Barton's Robber Frog; Ranita

This species is a member of the Eleutherodactylus auriculatus group (Subgenus Eleutherodactylus). It is yellowish-tan dorsally with irregular gray or black blotches. It has a poorly-defined interocular bar or triangle and an irregular scapular bar. The canthus rostralis and the tympanic area are mottled with black or gray markings. The antebrachium has two transverse crossbars; the crura has three well-defined bars. The concealed surfaces of the hind limbs are heavily stippled with gray. The venter is cream-colored, and the lower jaw and undersides of all limbs are all scattered with melanophores. The dorsum is irregularly warty and the belly is very rugose. Males possess a large gular vocal sac extending posteriorly to behind the insertion of the forelimbs. The digital disks are moderate. There is no webbing between the toes. The vomerine teeth, behind the coanes, are in short and straight series. The chromosome number is 18. Adults are small, averaging 26 mm in females and 21 mm in males (Schwartz 1960; Schwartz and Henderson 1985; 1991; Hedges et al. 1992).Etymology- Named in honor of Barton L. Smith, an American herpetologist (Schwartz 1960). Related species- E. auriculatus This species was featured as News of the Week on 8 April 2019:Adaptive radiations are commonly reported in island systems, where species initially colonize the islands and then diversify to fill somewhat consistent ecological roles on each island. Recently Dugo-Cota et al. (2019) studied 160 species of frogs (genus Eleutherodactylus), which are found throughout the Caribbean islands. The researchers found different species inhabited different parts of their environment (termed microhabitats - Arboreal, Bromelicolous, Cave-dwelling, Fossorial, Leaf-litter, Petricolous, Riparian, Semiarboreal, Stream-dwelling, and Terrestrial). Furthermore, they found that species independently diversified into these different microhabitats on almost every island, with the exception of fossorial species, which are only found on Hispaniola. The frog species that occupied the same microhabitats looked significantly similar (morphological convergence), with the exception of stream-dwelling and riparian species that had very few representative species. These results indicate Eleutherodactylus frogs have adaptively radiated throughout the Caribbean and support the idea that evolution can and does repeat itself under similar environmental and ecological conditions. (by Molly Womack)

This species is endemic to Eastern Cuba, and it is known only near the mouth of Yumurí River, at an approximate elevation of 30-200 m, and Cupeyal, which are both in Guantánamo province. This is an arboreal frog found in hardwood forests (Schwartz 1960; Schwartz and Thomas 1975; Schwartz and Henderson 1991).

Males vocalize from branches and leaves of trees and from trunks of saplings at 1-2.5 m above the ground. Calls are composed of 3-7 notes with the dominant frequency around 2.9-3.0 kHz. These calls are like hollow and slightly metallic “tocks” (Schwartz 1960; Schwartz 1969; Schwartz and Henderson 1991; Hedges et al. 1992).

Habitat modification is considered the principal threat to this species (Vale et al. 1998).

Eleutherodactylus bartonsmithi (Barton's robber frog) is a species of frog in the family Eleutherodactylidae. It is endemic to southeastern Cuba where it is only known from the Guantánamo Province near the mouth Yumurí River and from Cupeyal in the Holguín Province. The latter location is in the Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, but its validity has been questioned.

The specific name refers to Barton L. Smith, herpetologist who assisted Albert Schwartz during his field work in the Caribbean.

The species' natural habitat is low-elevation closed forest, but it may also occur in coffee plantations. It is an arboreal species heard calling from shrubs, but can also be found in rock crevices. It is threatened by habitat loss.