Vegas Valley Leopard Frog
Encyclopedia
The Vegas Valley Leopard frog (Rana fisheri) is a species of frog previously declared extinct
. Once it occurred in the Las Vegas Valley
, as well as Tule Springs
, Clark County
, southern Nevada
, United States of America, at elevations between 370 and 760 m. It was believed to be the only frog endemic to the United States to have become extinct in modern times.
A. Vanderhorst collected ten specimens of this species at Tule Springs on 13 January 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. The Vegas Valley leopard frog was considered extinct after extensive searches have failed to locate the species.
In 2011 a genetic analysis
using DNA from preserved museum specimens of the Vegas Valley Leopard Frog revealed that it is 100% identical, genetically, to the northwestern Mogollon Rim populations of the Chiricahua Leopard Frog
(Rana chiricahuensis), which is extant but threatened. While it has been extirpated
from the Las Vegas area, the frog is no longer considered extinct because it is the same species as the Chiricahua Leopard Frog. According to nomenclatural priority, the northwestern Mogollon Rim population of Rana chiricahuensis, described in 1979, is referable to the in 1893 described, extinct population of the species, Rana fisheri. Rana chiricahuensis may remain a valid taxon for the southern and eastern range of the Chiricahua Leopard Frog.
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
. Once it occurred in the Las Vegas Valley
Las Vegas Valley (landform)
Las Vegas Valley is in the main, the valley of Las Vegas north section, and drained by the Las Vegas Wash. The valley in the northwest section, is a northwest-by-southeast trending area, and trending parallel to Las Vegas Wash, lays at the northeast of the Spring Mountains massif.U.S...
, as well as Tule Springs
Tule Springs
Tule Springs in Las Vegas, Nevada, is one of the larger urban retreats in the Las Vegas Valley. It is a significant desert ecosystem consisting of a series of small lakes that formed an oasis in this part of the Mojave Desert...
, Clark County
Clark County, Nevada
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,375,765 people, 512,253 households, and 339,693 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 71.6% White , 9.1% Black, 5.7% Asian, 0.8% American Indian and 12.8% of other or mixed race. 22.0% were Hispanic of any race...
, southern Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, United States of America, at elevations between 370 and 760 m. It was believed to be the only frog endemic to the United States to have become extinct in modern times.
A. Vanderhorst collected ten specimens of this species at Tule Springs on 13 January 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. The Vegas Valley leopard frog was considered extinct after extensive searches have failed to locate the species.
In 2011 a genetic analysis
Genetic analysis
Genetic analysis can be used generally to describe methods both used in and resulting from the sciences of genetics and molecular biology, or to applications resulting from this research....
using DNA from preserved museum specimens of the Vegas Valley Leopard Frog revealed that it is 100% identical, genetically, to the northwestern Mogollon Rim populations of the Chiricahua Leopard Frog
Chiricahua Leopard Frog
The Chiricahua Leopard Frog, Rana chiricahuensis, is a species of frog in the Ranidae family. It is found in Mexico and the United States. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, rivers, intermittent rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes,...
(Rana chiricahuensis), which is extant but threatened. While it has been extirpated
Local extinction
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, is the condition of a species which ceases to exist in the chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere...
from the Las Vegas area, the frog is no longer considered extinct because it is the same species as the Chiricahua Leopard Frog. According to nomenclatural priority, the northwestern Mogollon Rim population of Rana chiricahuensis, described in 1979, is referable to the in 1893 described, extinct population of the species, Rana fisheri. Rana chiricahuensis may remain a valid taxon for the southern and eastern range of the Chiricahua Leopard Frog.