''Phyllodytes praeceptor'' is a species of frog 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 coastal areas in the state of
Bahia
Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
in
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 also been seen in
Serra da Jiboia, above sea level.
The adult male frog measures in
snout-vent length. This frog has prominent eyes.
This frog lives on epiphytic
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. The female frog lays eggs on the leaves and the tadpoles swim in the water that collects near the axil.
This frog is not endangered. Scientists attribute it to its large range. Although the closed-canopy Atlantic forest where it lives was subject to considerable deforestation over the past century, there is still a considerable space left, and the rate of deforestation has slowed. This frog lives in forests where the
branches of the trees come together like a roof. Farmers often grow
cacao under thinned forest that provide natural shade for the cacao plants, and the frogs have been found in these farms as well, another reason why their population is stable. Scientists believe collection of the bromeliad plants might pose some risk to this frog if it were to happen, but they note that this does not seem to be the case as of 2021.
References
praeceptor
Endemic frogs of Brazil
Amphibians described in 2018
{{Hylinae-stub