''Phyllodytes megatympanum'' is a

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 ...

in the family

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as " tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and ...

endemic to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It has been observed between 90 and 95 meters above sea level. The skin of the frog's dorsum is light brown with yellow coloration around the

groin In human anatomy, the groin, also known as the inguinal region or iliac region, is the junctional area between the torso and the thigh. The groin is at the front of the body on either side of the pubic tubercle, where the lower part of the abdom ...

. This frog has a large, visible tympanum. This frog has been observed on

epiphytic An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a Family (biology), family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the Tropics, tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and on ...

plants. In some parts of Brazil, it also lives in shrubby habitats. The male frog sits 2 to 10 meters above the ground and calls to the female frogs. The female frog lays eggs on the bromeliad leaves. When they hatch, the tadpoles fall into the water that collects in the bromeliad, where it swims and develops. This frog is not in danger of extinction because it has such a large range. Although Brazil has seen significant deforestation as the land was converted to subsistence agriculture and

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...

, this appears to have slowed considerably and there is considerable habitat remaining. Also, there has been some significant

silviculture Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, as well as quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests ...

, which may be suitable for some kinds of frogs. Scientists note the frog could be in danger if humans collect the bromeliads, but they do not believe this is actually happening to this frog as of 2023.

References

Amphibians described in 2017 Amphibians of the Atlantic Forest Endemic frogs of Brazil megatympanum {{Hylidae-stub