''Eleutherodactylus pinchoni'' is a species of

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 ...

in the family

Eleutherodactylidae The Eleutherodactylidae are a family of direct-developing frogs native to northern South America, the Caribbean, and southernmost North America. They are sometimes known under the common name rain frogs. Formerly the subfamily Eleutherodactylina ...

. It is

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 ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

and known from the

Basse-Terre Basse-Terre (, ; ; ) is a communes of the Guadeloupe department, commune in the France, French overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefectures in France, pref ...

. Common name Grand Cafe robber frog has been coined for it ( type locality is near "Grand Café").

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''pinchoni'' honors Robert Pinchon, French priest and professor who settled in

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

in 1945 and assisted

Albert Schwartz Albert Schwartz may refer to: * Albert Schwartz (swimmer) (1907–1986), American attorney and Olympic swimmer * Albert Schwartz (zoologist) Albert Schwartz (September 13, 1923 – October 18, 1992) was an American zoologist who worked e ...

on his expeditions.

Description

''Eleutherodactylus pinchoni'' is a small frog: males measure and females in snout–vent length; the smallest gravid female was . The snout is acuminate. The tympanum is visible and almost circular. The fingers are long, slender, and unwebbed, but have moderately well-developed discs. The toes are of moderate length and have vestigial webbing. The dorsum is very finely granular. Dorsal coloration is rich, dark wood brown, with variable patterning displaying four basic types. The most common pattern is a pair of relatively broad dorsal chevrons and—usually—a diagonal flank bar from each end of the second chevron into the groin. Some specimens also have two chevrons, but the posteriormost of which cuts off a middorsal patch of reddish-brown pigment in the sacral area. Instead of chevrons, some specimens have a pair of reddish-brown dorsolateral stripes. Finally, some frogs have a pair of dorsolateral lines as well as an irregular pale median dorsal stripe. The ventrum is orange, but this color may be almost completely obscured by overlying dark brown mottling, blotches, or stipples.

Habitat and conservation

Natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s of ''Eleutherodactylus pinchoni'' are mesic forests and rainforests at elevations of

asl American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is expressed by employ ...

. It also survives in secondary forest. It is a terrestrial frog. Males call from the ground or low vegetation, and the eggs are laid on the ground and on

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

s. Forest habitat suitable for ''Eleutherodactylus pinchoni'' is small in area and continues to decline in quality. It is also threatened by pollution from pesticides used in banana plantations, introduced predators (particularly rats, cats and mongooses), and the introduced frog ''

Eleutherodactylus johnstonei The Antilles coqui (''Eleutherodactylus johnstonei''), commonly known as the Montserrat whistling frog, Barbados whistling frog, or the Lesser Antillean whistling frog, is a species of frog in the family Eleutherodactylidae found in Bermuda, the ...

'' that appears to be displacing it.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3009975 pinchoni Amphibians of the Caribbean Endemic fauna of Guadeloupe Vertebrates of Guadeloupe Amphibians described in 1967 Taxa named by Albert Schwartz (zoologist) Taxonomy articles created by Polbot