NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION, ADVERTISEMENT CALL AND HABITAT OF THE STARRETT’S TREE FROG Isthmohyla tica (Hylidae) IN THE ZONA DE LOS SANTOS, COSTA RICA

Abstract

Central American hylids frogs of the genus Isthmohyla have suffered dramatic decline in highlands. Many species of this genus are considered critically endangered, including Isthmohyla tica, an endemic species of Costa Rica and Panama. We found a population of I. tica inside agricultural coffee ecosystems in Tarrazú, San José, Costa Rica and we describe new advertisement calls of this species. The discovery of this population represents the most recent records in the Zona de Los Santos since the last record in 1963; until now, only stable populations were known in the Children's Eternal Rainforest, Monteverde. The presence of this endangered species, among with other threatened amphibians, reflects the importance of better understanding their presence in these agro-ecosystems and ensuring the conservation of forest patches inside coffee plantations.