The Almirante Trail toad (''Incilius peripatetes'') is a species of

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scient ...

endemic to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. It is only known from its type locality near Boquete, Chiriquí, in western Panama. Another population from Cerro Bollo that has been referred to this species was described in 2013 as a separate species, '' Incilius majordomus''.

Etymology

The specific name ''peripatetes'' is Greek for "one who walks" and alludes to Charles F. Walker, a student of herpetology at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Description

''Incilius peripatetes'' is a medium-sized toad, with the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...

, an adult male, reported to be in snout–vent length. Dorsal coloration is uniformly light brown or grey. The dorsum is rugose, without enlarged warts. The cranial crests are very prominent, whereas the

paratoid gland The parotoid gland (alternatively, paratoid gland) is an external skin gland on the back, neck, and shoulder of toads and some frogs and salamanders. It can secrete a number of milky alkaloid substances (depending on the species) known collective ...

s are slightly small, smaller than the eye. The ventral surface is light brown. The rear surfaces of the thighs and the groin are dark brown or black, with some light spots in the groin. The hands and feet have fleshy webbing between the fingers and toes. There is no vocal sack in the males.

Habitat and conservation

This is a little known terrestrial toad inhabiting premontane wet forest at elevation of asl. It is likely to be affected by

chytridiomycosis Chytridiomycosis ( ) is an infectious disease in amphibians, caused by the chytrid fungi '' Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' and '' Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans''. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or extinc ...

. Also some habitat destruction is taking place. It is listed as a critically endangered species due to an expected population decline in coming years.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28004710 peripetates Endemic fauna of Panama Amphibians of Panama Amphibians described in 1972 Taxa named by Jay M. Savage