Alcalus mariae

Alcalus mariae, common name Mary's frog[3] or Palawan eastern frog,[1][4] is a species of frog in the family Ceratobatrachidae. It is endemic to the Palawan Island, the Philippines, and only known from its type locality, Mount Balabag,[4] in the Mantalingajan mountain range.[1] The specific name refers to Mary Lee Inger née Ballew, first wife of Robert F. Inger who formally described the species in 1954.[2][3]

Alcalus mariae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Ceratobatrachidae
Genus: Alcalus
Species:
A. mariae
Binomial name
Alcalus mariae
(Inger, 1954)
Synonyms

Micrixalus mariae Inger, 1954[2]
Ingerana mariae (Inger, 1954)

Description

The type series of Alcalus mariae consists of two males measuring 32 and 33 mm (1.3 and 1.3 in) in snout–vent length. They are stocky frogs with depressed, broad head and rounded snout. Tympanum is visible though rim hidden by skin. Tips of digits are expanded into large, round disks. Legs are stout and relatively short. Toes are webbed and have disks similar in size to those on fingers. Skin of all dorsal surfaces is coarsely shagreen. Chest and belly are strongly rugose but gular region is less so. Tubercles are present laterally.[2]

Habitat and conservation

The natural habitat of Alcalus mariae is lower montane forest where it occurs in the forest floor leaf-litter. Habitat loss is the most important threat to this species, although the area of type locality is generally well protected.[1] The frog is the most evolutionarily distinct and globally endangered species in the Philippines, as listed by the Zoological Society of London in their EDGE species analysis, where it ranked 75th out of the thousands of amphibian species known to humanity.[5]

References
  1. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. 2018. Alcalus mariae. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T41226A114911328. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T41226A114911328.en. Downloaded on 21 December 2018.
  2. Inger, Robert F. (1954). "Systematics and zoogeography of Philippine amphibia". Fieldiana: Zoology. 33 (4): 183–531.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. p. 137. ISBN 978-1-907807-44-2.
  4. Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Alcalus mariae (Inger, 1954)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  5. http://www.edgeofexistence.org/species/palawan-eastern-frog/
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