''Atopophrynus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

s. It is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

, being represented by a single species, ''Atopophrynus syntomopus'', also known as the Sonson frog. Its taxonomic placement within the superfamily

Brachycephaloidea Brachycephaloidea (or Terrarana) is a large Monophyly, monophyletic unranked clade of Direct development, direct-developing frogs including more than 1,100 species, comprising about 15% of named frog species. Brachycephaloids inhabit the New Worl ...

is uncertain, although many sources place it 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 ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and only known from its

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

from

Sonsón Sonsón is a municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia. Sonsón is located in Eastern Antioquia. It is one of the seats of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sonsón–Rionegro. Sonsón celebrates "Las Fiestas Del Maíz"- ('Festival of ...

, in the

Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands. Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges: * Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America ** ...

Antioquia Department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part o ...

Description

The type series consists of three adult females, all measuring about in snout–vent length. The head is narrower than the body. The snout is short, oval in dorsal view and protruding in lateral view. Tympanum is absent. The canthus rostralis is rounded. Skin is smooth apart from a few scattered subconical tubercles dorsally. The fingers are basally webbed and, except the first one, bearing obvious rounded pads. The toes are almost fully webbed and bearing broad discs. Dorsal coloration is red with green markings overlain with white flecks, especially on the flanks. The lower parts are pale olive with blue-white spots edged with brown. The digital tips are yellow. The iris is bright copper. All females were carrying large eggs in their ovaries; one of them had 12 eggs ) in diameter.

Habitat and conservation

The species is only known from three specimens that were collected in 1981 during daytime on wet rocks very close to a stream in primary forest 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 ...

. Despite numerous surveys to the area of the type locality, no further specimens have been found. At present, the habitat at the type locality is completely degraded. It is unclear whether the species survives at or near the type locality.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1391761 Craugastoridae Amphibians of the Andes Amphibians of Colombia Endemic fauna of Colombia Amphibians described in 1982 Taxa named by John Douglas Lynch Taxonomy articles created by Polbot