Monte Iberia eleuth

Monte Iberia eleuth
Individual on the forest floor (above), another on a hand showings the species' minute size (below)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Eleutherodactylidae
Genus: Eleutherodactylus
Subgenus: Euhyas
Species:
E. iberia
Binomial name
Eleutherodactylus iberia
Estrada and Hedges, 1996[2]
Distribution in Cuba in red

The Monte Iberia eleuth (Eleutherodactylus iberia), also known as the Monte Iberia dwarf frog, is a species of eleutherodactylid frog. It is critically endangered and endemic to rainforest in a small part of easternmost Cuba.[1][3] It is the smallest frog in the Northern Hemisphere and the third smallest frog in the world, at about 10 mm (0.4 in) in snout–to–vent length (only a few members of the Southern Hemisphere genera Brachycephalus, Mini, Paedophryne and Stumpffia are smaller).[4][5][6]

It was first discovered in 1993 on Mount Iberia in the Holguín Province, from which it gets its name. Much remains unknown about this small creature. It is part of a closely related Cuban group that contains five additional described species (E. cubanus, E. etheridgei, E. jaumei, E. limbatus and E. orientalis) 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).[7]

  1. ^ a b Blair Hedges, Luis Díaz (2004). "Eleutherodactylus iberia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T56660A11500015. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T56660A11500015.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ Estrada, A. R.; S. B. Hedges (1996). "At the lower size limit in tetrapods: a new diminutive frog from Cuba (Leptodactylidae: Eleutherodactylus)". Copeia. 1996: 852–859. doi:10.2307/1447647. JSTOR 1447647.
  3. ^ Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Eleutherodactylus iberia Estrada and Hedges, 1996". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  4. ^ "Eleutherodactylus iberia". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Frogs on all continents except Antarctica". Interesting Animals. Fascinating facts & amazing stories. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
  6. ^ "10 Smallest Frogs and Toads in the World". gonefroggin.com. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  7. ^ Rodríguez, A.; R. Alonso; J.A. Rodríguez; M. Vences (2012). "Geographic distribution, colour variation and molecular diversity of miniature frogs of the Eleutherodactylus limbatus group from Cuba". Salamandra. 48 (2): 71–91.