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Family: Hylidae
Gunther's Costa Rican Treefrog, more...Gunthers Costa Rican Treefrog, Gunthers Costa Rican Treefrog, Meadow Treefrog, Meadow Treefrog (es: Rana, Rana)
[Hyla pseudopuma Günther, 1901] |
Adult: Species description based on Savage (2002). A medium-sized treefrog (males to 45 mm, females to 52 mm). Breeding males are bright mustard yellow with a wide bluish or purplish stripe along the sides of the dorsum. Dorsal: Dorsal coloration and patterning is extremely variable. Most individuals are brown. Many individuals have some darker brown spots, blotches or other markings. The sides are brown. The dorsal skin is smooth. Ventral: The venter is white. Concealed surfaces: Yellow spots are present in the groin, sometimes extending along the sides of the animal. The inner and outer thighs are brown with some light spots. In breeding males the concealed surfaces of the thighs are dark with yellow spots. Eye: The iris is bronze. Extremities: The hands and feet are webbed. Breeding season: Breeding is explosive at the beginning of and sporadically throughout the rainy season (Savage 2002). These frogs use a variety of habitats, ranging from puddles and roadside ditches to ponds, to breed (Savage 2002). Egg: Eggs are laid as small masses attached to vegetation in the water (Crump 1991). Females lay multiple clumps, each containing as many as 500 eggs, during one breeding event (Crump 1991). The eggs hatch in only 24 hours (Crump 1991). Tadpole: The tadpole has a robust body and a short tail (Savage 2002). Tadpoles are dark brown above and below, except the tail fins, which may or may not be heavily pigmented (Savage 2002). Metamorphosis occurs in 57-81 days (Duellman 1970). Metamorph juvenile: Metamorphs are tan with dark and light markings (Duellman 1970, Duellman 2001, Savage 2002). The thighs are barred (Duellman 2001, Savage 2002). Habitat: Premontane and lower montane forest from 1120 to 2340 m. Ecology: Dessication and food limitation are the most serious threats to larval stage survival (Crump 1983, Crump 1989, Crump 1990). Larger tadpoles will consume smaller conspecifics and eggs if available (Crump 1983). Call: A single, low note (Duellman 1970). The vocal sac is divided into two lobes (Savage 2002). Behavior and communication: Pairing of males and females is random; females show no preference for males that are larger (Crump and Townsend 1990). Multiple males will often attempt to amplex a female simultaneously, and males will also fight to dislodge males already in amplexus (Crump and Townsend 1990, Savage 2002). Type locality: Costa Rica, La Palma, alt. 1600 metres |