Coquí
| Coquí (Puerto Rican frog) | |
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| Common coquí, Eleutherodactylus coqui | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Leptodactylidae |
| Genus: |
Eleutherodactylus Duméril and Bibron, 1841 |
| Species | |
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Coquí is the common name for several species of small frogs in the Eleutherodactylus genus that are native to Puerto Rico. They are onomatopoeically named for the very loud mating call which the males of two species, the common coquí and the mountain coquí, make at night. The coquí is one of the most common frogs in Puerto Rico with more than 16 different species found within its territory, including 13 in the El Yunque National Forest. Other species of this genus can be found in the rest of the Caribbean and elsewhere in the Neotropics, in Central and South America. All species of Eleutherodactylus are characterized by direct development in which eggs hatch into small frogs, the tadpole stage being passed in the egg itself.
Coquíes belong to the Eleutherodactylus genus which in Greek means free toes. Eleutherodactylus contains over 700 different species that naturally occur in the southern United States, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Coquíes additionally have become established in Hawaii, where they are considered an invasive species.
Seventeen described species of coquíes inhabit Puerto Rico. In 2007, a new species, the coquí llanero, was officially named Eleutherodactylus juanariveroi.
The various species of coquí control the populations of herbivorous insect species in their local environments.
The decline of coquí populations has accelerated since the introduction of the Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis fungus. This pathogenic fungus has been extremely devastating towards amphibian populations as the pathogen impairs the permeability of the skin. The coquíes found in El Yunque are resistant to the B. dendrobatidis fungus at the expense of their size, which reduces the aptitude to survive in the wilderness (Burrowes, Longo and Rodríguez 2007). Individuals that carry this fungus resistance are more often found where the B. dendrobatidis fungus is concentrated. Although the fungus prefers humid environments, infection is more frequent in drier climates because coquíes tend to cluster in humid sub-areas within this drier climate, thereby increasing the chance of spreading of the pathogen.
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Wikipedia