Pehuenche Spiny Chest Frog

PRIM/VER

Diagnosis A stout medium-sized aquatic frog (52-58 mm in males; 52-65 mm in females), with lateral bagginess and evident nuptial excrescences on the fingers and chest of the males. Toes entirely webbed. Greenish or light brown above, scattered with yellowish spots.

Currently known only from the Pehuenche Valley in Mendoza Province, Argentina, between 2,000 and 2,500m asl. It is considered possible that it might range more widely.

Arborea

Perene

Carotenoides, corante, flavonóides (20)

Sementes

Description of the holotype Snout-vent length 58 mm. Body stout, with head wider than large. Snout rounded, slightly truncate when seen from above. Canthus rostralis distinct. Nostrils laterally located, near the tip of the snout. Maxillary teeth weak; vomerine teeth in two oblique, separate patches between the upper borders of the choanae. Interocular distance narrower than the upper eyelid, but slightly larger than the interocular interval. Eyes laterally located; ocular diameter larger than the interocular distance, and subequal to the snout length. Tongue elliptical, free behind. Tympanum concealed, covered by blunt, horny warts. A strong supratympanic fold from the upper eyelid to the axilla. Forearm strongly developed. Fingers slightly fringed; metacarpal tubercles large and prominent; subarticular tubercles rounded, moderately developed. First finger longer than the second. Hind leg slender; when adpressed, the heel reaches the eye. When the femurs are bent at right angles to the body, the tibio-tarsal articulations hardly contact. Toes fully webbed; inner metatarsal tubercle strong and elliptical; the outer faint, almost indistinct. Tarsal fold sharp-edged, very evident. Skin tuberculate and granular dorsally, coarsely granular below, strongly granulous on the lower posterior surface of thighs. Loose lateral dermal folds. Strong spiny black excrescences on the fist and second fingers; bilateral round spiny areas on the chest and small conical warts on forearms and upper lips. Dorsally greenish brown, scattered with yellow spots. A narrow yellowish interorbital bar present. Ventrally creamy white or bluish white, darker with purplish color on lower surface of the legs. Brownish color in preserved specimens, with darker or yellowish spots on the back; ventrally yellowish gray. Measurements of the holotype (in mm): head length 17; head width 20; forearm 26.5; hind leg 96; foot 44; tibia 29; femur 29; ocular diameter 6; nostril interval 4.5. Larval morphology At the stage 37 (Gosner, 1960), the larvae reach a length of 65-70 mm. Body and head less twice as long as wide; head slightly depressed; ventral profile convexe; snout rounded, eyes small, dorsal. Interocular distance narrower than the internarinal interval. Nostrils closer to the eye than to the tip of sout Spiracle sinistral; cloaca opening dextral. Caudal musculature longer than head and body. Fins well-development, low close to the body, higher posteriorly; tip of tail rounded. Mouth wider than the inernarinal interval; edges borderfed by marginal papillae of various sizes. Tooth ros, 2(1)/3(1). Dorsally velvety black, with small, diffuse golden yellow spots on sides and belly; tail transparent, speckled with minute brown dots, especially on dorsal fin at tipe of tail.

África

DD, Data Deficient.

Alsodes pehuenche (common name: Pehuenche spiny-chest frog) is a species of frog in the family Alsodidae. It is endemic to Pehuenche Valley in the Andes of southern Mendoza Province, Argentina, and the adjacent Chile. At the time of the assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2012 (published 2013), the species was known from six streams (five in Argentina and one in Chile) in an area encompassing some 9 km². A study published in 2013 extended the known range a few kilometers west and included another Chilean stream.