''Leucostethus fraterdanieli'' (common name: Santa Rita rocket frog) 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

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 ...

. 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 ...

to the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

in Colombia (western slopes of the

Cordillera Central Central Cordillera refers to the New Guinea Highlands. Cordillera Central, meaning ''central range'' in Spanish, may refer to the following mountain ranges: * Cordillera Central, Andes (disambiguation), several mountain ranges in South America ** ...

and both slopes of the Cordillera Occidental). '' Colostethus yaguara'' might be its junior synonym.

Habitat

This diurnal frog has been observed in wet places, sitting on the

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 ...

in cloud forests and other tropical forests and occasionally on farms if there were streams nearby. This frog has been observed between 650 and 2750 meters above sea level. The frog's known range includes more than one protected area, for example Parque Nacional Natural Farallones de Cali, Santuario de Flora y Fauna Otún Quimbaya, and Reserva Costa Rica.

Reproduction

Scientists have seen tadpoles at many times of year, so they infer that the frog breeds continually. The female frog lays eggs in the leaf litter, guarded by the male. After the eggs hatch, the male frog carries the tadpoles to water. Scientists observed male frogs carrying 10 or 11 tadpoles at one time.

Threats

The IUCN classifies this frog as least concern. What threat it faces comes from habitat loss associated with logging, agriculture, and livestock cultivation. Scientists also found that some specimens tested positive for the fungus '' Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis''. ''B. dendrobatidis'' causes the disease

chytridiomycosis Chytridiomycosis ( ) is an infectious disease in amphibians, caused by the chytrid fungi '' Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' and '' Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans''. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or extinc ...

, which kills amphibians. However, scientists are not certain of the level of threat this poses to this species.

References

fraterdanieli Endemic fauna of Colombia Amphibians of Colombia Amphibians of the Andes Amphibians described in 1971 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Dendrobatidae-stub