Cryptobatrachus
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''Cryptobatrachus'' is a
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...
s in the family Hemiphractidae. They are found in
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
and
Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...
. They are also known as backpack frogs, as the females have the habit of carrying their egg clutch on their backs until the young hatch; this behavior also occurs in the related hemiphractid genera ''
Hemiphractus ''Hemiphractus'' is a genus of frogs, the horned treefrogs, in the family Hemiphractidae. These overall brownish frogs have a pointed snout and a casque on the head. They are nocturnal, relatively rare and native to humid lowland and highland for ...
'' and ''
Stefania ''Stefania'' is a genus of frogs in the family Hemiphractidae. They are native to the highlands of the Guiana Shield in southern Venezuela, Guyana, and adjacent far northern Brazil. Most are restricted to the tepui highlands, but '' S. evansi'' ...
''.


Description

''Cryptobatrachus'' have a treefrog-like habitus. Males measure and females in
snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...
. Fingers have no webbing whereas the toes are webbed. The finger and toe tips bear disks that are larger on the former. Also adhesive pads are present on the penultimate subarticular tubercles on the fingers. Males lack vocal sac and these frogs appear not to vocalize.


Species

There are six species in the genus ''Cryptobatrachus'': * '' Cryptobatrachus boulengeri'' Ruthven, 1916 * '' Cryptobatrachus conditus''
Lynch Lynch may refer to: Places Australia * Lynch Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica * Lynch Point, Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica * Lynch's Crater, Queensland, Australia England * River Lynch, Hertfordshire * The Lynch, an island in the Rive ...
, 2008
* '' Cryptobatrachus fuhrmanni'' (Peracca, 1914) * '' Cryptobatrachus pedroruizi'' Lynch, 2008 * '' Cryptobatrachus remotus'' Infante-Rivero, Rojas-Runjaic, and Barrio-Amorós, 2009 * '' Cryptobatrachus ruthveni'' Lynch, 2008 The AmphibiaWeb lists the six species above, but also ''Cryptobatrachus nicefori'', which the Amphibian Species of the World places in the hylid subfamily Cophomantinae as '' "Hyla" nicefori'', indicating uncertain generic affiliation.


Habitat and ecology

''Cryptobatrachus'' occur on humid forested slopes in the mountain ranges of northern Colombia and northeast Venezuela at elevations of
above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...
. They are
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 ...
and perch on low bushes or cling to rocks and cliffs in spray zones of waterfalls.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q548977 Hemiphractidae Amphibians of South America Amphibian genera Taxa named by Alexander Grant Ruthven