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Family: Bufonidae
Chiriqui Harlequin Frog, more...Lewis Stubfoot Toad, Lewis' Stubfoot Toad (es: Rana Arlequín De Chiriquí)
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Adult: Species description based on Savage (2002). Medium-sized frog. Males 28-34 mm, females 36-49 mm. Dorsal: Dorsal surface mostly smooth, with weakly developed glandular regions running front to back along the length of the dorsum. Dorsal coloration highly variable, ranging from yellow to green to red-brown and black, overlaid with thin, yellow or red patterning and spotting. Ventral: Ventral surface typically yellow. Females sometimes have thick black and red patterning on the ventral surface. Eye: Iris gold. Pupil horizontal. Breeding season: Breeding occurs early in the wet season, approximately May to July (Jaslow 1979). In Las Tablas, Costa Rica, breeding occurred throughout the rainy season (Lips 1998). Egg: Unpigmented eggs are laid in two long strings (Lindquist and Swihart 1997). As many as 364 eggs have been counted from a single clutch laid in captivity (Lindquist and Swihart 1997). Eggs are deposited on vegetation or rocks in swift streams (Lips 1998). Tadpole: The tadpole is known only from a single photograph in Lotters (1996). It shows that the tadpole has 2 top and 3 bottom teeth rows (Savage 2002). Habitat: Lower montane rainforest from 1400-2100 m. Ecology: This species is diurnal and can often be found calling along streams (Savage 2002). Populations in Costa Rica (Lips 1998) and Panama (Lips et al 2003) experienced significant declines, most likely due to the outbreak of chytrid fungus at those sites (Lips et al 2003). Introduction of trout, which consume the eggs and tadpoles, may have also contributed to declines in Costa Rica (Lips 1998). Call: A "buzz" typically repeated numerous times (Jaslow 1979). Males also chirp or twitter when engaged in aggressive interactions with other males or crowded (Savage 2002). Males also produce a pure tone whistle than may indicate surrender to dominant males (Lindquist 1995). Behavior and communication: Males are territorial and engage in wrestling bouts to resolve disputes (Jaslow 1979). Males also signal each other visually, by waving their hands and feet at opponents (Lindquist and Lombard 1996). This visual signaling is very effective in noisy stream environments (Lindquist and Lombard 1996). Type locality: "from Mr. Lewis' place, Rio Chiriqui, Viejo and branches, Panama Republica" Physiology: The skin contains tetrodotoxin and chiriquitoxin, as well as other alkaloid compounds (Kim et al 1975). These compounds, released from glands in the skin, serve to defend the frogs from predators. The same toxins found in the skin are in the eggs as well (Pavelka, Kim, and Mosher 1977). Atelopus chiriquiensis lacks a tympanum, middle ear and stapes, and yet can hear quite well with the structures it has (Jaslow and Lombard 1996, Jaslow et al 1988). Diagnostic description: The living specimens are uniformly green, yellow or black from dark brown with lines, dots or red or yellow spots. Usually without enlarged parotid glands, but if present. Head lacking ridges. No dorsal fold in the head or fleshy fold on the roof of the mouth. Eardrum and lack of teeth. They have just developed glands in the rostral-Cantal, parotid, dorsal regions and Member. The legs have 5 fingers. No conspicuous tarsal tubercle and no tarsal fold leg. Lack two elongated internal metatarsal tubercles as shovels, with a free margin. Without a pair of fleshy protrusions on the dorsal terminal finger region. No full digital groove on the hands or legs. The fingers have no bearings, toes usually have bearings either. Habitat: Seems to be restricted to lower montane tropical rainforest, where the average annual rainfall is 4,000 mm .. Relationships: Your skin has potent neurotoxic venom (tetrodotoxin) on which is a defense against potential predators. Molecular data: Tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin, has been identified in the skin of the species of this genus in Costa Rica (Kim, Brown, Mosher and Fuhrman, 1975). Distribution in Costa Rica: It is located on the Pacific slope of the Cordillera de Talamanca, between approximately 1200-2500 m. Populations of this species throughout its range disappeared in Costa Rica in the early 90's. This species has not been seen since. Distribution outside Costa Rica: They are found in western Panama (Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro, Cerro Pando). |
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