The Chamula mountain brook frog (''Duellmanohyla chamulae'') 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 Hylidae

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 ...

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

, Mexico. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, 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 manifestation of its ...

s are moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

and has been rated as "

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

" by the

IUCN 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 ...

Distribution and habitat

The Chamula mountain brook frog is known only from the northern side of the Central Highlands of Chiapas in the state of

, Mexico. All known localities are between Jitotol and Soluschiapa. It inhabits the moist cloud forests at altitudes of over .

Ecology

Frogs in the genus ''Duellmanohyla'' breed in fast-flowing mountain streams. To adapt to this habitat, the frogs have a moderate degree of webbing on the forefeet and on some digits of the hind-feet. Egg-laying has not been observed in this and other species in the genus, and it is thought that the females may deposit their eggs on the foliage above the water of swift-flowing mountain streams, the

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 then falling into the stream when they hatch. The tadpoles have dangling oral discs by which they can attach themselves to the substrate.

Status

The total area of occupancy of the Chamula mountain brook frog is less than and it is only known from five locations. The montane

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

s where it lives are under threat from human activities, and although this is quite a common species where it is found, populations of these frogs are thought to be declining. Another possible threat is the fungal disease of amphibians, chytridiomycosis. For these reasons, the

International Union for 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 stat ...

(IUCN) has assessed the conservation status of this frog as being "

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q910809 Duellmanohyla Endemic amphibians of Mexico Amphibians described in 1961 Taxa named by William Edward Duellman Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Chiapas montane forests