''Cruziohyla calcarifer'', the splendid leaf frog or splendid treefrog, is a species of tree frog of 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 ...

described in 1902 by

George Albert Boulenger George Albert Boulenger (19 October 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a Belgian-British zoologist who described and gave scientific names to over 2,000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Boulenger was also an active botani ...

. It has a distribution from

Esmeraldas Province Esmeraldas () is a province in northwestern Ecuador. The capital is Esmeraldas. The province is home to the Afro-Ecuadorian culture. Demographics Ethnic groups as of the Ecuadorian census of 2010: *Mestizo 44.7% * Afro-Ecuadorian 43.9% *W ...

in northwestern Ecuador, through western Colombia and Panama to the most southerly part of Costa Rica. It is a

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 ...

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

frog inhabiting primary humid lowland forest.

Genetic studies

''Cruziohyla calcarifer'' is the most divergent species in the genus ''

Cruziohyla ''Cruziohyla'' is a genus of frogs in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae. They occur from Nicaragua and Honduras in Central America south to the Amazon Basin in South America. This genus was erected in 2005 following a major revision of the Hylidae an ...

''. DNA analysis places ''

Cruziohyla sylviae ''Cruziohyla sylviae'', also known as Sylvia's tree frog, is a large colourful species of tree frog from Central America. Description and taxonomy The species was described in 2018 by zoologist Andrew Gray, and is named after his granddaughter. ...

'' closer genetically to its sister species, ''

Cruziohyla craspedopus ''Cruziohyla craspedopus'', the fringed leaf frog or fringed tree frog, is a species of frog in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae.> It is found in the Amazonian lowlands in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and possibly in Bolivia. Description ...

'', than to the true ''Cruziohyla calcarifer'' described by George A. Boulenger in 1902.

References

Cruziohyla Amphibians of Colombia Amphibians of Costa Rica Amphibians of Ecuador Amphibians of Honduras Amphibians of Nicaragua Amphibians of Panama Amphibians described in 1902 {{Phyllomedusinae-stub