AmphibiaWeb - Eleutherodactylus principalis
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(Translations may not be accurate.)

Eleutherodactylus principalis Estrada & Hedges, 1997
Oriente Greenish-yellow Frog, Ranita
Subgenus: Eleutherodactylus
family: Eleutherodactylidae
subfamily: Eleutherodactylinae
genus: Eleutherodactylus

© 2010 Ariel Rodriguez (1 of 1)

  hear Fonozoo call

Conservation Status (definitions)
IUCN Red List Status Account Endangered (EN)
CITES No CITES Listing
National Status None
Regional Status None
Access Conservation Needs Assessment Report .

   

 

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Description
This species is a member of the Eleutherodactylus auriculatus group (Subgenus Eleutherodactylus). It is yellowish-green dorsally, with two narrow dorsolateral brown lines and a V-shaped mark in the sacral region. There is a suprascapular brown X-shaped mark surrounded by six brown tubercles. The flanks are yellow with a discontinuous black line. There is a black interocular bar and a black canthal stripe that extends from the snout through the orbit and forelimbs. The lips and the loreal region are yellow with black markings. The iris is golden. The venter is translucent yellowish-white in hue, while the throat is yellow and stippled with brown (males) or white (females) chromatophores. The dorsum is moderately tuberculate; the venter is extremely areolate. The vomerine teeth, behind the coanes, are in straight and short series. There is no webbing between the toes. The digital disks are developed. Adult size is small, averaging 23 mm in females and 19 mm in males (Estrada and Hedges 1997).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Cuba

 

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
This species is endemic to Cuba. It is known only from the Sagua-Baracoa mountains in eastern Cuba at elevations between 300-1000 m. It is found in broadleaf forests and in pinewoods (Estrada and Hedges 1997).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
These frogs principally inhabit areas of low vegetation. Males vocalize from leaves and branches of shrubs and ferns 0.8-2 m above the ground, typically in horizontal position. Calling activity is more frequent between 24:00 and 6:00 hours and before, during and after rain falls. Calls consists of a “pick” note repeated continuously (207-280 calls/minute). The dominant frequency is about 3.0-3.1 kHz (Estrada and Hedges 1997).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss

Comments
Etymology- The name of this species alludes to Campephilus principalis, the ivory-billed woodpecker, because it was first collected during the expedition that announced the extinction of this bird in Cuba (Estrada and Hedges 1997).

Related species- E. auriculatus, E. glamyrus

References

Estrada, A. R., and Hedges, S.B. (1997). ''Nueva especie de Eleutherodactylus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) del macizo Sagua-Baracoa, Cuba.'' Caribbean Journal of Science, 33(3-4), 222-226.



Originally submitted by: Ansel Fong G. (first posted 2004-12-01)
Edited by: Anisha Gandhi (2008-02-03)

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2008 Eleutherodactylus principalis: Oriente Greenish-yellow Frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/5766> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Mar 28, 2024.



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Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 28 Mar 2024.

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