''Craugastor tabasarae'' 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

Craugastoridae Craugastoridae, commonly known as fleshbelly frogs, is a family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the famil ...

. 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 ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

and known from a few isolated records in the

Veraguas Veraguas () is a province of Panama, located in the centre-west of the country. The capital is the city of Santiago de Veraguas. It is the only Panamanian province to border both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It covers an area of 10,587.6&nb ...

, Coclé, Colón, and

Panamá Province Panamá is a province of Panama. It is the location of the national capital Panama City, which also serves as the provincial capital. The governor of the province is Judy Meana, appointed by President Laurentino Cortizo and sworn in on 16 Apri ...

s. The range includes the eponymous Serranía de Tabasará.

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in snout–vent length. The tympanum is distinct albeit heavily pigmented, and round in males whereas subelliptical in females. The finger and toe tips are expanded into discs. The toes are basally webbed. Coloration is dorsally cocoa brown with medium-sized darker brown blotches interspersed with lemon yellow. The lips are barred with brown and lemon yellow. The upper thigh surface has dark brown to black irregular bars, interspersed with bright orange-red bars. The chin, chest, and venter are custard yellow. The limbs are ventrally bright yellow with scattered brown spots. The

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

is silvery tan to golden above and dark brown to black below.

Habitat and conservation

''Craugastor tabasarae'' occurs in premontane forest at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. The ...

. They are typically at night up to above the ground on vegetation overhanging or near streams. Development is presumably direct (i.e., no free-living larval stage). This species is rare, and at least one population has crashed and might be now extinct. The species is threatened by the spread of the

chytrid fungus Chytridiomycota are a division of zoosporic organisms in the kingdom Fungi, informally known as chytrids. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek ('), meaning "little pot", describing the structure containing unreleased zoöspores. Chytrid ...

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ''Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' ( ), also known as ''Bd'' or the amphibian chytrid fungus, is a fungus that causes the disease chytridiomycosis in amphibians. Since its discovery in 1998 by Lee Berger, the disease devastated amphibian popula ...

'' as well as by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. It has been recorded in the D. Omar Torríjos. H. and Chagres National Parks.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q144295 tabasarae Endemic fauna of Panama Amphibians of Panama Taxa named by Jay M. Savage Amphibians described in 2004 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot