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Casillon Robber Frog

Eleutherodactylus parapelates

About

The Critically Endangered Casillon robber frog is a fossorial species, meaning that it is adapted to digging and life underground.

The Casillon robber frog is one of more than 100 species comprising the diverse Eleutherodactylus genus. These species were previously considered part of an even larger genus containing more than 700 species, before it was split into several smaller genera in distinct families.

Though there is still much work to be done regarding the taxonomy of this large group of frogs, which is distributed across Latin America, it is thought they diverged from all other amphibians more than 50 million years ago. In evolutionary terms, this means these frogs are as distantly related to other amphibians as wolves are to tigers!

Males are found calling from underground chambers and eggs are also laid underground. The Casillon robber frog is endemic to Haiti; however it has now largely disappeared from within its range and was last recorded in 1984. This species is listed as Critically Endangered because of an expected population decline of greater than 80% over the next ten years.

This species is under threat due to severe habitat destruction taking place as a result of clear-cutting, charcoal production and agricultural expansion, which involve slash-and-burn practices. This species is known to occur in the protected Parc National Macaya, but there is no management of this area for conservation. Urgent site-based action is required in the Massif de la Hotte to conserve the remaining habitat in the area, in order to ensure the persistence of this species.

  • Order: Anura
  • Family: Eleutherodactylidae
  • Population: Possibly extinct
  • Trend: unknown

EDGE Score

EDGE Score: 5.87 (?)
ED Score: 21.18 (?)
GE / IUCN Red List (?)
Not Evaluated Data Deficient Least Concern Near Threatened Vulnerable Endangered Critically Endangered Extinct in the Wild Extinct

Distribution

This species occurs in the Massif de la Hotte, Haiti. Its altitudinal range is from 950-1,050 metres above sea level.

Habitat and Ecology

This is a fossorial species that inhabits closed forest; males call from shallow underground chambers. The eggs are also laid underground. This species breeds by direct development, meaning that offspring emerge from the eggs as miniature versions of the adults, and a free living larval stage is bypassed (there is no tadpoles phase).

Find out more

This wordcloud illustrates the threats facing this species. The size of each word indicates the extent of a species range that is affected by that threat (larger size means a greater area is affected). The colour of the word indicates how much that threat impacts the species (darker shades of red mean the threat is more severe).

Crops Logging

Threat wordcloud key:

Small area affected
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Large area affected
Least severe
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Severity unknown
Source: The IUCN List of Threatened Species. Version 2017.1.
Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org