''Osteocephalus fuscifacies'' is a species of frog in the family Hylidae endemic to Ecuador. It is known from the

Napo River The Napo River ( es, Río Napo) is a tributary to the Amazon River that rises in Ecuador on the flanks of the east Andean volcanoes of Antisana, Sincholagua and Cotopaxi. The total length is . The river drains an area of . The mean annual discha ...

drainage at intermediate elevations (

asl American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

). The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''fuscifacies'' is derived from Latin ''fuscus'' (=tan) and ''facies'' (=face), in reference to the uniform tan-colored loreal region and the lack of a light subocular spot. Common name Napo slender-legged treefrog has been coined for this species.

Description

Male ''Osteocephalus fuscifacies'' measure and females in snout–vent length. The fingers and the toes are partially webbed. The Dorsum has tan ground color, often with irregular darker tan transverse bars or blotches. The limbs are barred. The venter is light tan with creamy white granules, or completelycreamy white. The throat has some tan spots, sometimes only few and inconspicuous.

Behavior and reproduction

''Osteocephalus fuscifacies'' are

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 ...

frogs. Males call from

bromeliad The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

s typically higher than above the ground. Apparently, the eggs are laid in bromeliads and these frogs seldon descent to the ground. The arboreal lifestyle of this species makes it difficult to observe.

Habitat and conservation

''Osteocephalus fuscifacies'' occurs in tropical montane forests and Napo moist forests 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 has also been recorded from banana plantations. It is threatened by habitat loss caused by agricultural development and logging. It occurs in the Sumaco Napo-Galeras and Yasuni National Parks.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q917900 fuscifacies Amphibians of Ecuador Endemic fauna of Ecuador Amphibians described in 2000 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot