Web-footed coquí

The web-footed coqui, stream coqui, Puerto Rican stream frog or Karl's robber frog (Eleutherodactylus karlschmidti), is a possibly extinct Puerto Rican frog species in the family Eleutherodactylidae.[1][3][4] It was first described by Chapman Grant in 1931, and was named after herpetologist Karl Patterson Schmidt.[2][5] It is the largest Eleutherodactylus species of Puerto Rico.[6]

Web-footed coqui

Critically endangered, possibly extinct  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Eleutherodactylidae
Genus: Eleutherodactylus
Subgenus: Euhyas
Species:
E. karlschmidti
Binomial name
Eleutherodactylus karlschmidti
Grant, 1931[2]
Synonyms[3]

Euhyas karlschmidti (Grant, 1931)

Description

The maximum size is 80 mm (3.1 in) in snout–vent length.[2][6] The overall appearance is stocky. The head is wider than the body. The eyes are large and protruding. The tympanum is small but distinct. The limbs are strong and relatively short. The fingers and the toes bear large discs. The fingers have no webbing whereas the toes are extensively webbed (the only coquí to do so[6]). Skin is warty dorsally and smooth ventrally. Dorsal coloration consists of green, yellow, and black marbling. A yellow line runs between the eyes. Another yellow line touches the lip and extends backward to the tympanum. A vague transverse band is located at the shoulders and another, more distinct one half-way along the dorsum. The sides and lower part are marbled gray to partly plain gray.[2] Males have bi-lobed vocal sac.[6]

Males advertisement call is loud and sonorous.[6]

Habitat and conservation

Eleutherodactylus karlschmidti is an aquatic species that occurs in mountain streams at elevations of 45–630 m (148–2,067 ft) above sea level. It prefers rocky torrents in closed mesic forests. Males call from boulders, banks, and waterfalls. Development is direct (i.e., there is no free-living larval stage[7]).[1]

This species was once abundant in eastern Puerto Rico as well as in the western mountains. Its former range included the El Yunque National Forest. However, the latest record is from 1988, possibly even earlier, despite repeated surveys. It is almost certainly extinct. The likely reason is a combination of the fungal disease chytridiomycosis and climate change. Also invasive predators might have played a role.[1]

See also
External audio
Frog Call
audio icon Web-footed Coquí Vocals

References
  1. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2021). "Eleutherodactylus karlschmidti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T7146A172793731. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T7146A172793731.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. Grant, Chapman (1931). "A new frog from Porto Rico". Copeia. 1931 (2): 55–56. doi:10.2307/1435749. JSTOR 1435749.
  3. Frost, Darrel R. (2019). "Eleutherodactylus karlschmidti Grant, 1931". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  4. Hedges, S. Blair (2015). "Puerto Rico: Amphibia". Caribherp: Amphibians and reptiles of Caribbean Islands. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  5. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael & Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-907807-42-8.
  6. "2007 Wildlife Facts - Web-Footed Coqui". USDA Forest Service, El Yunque National Forest. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  7. Vitt, Laurie J. & Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. p. 166.
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