A Review of the Middle American Tree Frogs of the Genus PtychohylaDuellman, William Edward
Science
A Review of the Middle American Tree Frogs of the Genus Ptychohyla
Duellman, William Edward
Amphibians -- Central America; Amphibians -- Mexico; Ptychohyla
anal opening. Skin of dorsum and ventral surfaces of fore limbs and
shanks smooth; that of throat, belly, and ventral surfaces of thighs
granular. Ventrolateral glands weakly developed, not reaching axilla
or groin and broadly separated midventrally. Tongue ovoid, shallowly
notched posteriorly, and barely free behind; vomerine teeth 2-2,
situated on small triangular elevations between ovoid inner nares;
openings to vocal sac large, one situated along inner posterior edge
of each mandibular ramus.
Dorsal ground-color of head, body, and limbs pale pinkish tan with the
greatest part of head and body covered by large gray interconnected
blotches; black flecks over most of dorsum; grayish brown transverse
bands on shanks; dorsal surfaces of first and second fingers pale
grayish yellow; dorsal surfaces of third and fourth fingers and
webbing on hand pale grayish tan; anterior surfaces of thighs pale
flesh-color; posterior surfaces of thighs pale grayish yellow; dorsal
surfaces of tarsi and toes pale grayish tan with black flecks; webbing
of feet pale gray; faint creamy white stripes along ventrolateral
edges of tarsi and forearms; a very thin white line along edge of
upper lip; a narrow grayish white stripe above anal opening; axilla
gray; throat, chest, belly, and ventral surfaces of forelimbs pale
grayish white; ventral surfaces of hind limbs cream color; flanks gray
flecked with brown; ventral surfaces of feet grayish tan;
ventrolateral glands pinkish tan; anterior one-half of chin flecked
with brown.
In life the dorsum was pale tan (Pinkish Buff); the dark markings on
dorsum dull brown (Tawny-Olive); tarsi pale tan (Pale Pinkish Buff);
flanks pinkish tan (Pale Cinnamon-Pink); iris coppery bronze (Capucine
Orange).
_Variation._--The few specimens from a limited geographic region
preclude any analysis of geographic variation. All specimens, except
the one described above, have the fifth toe webbed to the base of the
disc. Many individuals have a bifid subarticular tubercle beneath the
fourth finger. The shape of the posterior edge of the tongue varies
from nearly straight and shallowly notched to bluntly rounded and
emarginate. Two females (KU 58050-1) have more pointed snouts in
dorsal profile than do males.
Some specimens, such as KU 58048, are notably darker than the specimen
described above; in dark specimens the dorsum is brown with dark brown
markings; all fingers and the webbing on the hand are brown. The tarsi
and feet are like those in the specimen described above, but the
posterior surfaces of the thighs are yellowish tan heavily suffused
with brown; the venter is cream color. In life KU 58048 had a brown
(Verona Brown) dorsum with dark brown (Chocolate) markings. KU 58047
is slightly darker than KU 58048 and has scattered small white flecks
on the dorsum. All specimens have the thin white line on the upper
lip, but in some individuals it is indistinct. The grayish white line
above the anus is present in all specimens.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account