Pristimantis degener (Lynch & Duellman 1997)

Head is wider than long but narrower than body width. Snout is rounded when viewed dorsally with the silhouette of the snout is interrupted by laterally protruding nostrils. Snout is truncate in later view. Eye to nostril distance is 81-100% diameter of eye. Canthus rostralis is angular and weakly concave. Cranial crests absent but there is a low supratympanic fold angled posteroventrally behind tympanic annulus. Tympanic membrane is prominent and directed dorsolaterally. The uppermost edge is hidden due to the fold; where visible it is round and has a diameter 35-41% that of the eye. Choanae are round and not concealed by the palatal shelf of the maxillary arch. Ulnar tubercles are small and the palmar tubercle is bifid and slightly larger than the oval thenar tubercle. Supernumerary palmar tubercles are numerous. Subarticular tubercles are broader than long. Fingers and lateral border of hand with lateral fringe present. Ventral surfaces of digital discs bearing pads defined by circumferential grooves. Interorbital bar and a W-shaped mark are present, the latter in the occipital region. Based on a color slide, the dorsum is brown with vague darker markings where the flanks are white with black reticulations. Field notes mention the dorsum being carmel in color with a broad occipital triangle outlined with yellow. The venter and hidden surfaces of hind limbs creamy yellow with red vermiculations. Iris is bright orange/red with brown flecks. Pristimantis degener is most similar to P. subsigillatus and perhaps most closely related to P. eugeniae, P. nyctophylax, P. phoxocephalus, and P. subsigillatus. Unlike these other members of the group, P. degener lacks nuptial pads and has smooth dorsal skin instead of shagreen or finely tuberculate; P. degener also has small tubercles on the tip of the snout, upper eyelids, and tarsi. The only other member of the genus in Ecuador with an orange iris is P. sobetes, which differs from P. degener in having cranial crests, dorsolateral folds, and a tuberculate dorsal skin.

Known from only 3 localities in the humid subtropical regime on the lower slopes of the Andes in northwestern Ecuador and Colombia. Found at 830 and 1200 m elevation.

Males lack nuptial pads. Males and females are sexually dimorphic; females have reticulations on the posterior of the thighs and on the belly, while males are unpigmented in these areas.

Pristimantis degener is a species of frogs in the family Strabomantidae.

It is found in Colombia and Ecuador. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.