Vegas Valley leopard frog
| Vegas Valley leopard frog | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Ranidae |
| Genus: | Lithobates |
| Species: | †L. fisheri
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Lithobates fisheri (Stejneger, 1893)
| |
| |
| Former range (in red) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Rana fisheri | |
The Vegas Valley leopard frog (Lithobates fisheri), also known as the Las Vegas leopard frog, is an extinct species of frog.[1] It once occurred in the Las Vegas Valley, as well as Tule Springs, Clark County, southern Nevada in the United States, at elevations between 370 and 760 m (1,210 and 2,490 ft).[3][4][5][6] It was believed to be the only frog endemic to the United States to have become extinct in modern times.[7]
History
[edit | edit source]A. Vanderhorst collected 10 specimens of this species at Tule Springs on January 13, 1942. These frogs were believed to be the last recorded specimens of the Vegas Valley leopard frog, and are now in the University of Michigan Museum of Comparative Zoology collection.[8][9] The Vegas Valley leopard frog was considered extinct[6] after extensive searches have failed to locate the species.[1]
Taxonomy
[edit | edit source]In 2011, a genetic analysis using mitochondrial DNA from preserved museum specimens of the Vegas Valley leopard frog revealed it forms a clade with the northwestern Mogollon Rim populations[10] of the Chiricahua leopard frog (Lithobates chiricahuensis), which is extant but threatened.[11] The authors argue that while it has been extirpated from the Las Vegas area, the frog is not extinct because populations formerly ascribed to the Chiricahua leopard frog actually belong to the Vegas Valley leopard frog.[12] However, subsequent population genetic analyses using microsatellites have failed to recover the same patterns, calling into question whether these populations are ascribable to the Vegas Valley leopard frog.[13] The 2021 revision of the IUCN Red List assessment does not recognize the northwestern Mogollon Rim populations as belonging to the Vegas Valley leopard frog and lists the species as extinct.[1]
The close relation of the Vegas Valley leopard frog to populations of the Chiricahua leopard frog has called into question whether the two represent distinct species, and some contemporary authors treat the two as conspecific.[14] According to nomenclatural priority, L. chiricahuensis, described in 1979, would be referable to the 1893-described L. fisheri.[10] However, multiple authorities still refer to the two as distinct species.[1][15]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c d e IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. 2022. Lithobates fisheri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T19148A54357815. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-2.RLTS.T19148A54357815.en. Accessed on 15 December 2022.
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- ^ Stebbins, R. C. (1951) Amphibians of western North America. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.
- ^ Stebbins, R. C. 1985. A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.. Mild. Nat. 77:323–355 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
- ^ a b Jennings, R.D., Riddle, B.R. and Bradford, D. (1995) Rediscovery of Rana onca, the relict leopard frog, in southern Nevada with comments on the systematic relationships of some leopard frogs (Rana pipiens complex) and the status of populations along the Virgin River. Unpublished report.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Platz, J. E. (1984) Status report for Rana onca Cope. Unpublished report prepared for Office of Endangered Species, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- ^ Center for Biological Diversity and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (2002) Petition to list the relict leopard frog (Rana onca) as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. biologicaldiversity.org
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Bhanoo, S. N. A frog endangered but extinct no more. New York Times June 17, 2011. Accessed June 17, 2011.
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Further reading
[edit | edit source]- Hillis, D.M., Frost, J.S., & Wright, D.A. (1983). Phylogeny and biogeography of the Rana pipiens complex: A biochemical evaluation. Systematic Zoology 32: 132–143.
- Hillis, D.M. (1988). Systematics of the Rana pipiens complex: Puzzle and paradigm. Annual Review of Systematics and Ecology 19: 39–63.
- Hillis, D.M. & Wilcox, T.P. (2005). Phylogeny of the New World true frogs (Rana). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 34(2): 299–314. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). PDF fulltext Archived 2008-05-28 at the Wayback Machine.
- Hillis, D. M. (2007). Constraints in naming parts of the Tree of Life. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 42: 331–338.
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