''Chaltenobatrachus'' is a

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 ...

genus 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 ...

s in the family

Batrachylidae Batrachylidae is a Family (biology), family of frogs from southern South America (Argentina and Chile). Before being recognized as a family, Batrachylidae was included as a subfamily (Batrachylinae) in the family Ceratophryidae; this is the taxon ...

. The sole species, ''Chaltenobatrachus grandisonae'', used to be included ''

Atelognathus ''Atelognathus'' is a genus of frogs in the family Batrachylidae. Sometimes known as Patagonia frogs, these frogs are endemic to Patagonia (southernmost Argentina and Chile). Species There are seven species in the genus: * '' Atelognathus nitoi' ...

'', which is considered the

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

of ''Chaltenobatrachus''. ''C. grandisonae'' (common name: Puerto Eden frog) 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 ...

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

, including both

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. It inhabits rainforest and wetlands of the southern fjordlands and

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

in Patagonia. It is known from just few localities: its type locality,

Puerto Eden Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

Wellington Island Wellington Island is an island west of Southern Patagonian Ice Field, Chile. It has an area of 5,556 km2 and most of the island forms part of Bernardo O'Higgins National Park. It is home to the last Kawésqar people, living in the village o ...

, Chile, and two mainland sites in Argentina.

Description

Small to medium-sized frogs, ''C. grandisonae'' adults reach a snout–vent length of about , with typical frog-like appearance and body proportions. Back of the body and limbs are rather uniformly bright green with brown to reddish warts.

Tadpole A tadpole or polliwog (also spelled pollywog) is the Larva, larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully Aquatic animal, aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial animal, ...

s are up to in total length. The skin of the dorsum is bright green in color with brown or reddish warts. There are bands stripes on the dorsal surfaces of the hind legs. Juveniles have more warts, more patterning, and brighter colors than mature frogs. The undersides of the legs are brown and partly translucent. There is a dark brown band from the nose over the nostril to the tympanum. There is a dark patch under the eye reaching to the lip. The iris of the eye is orange in color with gold spots and a dark line under the pupil. The pupil of the eye is shaped like a rhombus.

Reproduction

Females of this species lay their eggs in clusters attached to branches or stones under the water in still water, mostly temporary ponds. Each cluster has a few tens of eggs. Eggs are deposited in October (middle austral spring), and development to metamorphosis takes about 10–12 weeks, to December (early summer). In colder sites, development seems to take longer and

tadpole A tadpole or polliwog (also spelled pollywog) is the Larva, larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully Aquatic animal, aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial animal, ...

s might overwinter. The tadpoles' skin is translucent, and their bodies are brown in color with gold spots. Their eyes are gold with black spots.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q305240, from2=Q22105558 Monotypic amphibian genera Batrachylidae Amphibians of Argentina Amphibians of Chile Amphibians of Patagonia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot