''Eleutherodactylus maurus'' (common names: brown peeping frog, dusky chirping frog; es, rana-fisgona café) is a species of frog in the family Eleutherodactylidae. It is endemic to central Mexico and known from the southeastern

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

to Mexico, and

Morelos Morelos (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Morelos), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 36 municipalities and its capital city is Cuer ...

states.

Taxonomy

The species was described in 1955 as ''Tomodactylus fuscus''. However, when transferred to the genus ''Eleutherodactylus'', its name became a secondary homonym of ''

Eleutherodactylus fuscus ''Eleutherodactylus fuscus'' is a species of frog in the family Eleutherodactylidae endemic to Jamaica. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also k ...

''. The current name, ''Eleutherodactylus maurus'', is a replacement name (''

nomen novum In biological nomenclature, a ''nomen novum'' (Latin for "new name"), new replacement name (or replacement name, new substitute name, substitute name) is a scientific name that is created specifically to replace another scientific name, but only w ...

'') created to remedy this situation.

Description

Specimens in the type series measured in snout–vent length. The overall coloration is dark brown. The dorsum bears scattered pustules. The tympanum is small and inconspicuous. The forearms are slender and hands relatively small. The tips of the two outer fingers are expanded and truncate. Male advertisement call is a single "peep" given at long intervals.

Habitat and conservation

The species' natural habitats are pine forests with abundant rocks and leaf-litter. The specimens in the type series were collected from two locations 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 comb ...

. They were found at night calling from the tops of rocks and off the ground in small bushes, or in one case, in the daytime under a rock. ''Eleutherodactylus maurus'' is an uncommon and poorly known species that is threatened by habitat loss and disturbance caused by expansion of urbanized areas. Mexican law protects it under the "Special Protection" category.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3022290 maurus Fauna of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt Endemic amphibians of Mexico Amphibians described in 1989 Taxa named by Stephen Blair Hedges Taxonomy articles created by Polbot