''Cruziohyla craspedopus'', the fringed leaf frog or fringed tree frog, is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

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 Austra ...

.> It is found in the Amazonian lowlands in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and possibly in Bolivia.

Description

Adult males measure and adult females in

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 ...

. The head is slightly wider than it is long. The snout is sharply truncate in lateral view. The fingers and toes are webbed. The hind margin of the tarsus bear extensive dermal appendages forming irregular spurs. The dorsum has uniform dark green dorsal background coloration interspersed with irregular-shaped large pale blue-grey lichenose blotches. The flanks have narrow black lines. The undersides and concealed surfaces of the flanks and legs are yellow.

Habitat and conservation

''Cruziohyla craspedopus'' is a high-canopy frog of primary tropical lowland rainforest at elevations of

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. It only descends to lower branches for breeding, which takes place in fallen trees holding small water pools. However,

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found i ...

s have also been found in small pools on the ground. ''Cruziohyla craspedopus'' is a rare species. It is not facing major threats, but it can locally suffer from

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 ...

caused by human activities (e.g., agriculture). It occurs in several protected areas such as the

Yasuni National Park Yasuni can mean: * Yasuni National Park in Ecuador * The Yasuní-ITT Initiative, a proposal to refrain from exploiting oil reserves within the park * Lophostoma yasuni, a species of bat * Osteocephalus yasuni, a species of frog * Yasuni antwren, a ...

in Ecuador and the

Manú National Park Manú National Park ( es, Parque Nacional del Manú) is a national park and biosphere reserve located in the regions of Madre de Dios and Cusco in Peru. It protects a diverse number of ecosystems including lowland rainforests, cloud forests and ...

in Peru.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2704044 craspedopus Amphibians of Brazil Amphibians of Colombia Amphibians of Ecuador Amphibians of Peru Amphibians described in 1957 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot