''Rheobates palmatus'' is a species of

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

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 toxi ...

. It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

of genus ''

Rheobates ''Rheobates'' is a genus of frogs in the family Aromobatidae. It is endemic to Colombia. These are cryptically coloured frogs with extensive toe webbing. The name ''Rheobates'' is derived from the Greek words ''rheo'' (stream, current) and β� ...

'' erected in 2006. Its common name is palm rocket frog. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

to Colombia. It is considered to be part of a

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

Description

''Rheobates palmatus'' has cryptic, brown or gray dorsal colouration and posteriorly granular skin texture. Toe webbing is extensive. It is also distinguishable by its large size. Its tadpoles are also large and are a uniform colour without markings.

Distribution and habitat

''Rheobates palmatus'' is endemic to the Colombian Andes and is found on both sides of the Cordillera Oriental and on the eastern side of 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 ** ...

range at heights of above sea level. As it has not been found higher than , it is effectively divided into three distinct populations as those on the two slopes of the Cordillera Oriental are separated by a continuous, high altitude ridge. It has been found that the vocalisations of the males when seeking a mate varies between the different populations. It is a terrestrial species and is found in

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfo ...

s and

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud ...

s. In the

Rio Magdalena The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much o ...

Valley it is also found in pasture land, crops and even

polluted Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

streams.

Status

''Rheobates palmatus'' does not like being disturbed by humans. Near the

Villavicencio Villavicencio () is a city and municipality in Colombia. Capital of Meta Department, it was founded on April 6, 1840. The city had an urban population of approximately 531,275 inhabitants in 2018.https://www.dane.gov.co/files/varios/informacion ...

–

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the largest ...

road it became locally extinct but returned to its previous breeding sites when a new road was built, removing the traffic away from the old highway. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists this species as being of "

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

" on the grounds that it has a reasonably wide range and a stable population, and seems to be an adaptable species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28056503 palmatus Amphibians of the Andes Amphibians of Colombia Endemic fauna of Colombia Amphibians described in 1899 Taxa named by Franz Werner Taxonomy articles created by Polbot