From the IUCN Red List Species Account:

Range Description

This species is known from the Pacific lowlands of north-western Ecuador, from 200-500m asl. It is known from three localities, but with further sampling is likely to occur more widely.

Habitat and Ecology

This is originally a lowland forest species. However, specimens have been collected at a large duckweed-covered pond in a banana plantation outside forest; a few individuals were calling from bushes at the edge of the water, while others were found on grasses overhanging shallow muddy pools (Duellman 1973). It breeds in ponds, and probably deposits its eggs in the water.

Population

It is a rare species.

Population Trend

Decreasing

Major Threats

The main threat to this species is habitat loss, and much of the natural vegetation within its range has been cleared. While its occurrence in banana plantations may suggest that the species can survive in altered habitats, farming practices have changed radically over the last 20 years, especially with the use of pesticides, and cultivation that is more intensive. The soil is very fertile, and banana plantations do very well; however, these plantations are increasingly intensively managed and the use of pesticides poses an increasing threat.

Conservation Actions

It is not known to occur in any protected areas. There is an urgent need for protection of remaining lowland forest habitat in this part of Ecuador.

Taxonomic Notes

This species was previously included in the genus Hyla but has recently been moved to the resurrected genus Dendropsophus (Faivovich et al. 2005).

Citation

Luis A. Coloma, Santiago Ron, Diego Cisneros-Heredia, Ana Almendáriz 2004. Dendropsophus gryllatus. In: IUCN 2012