New Glass Frog Species Has Transparent Skin on Its Tummy
Posted on May 28, 2017
A new species of glass frog has been discovered. The frog has transparent skin on its chest and tummy that reveals its organs underneath. The frog was discovered in the Amazonian Ecuador by a team of scientists led by Dr. Juan M. Guayasamin, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador.
The new glass frog species has been named Hyalinobatrachium yaku. The work "yaku" translates to "water" in the local language of Kichwa. The frog has large characteristic dark green spots on the back of its head and part of its body. It also has a characteristic long call.
Males of the glass frog (or glassfrog) species call from the underside of leaves when mating. They help look after the egg clutches. They have been found calling from leaves near streams. They have also been seen on the leaves of shrubs, ferns and grasses as far as 30 meters from streams.
A research paper on the new species was published in ZooKeys. The new species has been listed as Data Deficient according to the IUCN Red List criteria. The researchers say in a statement, "Glassfrogs presumably require continuous tracts of forest to interact with nearby populations, and roads potentially act as barriers to dispersal for transient individuals."