Cruziohyla Craspedopus
Cruziohyla craspedopus - The fringed leaf frog
C.Craspedopus originates from Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru. It is a member of the Hylidae family and the genus Cruziohyla, however it used to be classified within the genus Agalychnis. It only shares its new family with one other member, C.Calcarifer. This is a fairly large hylid reaching up to 80mm in males and 87mm in females, the colouration is outstanding, ranging from green through to blue and even purple, which is mottled with pale blue patches. The underside is bright yellow and the flanks are broken up with black lines. The inner leg matches the flanks but they are only visible when the frog is mobile. |
C.Craspedopus is a very illusive frog, rarely seen by humans, living high in the tree canopies. Records show that C.Craspedopus lives between 50 and 600 meters above sea level, but however has been sighted above small water bodies close to ground level.
Breeding occurs in the rainy season and males will be herd calling throughout march to October. Females will hydrate them self's before depositing cluctches which, like most hylids, are laid above water. However due to the high altitude this frog prefers the eggs are deposited above small pools in fallen trees. Tadpoles have been found in shallow pools, at ground level but it is likely that these have dropped down after heavy rain has flooded the once shallow pool of the tree. Metamorphosis rates are unknown, but captive C.Calcarifer tadpoles take a minimum of 211 days to mature and leave the water.
C.Craspedopus is registered as least concern by the IUCN, but its populations are feared to be declining. |