Leptodactylus fragilis

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AMPHIBIA	ANURA	LEPTODACTYLIDAE

Scientific Name:

Leptodactylus fragilis

Species Authority:

(Brocchi, 1877)

Common Name/s:

English	–	American White Lipped Frog, Cope's White-lipped Frog, Mexican White-lipped Frog, White-lipped Foamfrog, White-lipped Frog
Spanish	–	Sapo-rana Labiado

Synonym/s:

Leptodactylus labialis (Cope, 1878)

Leptodactylus mystaceus Shreve, 1957 subspecies labialis

Leptodactylus mystaceus labialis Shreve, 1957

Taxonomic Notes:

This species was known as Leptodactylus fragilis for many years until Heyer (1978) determined that L. labialis and L. fragilis represent the same species and that the former was the correct name based on publication priority. However, Heyer (2002) later determined that Leptodactylus fragilis is in fact the valid scientific name for the species.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2010

Assessor/s:

Ronald Heyer, Andrés Acosta-Galvis, Abraham Mijares, Frank Solís, Roberto Ibáñez, Geoffrey Hammerson, Jay Savage, Larry David Wilson, Federico Bolaños, Gerardo Chaves, Javier Sunyer

Reviewer/s:

Global Amphibian Assessment Coordinating Team (Simon Stuart, Janice Chanson, Neil Cox and Bruce Young)

Contributor/s:

Justification:
Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a broad range of habitats, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

History:

2004

–

Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species occurs from extreme southern Texas, USA, through Mexico and Central America to the Magdalena Valley of northern Colombia, through most of northern Venezuela, as far as the lower Orinoco basin, and the Llanos region of both Venezuela and Colombia. It occurs from sea level up to 1,530m asl.
Countries:	Native: Belize; Colombia; Costa Rica; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; United States; Venezuela
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	It is a widespread and common species in a variety of habitats in the Yucatan Peninsula and vicinity (Lee 2000). In Texas, populations reportedly are sparse but probably stable (Bartlett and Bartlett 1999) or extirpated (Dixon 2000). It is very common in Costa Rica, and is a very common species in South America.
Population Trend:	Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It is a terrestrial, nocturnal species found in savannah, grassland, semi-arid lands, and open habitats in humid and dry, lowland and montane tropical forests. It is seen near marshes, ponds, and any temporary lentic body of water, and is common in open and disturbed sites, and also in grasslands, cultivated fields, roadside ditches, and a wide variety of other habitats. It often hides under rocks or in burrows under clumps of grass. It lays its eggs in foam nests whipped from body secretions; foamy masses may be placed in excavations made in ground by male. The larvae live in the watery centre of the foam mass until rains allow them to swim into nearby pools.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Habitat and Ecology:

It is a terrestrial, nocturnal species found in savannah, grassland, semi-arid lands, and open habitats in humid and dry, lowland and montane tropical forests. It is seen near marshes, ponds, and any temporary lentic body of water, and is common in open and disturbed sites, and also in grasslands, cultivated fields, roadside ditches, and a wide variety of other habitats. It often hides under rocks or in burrows under clumps of grass. It lays its eggs in foam nests whipped from body secretions; foamy masses may be placed in excavations made in ground by male. The larvae live in the watery centre of the foam mass until rains allow them to swim into nearby pools.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	It is an adaptable species that is facing no major threats. It might be extirpated at the northern periphery of the range in southern Texas due to heavy use of organophosphates (Dixon 1987, 2000).

Major Threat(s):

It is an adaptable species that is facing no major threats. It might be extirpated at the northern periphery of the range in southern Texas due to heavy use of organophosphates (Dixon 1987, 2000).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	It occurs in many protected areas.

Conservation Actions:

It occurs in many protected areas.

Citation:	Ronald Heyer, Andrés Acosta-Galvis, Abraham Mijares, Frank Solís, Roberto Ibáñez, Geoffrey Hammerson, Jay Savage, Larry David Wilson, Federico Bolaños, Gerardo Chaves, Javier Sunyer 2010. Leptodactylus fragilis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 19 June 2013.
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