The Monte Iberia eleuth (''Eleutherodactylus iberia''), also known as the Monte Iberia dwarf frog, is a species of eleutherodactylid frog. It is

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

and

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 ...

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

in a small part of easternmost

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. It is the smallest frog in the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined by humans as being in the same celestial sphere, celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the Solar ...

and the third smallest frog in the world, at about in snout–to–

vent Vent or vents may refer to: Science and technology Biology *Vent, the cloaca region of an animal *Vent DNA polymerase, a thermostable DNA polymerase Geology *Hydrothermal vent, a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water ...

length (only a few members of the Southern Hemisphere genera '' Brachycephalus'', ''

Mini The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...

'', ''

Paedophryne ''Paedophryne'' (from the Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek ''paedos'' (παίδος) "child" and ''phryne'' (φρύνος) "toad, frog") is a genus of Microhylidae, microhylid frogs from Papua New Guinea, including D'Entrecasteaux Islands. ...

'' and ''

Stumpffia ''Stumpffia'' is a genus of microhylid frogs that are endemic to Madagascar. They are mostly brown frogs that typically live among leaf litter. ''S. contumelia'' has a snout–vent length of about , making it one of the world's smallest frogs, ...

'' are smaller). It was first discovered in 1993 on Mount Iberia in the

Holguín Province Holguín () is one of the provinces of Cuba, the third most populous after Havana and Santiago de Cuba. It lies in the southeast of the country. Its major cities include Holguín (the capital), Banes, Antilla, Mayarí, and Moa. The provinc ...

, from which it gets its name. Much remains unknown about this small creature. It is part of a closely related Cuban group that contains five additional described species ('' E. cubanus'', '' E. etheridgei'', '' E. jaumei'', '' E. limbatus'' and '' E. orientalis'') and at least one undescribed species; most of which are of tiny size, relatively brightly colored and possibly

aposematic Aposematism is the Advertising in biology, advertising by an animal, whether terrestrial or marine, to potential predation, predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defenses which make the pr ...

(at least ''E. iberia'' and ''E. orientalis'' have

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

toxins in their skin).

Discovery

This diminutive species was first documented by Cuban scientist Alberto R. Estrada of the Institute of Forest Research in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.S. Blair Hedges of

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

in association with the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

's Biotic Surveys and Inventories Program. On a 1993 expedition to Cuchillas de Moa in search of the

ivory-billed woodpecker The ivory-billed woodpecker (''Campephilus principalis'') is a woodpecker native to the Southern United States and Cuba. Habitat destruction and hunting have reduced populations so severely that the last universally accepted sighting in the Uni ...

(now believed to be extinct), four ''E. iberia'' specimens were collected after being uncovered under

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

and among the

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

s of

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s in a secondary hardwood forest on the western slope of Monte Iberia. The find was published in the journal ''

Copeia ''Ichthyology & Herpetology'' (formerly ''Copeia'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in ichthyology and herpetology that was originally named after Edward Drinker Cope, a prominent American researcher in these fi ...

'', where the name ''Eleutherodactylus iberia'' was introduced.

Description

Three adult males in 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 ...

measure and the sole adult female in snout–vent length. ''E. iberia'' is physically similar to '' E. limbatus'' and '' E. orientalis'', but it is generally darker and the lines on its back do not extend as far to the rear. Because of the extreme miniaturization of the species, it possesses fewer teeth than related species and a laryngeal apparatus comparable in size to the head of a pin (resulting in a high-pitched call of a series of irregular chirps, comparable to other species of the genus). Reproductive information is extremely limited. The female specimen which was the sole source of data thus far was found beside an egg, suggesting ''E. iberia'' lays a single egg in each clutch and the parents are closely involved in raising the young (as is common with animals which birth few offspring a time).

Habitat

Only two isolated populations are known to exist, both in the

of eastern Cuba at elevations under 600 m above sea level. The first location is on top of the Monte Iberia tableland where the frog was discovered. The second is smaller (less than 100 km²) and sparsely occupied, near Nibujón at sea level. This latter area has suffered great disturbances over the past 40 years from human activities. ''E. iberia'' exists in areas of closed

with poorly drained soil; it requires high

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

for its survival.

Diet

The Monte Iberia Eleuth has a similar diet to other small frogs, despite its miniature size. It hunts and eats a wide range of invertebrates, feeding on insects, moths, and spiders.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1546330 Eleutherodactylus Amphibians of Cuba Endemic fauna of Cuba Amphibians described in 1996 Taxa named by Stephen Blair Hedges