The Hispaniolan giant tree frog (''Osteopilus vastus''), or Hispaniola 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 family

Hylidae Hylidae is a wide-ranging family of frogs commonly referred to as "tree frogs and their allies". However, the hylids include a diversity of frog species, many of which do not live in trees, but are terrestrial or semiaquatic. Taxonomy and s ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

, found in both the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

Taxonomy

Populations from the southern part of Hispaniola may represent a separate, as yet undescribed species.

Distribution

It is patchily distributed in across the island. They are primarily found in mesic broadleaf forests but also in a range of agricultural habitats, such as cacao and coffee plantations and pastures. They can be found high in the canopy (up to 15 m). They are often found along creeks and streams; males call from trees overhanging running water. Eggs are also deposited in running water.

Conservation

The species is threatened by

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 degradation of streams and deforestation.

References

Osteopilus Endemic fauna of Hispaniola Amphibians of the Dominican Republic Frogs of Haiti Amphibians described in 1871 Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Hylidae-stub