''Pristimantis altae'', also known as mountain robber frog, is a species of rain frog in the family

Strabomantidae The Strabomantidae are a family of frogs native to South America. These frogs lack a free-living larval stage and hatch directly into miniature "froglets". This family includes ''Pristimantis'', the most speciose genus of any vertebrate. System ...

with a bright coral-coloured groin. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.

Taxonomy

The species and its defining

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...

were first collected on the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica below the highest reach of a mountain pass between Barva and Irazú at approximately 4000 feet (2860m), on a mountain slope in El Guarco,

Cartago Province Cartago (), which means Carthage in Spanish, is a province of central Costa Rica. It is one of the smallest provinces, however probably the richest of the Spanish Colonial era sites and traditions. Geography It is located in the central part ...

. It was formerly known as ''Eleutherodactylus altae'' and was classified in the

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed betw ...

''Eleutherodactylus'' by John D. Lynch in 1996. Hedges, Duellman and Heinicke classified it under subgenus ''Hypodictyon'' in 2008. Savage (1980) classified it in the ''

Eleutherodactylus cruentus ''Pristimantis cruentus'' is a species of frog in the family Strabomantidae, sometimes known as the Chiriqui robber frog. It is found in Costa Rica, Panama, and north-western Colombia. Its natural habitats are forests, including humid lowland an ...

'' group (which was considered a subset of the ''E. unistrigatus'' group). Lynch and Duellman (1997) considered it to be in the ''E. unistrigatus'' group of the ''Eleutherodactylus (Eleutherodactylus) martinicensis'' series. Savage (2002) placed it in the ''E. cruentatus'' group of his newly redefined ''E. martinicensis'' series. Hedges, Duellman, and Heinicke (2008) then placed it in the ''Pristimantis (Hypodictyon) ridens'' series. Padial, Grant, and

Frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above- freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a g ...

(2014) finally recommended not to attempt placing it in a species grouping.

Description

This is a small frog; the males measure to 23.5mm, while the females 27mm. The

back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column r ...

is covered in tiny bumps and the colour of it can vary from dark grey to black, sometimes but not always with tiny white speckles. The stomach and lower surface is dark brown. The eye has a copper-coloured

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

. This species is distinguished by its bright coral-coloured groin. This colour extends up the front of the thigh in the form of dots, and also on the rear thigh as dots in a slightly more reddish-orange colour. This frog is thought likely to not make a mating call. It has a

karyotype A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of metaphase chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is disce ...

of 2n = 26.

Distribution

It occurs throughout the northern section 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 ** ...

of Costa Rica at mid-altitudes, and throughout the eastern Caribbean seaboard of this country, on the slopes of the

Cordillera de Talamanca The Cordillera de Talamanca is a mountain range that lies in the southeast half of Costa Rica and the far west of Panama. Much of the range and the area around it is included in La Amistad International Park, which also is shared between the two ...

down to almost sea level, from near the Nicaraguan border southward to north-westernmost Panama in

La Amistad International Park The La Amistad International Park, or in Spanish , formerly the La Amistad National Park, is a Transboundary Protected Area in Latin America, management of which is shared between Costa Rica ( Caribbean La Amistad and Pacific La Amistad Conserva ...

. It was initially believed it to be

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

to Costa Rica.

Ecology

The

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and 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 ...

s favoured by ''Pristimantis altae'' are tropical, humid, lowland and premontane

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s and

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfo ...

s. It has been found at elevations of 60 to 1245m. According to Savage (2002), himself citing earlier studies, this species hides during the day in

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

s as well as amongst leaf litter on the forest floor, and is found moving actively on low vegetation during the night. Although it is not confirmed in this species, it is thought to be a frog which lays its eggs directly on moist substrate on land, possibly on vegetation. It is thought to be a "direct developer", with the species skipping a tadpole stage, the eggs hatching directly into juvenile frogs. The only thing known about its diet is from Toft in 1981, who reported on dissecting a single individual to examine the stomach contents. These were said to be a few small arthropods.

Conservation

''Pristimantis altae'' is considered

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

in Costa Rica. The IUCN rated its population status to be "least concern". It is rarely seen, but often present. According to the IUCN in 2004 it was threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, but in 2008 it stated that while the frog does not appear to adapt well to modified habitats, it is not believed to be threatened, as it continues to be present where it has historically been reported, is relatively abundant within its known range, and the majority of its known distribution is protected within well-managed reserves. It occurs in the

Maquenque National Wildlife Refuge Maquenque Wildlife Refuge ( es, Refugio de Vida Silvestre Maquenque), is a protected area in Costa Rica, managed under the Arenal Huetar Norte Conservation Area, it was created in 2005 by decree 32405-MINAE. It connects Tortuguero National Park ...

in Costa Rica at altitudes of 100 to 1200m. In Costa Rica it is regularly encountered by

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning " reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and r ...

s at the Alberto Manuel Brenes Biological Reserve and the

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve ( es, Reserva Biológica Bosque Nuboso Monteverde) is a Costa Rican reserve located along the Cordillera de Tilarán within the Puntarenas and Alajuela provinces. Named after the nearby town of Monteverde and f ...

, and occurs in

Braulio Carrillo National Park Braulio Carrillo National Park is a national park in Heredia Province and San José Province, in central Costa Rica. It is part of the Central Conservation Area. Geography The park is located on the volcanic Cordillera Central (Central mounta ...

. It occurs in

in both Costa Rica and Panama.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pristimantis Altae altae Amphibians of Costa Rica Amphibians of Panama Amphibians described in 1942 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot