Description
Pristimantis esmeraldas is a recently described species from Ecuador. Two main characters set it apart from its congeners: (1) the presence of a brown dorsum with a dark brown W-shaped scapular mark and, (2) expanded and spadate disc covers on some fingers (usually III and IV) and most toes (usually III-V). Other characters are that the skin is finely shagreen, flanks shagreen with larger tubercles with a finely areolate venter; tympanic annulus present but tympanic membrane not evident; snout rounded in dorsal and lateral view; upper eyelid narrower than interorbital space with low tubercles; cranial crests absent. Head is longer than it is wide. Snout is long with a snout-to-eye distance 20% SVL. Flanks are brown with whitish gray flecks denoting tip of tubercles, venter brown with numerous cream flecks, and a groin that is brown with one white spot.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Ecuador

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Only known from the vicinity of Estero Vicente, a tributary of the Río San Miguel in the Comunidad San Miguel, Parroquia Telembí, Cantón Eloy Alfaro, Provincia de Esmeraldas in Ecuador. This species is found in evergreen lowland forest (Bosque Siempreverde de Tierras Bajas).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Two of the six females studied by Guayasamin (2004) had mature eggs wich unpigmented membranes. One female had 10 eggs and the other 7.

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss

References

Guayasamin, J. M. (2004). ''A new species of Eleutherodactylus (Anura: Leptodactylidae) from the northwestern lowlands of Ecuador.'' Herpetologica, 60(1), 103-116.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2007 Pristimantis esmeraldas <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/6238> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 26, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 26 Dec 2024.

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