Alsodes pehuenche
| Alsodes pehuenche | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Alsodidae |
| Genus: | Alsodes |
| Species: | A. pehuenche |
| Binomial name | |
| Alsodes pehuenche Cei, 1976 | |
Alsodes pehuenche (common name: Pehuenche spiny-chest frog) is a species of frog in the Alsodidae family.[2] It is endemic to Pehuenche Valley in the Andes of southern Mendoza Province, Argentina, and the adjacent Chile. The species is currently known from six streams (five in Argentina and one in Chile) in an area encompassing some 9 km².[1]
Habitat
Alsodes pehuenche is an aquatic frog. It is found primarily in galleries inside small permanent snowmelt streams with stony banks, covered by herbaceous vegetation; it can also be found in ponds and swamps derived from snowmelt. The altitude of its habitat is between 2,000–2,523 m (6,562–8,278 ft) asl.[1]
Life cycle
This frog has very slow development: time to metamorphosis is estimated to be at least four winters.[1]
Conservation status
The streams Alsodes pehuenche inhabits are impacted by paving the highway in their catchment. This has already impacted the hydrology and it may affect water quality, particularly because of salting of the highway in winter. Additional threats are waste from tourists and tramping by livestock. Considering these threats and the very limited area of occurrence, the Amphibian Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified this species as "Critically Endangered".[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2013). "Alsodes pehuenche". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
- ↑ Frost, Darrel R. (2014). "Alsodes pehuenche Cei, 1976". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 June 2014.