Hemiphractus

Hemiphractus
Hemiphractus bubalus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hemiphractidae
Genus: Hemiphractus
Wagler, 1828
Diversity
See text
Synonyms
  • Cerathyla Jiménez de la Espada, 1870

Hemiphractus is a group of frogs in the family Hemiphractidae. People call them horned treefrogs in English. These frogs are brown in color. They have pointed noises. They are awake at night. They live in forests in northern South America (Amazon east as far as Tapajós, Chocó-Magdalena and northern Andes) and Panama, where people find them on the ground or on plants.

Body

Hemiphractus have strong bodies. These frogs have thick pieces at the ends of their noses and bumps on their eyelids. There are bony bumps on their heads. They have teeth. Females grow larger than males, and depending on exact species the snout–to–vent length generally is between c. 2.5 and 8 cm (1.0–3.1 in).

Behavior

A female H. elioti with young on her back. This individual is part of the captive breeding project at El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center, Panama

Scientists think Hemiphractus eat other frogs and that this is why they live where other frogs live. People have also seen wild frogs eat lizards, large insects, and snails. When people keep the frogs, they see them eat geckos, baby mice, and earthworms.

If an animal that wants to eat the frog scares the frog, the frog will open its mouth, which has bright yellow skin inside. The frog can also bite the animal.

Female frogs carry their eggs on their backs. The eggs stick to the mother's back with gel. This frog hatches out of its egg as small frog, not a swimming tadpole. It is not easy to keep these frogs in buildings or zoos, but some places do.

Species

These species are in the genus Hemiphractus .

References

  1. 1 2 3 Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Hemiphractus Wagler, 1828". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "Hemiphractidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Hill, R.L.; K.G. Martin; E. Stanley; J.R. Mendelson III (2018). "A taxonomic review of the genus Hemiphractus (Anura: Hemiphractidae) in Panama: Description of Two New Species, Resurrection of Hemiphractus panamensis (Stejneger, 1917), and Discussion of Hemiphractus fasciatus Peters, 1862". Zootaxa. 4429 (3): 495–512. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4429.3.3. PMID 30313254. S2CID 52976306.
  4. 1 2 Carneiro de Lima Moraes, J.L..; D. Pavan (2018). "On the occurrence of Hemiphractus scutatus (Spix, 1824) (Anura: Hemiphractidae) in eastern Amazonia". Amphibian & Reptile Conservation. 12 (1): 5–14.
  5. ↑ Vitt, Laurie J.; Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. p. 497.
  6. ↑ Sheil, C. A.; Mendelson III, J. R. (2001). "A new species of Hemiphractus (Anura: Hylidae: Hemiphractinae), and a redescription of H. johnsoni". Herpetologica. 57 (2): 189–202. JSTOR 3893183.
  7. ↑ IUCN. "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>". Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  8. 1 2 Halliday, T. (2016). The Book of Frogs: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from around the World. University Of Chicago Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-0226184654.
  9. ↑ Vitt and Caldwell (2014), p. 322
  10. ↑ Vitt and Caldwell (2014), p. 166, 497
  11. ↑ "Individual study: The principles of rapid response for amphibian conservation, using the programmes in Panama as an example". conservationevidence. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  12. ↑ Gratwicke, B.; et al. (2016). "Evaluating the probability of avoiding disease-related extinctions of Panamanian amphibians through captive breeding programs". Animal Conservation. 19 (4): 324–336. Bibcode:2016AnCon..19..324G. doi:10.1111/acv.12249. S2CID 886061.