:
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.
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.

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

NATURAL HISTORY:

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.

MIAHUATLAN (PIPING) PEEPING FROG Tomodactylus syristes – Hoyt 1965

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION: T. syristes is known to occur only on the Pacific slopes of the Sierra Miahuatlán and Sierra Mixteca Alta at moderate elevations.

HABITAT: Cloud Forest of the Sierra Madre del Sur, 2,000′, Oaxaca, Mexico

NATURAL HISTORY:

TAXONOMY: The genus Tomodactylus was recently synonomized [...]]]>
Adult, 3,500′, Oaxaca, Mexico

Adult showing thigh coloration, 3,500′, Oaxaca, Mexico

MIAHUATLAN (PIPING) PEEPING FROG
Tomodactylus syristes – Hoyt 1965

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:
T. syristes is known to occur only on the Pacific slopes of the Sierra Miahuatlán and Sierra Mixteca Alta at moderate elevations.

HABITAT:

Cloud Forest of the Sierra Madre del Sur, 2,000′, Oaxaca, Mexico

NATURAL HISTORY:

TAXONOMY:
The genus Tomodactylus was recently synonomized with Eleutherodactylus; however, I believe that Tomodactylus should be retained to represent this distinct group of frogs.

TYPE:
Described as Tomodactylus syristes by Hoyt (1965). Holotype: UMMZ 124004. Type locality: “on the Pacific slopes of the Sierra de Miahuatlan . . . . 66.7 km (by road) N of Pochutla, Oaxaca, Mexico”.

PERSONAL NOTES:
I encountered this species during July, 2005 in the Sierra Madre del Sur above Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca. During a rainless night, dozens of calling individuals were heard along a 7 mile stretch of rural highway. Most were vocalizing from high perches in pine trees and would have been extremely difficult to capture; in the course of climbing a vertical roadcut to try for a calling frog, I happened upon the above-photographed female in the tall grass I was using to ascend the dangerous slope.
Of possible interest is the fact that there was approximately 1 mile of highway where no Tomodactylus or Syrrhophus were vocalizing on this evening – lower than T. syristes and above S. pipilans.

CONSERVATION STATUS:
IUCN Red List status for this species is currently “Endangered” due to it’s small geographic distribution and the continued deforestation associated with the forests it exclusively inhabits. Mexico’s law lists this species under “Special Protection”. Whether or not this species can exist in logged regions has yet to be determined, but it seems that virgin forest is not necessary to it’s survival.

REFERENCES:

TUXTLAN TOAD Bufo cavifrons – Firschein 1950

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION: Bufo cavifrons is endemic to the isolated Sierra de los Tuxtlas region (including Volcan Santa Marta) of Veracruz, Mexico. Here, it occurs at elevations of 75-1600m.

HABITAT: Rain Forest Habitat, 295′, Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico Oviposition Site, 320′, Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico

NATURAL HISTORY: Bufo cavifrons is a [...]]]>
Metamorph, 295′, Veracruz, Mexico

Venter

TUXTLAN TOAD
Bufo cavifrons – Firschein 1950

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:
Bufo cavifrons is endemic to the isolated Sierra de los Tuxtlas region (including Volcan Santa Marta) of Veracruz, Mexico. Here, it occurs at elevations of 75-1600m.

HABITAT:

Rain Forest Habitat, 295′, Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico

Oviposition Site, 320′, Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico

NATURAL HISTORY:
Bufo cavifrons is a stream-breeding, forest dwelling species that does not generally thrive where native forest has been cleared. It generally occurs in Tropical Rainforest and Tropical Deciduous Forest environments. Breeding takes place mainly in the dry season but may occur to some degree year-round.

TAXONOMY:
In the Bufo valliceps group of Martin (1972).

TYPE:
Described as Bufo cavifrons by Firschein (1950). Holotype: UIMNH 8741. Type locality: “500 feet below peak of Volcán San Martín, San Andrés Tuxtla, Veracruz, Mexico”.

PERSONAL NOTES:
In late June, 2005 I encountered a large number of recently metamorphosed Bufo cavifrons along a stream adjacent to the UNAM Biological Research Station in the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, Veracruz. They were abundant along the shaded, rocky streamcourse and never more than a few feet from the waters’ edge. Young Eleutherodactylus vulcani were found here in similar numbers.

CONSERVATION STATUS:
IUCN Red List Status for Bufo cavifrons is currently listed as “Endangered” due to a highly fragmented and decreasing population, as well as continued habitat destruction within it’s small natural range.

REFERENCES:

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION: This species is only known from the eastern shore of Lago de las Minas, in the high desert of extreme eastern Puebla, Mexico. It may also occur in adjacent crater lakes but this has yet to be confirmed.

HABITAT: Habitat, main [...]]]> LAGO DE LAS MINAS LEOPARD FROG
Rana chichicuahutla – Cuellar, Méndez-De La Cruz, & Villagrán-Santa Cruz 1996

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:
This species is only known from the eastern shore of Lago de las Minas, in the high desert of extreme eastern Puebla, Mexico. It may also occur in adjacent crater lakes but this has yet to be confirmed.

HABITAT:

Habitat, main lake, 6,000′, Puebla, Mexico

Habitat, north lake, 6,000′, Puebla, Mexico

Habitat, north lake, 6,000′, Puebla, Mexico

NATURAL HISTORY:

TAXONOMY:
In the Rana berlandieri group as defined by Hillis, Frost and Wright (1983). Rana chichicuahutla is most closely related to R. spectabilis, R. neovolcanica and R. tlaloci.

TYPE:
Described as Rana chichicuahutla by Cuellar, Méndez-De La Cruz, and Villagrán-Santa Cruz (1996). Holotype: IBUNAM (unnumbered). Type locality: “Lago de Las Minas, about 6 Km SE San Jose Alchichica, Puebla, Mexico, elevation 2324 m”.

PERSONAL NOTES:
In June, 2005 I searched for this frog at “Lago de las Minas”, Puebla, Mexico. The locals said there are three lakes known by this name, all within a short distance of one-another. We searched the main Lago during daylight hours, and could find no frogs. A fisherman told us that at night there are frogs at the lake’s edge – we assumed he was referring to R. chichicuahutla. At the northern Lago de las Minas, we performed a nocturnal survey but again came up empty handed. This lake was fishless and appeared to be mineral-rich like Lago Alchichica. Our searches were by no means intensive, and in the 2006 field season I’ll again return to the main Lago de las Minas for a nocturnal survey to try and determine the status of this species.

CONSERVATION STATUS:
IUCN Red List Status for Rana chichicuahutla is currently listed as “Critically Endangered” due to an extremely limited range and small (possibly decreasing) population size. Ground water pumping in this arid region may also prove detrimental to this species. It is unknown whether introduced fish species are taking their toll on the only known population of R. chichicuahutla.

REFERENCES:

PETER’S SHINY PEEPING FROG Tomodactylus petersi – Duellman 1954

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION: Tomodactylus petersi is found from the Sierra Madre Occidental of Sinaloa and Durango south to the Sierra de Coalcomán; it is found inland to the mountains of the state of Aguascalientes.

HABITAT:

NATURAL HISTORY:

TAXONOMY: The genus Tomodactylus was recently synonomized with Eleutherodactylus; however, I believe that [...]]]>
Adult Male, 4,400′, Sinaloa, Mexico

PETER’S SHINY PEEPING FROG
Tomodactylus petersi – Duellman 1954

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:
Tomodactylus petersi is found from the Sierra Madre Occidental of Sinaloa and Durango south to the Sierra de Coalcomán; it is found inland to the mountains of the state of Aguascalientes.

HABITAT:

NATURAL HISTORY:

TAXONOMY:
The genus Tomodactylus was recently synonomized with Eleutherodactylus; however, I believe that Tomodactylus should be retained to represent this distinctive group of frogs.
Tomodactylus petersi was synonomized with T. nitidus by Dixon (1957). I do not agree with this arrangement, and believe both subspecies of nitidus (orarius and petersi) deserve specific status. T. petersi is morphologically diagnosable from all other Tomodactylus, and it’s range is allopatric of all other members of the genus with the exception of the distinctive T. rufescens in the Sierra de Coalcomán of Michoacán, and possibly T. angustidigitorum.

TYPE:
Described as Tomodactylus petersi by Duellman (1954). Holotype: UMMZ 109238. Type locality: “one-fourth mile east of Coalcomán (elevation 3500 feet)”, Michoacán, Mexico.

PERSONAL NOTES:
I have seen (or heard) this frog in Sinaloa, Durango, Nayarit and Michoacán. In Sinaloa I spent two evenings (August 2002, 2003) mapping the distributions of the Eleutherodactylid frogs of the genera Syrrhophus and Tomodactylus along Mexico Highway 40; T. petersi was abundant and widely distributed along this transect. We found them calling from backyards in the middle of the small town of Santa Lucia, grazed hillsides, open pine forest, and densely-wooded canyons. Males always called from elevated sites (normally low branches of trees), and did so from dusk until early in the morning. Other frogs we found in microsympatry with this species were Syrrhophus teretistes (most calling from the ground) and Tomodactylus saxatilis (calling from rock outcrops).
In August, 2003 in the mountains of coastal Nayarit (southeast of San Blas; west of Tepic) we found this frog calling from trees within agricultural groves. At this site Syrrhophus pallidus was also calling (from terrestrial locations).

CONSERVATION STATUS:
IUCN Red List status for this species (under the name T. nitidus) is “Least Concern” due to it’s large geographic distribution, presumed large worldwide population and adaptability (especially to human-altered habitats).

REFERENCES:

MEXICO CASCADE FROG Rana pustulosa – Boulenger 1883

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:

HABITAT:

NATURAL HISTORY:

TAXONOMY:

TYPE:

PERSONAL NOTES:

CONSERVATION STATUS:

REFERENCES:

NORTHWEST MEXICO LEOPARD FROG Rana magnaocularis – Frost & Bagnara 1976

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:

HABITAT: Seasonal Creek Habitat, 1,700′, Sonora, Mexico Pine-Forest Habitat, 6,500′, Chihuahua, Mexico

NATURAL HISTORY:

TAXONOMY:

TYPE:

PERSONAL NOTES:

CONSERVATION STATUS:

REFERENCES:

DWARF MEXICAN TREEFROG Tlalocohyla smithi – Boulenger 1901

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:

HABITAT: Tropical Habitat, 250′, Sinaloa, Mexico

NATURAL HISTORY:

TAXONOMY:

TYPE:

PERSONAL NOTES:

CONSERVATION STATUS:

REFERENCES: 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: [...]]]>
Adult Male, 200′, Sinaloa, Mexico

Adult in situ, 25′, Sinaloa, Mexico

DWARF MEXICAN TREEFROG
Tlalocohyla smithi – Boulenger 1901

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:

HABITAT:

Tropical Habitat, 250′, Sinaloa, Mexico

NATURAL HISTORY:

TAXONOMY:

TYPE:

PERSONAL NOTES:

CONSERVATION STATUS:

REFERENCES:
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.

EMERALD TREEFROG Exerodonta smaragdina – Taylor 1940

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:

HABITAT: Stream Habitat, 4,900′, Jalisco, Mexico

NATURAL HISTORY:

TAXONOMY: Exerodonta (Brocchi 1879) was resurrected by Faivovich et al. (2005) as the genus for frogs of the former Hyla sumichrasti group, as well as the frogs of the Hyla pinorum group and a single member of the [...]]]>
Adult Male, 4,900′, Jalisco, Mexico

Same as above

Same as above

EMERALD TREEFROG
Exerodonta smaragdina – Taylor 1940

IDENTIFICATION:

DISTRIBUTION:

HABITAT:

Stream Habitat, 4,900′, Jalisco, Mexico

NATURAL HISTORY:

TAXONOMY:
Exerodonta (Brocchi 1879) was resurrected by Faivovich et al. (2005) as the genus for frogs of the former Hyla sumichrasti group, as well as the frogs of the Hyla pinorum group and a single member of the former Hyla miotympanum group.
E. smaragdina is a member of the E. sumichrasti species group; it is closely related to E. chimalapa, E. xera and E. sumichrasti.

TYPE:

PERSONAL NOTES:
I have observed E. smaragdina on several occasions. In August 2003 I found many late-stage E. smaragdina tadpoles in a swiftly flowing mountain stream along Highway 40 near Santa Lucia, Sinaloa. Later the same trip I heard several adult males calling from high leaves over a small seep in a tropical ravine on the coastal side of the Sierra de Manatlán, Jalisco. The male frog depicted above was found at night in the streambed of a small creek at the summit of the Sierra de Manatlán in a madrone-oak forest. Eleutherodactylus vocalis was also present in these streams as were Leptodeira bressoni (Cat-eyed snakes), one of which was attempting to predate a young E. vocalis (and certainly would have taken Exerodonta smaragdina, too).
My final experience with this frog came from hearing several adult males calling from a pond behind a gasolinera near Jiquilpan, Michoacán. This open plateau habitat is quite a sharp contrast to the tropical and subtropical mountain streams this species usually inhabits.

CONSERVATION STATUS:

REFERENCES:
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.