Chiricahua leopard frog
| Chiricahua leopard frog | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Ranidae |
| Genus: | Rana |
| Species: | R. chiricahuensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Rana chiricahuensis Platz & Mecham, 1979 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Lithobates chiricahuensis | |
The Chiricahua leopard frog (Rana chiricahuensis[2] is a species of frog in the family Ranidae, the true frogs. It is native to Mexico and Arizona and New Mexico in the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, ponds, and open excavations. It is threatened by habitat loss and chytrid fungus to such an extent that it has been eliminated from 80% of its former habitat.[3] The Phoenix Zoo, Arizona's Department of Game and Fish, and the USFWS are trying to mitigate threats through captive breeding and reintroduction efforts.[4]
Phylogeny
A 2011 genetic analysis study provided evidence that the northwestern Mogollon Rim population of the R. chiricahuensis are indistinguishable from specimens of the extinct Vegas Valley leopard frog (Rana fisheri).[5]
References
- ↑ Santos-Barrera, G., et al. 2004. Lithobates chiricahuensis. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. Downloaded on 23 November 2013.
- ↑ Pauly, G. B., et al. (2009). Taxonomic freedom and the role of official lists of species names. Herpetologica 65(2), 115–28.
- ↑ Ellis, R. (2004). No Turning Back: The Life and Death of Animal Species. New York: Harper Perennial. p. 187. ISBN 0-06-055804-0.
- ↑ Phoenix Zoo marks restoration of 10,000th frog to the wild. National Geographic (September 1, 2010).
- ↑ Hekkala, E. R., et al. (2011). Resurrecting an extinct species: archival DNA, taxonomy, and conservation of the Vegas Valley leopard frog. Conservation Genetics 12(5), 1379-85.
Further reading
- Hillis, D. M., et al. (1983). Phylogeny and biogeography of the Rana pipiens complex: A biochemical evaluation. Systematic Zoology 32, 132–43.
- Hillis, D. M. (1988). Systematics of the Rana pipiens complex: Puzzle and paradigm. Annual Review of Systematics and Ecology 19, 39–63.
- Hillis, D. M. and T. P. Wilcox. (2005). Phylogeny of the New World true frogs (Rana). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 34(2), 299–314.
- Hillis, D. M. (2007). Constraints in naming parts of the Tree of Life. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 42, 331–38.
- Platz, J. E. and J. S. Mecham. (1979). Rana chiricahuensis, a new species of leopard frog (Rana pipiens complex) from Arizona. Copeia 3, 383-90.