''Boana platanera'', commonly known as the banana tree dwelling frog, is a species of tree frog in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Hylidae. It is distributed within

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, and

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. ''Boana platanera'' was described in 2021, and individuals of the species were previously classified as '' Boana crepitans'' or ''

Boana xerophylla ''Boana xerophylla'' is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is found in northern Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela south of the Orinoco. Taxonomy ''Boana xerophylla'' was described in 1841 as ''Hyla xerophylla''. ...

''.

Etymology

In Colombia and Venezuela, ''Boana platanera'' is, together with '' Boana pugnax'', known by the Spanish name ''rana platanera''. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''platanera'' was borrowed from this colloquial name, and it can be translated as "from the plantain". This refers to the banana trees on which these frogs are often seen in the daytime. ''Rana platanera'' can thus be translated as "banana tree dwelling frog", which is the English name suggested by the describers.

Taxonomy

''Boana platanera'' is the sister species of ''

'', from which it was separated in 2021. Both species are present in Venezuela, but ''Boana platanera'' lives north of the Orinoco river and ''Boana xerophylla'' south of the river. This classification is fairly recent, as ''Boana xerophylla'' was resurrected in 2017 and ''Boana platanera'' was described in 2021. For decades prior to the resurrection, both species were widely classified as '' Boana crepitans'', a species now recognized as endemic to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Description

During the daytime, when ''Boana platanera'' is usually inactive, the frog has a pale cream coloration. However, during the night, the coloration is more variable, ranging from yellow to tan and light brown. The night coloration also has more or less well-defined brown markings, which can be irregular or in the shape of an X. ''Boana platanera'' is sexually dimorphic, with females being larger than males. The average

snout–vent length Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the most c ...

of females is , compared to the of males. The advertisement call of ''Boana platanera'' is complex and composed of around five notes. The duration of the call is 200−451 milliseconds. Boana platanera 153385855.jpg, Day coloration Hypsiboas crepitans01b.jpeg, Night coloration

Distribution

The distribution range of ''Boana platanera'' encompasses parts of

, and

. It's widely distributed in Venezuela, but only north of the Orinoco river, which separates it geographically from ''Boana xerophylla''. A

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

species sometimes confused with ''Boana platanera'' is ''Boana pugnax''. In addition to its wide geographical distribution, ''Boana platanera'' is also found in a wide range of elevations. It has been recorded from sea level to altitudes of . ''Boana platanera'' can also live in many different habitats, including anthropic environments.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q107172188 Boana Frogs of South America Amphibians of Colombia Amphibians of Panama Amphibians of Trinidad and Tobago Amphibians of Venezuela Amphibians described in 2021 Taxa named by Santiago Castroviejo-Fisher Taxa named by Enrique La Marca Taxa named by Josefa Celsa Señaris