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Pretty crazy, right?!
Herpetologists are claiming they have discovered a new species of frog living in the Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador.
The Yaku glassfrog (Hyalinobatrachium yaku) in life. Top row: adult male, holotype, in dorsal and ventral view. Bottom row: adult male, paratype. Image credit: Guayasamin et al, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.673.12108.
The Yaku glassfrog (Hyalinobatrachium yaku) in life. Top row: adult male, holotype, in dorsal and ventral view. Bottom row: adult male, paratype. Image credit: Guayasamin et al, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.673.12108.
The glassfrogs, or glass frogs, are amphibians of the family Centrolenidae, with more than 150 species.
They are found in the Neotropics, from southern Mexico, through Central America, into the northern half of South America, and along the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil and the extreme northeastern margin of Argentina.
The glassfrogs are generally small, ranging from 0.8 to 3 inches (2-7.5 cm) in length.
While the general background coloration of most glassfrogs is primarily green, the abdominal skin of some species is translucent.
The internal viscera, including the heart, liver, gastrointestinal tract, bones and even eggs are visible through the skin, hence the common name.
In a paper published recently in the journal ZooKeys, a team of scientists led by Dr. Juan Guayasamin of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito describes the new glassfrog species that they call the Yaku glassfrog (Hyalinobatrachium yaku).
The new species is a very small glassfrog at just 0.8 to 0.9 inches (2-2.2 cm) in length.
Hyalinobatrachium yaku can be distinguished by the relatively large dark green spots at the back of its head and the foremost part of the body, the researchers said.
Additionally, the new species has a characteristic long call.
The reproductive behavior is also quite unusual in this species: males are often reported to call from the underside of leaves and look after the egg clutches.
The Yaku glassfrog is only known from three localities on the Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador at elevations between 985-1,180 feet (300-360 m).
The two most-distant sites, Kallana in province of Pastaza, and San José de Payamino in province of Orellana, are approximately 68 miles (110 km) from one another, while Ahuano, province of Napo, is midway between them, Dr. Guayasamin and co-authors said.
Given the geographic distance between the localities where the new species has been found, it is likely that Hyalinobatrachium yaku has a broader distribution, including areas in nearby Peru.
Pretty crazy, right?!
