Gastrotheca guentheri
{{Short description|Species of amphibian}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Gastrotheca guentheri (2).jpg
| status = DD | status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Gastrotheca guentheri
| authority = (Boulenger, 1882)
| synonyms = Amphignathodon guentheri Boulenger, 1882
}}
Gastrotheca guentheri (common names: Guenther's marsupial frog, dentate marsupial frog) is a species of frog in the family Hemiphractidae.
It is found in the Andes of Colombia (Cordillera Occidental and Colombian Massif) and Ecuador (Cordillera Occidental).{{cite web |url=http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Hemiphractidae/Hemiphractinae/Gastrotheca/Gastrotheca-guentheri |title=Gastrotheca guentheri (Boulenger, 1882) |author=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2016 |work=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |access-date=13 May 2016}} Gastrotheca guentheri is the only known frog with true teeth in both of its jaws, as indicated by the name of the genus it originally typified, Amphignathodon, described by George Albert Boulenger in 1882.
Description
Gastrotheca guentheri is the only known frog with true teeth in its lower jaw. Its teeth have re-evolved after being absent for over 200 million years, challenging Dollo's law.{{Cite journal | last1 = Wiens | first1 = J. J. | title = Re-evolution of lost mandibular teeth in frogs after more than 200 million years, and re-evaluating Dollo's law | doi = 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01221.x | journal = Evolution | volume = 65 | issue = 5 | pages = 1283–1296 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21521189| s2cid = 3896614 }} Re-evolution of teeth in the lower jaw may have been made easier because the frogs have teeth in their upper jaw so there was already a biochemical pathway for developing teeth after 200 million years, unlike, say, birds.{{cite news |title=A Frog Evolved to Regain the Teeth Its Ancestors Jettisoned |author=Sindya N. Bhanoo |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/science/15obfrog.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss |newspaper=The New York Times |date=8 February 2011 |access-date=13 February 2011}} Biochemically, this may be an example of a suppressor of a regulatory gene disappearing.
Males measure {{convert|68|-|78|mm|abbr=on}} and females {{convert|70|-|82|mm|abbr=on}} in snout–vent length.
Habitat and conservation
Natural habitats of Gastrotheca guentheri are tropical moist forests. These frogs are nocturnal and live on vegetation, including arboreal bromeliads.
This species is declining in abundance. One cause of the declines is habitat loss, but the species has also declined within suitable habitat in Ecuador, possibly because of climate change or chytridiomycosis.
References
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
}}
External links
- [http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Hylidae Discover life: Hylidae – Treefrogs]
- [http://respiratory.publishingtechnology.com/content/ncbi/taxonomy/394453 Breathing Space: Gastrotheca guentheri] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407085059/http://respiratory.publishingtechnology.com/content/ncbi/taxonomy/394453 |date=7 April 2014 }}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q734460}}
Category:Amphibians of the Andes
Category:Amphibians of Colombia
Category:Amphibians of Ecuador
Category:Amphibians described in 1882