''Epipedobates machalilla'' is a slender 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 Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Dendrobatidae Poison dart frog (also known as dart-poison frog, poison frog or formerly known as poison arrow frog) is the common name of a group of frogs in the Family (biology), family Dendrobatidae which are native to tropical Central America, Central an ...

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 ...

to West Ecuador, it lives in dry and low forests and was first described by in 1995. The

IUCN 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 status ...

have classed it as "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

Description

''Epipedobates machalilla'' has a

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...

of for males and for females. Their heads are longer than they are wide, and the tympanum is small. The forelimbs have a moderate length and the fingers are unwebbed. The toes do not have lateral fringes and the terminal discs are expanded. The skin of the dorsum is dark-coffee in colour with a cream-yellow or cream-white stripe that shows some pink coloration toward the posterior. The upper surfaces of the hind legs are light brown in color; the forelegs are orange. The frog has a gold iris and cream ventral surfaces.

Biology

The mating system of the ''Epipedobates machalilla'' includes cephalic amplexus. The female will produce around 15 eggs which are left on the ground or under leaves. The female will then leave, and the male will protect the development of the embryos and carry the larvae. When the tadpoles hatch (around 20 days after fertilization occurs), the male will take the tadpoles to riverbanks or pools of water so metamorphosis and growth can take place. He displays aggressive behaviour to protect the tadpoles. This frog's eggs, approximately 1.6 mm in diameter, are the smallest and least pigmented of any in the genus. ''Epipedobates machalilla'' is in the chemically defended genus ''

Epipedobates ''Epipedobates'' is a genus of poison dart frogs native to northern South America (Colombia and Ecuador) west of the Andes, including the western slopes. Common name phantasmal poison frogs has been suggested for the genus. Taxonomy ''Epipedobat ...

'' and is one of the six species within this clade that possesses inconspicuous coloration (the ancestral state for ''

''). However, it is believed that with the high intra-specific phenotypic diversity observed within poison frogs and the role of diet in toxicity that there could be chemically defended ''E. machalilla'' populations.

Distribution

''Epipedobates machalilla'' is endemic to West Ecuador, where it lives in dry and low forests. It mainly occurs in

Azogues Azogues () is the capital of Azogues Canton and of Cañar Province in Ecuador. Azogues Canton had a population of 74,515 (2022 census).

, Bolívar, El Oro, Guayas, Los Rios and Manabí and has been seen in the Choco rainforest. The species occurs at altitudes between . Recently, the population has been declining due to agriculture and logging. The frog's range includes at least three protected parks: Parque Nacional Machalilla, Reserva Jouneche, Reserva Ecológica Manglares Churute.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3022253 Machalilla Endemic fauna of Ecuador Amphibians of Ecuador Amphibians described in 1995 Taxa named by Luis Aurelio Coloma Taxonomy articles created by Polbot