Splendid Leaf Frog, Cruziohyla calcarifer
Splendid leaf frog (Cruziohyla calcarifer)
Description: The splendid Leaf frog is a large and beautiful species of leaf frog. This species, not to be confused with C. sylviae, is a very rarely encountered species in the wild due it spending much of its time in the rainforest canopy. Until live specimens were collected and brought to The Manchester Museum Vivarium, very little at all was known about this species. This species belongs to a different genus to most other leaf frogs of the genus Agalychnis. It was separated some years ago through DNA analysis and was placed in the genus Cruziohyla by Faivovich et al, where it belongs along with with Sylvia’s Leaf Frog and the Fringed Leaf Frog. The species name Calcarifer comes from the outward facing ‘calcar’, a flap of skin found on the heel which this species possesses. As with all leaf frogs it has brightly coloured flanks – this species is marked with orange and black bars that extend only part way down the flanks. All three species belonging to this genus have 2 colours to their iris, grey and yellow. Apart from the large genetic distance between the three species, C. calcarifer can be easily distinguished from the other species by its small eardrum, which is half the size of the eye compared to it being almost the same size as the eye in C. sylviae. It is further distinguished by the presence of unique dark triangular pigmented patches on the thighs which are not seen in any other species. Currently the function of these markings is unknown: Mysterious Markings
Reproduction: This species breeds in primary forest where small aggregations of males descend from the canopy and call around the breeding site until a female appears.
Diet: Invertebrates.
Distribution: Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica.
Conservation status: Very Rare.
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