Return of the Tarahumara frog to Arizona

Abstract

The last wild Tarahumara frog (Rana tarahumarae) in Arizona was found dead in Big Casa Blanca Canyon, Santa Rita Mountains, in May 1983. However, the species is still well represented in the majority of its range in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental and adjacent Sky Islands of Sonora and Chihuahua. Plans to re-establish R. tarahumarae in Arizona were initiated in 1992 and have been coordinated by the Tarahumara Frog Conservation Team. Initial experimental releases of Tarahumara frogs to Big Casa Blanca Canyon, Santa Cruz County, Arizona, are tentatively scheduled for June 2004. If successful there, releases of R. tarahumarae would also be considered at Sycamore Canyon and other historical Arizona localities.

Parent Publication

• Connecting mountain islands and desert seas: Biodiversity and management of the Madrean Archipelago II

Citation

Rorabaugh, James C.; Hale, Stephen F.; Sredl, Michael J.; Ivanyi, Craig. 2005. Return of the Tarahumara frog to Arizona. In: Gottfried, Gerald J.; Gebow, Brooke S.; Eskew, Lane G.; Edminster, Carleton B., comps. Connecting mountain islands and desert seas: biodiversity and management of the Madrean Archipelago II. Proc. RMRS-P-36. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station: 345-348