''Cruziohyla calcarifer'', the splendid leaf frog or splendid treefrog, is a species of tree frog of the subfamily

Phyllomedusinae Phyllomedusinae is a subfamily of hylid tree frogs found in the Neotropics commonly called leaf frogs. Formerly, they were often considered as their own family, Phyllomedusidae. The subfamily is considered to be the sister group to the Austral ...

described in 1902 by

George Albert Boulenger George Albert Boulenger (19 October 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a Belgian-British zoologist who described and gave scientific names to over 2,000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Boulenger was also an active botani ...

. It has a distribution from

Esmeraldas Province Esmeraldas () is a northwestern coastal province of Ecuador. The capital and largest city is Esmeraldas. Esmeraldas is one of the three provinces of Ecuador that borders Colombia, and it is the most northern province in the country. The provin ...

in northwestern Ecuador, through western Colombia and Panama to the most southerly part of Costa Rica. It is a

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

frog inhabiting primary humid lowland forest. The tadpole of this species was described in 2021 (https://doi.org/10.33256/31.3.170176) Found in Central American Rainforests, the splendid tree frog often lives in humid, tropical rainforests and can be found high in the canopy tree layer.

Appearance

Young imagos have bright yellow marks near their mouths and eyes and none on their hind legs. The adult male frog measures 56.4 to 80.5 mm in snout-vent length and the adult female frog 57.0 to 88.8 mm. The frog's skin is green with some white or light blue spots. The irises are pale gray with yellow rings. The flanks and hind legs are yellow with short black stripes and triangular patterns. The forelegs and much of the front feet are orange. The throat is yellow. Unlike those of most other tree frogs, the belly of ''C. calcarifer'' has dark pigmentation.

Eggs and tadpoles

The female frog deposits her clutch on leaves overhanging bodies of water, such as ponds. The tadpoles differ in color and mouth shape from other ''Cruziohyla'' tadpoles.

Threats

This frog is not endangered but its population is in decline. Scientists attribute this to deforestation and

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological proces ...

associated with logging, agriculture, livestock grazing, and urbanization. They are also killed by

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...

Genetic studies

''Cruziohyla calcarifer'' is the most divergent species in the genus '' Cruziohyla''. DNA analysis places ''

Cruziohyla sylviae ''Cruziohyla sylviae'', also known as Sylvia's tree frog, is a large colourful species of tree frog from Central America. People have seen it between 30 and 1600 meters above sea level. Description and taxonomy The species was described in 2018 ...

'' closer genetically to its sister species, '' Cruziohyla craspedopus'', than to the true ''Cruziohyla calcarifer'' described by George A. Boulenger in 1902. Cruziohyla Calcarifer secrete a chemical mucus which is said to have properties which can aid humans in fighting off bacterias.

References

Cruziohyla Amphibians of Colombia Amphibians of Costa Rica Amphibians of Ecuador Amphibians of Honduras Amphibians of Nicaragua Amphibians of Panama Amphibians described in 1902 Amphibians of Cuesta, S. A., Reinoso, C., Morales, F., Pilaquinga, F., Morán-Marcillo, G., Proaño-Bolaños, C., Blasco-Zúñiga, A., Rivera, M., & Meneses, L. (2021). Novel antimicrobial cruzioseptin peptides extracted from the splendid leaf frog, Cruziohyla calcarifer. Amino Acids, 53(6), 853–868. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-021-02986-w {{Phyllomedusinae-stub