''Craugastor catalinae'' 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 ...

s 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 found in the Río Cotón drainage in the Pacific southwestern

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

and on the Pacific slopes of

Volcán Barú The Volcán Barú (also Volcán de Chiriquí) is an active stratovolcano and the tallest mountain in Panama, at high. It lies about off the border of Costa Rica. It is also the twelfth highest peak in Central America. Due to its height and the ...

, western

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''catalinae'', rather obliquely, honors Karen R. Lips: Spanish name "Catalina" corresponds to Danish name "Karen". Lips collected a part of the

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 ...

and has "contributed substantially to our knowledge of the Río Cotón drainage herpetofauna and the declining amphibian populations problem in lower Central America."

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The snout is subovoid to subelliptical from above and rounded in profile. The tympanum is distinct; it is round in males but ovoid in females. The fingers have discs and weak lateral keels. The toes have discs, fleshy fringes or broad flanges, and are moderately to heavily webbed. The dorsum is dark brown, olive, greenish gray, or gray-brown, and has a few darker spots. There is often a faint, light mid-dorsal pin stripe. The posterior thigh surface is dark brown and has yellow mottling. The venter is pale cream, with weak light brown punctations on the throat and chest.

Habitat and conservation

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 of ''Craugastor catalinae'' are streams in premontane and lower montane humid forests at elevations of

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 ...

. This species was once common in Costa Rica, but has now disappeared from much of its range; it has also declined in Panama. In addition to

habitat loss 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 ...

, the decline is assumed to be caused by

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 ...

. It is known from some protected areas, including the

La Amistad International Park La Amistad International Park, or in Spanish , formerly La Amistad National Park, is a transboundary protected area in Latin America, management of which is shared between Costa Rica ( Caribbean La Amistad and Pacific La Amistad Conservation Area ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1593630 catalinae Frogs of North America Amphibians of Costa Rica Amphibians of Panama Critically endangered fauna of North America Taxa named by Jonathan A. Campbell Taxa named by Jay M. Savage Amphibians described in 2000 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot