Hypopachus variolosus és una espècie de granota que viu des de Costa Rica fins al sud de Texas.
Hypopachus variolosus és una espècie de granota que viu des de Costa Rica fins al sud de Texas.
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The northern sheep frog (Hypopachus variolosus) is native to Central America, Mexico, and extreme south Texas, United States.[2] It occurs in the lowlands from Sonora, Mexico, to northern Costa Rica on the Pacific coast, and south Texas to Honduras on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts. The sheep frog inhabits semiarid thornscrub, savannas, pasturelands, and open woodlands, as well as more humid, moist forest in the canyons, basins, foothills, and lower elevations of mountains slopes. It is a fossorial, burrowing frog that is seldom seen on the surface except at night after heavy rains when they emerge to breed. The sheep frog gets its name from its distinctive call that resembles a sheep's bleat.[3] It is a diet specialist primarily feeding on termites and ants.
The sheep frog is a small, stout frog with short legs, ranging about 2.5-3.8 cm, with females growing larger than the males. The dorsal color ranges from tan, to reddish-tan, to various shades of brown with irregular black flecks or spots, which may be extensive on some individuals, or absent on others. An orange, red, or yellowish mid-dorsal stripe, running from the snout to the vent is present on some specimens, but may by absent, vague, or fragmented on others. It is a common species in some areas of its range, but it is uncommon in the US and listed as a threatened species in the state of Texas.
Hypopachus is derived from two compounded Greek words: hypo = under, beneath, lesser; and pachos = thickness, implying fat or thick. The specific epithet variolosus is derived from the Latin word vario or variola = to variegate or variegated; and osus = full of or prone to, referencing the markings on the frogs belly. [4][5]
The standardized common names of sheep frog (singular) for the species Hypopachus variolosus, and sheep frogs (plural) for the genus Hypopachus, have long been established and are in wide usage.[6][7][8] However, on Wikipedia, a previously established article on the genus Hypopachus has monopolized the common name sheep frogs and does not recognize the singular and plural forms of the same name (e.g. sheep frog, sheep frogs) as two separate pages, so the name northern sheep frog, which has some limited usage,[9] has been applied here.
Some other names used early in the 20th century, before the establishment of standardized common names include, Mexican narrow-mouthed toad, Taylor's toad, and Brownsville narrow-mouthed toad.[2]
Hypopachus variolosus is a variable species with a long list of synonyms.[10][11][2] Sheep frogs occur in a wide range of color and pattern variations, calls, and toe structure, suggesting that the species as currently understood (2021) might represent a species complex.[8][12]
The sheep frog is a relatively small frog, 2.5-3.8 cm, with rare individuals exceeding 4 cm.[13] Males average 3.3 mm and females average 3.8 mm.[5]
The sheep frog ranges through parts of Central America and Mexico, generally in lower elevation coastal areas below 1600 m, reaching its northernmost limit in far south Texas, US. On the Pacific coast it occurs from northwest Costa Rica, into western Nicaragua, north through western Mexico including the Balsas basin, into Sinaloa, and adjacent areas of extreme southern Sonora and Chihuahua. In Honduras and Guatemala it ranges across continent to the Atlantic (Caribbean Sea) coast, north into Belize and throughout the Yucatán Peninsula, up the coast to Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, Mexico, and adjacent areas of south Texas, US. Several areas within the range, such as southern Belize and northern Sinaloa lack records, suggesting possible gaps in the distribution.[14][15][16][5][17][18] Conversely, relatively informal records available on internet web sites suggest the range extents significantly further into interior regions of southern Mexico than previously known.[19][20]
In the US, it occurs on the southern coast of Texas in at least 16 counties, from the lower Rio Grande Valley northward as far as Goliad County north of Corpus Christi.[14] Some older maps indicate a distributional gap in northern Tamaulipas, Mexico, suggesting the Texas population is isolated from populations in southern Tamaulipas and Nuevo León.[13] However, a few sparse records have appeared in recent years filling portions of that gap.[21]
Diet: Sheep frogs are diet specialist, feeding largely on termites and ants (Hymenoptera), although some minute flies (Diptera) and other insects are occasionally consumed as well.[4][22][23]
Habitat: Hypopachus variolosus is known to occur in a variety habitats, most frequently reported from semiarid thornscrub and savanna environments. It also occurs in drier open woodlands, as well as more humid canyons, basins, foothills and premontane forest up to 1000-1200 meters (ca. 1600 m. maximum). Disturbed areas such as pasturelands, irrigation ditches, and vacant lots are also occupied. One author wrote that it is absent from undisturbed moist lowland forest in southern Mexico and Central America.[24] In Texas, it is restricted to the semiarid thornscrub and grasslands of the Tamaulipan mezquital ecoregion. Sheep frogs are secretive and largely fossorial, known to live in the cavities of hollowed out root systems of trees and shrubs, mammal burrows, and pack rat nest. It is capable of burrowing backwards with its hind feet into loose soils, just below the surface during wet periods, and up to a meter in dry seasons.[18] It emerges after heavy rains to breed and occasionally forage at night, and may be found under rocks, logs and fallen palm trees, and other surface debris while soils remain wet. [4][5][18][22][23][24]
Reproduction: Sheep frogs deposit their eggs between March and September or October. Emergence and mating is typically stimulated by heavy rain, or on occasions the irrigation of fields. Males often call while freely floating on the surface of shallow pools. The call is a sheep-like bleat about two to three seconds in duration. Amplexus is axillary and the eggs are deposited in the water, floating at the surface in loosely attached rafts. Typically (although not exclusively) eggs are deposited in ephemeral pools of rainwater, but also in ponds, marshes, ditches, and cattle tanks. Clutches of about 700 eggs have been reported and they hatch within 12 to 24 hours. The tadpoles are brownish with faint markings on the belly, and some individuals exhibit a mid-dorsal stripe, growing up to 2.7-3.5 cm in total length. Metamorphose occurs after about one month and froglets are 1-1.6 cm snout to vent length.[9][22][23]
Although Hypopachus variolosus is a wide-ranging species and common in some areas of its distribution, it is uncommon within its limited range in the US, and it is protected by law in the state of Texas where it is listed as a threatened species. Threats in Texas include fragmentation and loss of habitat due to agriculture and urban expansion.[25]
Sheep frog (Hypopachus variolosus), Quintana Roo, Mexico, (July 29, 2012) The northern sheep frog (Hypopachus variolosus) is native to Central America, Mexico, and extreme south Texas, United States. It occurs in the lowlands from Sonora, Mexico, to northern Costa Rica on the Pacific coast, and south Texas to Honduras on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts. The sheep frog inhabits semiarid thornscrub, savannas, pasturelands, and open woodlands, as well as more humid, moist forest in the canyons, basins, foothills, and lower elevations of mountains slopes. It is a fossorial, burrowing frog that is seldom seen on the surface except at night after heavy rains when they emerge to breed. The sheep frog gets its name from its distinctive call that resembles a sheep's bleat. It is a diet specialist primarily feeding on termites and ants.
The sheep frog is a small, stout frog with short legs, ranging about 2.5-3.8 cm, with females growing larger than the males. The dorsal color ranges from tan, to reddish-tan, to various shades of brown with irregular black flecks or spots, which may be extensive on some individuals, or absent on others. An orange, red, or yellowish mid-dorsal stripe, running from the snout to the vent is present on some specimens, but may by absent, vague, or fragmented on others. It is a common species in some areas of its range, but it is uncommon in the US and listed as a threatened species in the state of Texas.
Hypopachus variolosus es una especie de anfibio anuro de la familia Microhylidae.[1] Se distribuye desde Costa Rica hasta el sur de Texas. Su rango altitudinal va desde el nivel del mar a los 2100 m de altitud.
Hypopachus variolosus es una especie de anfibio anuro de la familia Microhylidae. Se distribuye desde Costa Rica hasta el sur de Texas. Su rango altitudinal va desde el nivel del mar a los 2100 m de altitud.
Hypopachus variolosus Hypopachus generoko animalia da. Anfibioen barruko Microhylidae familian sailkatuta dago, Anura ordenan.
Hypopachus variolosus Hypopachus generoko animalia da. Anfibioen barruko Microhylidae familian sailkatuta dago, Anura ordenan.
Hypopachus variolosus est une espèce d'amphibiens de la famille des Microhylidae[1].
Cette espèce se rencontre jusqu'à 2 100 m d'altitude en Amérique centrale (Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexique, Nicaragua et Salvador) et aux États-Unis dans la pointe Sud du Texas[1].
Hypopachus variolosus mesure environ 45 mm[2].
Hypopachus variolosus est une espèce d'amphibiens de la famille des Microhylidae.
De schaapskikker[2] (Hypopachus variolosus) is een kikker uit de familie smalbekkikkers (Microhylidae). De soort werd voor het eerst wetenschappelijk beschreven door Edward Drinker Cope in 1866.[3]
In het verleden zijn verschillende wetenschappelijke namen gebruikt voor deze soort, zoals Systoma variolosum, Hypopachus cuneus, Engystoma inguinalis, Hypopachus Seebachi en Engystoma variolosum.
Deze soort komt voor in Centraal-Amerika en in de Verenigde staten in zuidoostelijk Texas.[4] De schaapskikker leeft in wat drogere streken maar op wat vochtigere plaatsen als oevers van rivieren en meren, waar de kikker op de modderige oevers te vinden is.
Het lichaam is erg dik en log en heeft een bruine rugkleur met enkele zwarte vlekken en een witte buik met vele zwarte vlekken. De flanken zijn meestal lichtbruin of grijs. De schaapskikker is te herkennen aan een zeer spitse snuit en de daardoor smalle bek en ook de lichter gekleurde zeer dunne groef op het midden van de rug is een typisch kenmerk.
De Nederlandstalige naam schaapskikker is te danken aan de lokroep van de mannetjes die een zeer luid en schaap-achtig geluid produceren dat sterk doet denken aan blaten. Het voedsel bestaat uit mieren en termieten, terwijl deze insecten door andere dieren juist sterk gemeden worden. De maximale lengte is 5 centimeter, maar in sommige streken blijft de kikker echter onder de drie centimeter.
De schaapskikker (Hypopachus variolosus) is een kikker uit de familie smalbekkikkers (Microhylidae). De soort werd voor het eerst wetenschappelijk beschreven door Edward Drinker Cope in 1866.
In het verleden zijn verschillende wetenschappelijke namen gebruikt voor deze soort, zoals Systoma variolosum, Hypopachus cuneus, Engystoma inguinalis, Hypopachus Seebachi en Engystoma variolosum.
Multimedia w Wikimedia Commons Hypopachus variolosus – gatunek żaby z rodziny wąskopyskowatych[3]. Przedstawiciele tego gatunku wykonują charakterystyczne odgłosy przypominające beczenie owiec, które wykonują w trakcie i po opadach w ciepłych miesiącach roku[4].
Gatunek pochodzi z Nizin Pacyfiku i Karaibów. Można go znaleźć od południowego Teksasu po Kostarykę, w USA, Meksyku, Gwatemali, Hondurasie, Nikaragui, Belize[3].
Żaby te występują w różnych siedliskach: wilgotnych lasach tropikalnych, otwartych, zmienionych przez człowieka siedliskach i różnych wilgotnych miejscach na suchych obszarach. Ten rozpowszechniony gatunek nie ma żadnych poważniejszych zagrożeń[3].
Płaz ten jest beczułkowaty, pękaty. Posiada charakterystyczny trójkątny pysk a także grubą fałdę skóry na szyi. Cechy te pozwalają na utożsamienie tego przedstawiciela z członkami rodziny wąskopyskowatych[5]. H. variolosus posiada zwykle jedną żółtą smugę rozciągającą się po szarym, oliwkowym i brązowym grzbiecie, a także jasny pas wyróżniający się na tle szarego, plamistego brzucha. Występuje też biały, ukośny pas rozciągający się od żółtozłotych oczu do przednich kończyn. Dorosłe osobniki mierzą od 30 do 50 mm, z tym że samice są zazwyczaj większe[5].
Rozmnażanie zachodzi w wodzie, od marca do sierpnia po ulewnych deszczach, a jaja składane są od kwietnia do października. Osobniki w tym celu migrują z podziemnych kryjówek na efemeryczne podmokłe tereny[4]. W trakcie godów, samce aktywne rozrodczo wydają charakterystyczne nawoływania przypominające beczenie owiec. Samice składają od 600 do 800 jaj na powierzchni wolno stojącej wody lub tymczasowo utworzonych kałużach ( także na terenach bagiennych). Jaja w ciągu 12 godzin wylęgają się i po ok. 30 dniach kijanki przechodzą metamorfozę do postaci dorosłej[5].
Żywią się termitami, mrówkami i owadami dwuskrzydłymi[4].
Hypopachus variolosus – gatunek żaby z rodziny wąskopyskowatych. Przedstawiciele tego gatunku wykonują charakterystyczne odgłosy przypominające beczenie owiec, które wykonują w trakcie i po opadach w ciepłych miesiącach roku.
Ếch cừu (Hypopachus variolosus) là một loài ếch có nguồn gốc ở Thái Bình Dương và Caribbean, vùng đất thấp ở miền nam Texas đến Costa Rica. Nó có tiếng kêu đặc biệt tương tự như tiếng kêu be be của một con cừu trong và sau khi mưa trong những tháng ấm áp.
Ếch cừu (Hypopachus variolosus) là một loài ếch có nguồn gốc ở Thái Bình Dương và Caribbean, vùng đất thấp ở miền nam Texas đến Costa Rica. Nó có tiếng kêu đặc biệt tương tự như tiếng kêu be be của một con cừu trong và sau khi mưa trong những tháng ấm áp.
