''Bromeliohyla melacaena'' is a frog in the family Hylidae endemic to

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

. Scientists have observed it in pine forests between 1370 and 1990 meters above sea level.

Appearance

The adult male frog measures 21.8 - 22.6 mm in snout-vent length and the adult female frog 24.2 - 25.9 mm. This frog exhibits considerable sexual dimorphism: The adult male frog has spikes on its thumbs. The adult male frogs are light brown with yellow spots and some light green marks. The bones are white and visible through the skin. The legs are light brown. The skin of the ventrum is white. The adult female frog is dark brown with a light brown intraocular stripe. The snout is yellow-green in color. The female frog has a lighter belly than the male frog. They iris is orange with black spots in both male and female frogs. Scientists believe this frog is

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

, hiding in bromeliad plants during the day. No tadpoles have been observed, but scientists infer that the young grow in water deposits in bromeliad plants and that they are ovoviviparous.

Threats

This frog is in endangered. Causes include

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, deforestation, urbanization, and loss of forest for agriculture and grasing. The population has suffered from droughts, floods, climate change, and increased UV sensitivity. Pesticides, fertilizers, and pollutants can all kill this frog. This frog also suffers from such diseases as chytridiomycosis.

Etymology

The scientific name of this frog, ''melacaena'', comes from two

Greek language Greek ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ελληνικά, Elliniká, ; grc, Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ) is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy (Calabria and Salento), southern Al ...

words meaning "black" and "thorn or spine." The scientists named it after the black spikes on the male frogs' thumbs.

Original description

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4686373 Fauna of Central America Amphibians described in 2006 Endemic fauna of Honduras melacaena