Plectrohyla matudai

Plectrohyla matudai (common name: Matuda's spikethumb frog) is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is found along the Pacific slopes from southeastern Oaxaca, Mexico, through Chiapas and south-central Guatemala (Las Nubes range); also in the Grijalva Depression in western Guatemala and on Cerro Azul in northwestern Honduras.[3]

Plectrohyla matudai
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hylidae
Genus: Plectrohyla
Species:
P. matudai
Binomial name
Plectrohyla matudai
Synonyms[3]

Plectrohyla brachycephala
Taylor, 1949
Hyla matudai (Hartweg, 1941)

Etymology

Norman Hartweg named this species after Eizi Matuda, Japanese–Mexican botanist[4] and his host in Chiapas.[2]

Description

The type series consists of three males (including the holotype) and two females. Males measured 35–41 mm (1.4–1.6 in) and females 36 and 45 mm (1.4 and 1.8 in) in snout–vent length. The head and dorsal surface of body are dark grayish brown, while the sides are lighter but posteriorly mottled with black. Males have bifurcate, rudimentary prepollex (the "spikethumb").[2]

Habitat and conservation

Its natural habitats are pine-oak, cloud, and tropical rain forests at elevations of 900–2,000 m (3,000–6,600 ft) above sea level. It is typically found in low vegetation with abundant leaf litter along small mountain streams.[1]

Plectrohyla matudai is locally common, and in Guatemala it is one of the most common stream-breeding frogs. It is threatened by habitat loss and disturbance. Chytridiomycosis is also a potential threat, although it seems relatively resistant to it, at least as an adult. Its distribution includes several protected areas.[1]

References
  1. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2016). "Plectrohyla matudai". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T55880A53960697. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T55880A53960697.en.
  2. Hartweg, N. (1941). "Notes on the genus Plectrohyla, with descriptions of new species". Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. 437: 1–10. hdl:2027.42/56876.
  3. Frost, Darrel R. (2016). "Plectrohyla matudai Hartweg, 1941". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  4. Bo Beolens; Michael Watkins; Michael Grayson (22 April 2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. p. 138. ISBN 978-1-907807-44-2.
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