''Stefania riae'' (common name: Sarisarinama carrying frog, ) is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

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 ...

Hemiphractidae. This species is only known from Cerro Sarisariñama, a

tepui A tepui , or tepuy (), is a member of a family of table-top mountains or mesas found in northern South America, especially in Venezuela, western Guyana, and northern Brazil. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the ...

in the Bolívar State,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

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 ...

''riae'' honors Ria Hoogmoed-Verschoor, spouse of the second author.

Description

Adult males measure and females in snout–vent length. The tympanum is visible and relatively large. The canthus rostralis is distinct. All fingers and toes have well-developed discs. The toes have basal webbing. There are four color forms without consistent relationship with a specimen's sex. Possible patterns are 1) mostly pale brown, possibly with a few indistinct darker spots, 2) pattern that is other wise variable but always with paler dorsal background than dorsolateral stripes, 3) chevrons or spots on the dorsum, and 4) brown dorsum without dorsolateral stripes and chevrons, but with several dark brown spots and golden spots scattered around the head, body, and limbs. The two first forms are the most common ones.

Habitat and conservation

The

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

was collected from the plateau on top of Cerro Sarisarifiama at an elevation of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. In 2002, ''Stefania riae'' was abundant in humid environments inside the Sima Humboldt (=Sima Mayor) sinkhole (but none were found from near its edge); many specimens were found on mossy walls soaked by water, bushes and plants, and on sandstone walls. None was found One specimen was found on a mossy wall near a small, slow creek on the southern slope of Sarisariñama at . There are no known threats to this species. Cerro Sarisariñama is within the Jaua-Sarisariñama National Park.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q545525 riae Amphibians of Venezuela Endemic fauna of Venezuela Amphibians described in 1984 Taxa named by William Edward Duellman Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Marinus Steven Hoogmoed Amphibians of the Tepuis