Eleutherodactylus amadeus
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| Eleutherodactylus amadeus | ||||||||||||
| Hedges , Thomas & Franz , 1987 |
Eleutherodactylus amadeus (sometimes referred to as Mozart's frog in the media) is a rare frog from the genus of the Antilles whistling frogs ( Eleutherodactylus ) thatis endemic to Haiti . Named the species is by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , because the audio - spectrogram its characteristic call the biologist Stephen Blair Hedges music reminded.
features
Eleutherodactylus amadeus reaches a maximum length of 25 mm in females. The back is smooth, the belly is relatively smooth with fine furrows. The drawing on the back is different. There are unpatterned individuals as well as those with long dorsolateral (back) stripes, with short back stripes, with narrow stripes in the middle of the back, spots on the back or with wide stripes in the middle of the back. Occasionally there are individuals who have combinations of the above back patterns. The back color is light yellow, light brown, brown or dark brown, with the males tending to be lighter in color. The belly is white or light yellow with light brown or brown spots or larger brown spots. The peritoneum in the testicle area is dark brown or black. Glands are present in the armpits, groin, and thighs. The toe discs are slightly enlarged.
Vocalizations
His night call consists of a four-tone muffled whistle. Each tone is identical in frequency and length and is played back at 0.5 second intervals. Apparently there is a two-tone call during dusk and dawn.
Occurrence
The species was discovered in 1985 on the southern slope of Morne Forman 15.1 km as the crow flies west of Camp-Perrin in the Sud department of Haiti. The distribution area is limited to the Massif de la Hotte .
Habitat and way of life
Eleutherodactylus amadeus lives in forests with a closed canopy of leaves at altitudes between 1000 and 2340 m. He is nocturnal. During the day he hangs out under rocks and tree trunks. At night it can be found in the grass vegetation at a height of up to 50 cm. In the late afternoon and early evening its call can be heard in the low grass vegetation. The clutch, which contains between 11 and 27 eggs, is on the floor or under objects. The eggs reach a diameter between 3.4 and 5.1 mm. The hatched young frogs have a length between 4.2 and 4.4 mm.
status
Eleutherodactylus amadeus is classified by the IUCN in the category " critically endangered " . Its continued existence is seriously threatened by habitat destruction. The main risk comes from slash and burn and charcoal extraction by the local population. The species occurs in the Parc National Macaya. However, there is no administration that guarantees protection of the area, so the destruction continues. Urgent protection measures on the Massif de la Hotte are necessary to protect this species and other endangered amphibian species in this area from extinction.
After the species was last observed in 1991, it was considered possibly extinct. In early 2011, it was announced that it could be rediscovered along with five other rare Haitian frog species.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hedges et al. a. (1987)
- ↑ Mozart, Ventriloquial Frogs Sound a Note of Hope and Warning for Haiti's Recovery . conservation.org, January 11, 2011, accessed March 18, 2012
literature
- Albert Schwartz , Robert W. Henderson: Amphibians and reptiles of the West Indies: descriptions, distributions, and natural history. University Press of Florida, 1991, pp. 25-26
- Stephen Blair Hedges, Richard Thomas & Richard Franz: A New Species of Eleutherodactylus (Anura, Leptodactylidae) from the Massif de la Hotte, Haiti. In: Copeia , 1987 (4), pp. 943-949 online
Web links
- Eleutherodactylus amadeus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: Stephen Blair Hedges, Richard Thomas, Robert Powell, 2004. Accessed March 17, 2012th
- photo