''Craugastor augusti'' is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

in the family

Craugastoridae Craugastoridae, commonly known as fleshbelly frogs, is a family of New World direct-developing frogs. As delineated here, following the Amphibian Species of the World, it contains 129 species. They are found from the southern United States south ...

found in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

and the southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It is known by various common names but most commonly as the barking frog (also common robber frog, cliff frog). The nominal species likely includes more than one species, sometimes described as

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all specie ...

such as the common barking frog (''Craugastor augusti augusti''), western barking frog (''Craugastor augusti cactorum''), and eastern barking frog (''Craugastor augusti latrans''). The epithet ''augusti'' is in honor of renowned French

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

Auguste Duméril Auguste Henri André Duméril (30 November 1812 – 12 November 1870) was a French zoologist. His father, André Marie Constant Duméril (1774-1860), was also a zoologist. In 1869 he was elected as a member of the Académie des sciences. Duméril ...

. It is called the ''barking frog'' because its call sounds like the barking of a small dog, although vocalizations vary by area. It is an abundant species in Mexico but apparently rare in the United States. However, they are very difficult to detect unless they are calling, which only occurs during few nights after rains.

Description

Craugastor augusti WLF-345-1A, Municipio Jaumave; 10 July 2004

Adult ''Craugastor augusti'' measure . They have a characteristic fold of skin across the back of the head as well as well-developed tubercles on their feet. Colouration is sexually dimorphic.

Habitat and life cycle

The natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s of ''Craugastor augusti'' are shrublands and deserts. It is a terrestrial frog that hides under rocks, in caves, or crevices. Eggs are laid in similar microhabitats and develop directly to small froglets, without freeliving

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found ...

stage. They are known to live for up to seven years in the wild, at least, and 11 years in captivity.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3002246

augusti ''Augustus'' (plural ''Augusti''; , ; "majestic", "great" or "venerable") was an ancient Roman title given as both name and title to Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (often referred to simply as Augustus), Rome's first Emperor. On his death, it b ...

Amphibians of Mexico Amphibians of the United States Taxa named by Alfredo Dugès Amphibians described in 1879 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot