''Dendrophryniscus proboscideus'' is a species of

toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...

in the family Bufonidae. 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 elsew ...

to Southeastern Brazil and known from isolated records in fragments of

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

in eastern

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

and northeastern

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

states.

Taxonomy

This species has been through a series of taxonomic changes. It was originally named ''Phryniscus proboscideus'', and then ''Rhamphophryne proboscidea''. A merge of the genus ''Rhamphophryne'' into ''

Rhinella ''Rhinella'', commonly known as South American toads, beaked toads or Rio Viejo toads, is a genus of true toads native to Neotropical parts of Mexico, Central and South America. Additionally, the cane toad has been introduced to Australia, the Ca ...

'' briefly placed this species into junior

homonymy In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones (equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definition, ...

with a different species, ''

Rhinella proboscidea ''Rhinella proboscidea'' is a species of small South American toad in the family Bufonidae, common in the Amazon rainforest. It is the only species known to practice reproductive necrophilia. Taxonomy The specific name derives from the Latin ' ...

''. To resolve this, it was renamed ''Rhinella boulengeri'' in 2007. A 2012 analysis moved the species into the genus ''

Dendrophryniscus ''Dendrophryniscus'' is a genus of true toads in the family Bufonidae, sometimes known as tree toads. They are endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Taxonomy Until 2012, the genus ''Dendrophryniscus'' included the species now separated to th ...

'' and renamed it ''Dendrophryniscus proboscideus''.

Description

''Dendrophryniscus proboscideus'' are relatively large among the ''Dendrophryniscus'', measuring in snout–vent length. The body is slender and warty. The snout is protruding. The males have

nuptial pad A nuptial pad (also known as thumb pad, or nuptial excrescence) is a secondary sex characteristic present on some mature male frogs and salamanders. Triggered by androgen hormones, this breeding gland (a type of mucous gland) appears as a spiked ...

Habitat and conservation

''Dendrophryniscus proboscideus'' inhabits pristine and somewhat disturbed lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, often in association with small streams. It is a leaf-litter species active during the day. It is threatened 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 ...

caused by expansion of agriculture, wood plantations, and human settlements, livestock grazing, clear-cutting, and collection of

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q22112556 proboscideus Endemic fauna of Brazil Amphibians of Brazil Amphibians described in 1882 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot