biology

Melanophryniscus peritus

Melanophryniscus peritus is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Melanophryniscus peritus rather than just read about it. In short: Melanophryniscus peritus is a species of frog in the family Bufonidae. It is only known from a single specimen collected in 1953, and may be extinct.

Key takeaways

Melanophryniscus peritus belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Melanophryniscus peritus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Melanophryniscus peritus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Melanophryniscus peritus is a species of frog in the family Bufonidae. It is only known from a single specimen collected in 1953, and may be extinct.

Taxonomy Melanophryniscus peritus was described in 2011 by Ulisses Caramaschi and Carlos Alberto Gonçalves da Cruz. Originally, it was placed in the Melanophryniscus tumifrons group. The specific name, peritus, is from the Latin verb pereo, meaning to vanish or disappear. It was given to reflect the species' status.

Description The holotype and only known specimen was a female 39.3 mm long (SVL), a medium size for the genus. It also had a wide head, dark brown coloration on its dorsal side, and a lighter brown underside.

Habitat and distribution The species is only known from its type locality, Pico do Selado in the Mantiqueira mountain range of southeastern Brazil at about 1,800–2,000 m (5,900–6,600 ft) above sea level. This is further north than the majority of members in the Melanophryniscus tumifrons group. Based on the activities of other members of the genus, Melanophryniscus peritus is believed to inhabit small ponds, flooded areas near rivulets, and bromeliads.

History The only known specimen of Melanophryniscus peritus was collected on November 4, 1953 by German-Brazilian naturalist Helmut Sick. Multiple surveys of the species' known range have failed to uncover any more individuals, and it is listed as "critically endangered" and possibly extinct. It's believed that habitat loss led to the species' decline.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Melanophryniscus peritus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Melanophryniscus peritus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Melanophryniscus peritus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Melanophryniscus peritus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Melanophryniscus peritus

In research: Melanophryniscus peritus appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Melanophryniscus peritus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Melanophryniscus peritus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Amphibians described in 2011, Endemic frogs of Brazil, IUCN Red List critically endangered species, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Melanophryniscus peritus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Melanophryniscus peritus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Melanophryniscus peritus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Melanophryniscus peritus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Melanophryniscus peritus in simple terms?

Melanophryniscus peritus is a species of frog in the family Bufonidae. It is only known from a single specimen collected in 1953, and may be extinct.

Why does Melanophryniscus peritus matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Melanophryniscus peritus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Melanophryniscus peritus.