Eleutherodactylus orientalis | |
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Individual on the forest floor (above), two on a hand showings the species' minute size (below) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Anura |
Family: | Eleutherodactylidae |
Genus: | Eleutherodactylus |
Species: | E. orientalis
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Binomial name | |
Eleutherodactylus orientalis | |
Synonyms | |
Sminthillus limbatus ssp. orientalis Barbour & Shreve, 1937 |
Eleutherodactylus orientalis, the Oriental robber frog or Baracoa dwarf frog, is a species of frog in the family Eleutherodactylidae. It is endemic to the vicinity of El Yunque, Baracoa, in easternmost Cuba. Although locally common, it requires undisturbed moist forest and has a tiny range, making it critically endangered from habitat loss and degradation.[1]
E. orientalis is relatively brightly marked in yellow and very small, females averaging 1.33 cm (0.52 in) in snout–to–vent length and males 1.25 cm (0.49 in).[2] It is part of a closely related Cuban group that contains five additional described species (E. cubanus, E. etheridgei, E. iberia, E. jaumei and E. limbatus) and at least one undescribed species; most of which are of tiny size, relatively brightly colored and possibly aposematic (at least E. iberia and E. orientalis have alkaloid toxins in their skin).[3]