- Cook's Robber Frog
Taxobox
name = Cook's Robber Frog
status = EN | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = down
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Amphibia
ordo =Anura
familia =Leptodactylidae
subfamilia =Eleutherodactylinae
genus = "Eleutherodactylus "
subgenus = "Eleutherodactylus"cite journal | author=Heinicke, M.P., W.E. Duellman & S.B. Hedges | year=2007 | title=Major Caribbean and Central American frog faunas originated by ancient oceanic dispersal |journal = Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. | volume=104 | issue=24 | pages=10092 Data Supplement | doi=10.1073/pnas.0611051104 | pmid=17548823]
species = "E. cooki"
binomial = "Eleutherodactylus cooki"
binomial_authority = Grant, 1932The Cook's Robber Frog ("Eleutherodactylus cooki") also known as Puerto Rican Cave Dwelling Frog, Guajon, Rock Coqui, or Rock Frog is a Puerto Rican frog species from thecoqui genus.Description
Cook's Robber Frog is nicknamed "Demon of Puerto Rico" because the native people are afraid of its call and its phantom-like appearance. The native name "guajón" is derived from its habitat, the so-called guajonales. These are caves formed by rock formations between huge stones.
The species was first described by
Chapman Grant in 1932. Females are slightly larger than males. Females can reach a length of 5.11 cm and males can reach 4.3 cm. The color is solid brown with whitish underparts. They have a yellow throat and abdomen. Therefore it is the only "Eleutherodactylus" species which exhibitssexual dimorphism in color and size. Both sexes have large, white-rimmed eyes and large, truncate disks under their feet. It is endemic to the grottoes and the rivers of the Pandura mountains range in southwestern Puerto Rico.References
External links
* Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is endangered
* [http://www.fws.gov/Endangered/federalregister/1997/f970611c.pdf Fish and Wildlife Service - Threatened Status for the Guajon]
* [http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/swcbd/press/coqui6-10-03.html Federal Lawsuit Filed to Protect Rare Puerto Rico Coqui Frog]
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