''Scythrophrys'' is a genus 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 ...

s in the family

Leptodactylidae The southern frogs form the Leptodactylidae, a name that comes from Greek meaning a bird or other animal having slender toes. They are a diverse family of frogs that most likely diverged from other hyloids during the Cretaceous. The family has u ...

. It is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

, being represented by the single species, ''Scythrophrys sawayae'', commonly known as the Banhado frog, after its type locality. 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 ...

Serra do Mar The Serra do Mar (; ) is a system of mountain ranges and escarpments in Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeastern Brazil. Geography The Serra do Mar runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean coast from the state of Espírito Santo to southern Santa Ca ...

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

and Santa Catarina states, south-eastern Brazil. Its 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 are secondary and

old growth An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...

forests; reproduction takes place in temporary pools. Its populations are scattered but it is locally common. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. This species was first described in 1953 by the American herpetologist

Doris Mable Cochran Doris Mable Cochran (May 18, 1898 – May 22, 1968) was an American herpetologist and custodian of the American Natural Collection at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., for many years. Life Born in North Girard, Pennsylvania, she g ...

whose research was focused on the herpetofauna of the West Indies and South America.

Description

The Banhado frog is a small, plump frog, growing to a length of about , with males being slightly smaller than females. The snout is pointed and there are pointed projections above the eyes. The limbs are slender and the digits bear small disc-shaped pads. There are three distinct colour forms; about 50% of individuals are dark brown, the rest being either green or light tan. The limbs are yellowish-brown, and there is a pale fold of skin separating the dorsal surface from the flanks.

Ecology

The Banhado frog lives among the leaf litter on the forest floor. When it is stationary it is difficult to discern among the dead leaves; the shape of its body and the variability of its colouring may make it more difficult for a potential predator to learn to recognise it as prey. When disturbed, it adopts a defensive posture, thrusting its limbs stiffly outwards, thereby making itself appear larger than it actually is. In this posture and in its resemblance to a dead leaf, it is similar to '' Proceratophrys boiei'', another frog found on the floor of Brazil's rain forests.

Status

The Banhado frog is

to the

, a series of mountain ranges in southeastern Brazil, in the states of

and Santa Catarina. Its typical habitat is virgin or secondary growth forest at altitudes of between . It has a somewhat limited range, with an area of occupancy of probably less than and it is common in suitable habitat. Although it does not occur in any protected areas, the forests in which it lives are relatively undisturbed, and any decrease in populations is likely to be at too slow a rate to be sufficient to classify it in a more threatened category, so the

International Union for Conservation of Nature 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 stat ...

has rated its conservation status as being of "

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 ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q10819208, from2=Q1594227 Leptodactylidae Monotypic amphibian genera Endemic frogs of Brazil Taxa named by John Douglas Lynch Taxonomy articles created by Polbot