The blue-sided leaf frog (''Agalychnis annae''), also known as the orange-eyed leaf frog, is an endangered species of

tree frog A tree frog (or treefrog) is any species of frog that spends a major portion of its lifespan in trees, known as an arboreal state. Several lineages of frogs among the Neobatrachia have given rise to treefrogs, although they are not closely relat ...

in the subfamily

Phyllomedusinae Phyllomedusinae is a subfamily of hylid tree frogs found in the Neotropics commonly called leaf frogs. Formerly, they were often considered as their own family, Phyllomedusidae. The subfamily is considered to be the sister group to the Austr ...

native to the

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equatori ...

s of Costa Rica and Panama. The specific name ''annae'' honors Ann S. Duellman, the collector of the

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

and the describer's wife.

Distribution and habitat

This tree frog is known only from the Central Valley of Costa Rica, on the slopes of the

Cordillera de Talamanca The Cordillera de Talamanca is a mountain range that lies in the southeast half of Costa Rica and the far west of Panama. Much of the range and the area around it is included in La Amistad International Park, which also is shared between the two ...

, the

Cordillera de Tilarán Costa Rica is located on the Central American Isthmus, surrounding the point 10° north of the equator and 84° west of the prime meridian. It has 212 km of Caribbean Sea coastline and 1,016 on the North Pacific Ocean. The area is 51,100& ...

and the Cordillera Central ranges, at altitudes between about . The total extent of its range is estimated to be around . There may be a subpopulation in the Cerro Colorado range in western Panama, as suggested by a single female being found there (2012). Much of the forest in which the frog lives has been cleared, so there are a number of subpopulations separated by coffee plantations, cultivated areas and urban areas.

Status

''Agalychnis annae'' is fairly common in parts of the Central Valley, but in other undisturbed forests, like those in the

Tapantí National Park Tapantí - Cerro de la Muerte Massif National Park, ( es, Parque Nacional Tapantí - Macizo Cerro de la Muerte), is a National Park in the Central Conservation Area of Costa Rica located on the edge of the Talamanca Range, near Cartago. It prote ...

and the Monteverde Biological Reserve, after it disappeared from pristine areas in 1980, it became uncommon except in some places. Also, this includes protected areas such as Parque Nacional Tapantí and the Reserva Biológica Monteverde. The remnant sub-populations of this animal in Central Valley are being fragmented by urban development. This local extinction may be associated with

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

or with the fungus ''

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ''Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' ( ), also known as ''Bd'' or the amphibian chytrid fungus, is a fungus that causes the disease chytridiomycosis in amphibians. Since its discovery in 1998 by Lee Berger, the disease devastated amphibian popul ...

'' which causes

chytridiomycosis Chytridiomycosis ( ) is an infectious disease in amphibians, caused by the chytrid fungi ''Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' and ''Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans''. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or extincti ...

, a devastating disease among frog populations in Central America. Some individuals have tested positive for the fungus, yet the species persists in these localities. The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has classified the frog as being a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

Gallery

Golden-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis annae) 1.jpg Golden-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis annae) 2.jpg Golden-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis annae) 3.jpg

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2383076 Agalychnis Amphibians of Costa Rica Amphibians of Panama Amphibians described in 1963 Taxa named by William Edward Duellman