Ericabatrachus baleensis

Ericabatrachus baleensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Petropedetidae
Genus: Ericabatrachus
Largen, 1991
Species: E. baleensis
Binomial name
Ericabatrachus baleensis
Largen, 1991[2]

Ericabatrachus baleensis, the Bale Mountains frog, is a species of frog in the Petropedetidae family endemic to the Bale Mountains in Ethiopia.[3]

Taxonomy

Ericabatrachus baleensis is monotypic within its genus. The phylogenetic relationships of this poorly known species have been debated, but molecular analyses place it the Petropedetidae family,[4][5] instead of Phrynobatrachidae or Pyxicephalidae, where it has also been placed. Its sister taxon is Petropedetes.[5]

Description

Bale Mountains frogs are small; adult males measure 19–22 mm (0.75–0.87 in) in snout–vent length and females 23–27 mm (0.91–1.06 in). Their fingers are not webbed and toes have rudimentary webbing. Adult males have well-defined femoral glands.[2]

Habitat and conservation

Its natural habitats are grassy banks of small, fast-flowing streams in giant heath woodland and adjoining Schefflera-Hagenia forests. It is critically endangered because its range is extremely small and the habitat is under threat from trampling of streams, deforestation, and settlement development, despite being located in the Bale Mountains National Park.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2013). "Ericabatrachus baleensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 Largen, M. J. (1991). "A new genus and species of petropedetine frog (Amphibia Anura Ranidae) from high altitude in the mountains of Ethiopia". Tropical Zoology. 4: 139–152. doi:10.1080/03946975.1991.10539483.
  3. ↑ Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Ericabatrachus baleensis Largen, 1991". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  4. ↑ Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Ericabatrachus Largen, 1991". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  5. 1 2 Siu-Ting, K.; Gower, D. J.; Pisani, D.; Kassahun, R.; Gebresenbet, F.; Menegon, M.; Mengistu, A. A.; Saber, S. A.; De Sá, R.; Wilkinson, M.; Loader, S. P. (2014). "Evolutionary relationships of the Critically Endangered frog Ericabatrachus baleensis Largen, 1991 with notes on incorporating previously unsampled taxa into large-scale phylogenetic analyses". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 14 (1): 44. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-14-44. PMC 4008257Freely accessible. PMID 24612655.
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