Hyloscirtus colymba
Encyclopedia
Hyloscirtus colymba or La Loma Treefrog is a species of frog
in the Hylidae family.
It is found in Costa Rica
, Panama
, and possibly Colombia
.
Its natural habitat
s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
s, subtropical or tropical moist montane
s, and river
s.
It is threatened by habitat loss and chytridiomycosis
Solís, F., Ibáñez, R., Jaramillo, C. & Fuenmayor, Q. 2004. Atelopus limosus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 21 July 2007
which lack the eyestripe and from Isthmohyla angustilineata
that has a stripe continuing to the groin area and no finger webbing J. Savage (2002) Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica, University of Chicago Press .
.
Lips, K.R. (1999) Mass mortality and population declines of anurans at an upland site in Western Panama. Conservation Biology 13, 117–125 . Tadpoles are also susceptible exhibiting loss of karatinised mouthparts when infected Lips, K.R. (1999) Mass mortality and population declines of anurans at an upland site in Western Panama. Conservation Biology 13, 117–125 . Because they have now disappeared from much of their western chytridiomycosis-infected range, these frogs were ranked as high priority for ex-situ conservation in an Amphibian Ark
assessment Amphibian Ark (2008) Species Prioritization, Panama. Downloaded on Nov 28, 2010 . An ex-situ assurance colony has been established by the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project based in Panama City, where the species was first bred in captivity in 2010 .
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
in the Hylidae family.
It is found in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, and possibly Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
.
Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s, subtropical or tropical moist montane
Montane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
s, and river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s.
It is threatened by habitat loss and chytridiomycosis
Chytridiomycosis
Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease of amphibians, caused by the chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a non-hyphal zoosporic fungus. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or even extinctions of amphibian species in western North America, Central America, South...
Solís, F., Ibáñez, R., Jaramillo, C. & Fuenmayor, Q. 2004. Atelopus limosus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 21 July 2007
Description
This attractive, small green or brown stream-breeding frog has a faint orange or creamy eyestripe, with occasional dark flecking and webbed fingers and toes. Adult males are 31-37mm, while females can be larger, growing up to 39mm. Adult males have a creamy colored mental gland on the chin, a pale bluish-green throat and a single gular sac, and no nuptial pads. It can be distinguished from Hyloscirtus palmeriHyloscirtus palmeri
Hyloscirtus palmeri is a species of frog in the Hylidae family.It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Panama.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montanes, and rivers....
which lack the eyestripe and from Isthmohyla angustilineata
Isthmohyla angustilineata
Isthmohyla angustilineata is a species of frog in the Hylidae family.It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montanes, freshwater marshes, and intermittent freshwater marches.-Source:...
that has a stripe continuing to the groin area and no finger webbing J. Savage (2002) Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica, University of Chicago Press .
Larvae
Tadpoles are large, bronze colored with large, irregular gold flecks and can grow up to 37mm, and metamorphs are 17-19mm. Larvae are well-equipped for grazing with an inferior oral disc consisting of a beak and 6-7/7-10 denticle rows J. Savage (2002) Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica, University of Chicago Press . They tend to live in fast-flowing streams in rock piles and are nocturnal.Breeding
Males make high-pitched cricket-like chirps from beneath rocks and plants near swift-flowing streams, and stop calling at the slightest disturbance, making them very difficult to catch. Field observations from Pamama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project operations in Cerro Brewster found that males were unusually prominent when sick with chytridiomycosisChytridiomycosis
Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease of amphibians, caused by the chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a non-hyphal zoosporic fungus. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or even extinctions of amphibian species in western North America, Central America, South...
.
Conservation
Where extant, these frogs are probably more abundant than people realize, because of their highly secretive behavior. However, H. colymba adults have completely disappeared from stream sites in Western Panama sites due to chytridiomycosisChytridiomycosis
Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease of amphibians, caused by the chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a non-hyphal zoosporic fungus. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or even extinctions of amphibian species in western North America, Central America, South...
Lips, K.R. (1999) Mass mortality and population declines of anurans at an upland site in Western Panama. Conservation Biology 13, 117–125 . Tadpoles are also susceptible exhibiting loss of karatinised mouthparts when infected Lips, K.R. (1999) Mass mortality and population declines of anurans at an upland site in Western Panama. Conservation Biology 13, 117–125 . Because they have now disappeared from much of their western chytridiomycosis-infected range, these frogs were ranked as high priority for ex-situ conservation in an Amphibian Ark
Amphibian Ark
The Amphibian Ark is a joint effort of three principal partners: the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums , the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group , and the IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group ....
assessment Amphibian Ark (2008) Species Prioritization, Panama. Downloaded on Nov 28, 2010 . An ex-situ assurance colony has been established by the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project based in Panama City, where the species was first bred in captivity in 2010 .