Eleutherodactylus apostates

Eleutherodactylus apostates
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Eleutherodactylidae
Genus:	Eleutherodactylus
Species:	E. apostates
Binomial name
Eleutherodactylus apostates Schwartz, 1973[2]

Eleutherodactylus apostates is a species of frog in the Eleutherodactylidae family endemic to the Massif de la Hotte, southwestern Haiti. It is sometimes referred to as the apostates robber frog^[3] The specific name is not explained in the original species description, but Schwartz remarks that he first thought that the type series were Eleutherodactylus schmidti^[2] — the eventual conviction that they in fact represented a new species might have been his apostasy.

Description

Eleutherodactylus apostates males are much smaller than females, only 21–23 mm (0.83–0.91 in) in snout–vent length compared 37–43 mm (1.5–1.7 in) in females. Dorsal colouration and patterns are variable, particularly in females, but generally speaking Eleutherodactylus apostates is a pinkish tan to grayish brown frog.^[2]

Habitat and conservation

Eleutherodactylus apostates live in closed-canopy forest at elevations of 333–1,640 m (1,093–5,381 ft) asl. Males call near streams.^[1] The type locality was a wooded ravine bordering a small creek.^[2]

The range of this species is suffering from severe habitat destruction, primarily due to logging for charcoal production by local people and by slash-and-burn agriculture. Part of its range overlaps with the Pic Macaya National Park, but the park is not managed for conservation. It was formerly common in suitable habitat but has not been seen after 2005.^[1]

References