Description
Dendropsophus frosti is a medium-sized, slender frog with a wide head. Snout-vent length ranges from 21.1-23.0 mm in adult males and 25.9-28.8 mm in females. The nostrils are slightly protuberant. The eyes are large and prominent. Vomerine teeth are present. The forearm is slender, with short fingers bearing round discs. Relative finger lengths (decreasing) are 1,2,4,3. The hind limb is also slender but long. Relative toe lengths (decreasing) are 1,2,3,5,4. Skin on dorsal surface appears smooth whereas skin on ventral side appears granular (Motta et al. 2012).

D. frosti can be distinguished from closely related members of the D. parviceps group by its plain, light brown dorsal color contrasted with dark sides, copper iris, plain immaculate pale yellow to white venter color, lack of flash marks on groin and axillae, and absence of white spots on lips (Motta et al. 2012).

In life, during the day, dorsal surfaces present plain light brown or tan coloration and ventral surfaces exhibit pale yellow coloration. The thighs and internal region of foot are dark brown. The lateral surfaces of the body and head are dark brown, darker in groin region with a distinct white line or abrupt transition from the dorsal coloration to the lateral. Fingers 1, 2, and tip of finger 3 are pale, iris copper coloration. At night, the dorsal coloration of the species is yellow in males and pale brown in females without a contrasting color in the flanks or thigh (Motta et al. 2012).

In preservation, dorsal surfaces appear pale brown while the venter appears creamy white or iris gray (Motta et al. 2012).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Peru

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

D. frosti is found from lowland terra firme rainforests of the headwaters of the Amazon River Basin in Columbia and Peru. This species is only known from two localities: Leticia and Piedras in the Putumayo basin. The Peruvian locality lies within high terrace forest, at elevations 90—170 m.a.s.l., close to the Algodoncillo River of the Putumayo basin.

D. frosti inhabit low vegetation around ponds in primary forest. Other Dendrosophus species that inhabit the same areas include the D. rhodopeplus (Motta et al. 2012).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
D. frosti can and will lay terrestrial eggs attached to a rigid surface such as a tree trunk. They may also lay clutches on leaves or other arboreal surfaces. Average egg diameter is 1.9 mm. Males of this species were found calling at night (Motta et al. 2012).

Relation to Humans

Comments
D. frosti is named after Darrel Frost, a well known North American herpetologist and systematist.

According to phylogenetic analysis using 12S and 16S RNA genes, this species is most closely related to D. parviceps, D. brevifrons, and D koechlini; it is sister to the D. brevifrons and is a member of the D. parviceps group, although the group appears to be paraphyletic. Nonetheless the authors retain this group, recognizing its Amazonian origins and place the new species here with other Amazonian Dendropsophus. They also note that despite few new species of Dendropsophus described, a species accumulation curve for this genus is far from stabilized which suggest there are more to be discovered (Motta et al. 2012).

References

Motta, A. P., Castroviejo-Fisher, S., Venegas, P. J., Orrico, V. G., and Padial, J. M. (2012). ''A new species of the Dendropsophus parviceps group from the western Amazon Basin (Amphibia: Anura: Hylidae).'' Zootaxa, 3249, 18-30.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2012 Dendropsophus frosti <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/7794> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Dec 19, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 19 Dec 2024.

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