About Lithobates lenca (Luque-Montes, Austin, Weinfurther, Wilson, Hofmann & Townsend, 2018)
Lithobates lenca, commonly known as the Lenca leopard frog, is a species of true frog. It is native to the Chortis Highlands of southwestern Honduras, where it occurs at altitudes ranging from 1560 to 2080 meters. For a long time, this frog was believed to be a hybrid of two lowland species: Lithobates brownorum and Lithobates forreri. It was only in 2018 that DNA testing confirmed these highland leopard frogs are a separate, distinct species. Compared to the two lowland parent species, Lenca leopard frogs are smaller in overall body size but have larger heads. Male Lenca leopard frogs grow to a snout-vent length between 46.6 and 64.3 millimeters, which equals 1.83 to 2.53 inches. Female Lenca leopard frogs grow to a snout-vent length between 43.7 and 76.3 millimeters, which equals 1.72 to 3 inches. This species gets its common name from the Lenca people, who live in the same mountainous region that the frog inhabits.
