Glass frog (or Glassfrogs) is the common name for the frogs of 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. The internal viscera, including the heart, liver, and gastrointestinal tract are visible through this translucent skin, hence the common name.

Taxonomy

The first described species of Centrolenidae was the "giant" Centrolene geckoideum, named by Marcos Jiménez de la Espada in 1872, based on a specimen collected in northeastern Ecuador. Several species were described in subsequent years by different herpetologists (including G. A. Boulenger, G. K. Noble, and E. H. Taylor) but usually placed together with the tree frogs in the genera Hylella or Hyla.

The family Centrolenidae was proposed by Edward H. Taylor in 1951. Between the '50s and '70s, most species of glass frogs were known from Central America, particularly from Costa Rica and Panama, where E. H. Taylor and Jay M. Savage extensively worked, and just a few species were know to occur in South America. In 1973, John D. Lynch and William E. Duellman, published a large revision of the glass frogs from Ecuador showing that the species richness of Centrolenidae was particularly concentrated in the Andes. Later contributions by authors like Juan Rivero, Jay Savage, William Duellman, John D. Lynch, Pedro Ruiz-Carranza and José Ayarzagüena increased the number of described taxa especially from Central America, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

The evolutionary relationships, biogeography, and character evolution of centrolenids were discussed by Guayasamin et al. (2008). Glass frogs originated in South America and dispersed multiple times into Central America. Character evolution seems to be complex, with multiple gains and/or losses of humeral spines, reduced hand webbing, and complete ventral transparency.

The taxonomical classification of the glass frogs has been problematic. In 1991, after a major revision of the species and taxonomic characters, the herpetologists Pedro Ruiz-Carranza and John D. Lynch published a proposal for a taxonomic classification of the Centrolenidae based on cladistic principles and defining monophyletic groups. That paper was the first of a series of contributions dealing with the glass frogs from Colombia that lead them to described almost 50 species of glass frogs. The genus Centrolene was proposed to include the species with a humeral spine in adult males, and the genus Hyalinobatrachium to include the species with a bulbous liver. However, there was an heterogeneous group of species that they left in the genus Cochranella, defined just by lacking a humeral spine and a bulbous liver. Since the publication of the extensive revision of the Colombian glass frogs, several other publications have dealt with the glass frogs from Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Ecuador.

In 2006, the genus Nymphargus was erected for the species with basal webbing among outer fingers (part of the previous Cochranella ocellata species group).

The four genera (Centrolene, Cochranella, Hyalinobatrachium, Nymphargus) have been shown to be poly- or paraphyletic (2008) and recently a new taxonomy has been proposed (see below).

Classification

The family Centrolenidae is a clade of anurans. Previously, the family Centrolenidae was considered closely related to the family Hylidae; however, recent phylogenetic studies have placed the Centrolenidae (and its sister taxon, the family Allophrynidae, closer to the family Leptodactylidae.

The monophyly of Centrolenidae is supported by morphological and behavioral characters including: (1) presence of a dilated process on the medial side of the third metacarpal (an apparently unique synapomorphy); (2) ventral origin of the musculus flexor teres digiti III relative to the musculus transversi metacarpi I; (3) terminal phalanges T-shaped; (4) exotroph, lotic, burrower/fossorial tadpoles with a vermiform body and dorsal C-shaped eyes, that live buried within leaf packs in still or flowing water systems; (5) eggs clutches deposited outside of water on vegetation or rocks above still or flowing water systems. Several molecular synapomorphies also support the monophyly of the clade.

The taxonomic classification of Centrolenidae was recently modified. The family Centrolenidae now contains two subfamilies and twelve genera (Guayasamin et al., 2009).

Genera

Family CENTROLENIDAE

Subfamily Centroleninae

* Genus Centrolene Jiménez de la Espada, 1872

* Genus Chimerella Guayasamin, Castroviejo, Trueb, Ayarzagüena, Rada, Vilá, 2009

* Genus Cochranella Taylor, 1951

* Genus Espadarana Guayasamin, Castroviejo, Trueb, Ayarzagüena, Rada, Vilá, 2009

* Genus Nymphargus Cisneros-Heredia & McDiarmid, 2007

* Genus Rulyrana Guayasamin, Castroviejo, Trueb, Ayarzagüena, Rada, Vilá, 2009

* Genus Sachatamia Guayasamin, Castroviejo, Trueb, Ayarzagüena, Rada, Vilá, 2009

* Genus Teratohyla Taylor, 1951

* Genus Vitreorana Guayasamin, Castroviejo, Trueb, Ayarzagüena, Rada, Vilá, 2009

Subfamily Hyalinobatrachinae

* Genus Celsiella Guayasamin, Castroviejo, Trueb, Ayarzagüena, Rada, Vilá, 2009

* Genus Hyalinobatrachium Ruiz-Carranza & Lynch, 1991 - "True" Glass Frogs

Subfamily Allophryninae

Incertae sedis Ikakogi Guayasamin, Castroviejo, Trueb, Ayarzagüena, Rada, Vilá, 2009

Characteristics

Glass frogs are generally small, ranging from in length. The frog is known to eat its own young. They are green in color over most of their bodies, save for the skin along the lower surface of the body, which is translucent.

Glass frogs are similar in appearance to some green frogs of the genus Eleutherodactylus and to some tree frogs of the family Hylidae. However, hylid tree frogs have eyes that face to the side, whilst those of glass frogs face forward. Some species of green tree frogs (especially juveniles), such as Hyloscirtus palmeri and Hypsiboas pellucens, have the transparent abdominal skin typical of glass frogs, but they also have calcars on the heels, a character not present in any species of the family Centrolenidae.

Distribution

Centrolenidae is a diverse type of frogs distributed from southern Mexico to Panama, and through the Andes from Venezuela and the island of Tobago to Bolivia, with some species in the Amazon and Orinoco River basins, the Guiana Shield region, southeastern Brazil, and northern Argentina.

Biology

Glass frogs are mostly arboreal. They live along rivers and streams during the breeding season, and are particularly diverse in montane cloud forests of Central and South America, although some species occur also in Amazon and Chocóan rainforest and semi-deciduous forests.

The eggs are usually deposited on the leaves of trees or shrubs hanging over the running water of mountain streams, creeks, and small rivers. One species leave its eggs over stones close to waterfalls. The method of egg-laying on the leaf varies between species. The males usually call from leaves close to their egg clutches. The eggs are less vulnerable to predators than those laid within water, but are affected by the parasitic maggots of some fly species. As a result, some glass frogs show parental care. After they hatch, the tadpoles fall into the waters below. The tadpoles are elongated, with powerful tails and low fins, suited for fast flowing water. Outside of the breeding season some species live in the canopy.

References

Guayasamin, J. M., S. Castroviejo-Fisher, L. Trueb, J. Ayarzagüena, M. Rada, C. Vilá. 2009. Phylogenetic systematics of Glassfrogs (Amphibia: Centrolenidae) and their sister taxon Allophryne ruthveni. Zootaxa 2100:1-97.

Kubicki, Brian. Ranas De Vidrio - Costa Rica - Glass Frogs (2007). In Spanish and English. ISBN 99-68-92725-2.

External links

Amphibian Species of the World

Centrolenidae in AmphibiaWeb Ecuador

Centrolenidae in AmphibiaWeb

Glassfrogs (Centrolenidae) Project

Centrolenidae in the Tree of Life site

Centrolenidae in ITIS

Research on Centrolenidae

Centrolenidae in Livingunderworld.org

Centrolenidae in Animal Diversity Web

Centrolenidae en InfoNatura

Fleischmann’s glass frog at National Geographic

Various Frog Species

* Category:Frogs by classification Category:Frogs

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