Windward ditch frog

{{Short description|Species of amphibian}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Leptodactylus validus.jpg

| status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Jerry Hardy, Ronald Heyer, Blair Hedges, Robert Powell |date=2010 |title=Leptodactylus validus |volume=2010 |page=e.T57172A11595666 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-2.RLTS.T57172A11595666.en |access-date=17 November 2021}}

| taxon = Leptodactylus validus

| authority = Garman, 1888

| synonyms = Leptodactylus pallidirostris Lutz, 1930

}}

The Windward ditch frog or smooth-skinned ditch frog (Leptodactylus validus) is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. It is found in the Lesser Antilles (Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago), the Guianas (French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname), and in the northernmost Brazil (Roraima) and in Venezuela. The Lesser Antillean part of the range might be due to human introduction. In 2018, the species was recorded from Colombia for the first time.{{cite journal |url=https://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=20442 |title=Leptodactylus validus Garman, 1888 in Colombia: its distribution and identification |year=2018 |issue=737 |journal=ZooKeys |doi=10.3897/zookeys.737.20442 |accessdate=3 April 2018|doi-access=free |last1=Galvis |first1=Andrés R. Acosta |last2=De Sá |first2=Rafael O. |pages=113–123 |pmid=29674875 |pmc=5904439 }}

The continental Leptodactylus pallidirostris was found to be the same species as Leptodactylus validus in 2006.{{cite web |url=http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Leptodactylidae/Leptodactylinae/Leptodactylus/Leptodactylus-validus |title=Leptodactylus validus Garman, 1888 |author=Frost, Darrel R. |year=2014 |work=Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |accessdate=8 May 2014}} The former Leptodactylus pallidirostris is described as a dweller of gallery forests and forest edges.{{Cite iucn | author = Reynolds, Robert | author2 = Rodrigues, Miguel Trefaut | author3 = Mijares, Abraham | author4 = MacCulloch, Ross | title = Leptodactylus pallidirostris | volume = 2004 | page = e.T57152A11592931 | date = 2004 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T57152A11592931.en }} The Lesser Antillean populations are found in forests and forest edges often found close to forest stream banks, shaded gullies, and caves. They may also be found in meadows, at roadsides in parks and rural yards. The species lays its eggs in foam nests.

Male Leptodactylus validus grow to a snout–vent length of {{convert|28|-|43|mm|abbr=on}} and females to {{convert|30|-|52|mm|abbr=on}}.{{cite journal |last1=Heyer |first1=W. R. |year=1994 |title=Variation within the Leptodactylus podicipinus–wagneri complex of frogs (Amphibia: Leptodactylidae) |journal=Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology |volume=546 |issue=546 |pages=1–124 |url=http://www.sil.si.edu/smithsoniancontributions/zoology/pdf_hi/sctz-0546.pdf |doi=10.5479/si.00810282.546.i}} (combined size range of Leptodactylus validus and L. pallidirostris)