Description
Aplastodiscus albosignatus is a large treefrog with a male snout-vent length range of 40 – 51 mm that belongs to the A. albosignatus species group (Cruz and Peixoto 1984). The snout is varies from rounded to pointed in dorsal view (Berneck et al. 2016), head broader than long. Vomerine teeth are present. The eyes are large and prominent (CITATION NEEDED). Males have a medium to large vocal sac (Berneck et al. 2016). The tympanum distinct (CITATION NEEDED). The calcaneous appendix is small to large (Berneck et al. 2016). There are large granules in cloacal region and there is no flap on the cloaca (CITATION NEEDED).

The tadpole was described by Gomes (1996): body oval in dorsal view, nares reniform, spiracle sinistral, vent tube dextral, caudal muscle well-developed, oral apparatus ventral, LTRF 2(2)/4(1), a single layer of marginal papillae, submarginal papillae present.

The general dorsal color is green, as well as the muscles and bones.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Brazil

	View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (4 records).

This species is known from the States of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, in the type locality in the Serra da Bocaina, São José do Barreiro-SP (1,600 m a.s.l.), Campos do Jordão-SP, Itamonte-MG (1,800 m), Camanducaia-MG (1,500 m) and Itatiaia-RJ (1,800 m) southeastern Brazil (Cruz and Peixoto 1985, Gomes and Peixoto 1997). A. albosignatus lives near forest streams and rivulets in primary forests and old secondary growth (Carvalho-e-Silva and Cruz 2004).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Males of Aplastodiscus albosignatus call at night from September through February, from the muddy margins of streams and rivulets inside primary forests; the oviposition takes place in constructed underground basins (reproductive mode 5 of Haddad and Prado 2005). Gomes (1996) found males calling from rock crevices. The advertisement call was described by Abrunhosa et al. (2005): it has a mean duration of 0.3s, and an intercall time interval of 2.8s. The dominant frequency corresponds primarily to the fundamental frequency (about 0.8kHz) but sometimes to the third harmonic (about 2.4kHz).

The tadpoles are benthic and can be found in narrow streams, with clay bottoms. Newly metamorphosed froglets are 21 mm in SVL and have some black spots on the dorsum (Gomes 1996).

Defense strategies include body lifting, distress calls and camouflage (Haddad et al. 2008).

Trends and Threats
Fairly common but declining. Its range is within several protected areas, such as the Parque Nacional da Serra da Bocaina, at São José do Barreiro-SP, Parque Estadual de Campos do Jordão-SP and Parque Nacional de Itatiaia-RJ (Carvalho-e-Silva and Cruz 2004).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Habitat modification from deforestation, or logging related activities
Urbanization
Secondary succession
Subtle changes to necessary specialized habitat
Habitat fragmentation

Comments
The name is given in allusion to the cloacal ornamentation.

References

Abrunhosa, P.A., Pimenta, B.V.S., Cruz, C.A.G., and Haddad, C.F.B. (2005). ''Advertisement calls of species of the Hyla albosignata group (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae).'' Arquivos do Museu Nacional, 63, 275-282.

Carvalho-e-Silva, S. P. and Cruz, C. A. G. (2004). Aplastodiscus callipygius. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 14 September 2009.

Cruz, C. A. G. and Peixoto, O. L. (1984). ''Espécies verdes de Hyla do complexo ''albosignata'' (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae).'' Arquivos da Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, 7, 31-47.

Gomes, M. R. (1996). Girinos de espécies de Hyla do grupo ''albosignata'' (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae). Master's thesis, Departamento de Zoologia, UFRJ-MN.

Gomes, M. R. and Peixoto, O. L. (1997). ''Hyla callipygia – Distribution extension.'' Herpetological Review, 28, 92-93.

Haddad, C. F. B., Toledo, L. F., and Prado, C. A. (2008). Anfíbios da Mata Atlântica – Atlantic forest amphibians. Editora Neotropica, São Paulo.

Haddad, C. F. B., and Prado, C. P. A. (2005). ''Reproductive modes in frogs and their unexpected diversity in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.'' BioScience, 55, 207-217.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2020 Aplastodiscus albosignatus: Bocaina Tree Frog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/704> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Jan 6, 2025.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2025. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 6 Jan 2025.

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