''Hyalinobatrachium dianae'', also known as Diane's bare-hearted glass frog, (or a Kermit frog due to its peculiar appearance) is a species of Costa Rican

glass frog The glass frogs belong to the amphibian family Centrolenidae ( order Anura). While the general background coloration of most glass frogs is primarily lime green, the abdominal skin of some members of this family is transparent and translucent, ...

in the family Centrolenidae.

Description

''Hyalinobatrachium dianae'' is lime-green in color with transparent skin on its underside that allows one to view its internal organs. Its skin is uniformly colored without any noticeable light or dark variation. ''H. dianae'' has silvery-white irises with small dark spots. The species has bulging white eyes with horizontally-shaped black

pupils The pupil is a black hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black ...

that resemble those of the

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character Kermit the Frog. UPI remarked "''Hyalinobatrachium dianae'' has the kind-hearted muppet's sad but lovable eyes and lanky limbs." ''H. dianae'' is roughly long and lives in rainforest foliage of Costa Rica. It is found at elevations of in forest near the Caribbean coast. The known territory of the frog is mostly within protected conservation sites and thus the species is under minimal threat from human activity. ''H. dianae'' is distinguishable from other members of '' Hyalinobatrachium'' by its granular skin texture, its uniform color, and its advertisement call. DNA testing confirmed that it was a unique species; it was 12% divergent from its nearest relative, ''

Hyalinobatrachium chirripoi ''Hyalinobatrachium chirripoi'' is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is found in extreme northern Ecuador, northwestern Colombia ( Chocó and Córdoba west and north of Cordillera Occidental), Panama, and Costa Rica, as well as ...

''. The advertisement call consists of "a single tonal long metallic whistle-like note with a duration of 0.40–0.55 s ... and a dominant frequency of 3.35–3.44 kHz". The frog's discoverers postulated that the frog went undetected in previous surveys of Costa Rica because its call is more like an insect than a typical frog.

Discovery

''Hyalinobatrachium dianae'' was discovered in the

Talamanca Mountains The Cordillera de Talamanca is a mountain range that lies in the southeast half of Costa Rica and the far west of Panama. Much of the range and the area around it is included in La Amistad International Park, which also is shared between the two ...

of Costa Rica, and described from six specimens collected in the area. The find was announced by researchers Brian Kubicki, Stanley Salazar, and Robert Puschendorf from the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center in April 2015. It is the 14th species of glass frog known from Costa Rica, and 149th overall. Kubicki chose the specific name in honor of his mother, Janet Diane Kubicki. Due to the frog's resemblance to Kermit, the discovery attracted a substantial amount of attention in popular media. Tweets and news articles comparing ''H. dianae'' to Kermit helped images of the frog go

viral Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...

. The attention prompted

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to release an official interview where Kermit talked about ''H. dianae,'' saying, for example, "Googly eyes run in our family." Commenting on the attention, Kubicki said he was surprised because he had not noticed the resemblance himself, but was "glad" that it "ended up getting so much international attention" which drew attention to "the amazing amphibians that are native to Costa Rica and the need to continue exploring and studying the country's amazing tropical forests."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q19321108 dianae Amphibians described in 2015 Amphibians of Costa Rica Endemic fauna of Costa Rica Kermit the Frog