Description
Hyalinobatrachium cappellei is a glass frog of medium-size with an adult male snout-vent length range of 18.6 - 24.9 mm and one female with a snout-vent length of 21.3 mm. Its snout is truncated when viewed dorsally and laterally. The head is wide and the tympanic membrane and annulus are indistinct (Castroviejo-Fisher et al. 2011). For a more complete description, please see Castroviejo-Fisher et al. 2011.

DIAGNOSIS:

For comparisons to other species please see Castroviejo-Fisher et al. 2011.

COLORATION:

In life, their dorsal region is a lime green with subtle large yellow spots (cream colored when preserved) underneath a layer of fine dark brown specks. Ventral region is transparent, leaving the pericardium (ranging from translucent to white) and white bones visible. The eyes feature yellow irises covered in brown flecks. Sometimes an incomplete reddish brown ring circumscribes the pupils (Castroviejo-Fisher et al. 2011).

VARIATION:

Hyalinobatrachium cappellei was previously thought to be four different species, H. cappellei, H. crurifasciatum, H. eccentricum, and H. ignioculus because of variation in coloration of the body and iris. However, molecular evidence showed that they are genetically indistinct, and thus they were combined into the single species of H. cappellei. For a more detailed variation, please see Castroviejo-Fisher et al. 2011.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

Hyalinobatrachium cappellei has a broad distribution with confirmed specimens ranging from the Guiana Shield in the north, extending south into the Amazon Rainforest, close to the Amazon river in Brazil, and as far west as the Bajo Caguán-Caquetá region of the Amazon in Colombia. It is found in riparian forests at altitudes of 0 - 3,500 m, on the leaves of trees and bushes near streams (Thompson et al. 2018).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Hyalinobatrachium cappellei is a nocturnal and arboreal species (Castroviejo-Fisher et al. 2011).

The breeding season occurs during the wet season with males performing calling activity from November to April. Males call from the upper side of leaves that are 1 - 5 m above water and will call while guarding existing laid clutches (Castroviejo-Fisher et al. 2011). The advertisement call is characterized as a ‘peeeep’ sound that lasts an average of 0.319 seconds, and the courtship call is characterized as ‘peeeep…fîîî’ lasting an average of 1.077 seconds. Calling activity peaks in the middle of the night (Noronha and Rodrigues 2018).

During courtship, the male calls to the female and waits to be approached, relying on touch to signal amplexus. The entire process from courtship to oviposition lasts eight hours (Noronha and Rodrigues 2018).

Females are oviparous and deposit clutches on the underside of leaves that hang above streams. Eggs hatch as tadpoles that drop into the water below. The number of eggs per clutch ranges from 4 - 32, with an average of 17.2 eggs (Noronha and Rodrigues 2018).

Males perform parental care through egg attendance, often staying close to clutches during the day and covering the eggs with their body at night, using ventral contact to support clutch hydration. Predation on clutches by cockroaches, moths, bush crickets, and ants has been observed (Noronha and Rodrigues 2018).

Larva
Tadpole descriptions can be found in Myers and Donnelly (1997) as H. crurifasciatum, Noonan and Bonett (2003) as H. ignioculus, and Señaris and Ayarzagüena (2005):

Myers, C. W., Donnelly, M. A. (1997). “A tepui herpetofauna on a granitic mountain (Tamacuari) in the borderland between Venezuela and Brazil: Report from the Phipps Tapirapecó Expedition.” American Museum Novitates 3213: 1–71

Noonan, B. P., Bonett, R. M. (2003). “A new species of Hyalinobatrachium (Anura: Centrolenidae) from the highlands of Guyana”. Journal of Herpetology 37: 91–97.

Señaris, J.C., Ayarzagüena, J. (2005). “Revisión taxonómica de la familia Centrolenidae (Amphibia, Anura) en Venezuela. Publicaciones del Comité Español del Programa MaB y de la Red IberoMaB de la UNESCO Number 6, Sevilla.

Trends and Threats
There is little information about the current size or trends of this species’ population. There was a record made of H. cappellei in a region known as the deforestation arc, which might indicate that this arboreal species could face potential threats related to deforestation (Noronha et al. 2012).

Relation to Humans
The relationship between H. cappellei and humans has not been examined within primary sources of literature. However, other glass frogs in the same family, including Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni and Teratohyla pulverata, are commonly found in the pet trade. This indicates a potential for H. cappellei to become involved in the pet trade.

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss

Comments

PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS:

Based on coloration of the eye and body, H. cappellei was previously thought to be four different species: H. cappellei, H. crurifasciatum, H. eccentricum, and H. ignioculus. However, Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference on 16S mtDNA indicate they should be collapsed into one species, H. cappellei. Based on this same molecular analysis, H. cappellei is sister to the clade composed of H. iaspidiense and H. tricolor (Castroviejo-Fisher et al. 2011). This is supported by Guayasamin et al. (2012), who used Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference of 12S, 16S, and ND1 mtDNA and c-myc exon 2, Rag1, and POMC nDNA, but did not cover all the same species in their analyses.

ETYMOLOGY

The species epithet, “cappellei” is in honor of Dr. H. van Cappelle, the geologist who organized the expedition in which the species was first collected by science in the lower Nickeri region of Suriname. The species was originally named "Hylella Cappellei" (Van Lidth de Jeude 1904).

References

Castroviejo-Fisher, S., Vilà, C., Ayarzagüena, J., Blanc, M., Ernst, R. (2011). "Species diversity of Hyalinobatrachium glassfrogs (Amphibia: Centrolenidae) from the Guiana Shield, with the description of two new species." Zootaxa 3132(1), 1-55. [link]

Guayasamin, J.M., Castroviejo-Fisher, S., Trueb, L., Vilà, C. (2012). "Phylogenetic relationships of glassfrogs (Centrolenidae) based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes." Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 48(2), 574-595. [link]

Noronha, J.C., Rodrigues, D.J. (2018). “Reproductive behaviour of the glass frog Hyalinobatrachium cappellei (Anura: Centrolenidae) in the Southern Amazon.” Journal of Natural History 52(3-4), 207-224. [link]

Noronha, J.C., Rodrigues, D.J., Barros, A.B., Almeida, E.J. (2012). "New record and distribution map of Hyalinobatrachium cappellei (van Lidth de Jeude 1904) (Anura: Centrolenidae)." Herpetology Notes 5, 467-468 [link]

Thompson, M.E., Medina-Rangel, G.F., Ruiz-Valderrama, D.H. (2018). “First record and massive range extension of Hyalinobatrachium cappellei (Van Lidth De Jeude, 1904) (Anura, Centrolenidae) in Colombia.” Check List 14(6), 945–949. [link]

Van Lidth de Jeude, T.W. (1904). "Reptiles and batrachians from Surinam." Notes from the Leyden Museum 25(1/2), 83-94. [link]

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2022 Hyalinobatrachium cappellei: Banded-limb Glassfrog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/7745> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Jun 1, 2023.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2023. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 1 Jun 2023.

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