Golden coquí
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Template:Taxobox end The Golden coqui (Eleutherodactylus jasperi; Spanish: Coquí dorado) is a rare and possibly extinct leptodactylid frog species endemic to Puerto Rico.
General description
Golden coquis are less than an inch (2.54 cm) long (snout-vent length) and are olive-gold to yellow-gold without pattern. Juveniles resemble adults.
Biology
First reported to science in the 1970s (Drewry & Jones 1976), the golden coqui is the only viviparous (live-bearing) species known from the family Leptodactylidae. The species is restricted to a few genera of water-containing bromeliads in certain moist tropical/subtropical forests and rocky areas.
Distribution and Status
Golden coquis have only been found in areas of dense bromeliad growth in the Sierra de Cayey of Puerto Rico between 647 and 785 m above sea level. The species was last observed in 1981, and extensive surveys of suitable habitat have not found individuals since this date. Due to the apparent disappearance of the population from sites where the species was formerly found, the golden coqui is listed by the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered (Hedges & Joglar 2004). The species is listed as Threatened by the United States under the Endangered Species Act.
Researchers have suggested the fungal disease chytridomycosis in combination with climate change as likely causes of the species' decline. Habitat loss to homes and agriculture, acid rain, and predation are additional ongoing threats. The areas where the species was discovered have been deforested. These factors, in combination with the species' low reproductive rate, limited dispersal ability, narrow geographic range, and obligate bromeliad-dwelling existence, may be responsible for the species' precarious existence, if not its outright extinction. The species' range includes privately owned land and one well-protected area, the Carite Forest Reserve. Additional surveys are required to determine if golden coquis survive.
References
- Drewry, G.E. and Jones, K. 1976. A new ovovivaparous frog, Eleutherodactylus jasperi (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae) from Puerto Rico. Journal of Herpetology. 10:161-165.
- Hedges, B. & Joglar, R. 2004. Eleutherodactylus jasperi. In: IUCN 2004. 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.redlist.org. Downloaded on 09 August 2005.