Mountain chicken
| Leptodactylus fallax | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Leptodactylidae |
| Genus: | Leptodactylus |
| Species: | L. fallax |
| Binomial name | |
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Leptodactylus fallax (Müller, 1926) |
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Leptodactylus fallax, commonly known as the mountain chicken or giant ditch frog, is a species of frog that is native to the Caribbean islands of Dominica and Montserrat. The population has declined 81% in the last ten years and this species is now critically endangered. In 2004 it was estimated that the population possibly was as low as 8,000 individuals. One of the main threats is human consumption. The fungal disease chytridiomycosis has also had a dramatic effect on the population. On Montserrat it is known as the mountain chicken, on Dominica, it is known as the crapaud.
The mountain chicken is nicknamed such after being preyed upon as a local delicacy on the islands of Montserrat and Dominica where it is found. It supposedly tastes like chicken. and the islands are mountainous regions in the Caribbean Sea.
The mountain chicken is one of the largest frogs in the world and the largest native to the Caribbean, with adult females growing up to 22 cm (8.7 in) long. It is highly variable in colour, with the upperparts varying from a uniform chestnut-brown to being barred or even spotted. The colour becomes more orange-yellow on the sides of the body, and pale yellow on the underparts. A black line runs from the snout to the angle of the mouth, and the upper-legs often have broad banding. The mountain chicken also has a distinctive, dark-outlined fold from the back of the head to the groin and large, conspicuous eyes with dark pupils and a golden iris. The body is robust, with a large head and well-muscled legs. The male mountain chicken may be distinguished from the female by its smaller size, and by the black 'spur' on each of its thumbs, which are used to clasp the female during amplexus (the mating embrace).
The mountain chicken was once found on many of the eastern Caribbean islands, but is now restricted to just Dominica and Montserrat. It once occurred for certain on Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Kitts and Nevis, but is now extirpated in these places, and may have also inhabited Saint Lucia and Antigua. The species was also unsuccessfully reintroduced to Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Today, the mountain chicken is largely restricted to the Centre Hills of northern Montserrat, having been lost from much of the rest of the island by recent volcanic eruptions, and on the western side of Dominica. It is also found on the eastern side of Dominica, but the species origin there is unclear and it may have been introduced to the area.
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Wikipedia