Hyloscirtus tolkieni
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hylidae
Genus: Hyloscirtus
Species:
H. tolkieni
Binomial name
Hyloscirtus tolkieni
Sánchez-Nivicela, Falcón-Reibán, and Cisneros-Heredia, 2023
Map showing the type locality of Hyloscirtus tolkieni at the Río Negro-Sopladora National Park, province of Morona Santiago, Ecuador.

Hyloscirtus tolkieni, commonly known as the Río Negro stream frog, is a recently described (2023) species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is endemic to the Andes Mountains in Ecuador, where it has been observed at 3190 meters above sea level.[1][2][3][4]

The adult female frog measures 64.9 mm in snout-vent length.[3] It is gray-green in color with yellow and black marks. The iris of the eye is pink with a black rim. There are yellow and black spots on the belly and flanks.[1] It has some fringed skin on the front and back toes.[3]

These frogs live in riparian habitats. The tadpoles live in cracks in the rocks underwater, within streams of the Rio Negro-Sopladora National Park.[1] The adult frogs appear nocturnal animals. Scientists have seen them on high tree branches not far from the water.[1]

The scientists who published the first description of this species [Juan C. Sánchez-Nivicela, José M. Falcón-Reibán, and Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia][1] named this frog after author J.R.R. Tolkien, explaining that they chose the name because "[t]he amazing colours of the new species evoke the magnificent creatures that seem to only exist in fantasy worlds."[3] They paraphrase The Hobbit in the introduction to their paper:[1]

In a stream in the forest there lived a Hyloscirtus. Not a nasty, dirty stream, with spoor of contamination and a muddy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy stream with nothing in it to perch on or to eat: it was a Hyloscirtus-stream, and that means environmental quality.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 John Virata (February 16, 2023). "Hyloscirtus tolkieni, A New Stream Frog Species Named After J.R.R. Tolkien". Reptiles Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  2. ↑ Frost, Darrel R. "Hyloscirtus tolkieni Sánchez-Nivicela, Falcón-Reibán, and Cisneros-Heredia, 2023". Amphibian Species of the World, an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History, New York. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Juan C. Sánchez-Nivicela; José M. Falcón-Reibán; Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia (19 January 2023). "A new stream treefrog of the genus Hyloscirtus (Amphibia, Hylidae) from the Río Negro-Sopladora National Park, Ecuador". ZooKeys (full text) (1141): 75–92. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1141.90290. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Hyloscirtus tolkieni Sánchez Nivicela, Falcón & Cisneros-Heredia, 2023". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
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