Leptodactylus melanonotus, known commonly as the Sabinal Frog, is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. It is found along coasts and in inland wetlands in Central America and northern South America.
Taxonomy The first description of the species was published in 1861 by Edward Hallowell, who placed it in the genus Cystignathus; a genus later determined to be a synonym of Leptodactylus, but Paul Brocchi had already moved melanonotus there in 1881, long before synonymization.
L. melanotus is part of a species group bearing its name, and its closest relatives are L. colombiensis, L. validus and L. wagneri.
Description Average snout–vent length is about in males and in females.
Behaviour L. melanotus digs burrows and builds nest out of bubbles for its eggs. If the burrow fails to flood or becomes too dry, the female frog will dig a channel to a nearby body of water.
It is a nocturnal species.
Distribution and habitat L. melanotus can be found in Mexico, along the west and east coasts and on the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, including on Mancarroncito Island, Costa Rica, Panama and along the west coasts of Colombia and Ecuador.
L. melanotus mainly inhabits humid lowlands and montane forests, but can be found living in many other habitats, including mangrove forests and grasslands. It is also found in habitats disturbed by human activities, such as flooded pastures, secondary forests, farmlands and urban areas. It is known to live at elevations ranging from sea level to .
The 2019 IUCN Red List assessment of L. melanotus deemed it to be a least-concern species. The only potential threat was deemed to be chemicals sprayed from airplanes.
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