Duellmanohyla uranochroa (Cope, 1875) - Red-Eyed Stream Frog, Costa Rican Brook Frog

Red-Eyed Stream Frog, Duellmanohyla uranochroa (Photo: ©2009 Eduardo Boza Oviedo)		Family:	Hylidae (Treefrogs)
		Subfamilae:	Hylinae (Treefrogs)
		Origin:	Costa Rica, Panama
		Adult Snout-to-Vent Length:	Male: 20-30 mm / 0.8-1.2 inches (females slightly larger than males)
		IUCN (Red List) Status:	Critically Endangered (CR)
		Similar Species:	Duellmanohyla rufioculis, Rufous-Eyed Stream Frog Agalychnis callidryas, Red-Eyed Leaf Frog Agalychnis saltator, Parachuting Red-Eyed Leaf Frog

Meet the Frog Part 4: the Red-Eyed Stream Frog, Duellmanohyla uranochroa

This species is not the Red-Eyed Leaf Frog (or Red-Eyed Tree Frog). Once very common, Duellmanohyla uranochroa is now one of the most critically endangered frog species on the planet. In the late 1980s many different frog species in Central America crashed and went into severe decline. Most of those species were found in montane cloud forest; some are now presumed extinct. At the time, the reason for this mass die-off was a mystery, but ten years later a possible culprit was discovered: Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, a type of primitive fungus first discovered in Australia (you can read more about this terrible disease in another FrogForum.net article called "Meet the Frog: the Panamanian Golden Frog"). The disease was found to be responsible for amphibian extinctions and declines around the world. The disease was thought to be responsible for the major decline in frog numbers in the 1980s and since then it has been discovered in Central American amphibian populations. Fortunately, measurements of light absorption in current populations show some promise in the frogs' ability to absorb light, heating up just enough to kill off the fungus. Studies have shown some limited recovery in the population. Like most frogs, D. uranochroa is nocturnal. During the day it can be found hiding out among the leaves of bromeliads. At night it gathers along montane streams in Costa Rica and Panama. Breeding takes place in quiet pools during May and June.

References

1. Morelle, Rebecca First-known footage of rare frog 2008 BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7603295.stm.

2. Schoville, Sean Duellmanohyla uranochroa Red-eyed Stream Frog 2008 Museum of Vertebrate Zoology; University of California, Berkeley. http://amphibiaweb.org/.

Other Resources

AmphibiaWeb Record: Duellmanohyla uranochroa
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©2009 Kurt Kunze

Written by Kurt Kunze in September 2009.

Edited by John P. Clare - Last updated 26th October 2009.

About the Author
Kurt Kunze is a self educated herpetologist and a member of the New England Herpetological Society based in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, USA. He has been a herpetologist for the past ten years or so, before that he was a professional aquarist, working with everything from guppies and goldfish to sharks and octopus. He has worked for the Museum of Science in Boston in their Live Animal Center and for the Museum of Natural History of Harvard University as a gallery guide. At the MoS, he worked with various reptiles and amphibian species, including alligators, snakes, lizards, turtles, and frogs. At Harvard, he did live animal demonstrations and educated visitors in paleontology, particularly on Mesozoic reptiles. His husbandry skills were refined by working at the MoS, as well as with the late Barbara Bonner DVM at her Turtle Hospital. Kurt has also co-authored the questionnaire for Assumption College's Science Olympiad on herpetology for the past two years. Kurt makes his home in Billerica, Massachusetts, USA, along with his small "zoo", which includes various scorpions, fish, salamanders, turtles, snakes, and of course, frogs. His interests center on the Hylids, Dendrobatids, Bufonids, & Microhylids. Kurt has bred the Red-Eyed Leaf Frog, Agalychnis callidryas, and has plans to breed the Red-Banded Rubber Frog, Phrynomantis bifasciatus, the False or Southern Tomato Frog, Dyscophus guineti, and the Fire-Bellied Toad, Bombina orientalis.
John P. Clare hails from Ireland and is the founder of FrogForum.net and Caudata.org. He has had an interest in amphibians since the age of 4. He holds a degree in Natural Science and a PhD in Chemistry. His primary research interests are the synthesis and study of molecules for the remediation of freshwater pollutants. In his spare time he likes to photograph amphibians and reptiles in the wild. His photographs have been published in everything from children's books to university level textbooks. His photos have featured in such diverse media as the programme "Brink" on the Science Channel in the US, Texas Parks and Wildlife literature, the Boston Museum of Science, Palais de la Découverte Science Museum in Paris, France, and several Zoological Institutions' brochures and exhibit ID cards.