''Eleutherodactylus marnockii'', the cliff chirping frog, is a small eleutherodactylid

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 ...

found in Central and West

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States, and in

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

and Chihuahua, northern Mexico. It is also known as the cliff frog and Marnock's frog.

Taxonomy

Synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

y of '' Eleutherodactylus guttilatus'' with this species has been proposed but is not accepted by all authors. Intermediates between the two species have been reported from

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

in northern Mexico. Some subpopulations of ''E. guttilatus'' from

Big Bend, Texas The Big Bend is part of the Trans-Pecos region in southwestern Texas, United States along the border with Mexico, north of the prominent bend in the Rio Grande for which the region is named. Here the Rio Grande passes between the Chisos Moun ...

, northern Coahuila and Chihuahua are treated as ''E. marnockii'' by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

Description

Adult cliff frogs are in length. They have greenish ground color with brown mottling, often with banding on the rear legs. They have somewhat flattened bodies which allow them to hide in rock crevices.

Behavior and habitat

Cliff chirping frogs are

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

and live most of their lives on

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

rock faces. They may also be found in caves,

pinion A pinion is a round gear—usually the smaller of two meshed gears—used in several applications, including drivetrain and rack and pinion systems. Applications Drivetrain Drivetrains usually feature a gear known as the pinion, which may v ...

forests,

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

forests, scrub, grassland, suburban areas and city parks. Like most frogs, they will hop, but they are also capable of crawling, which aids them in hiding in rock crevices.

Reproduction

Breeding occurs year-round, except at the coldest times of the winter, but generally peaks during the rainy season in April and May. Females can lay up to three clutches of eggs a year, in a moist substrate of leaf litter or soil.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2404760 marnockii Amphibians of Mexico Amphibians of the United States Amphibians described in 1878 Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope