''Anomaloglossus surinamensis'', commonly known as the Suriname rocket frog or , is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

in the family

Aromobatidae The Aromobatidae are a family of frogs native to Central and South America. They are sometimes referred to as cryptic forest frogs or cryptic poison frogs. They are the sister taxon of the Dendrobatidae, the poison dart frogs, but are not as tox ...

. It is

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

and

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

Range and habitat

''A. surinamensis'' is known only from Suriname ( Brownsberg Mountain, Tafelberg Mountain, the

Bakhuis Mountains The Bakhuis Mountains () are a mountain range in central Suriname, spanning 110 kilometres. The mountain range form of the northern part of the Wilhelmina Mountains, and the mountains and its village were named after the Netherlands, Dutch explor ...

, and the Nassau Mountains) and French Guiana, but may also occur in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It is found in

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

near small

brooks Brooks may refer to: * Brook (small stream) Places Antarctica * Cape Brooks Canada *Brooks, Alberta United Kingdom * Brooks, Cornwall * Brooks, Powys, a location United States * Brooks, Alabama * Brooks, Arkansas * Brooks, California *Brooks, ...

located in mountainous

primary forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

s at

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. Scientists have observed the frog in two protected areas:

Kaw Natural Reserve The Kaw-Roura Marshland Nature Reserve (French: ''Réserve naturelle nationale des marais de Kaw-Roura'') is a nature reserve in French Guiana, France. The reserve is a wetland, and can only be accessed by boat from Kaw. Overview The Kaw-Roura ...

and Nouragura Reserve.

Description

Adult ''A. surinamensis'' frogs are small and stout-bodied, growing up to long. The skin on the dorsum has a rough texture, while the underside is smooth. The eyes are relatively large and the snout is blunt. The fingers are short, with the first finger longer than the second. Only the first and second toes are entirely

webbed ''Webbed'' is a 2021 puzzle-platform video game developed and published by Australian, Brisbane-based studio Sbug Games. A physics-based game set in a fantasy version of Queensland, players control a peacock spider whose goal is to rescue her ...

- the webbing between other toes is less developed. The dorsum is light to dark brown in colour. A dark band runs down the side of the body, starting at the snout, with a line branching off from behind the eye towards the forelegs. The underside is white with small

melanophore Chromatophores are cells that produce color, of which many types are pigment-containing cells, or groups of cells, found in a wide range of animals including amphibians, fish, reptiles, crustaceans and cephalopods. Mammals and birds, in contrast ...

s. The area around the

anus In mammals, invertebrates and most fish, the anus (: anuses or ani; from Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is the external body orifice at the ''exit'' end of the digestive tract (bowel), i.e. the opposite end from the mouth. Its function is to facil ...

is black with a white border.

Conservation status

''A. surinamensis'' is listed as

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

by the

International Union for the Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

due to its wide range and presumed large population. This species can be locally abundant and is known to occur in

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

s, but the population is believed to be fragmented. Its habitat may be threatened by

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and

illegal gold mining Illegal mining is mining activity that is undertaken without state permission. Illegal mining is the extraction of precious metals/rocks without following the proper procedures to participate in legal mining activity. These procedures include pe ...

. While infection of ''A. surinamensis'' has not been directly observed, the

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 ...

-causing bacteria '' Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' is prevalent in French Guiana and may pose a threat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2852269 surinamensis Amphibians of Suriname Amphibians of French Guiana Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Amphibians described in 2012 Least concern biota of South America