Fringed Leaf Frog - Cruziohyla craspedopus
@hispaatra another gorgeous frog ! It literally looks like the embodiment of the summer, yellow for the sun and cyan for the ocean.
Description
Adult males measure 53 to 66 millimetres and adult females 68 to 76 millimetres in snout–vent length. The head is slightly wider than it is long and the snout is sharply truncate in lateral view. The fingers and toes are webbed. The hind margin of the tarsus bear extensive dermal appendages forming irregular spurs. The dorsum has uniform dark green dorsal background coloration interspersed with irregular-shaped large pale blue-grey lichenose blotches. The flanks have narrow black lines. The undersides and concealed surfaces of the flanks and legs are yellow. When adhered to a surface, the yellow coloration becomes concealed which can aid in camouflage.
Colour adaptation - camouflage
Cruziohyla craspedopus displays a burgundy pigmentation at night. This ability to rapidly colour-adapt is caused by levels of the hormone, intermedin, and its effects on chromatophore structure. The dermal chromatophore unit includes xanthophores, iridophores, and melanophores, which function together to display or inhibit certain colouring.
The movement of melanosomes to melanophore fingers conceals the light-reflecting iridisphore layer, dictating a darker pigmentation at night. Whereas, the absence of melanosomes in the fingers allows for quick blanching.
Distribution and habitat
It is found in the Amazonian lowlands in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and Bolivia.
Cruziohyla craspedopus is a high-canopy frog of primary tropical lowland rainforest at elevations of 50 to 600 metres above sea level. It only descends to lower branches for breeding, which takes place in fallen trees holding small water pools. However, tadpoles have also been found in small pools on the ground.
