Kingdom Animalia Order Anura Genus Plectrohyla Higher classification Spikethumb frog | Phylum Chordata Family Hylidae Scientific name Plectrohyla celata Rank Species | |
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Plectrohyla celata, also known as the Oaxaca treefrog, is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is endemic to Mexico and only known from the northern slope of Cerro Pelón, in Sierra de Juárez in northern Oaxaca. After having not been seen after 1984, it was feared that the species might be extinct. However, the species was rediscovered in field surveys in 2011–2014.
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Taxonomy
A revision of the family Hylidae from 2016 places this species in the genus Sarcohyla, but this classification is not yet widely adopted and as of late 2016, the Amphibian Species of the World labels it as "provisional". It belongs to the "Plectrohyla bistincta group" with the genus Plectrohyla, all of them moved to Sarcohyla in the 2016 revision.
This species was described in 1995 based on specimens collected in 1969–1970 from the type locality of Plectrohyla cyanomma that were first identified as Hyla siopela (now Plectrohyla siopela or Sarcohyla siopela), as well as few specimens collected from another nearby locality in 1978–1981.
Description
Plectrohyla celata is a moderately-sized frog. Adult males measure 38–56 mm (1.5–2.2 in) and females 38–51 mm (1.5–2.0 in) in snout–vent length (although the largest specimen was a male, females are larger on average). The snout is blunt. The tympanum is evident. The fingers are long and have vestigial webbing whereas the toes are moderately webbed. The dorsum is bronze brown or leaf green and has scattered, distinct black flecks, mostly on the lateral surfaces of the body. The eyes are bronze with black reticulations. Adult males have prepollex that is ossified, enlarged, and blunt (the "spikethumb"), and bears small nuptial excrescences.
Habitat and conservation
The species' natural habitats are cloud forests with pristine streams at elevations of 2,640–2,890 m (8,660–9,480 ft) above sea level. They breed in streams. Individuals have been found on a mossy rock wall at night, sitting in the spray of a small waterfall, and in direct sunlight on rocks in the middle of a stream.
Plectrohyla celata has always been a rare species. The decline of the species is attributed to chytridiomycosis, habitat loss and change caused by logging and other human activities, and desiccation.