Pristimantis jamescameroni

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Pristimantis jamescameroni
Cub

Cub

Systematics
Subordination : Neobatrachia
Superfamily : Brachycephaloidea
Family : Craugastoridae
Subfamily : Ceuthomantinae
Genre : Pristimantis
Type : Pristimantis jamescameroni
Scientific name
Pristimantis jamescameroni
Kok , 2013

Pristimantis jamescameroni is a frog through the genus Pristimantis, which includes more than 470 species. It is one of the eleven described Pristimantis species thatare endemic to the Tepuis in Venezuela and Guyana . Reports of these inaccessible table mountains inspired Arthur Conan Doyle towritehis novel The Forgotten World .

features

Of the specimens of the species Pristimantis jamescameroni measured so far , the male was 22.8 millimeters long ( head-torso length ), the three females 26.3 to 27.5 millimeters.

The first finger is shorter than the second, of the toes of the hind legs, the fifth toe is longer than the third. There is no tympanic membrane .

Pristimantis jamescameroni is similar to the species Pristimantis imthurni from Ptari-Tepui , but differs from it in terms of its coloration and grainy skin surface. The head is longer and the mouth more pointed than that of Pristimantis imthurni .

distribution

So far, Pristimantis jamescameroni has only been found on the Aprada tepui . The Tepuis are island mountains made of sandstone in the Pantepui region, which extends over the east of Venezuela to Guyana and the northernmost part of Brazil . The Aprada-Tepui is located in the Venezuelan state of Bolívar , around 22 km northwest of the Chimantá massif. The plateau of this table mountain has an area of ​​only 4.3 square kilometers. It is isolated from the neighboring table mountains as well as from the savannah landscape in the valleys by steep walls that drop up to 1000 m. The type specimen comes from an altitude of 2557 to 2571 m above sea level.

Way of life

The frogs of the species Pristimantis jamescameroni can be found under stones and in crevices during the day and are mainly active at night. Although there are many small bodies of water in their habitat, the young frogs do not need a tadpole stage in the water for their development . They develop directly from the eggs. Neotropical frogs with direct development are included in the Terrarana group .

Systematics and taxonomy

For the genus Pristimantis there is still no synapomorphism to clearly differentiate it from other genera. Therefore, the decision of the first descriptor Philippe JR Kok to place Pristimantis jamescameroni in this genus is based on genetic findings and morphological comparisons. Genetic material from Pristimantis jamescameroni had already been compared with that of other Pristimantis species before it was first described and confirmed the classification into this species group. It was not until 2007 that the genus Pristimantis was re-established by S. Blair Hedges, William E. Duellman and Matthew P. Heinicke for the South American species of the large genus Eleutherodactylus . The large family of the southern frogs , to which the genus belonged according to the opinion of the time, was divided into several families and in 2008 the genus Pristimantis was assigned to the family of Strabomantidae. In 2011, however, the Strabomantidae family was merged with the Craugastoridae family and the Pristimantinae subfamily was established within the new family. In 2014, however , the genus Pristimantis was placed in the subfamily Ceuthomantinae and the subfamily Pristimantinae dissolved.

designation

The scientific species name jamescameroni honors the director and film producer James Cameron in recognition of his efforts to draw the attention of a wide audience to environmental problems in his films and to produce exciting documentaries. The first person to describe Pristimantis jamescameroni , the Belgian biologist Philippe Kok, writes in an appreciation that Cameron lives vegan and is thus a role model for young people, since not consuming meat can make a significant contribution to environmental protection and the reduction of the greenhouse effect. A slowdown in climate change could save sensitive ecosystems such as those on the high plateaus of the Tepuis from destruction.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Darrel R. Frost: Pristimantis , Amphibian Species of the World, Version 6.0, American Museum of Natural History, 1998-2014, accessed June 25, 2014
  2. ^ A b c Philippe JR Kok: Two new charismatic Pristimantis species (Anura: Craugastoridae) from the tepuis of “The Lost World” (Pantepui region, South America) . European Journal of Taxonomy, 60, pp. 1–24, October 2013 doi : 10.5852 / ejt.2013.60 (first description, PDF for download under the Creative Commons license CC-BY 3.0)
  3. ^ A b c S. Blair Hedges, William E. Duellman, Matthew P. Heinicke: New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): Molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and conservation. Zootaxa 1737, pp. 1-182, 2008 ISBN 978-1-86977-197-3
  4. ^ Matthew P. Heinicke, William E. Duellman and S. Blair Hedges: Major Caribbean and Central American frog faunas originated by ancient oceanic dispersal. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 104, 24, pp. 10092-10097, 2007
  5. ^ RA Pyron & JJ Wiens: A large-scale phylogeny of Amphibia including over 2800 species, and a revised classification of extant frogs, salamanders, and caecilians. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 61, 2, pp. 543-83, November 2011
  6. ↑ JM Padial, Taran Grant & Darrel R. Frost: Molecular systematics of terraranas (Anura: Brachycephaloidea) with an assessment of the effects of alignment and optimality criteria . Zootaxa, 3825, pp. 1-132, June 2014

literature

  • Philippe JR Kok: Two new charismatic Pristimantis species (Anura: Craugastoridae) from the tepuis of “The Lost World” (Pantepui region, South America) . European Journal of Taxonomy, 60, pp. 1–24, October 2013 doi : 10.5852 / ejt.2013.60 (first description)
  • S. Blair Hedges, William E. Duellman, Matthew P. Heinicke: New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): Molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and conservation. Zootaxa 1737, 2008, pages 1-182, 2008 ISBN 978-1-86977-197-3

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