''Craugastor laticeps'' (common name: broad-headed rainfrog, and many variations) is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" '' Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the family

Craugastoridae Craugastoridae, commonly known as fleshbelly frogs, is a family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the famil ...

. It is found in

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

, Guatemala, Honduras, and southern

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

. ''Craugastor laticeps'' occurs in leaf-litter in lowland and premontane

tropical forest Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical fo ...

. It tolerates moderate habitat alteration and can be found in cacao and coffee

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

s. There are some threats to this species due to

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Reproduction

''Craugastor laticeps'' might be unique among craugastorid frogs (which normally have

direct development Marine larval ecology is the study of the factors influencing dispersing larvae, which many marine invertebrates and fishes have. Marine animals with a larva typically release many larvae into the water column, where the larvae develop before met ...

): one observation suggests that the species is

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...

, ovipositing eggs with fully developed young almost ready to hatch. The female frog in question was in snout–vent length and laid 44 eggs, and the hatching or newly hatched froglets were about in snout–vent length.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3002286 laticeps Amphibians of Belize Amphibians of Guatemala Amphibians of Honduras Amphibians of Mexico Amphibians described in 1853 Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril Taxonomy articles created by Polbot