hear Fonozoo call (#1)
	hear Fonozoo call (#2)

Description

Boana fasciata males have a snout-vent length with a range of 32.65 - 37.74 mm, while females are larger with a snout-vent length of range 47.16 - 54.84 mm. Boana fasciata has a rounded triangular snout from the top view that projects sharply over the lower lip in females. The head for both males and females is wider than it is long. On the top of the head, there is a subtle “V”-shaped ridge that extends from the nostrils, located at the tip of the snout, to the eyes. The eyes, which protrude at the base of the triangular snout, are slightly larger in females than in males, and range from about 3 - 5 mm overall. Right behind the eyes are small, yet visible tympanums, which are smaller than the eyes and are slightly sheltered by a small ridge that arches above it (Caminer and Ron 2014).

The trunk of B. fasciata tapers to a thin waist, where two long hind limbs, about twice the size of the forelimbs, extend. At the end of the short forelimbs, there are four fingers that expand into discs. In general, the femur is shorter than the tibia, but is longer than the length of the foot. At the end of the longer hind limbs, the toes also expand into discs, and are webbed (Caminer and Ron 2014).

Boana fasciata is most similar to Boana almendarizae and Boana calcarata. While B. fasciata has a small and conical calcar, B. calcarata has a long and triangular calcar. The iris of B. calcarata also has an upper band with a yellow to orange color, while that of B. fasciata has a red to reddish brown color. B. almendarizae can be distinguished from B. fasciata by its narrower transversal dark bars on the flanks and thighs, and by the yellow to orange color of the upper band in its iris as well. Among other Boana species, B. fasciata differs from B. maculateralis in advertisement call, and the transversal bars on its flanks and thighs contrast with the dark blotches on B. maculateralis. Boana alfaroi and B. tetete have a small tubercle on the heel rather than a calcar, and have dark flecks on the gular region and chest (Caminer and Ron 2014).

In life, B. fasciata varies in color from a pale yellowish tan to brown on the dorsal surface. It has a dark mid dorsal brown line with scattered minute dots. It has pale brown transversal bars on the dorsal surfaces of limbs. The flanks and hidden surfaces of the shanks and ventral surfaces are either white, light blue, or blue with dark brown vertical bars. The venter is a creamy white, and sometimes transitions to a yellowish white on the posterior half. The ventral surfaces of hindlimb and forelimbs are a translucent pinkish white or brown, and discs and webbing are a pale yellowish tan or brown. There is a brown stripe on the outer edge of hands, forearms, thighs, feet, and tarsal folds. The iris is a creamy silver or bronze, with an upper reddish band (Caminer and Ron 2014).

In preservative, B. fasciata varies in color from cream to pale grayish brown or brown on the dorsal surface, and its mid dorsal line remains a dark brown. On flanks and hidden surfaces of the thighs, B. fasciata ranges from creamy white to brown or gray with dark brown vertical bars that extend from the groin to the axilla or mid flank. Ventral areas also tend to be a creamy white, and a brown stripe might be present on the outer edge of hands, forearms, thighs, feet, and tarsal folds. The webbing and discs range from yellowish white to brown or gray (Caminer and Ron 2014).

In terms of size, females are significantly larger than males. Females also have snouts that project beyond the lip and eyes that are slightly larger than males. As for color and pattern, some individuals might sometimes have broad transversal bands on the dorsum, as well as narrow brown transversal bars on the dorsal surfaces of limbs. Some specimens might even have pale minute brown blotches on the lips, and others might lack a mid dorsal line in preservative (Caminer and Ron 2014).

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Suriname

	View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.
	View Bd and Bsal data (1 records).

Boana fasciata can be found in the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon basin, with a known elevation range of 730 (in Tink) to 1593 (at Romerillos Alto) m above sea level. Specimens were found on vegetation 30 to 200 cm above the ground in forests, as well as in flooded areas, ponds, swamps, and near streams. In Zamora, specimens were found in grassy swamps in shrubs 30 to 110 cm above the ground (Caminer and Ron 2014).

The species can be found in several types of forests. The Amazonian Evergreen Foothill forest is made up of Amazonian and Andean vegetation with a canopy of 30 m; the Evergreen Lower Montane Forest of the Amazonian Range, which is made up of epiphytes and hemiepiphytes and, more notably, Dictyocaryum lamarckianum with a canopy of 20 - 30 m; and the Evergreen Lower Montane Forest of the East of the Southern Andes, also made up of epiphytes, but notably of Podocarpus, with a canopy of 30 m. Boana fasciata is distributed over a 8,572 square km range (Caminer and Ron 2014).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors

The advertisement call has three to five quack notes, with a mean call duration of 0.52 s and a mean rise time of 0.24 s. The frequency of the sound increases from the beginning to the end of the note, with an average dominant frequency of 1855.81 Hz, and average fundamental frequency of 884.89 Hz. There are anywhere from 9.60 - 13.56 pulses, with a repetition rate of about 179.53 pulses per second. The interval between calls can be as short as 13 seconds to as long as 78. At the time sample calls were recorded, the temperature was 21°C (Caminer and Ron 2014).

Trends and Threats

Of the 8,572 squared km range where B. fasciata can be found, 2,198 squared km have been degraded by human activities such as agriculture. While the IUCN lists the species as one of “Least Concern” in 2004, Caminer and Ron suggest that B. fasciata be assigned the label "Near Threatened" due to increasing habitat degradation (Caminer and Ron 2014).

Possible reasons for amphibian decline

General habitat alteration and loss
Intensified agriculture or grazing

Comments

The species authority is Caminer, M.A., Ron, S.R. (2014). “Systematics of treefrogs of the Hypsiboas calcaratus and Hypsiboas fasciatus species complex (Anura, Hylidae) with the description of four new species.” ZooKeys, 370,15: 1–68., doi:10.3897/zookeys.370.6291.

Boana fasciata, along with Boana calcarata, were initially assigned to the Hypsiboas albopunctatus group along with seven other species. However, evidence from maximum-likelihood and Bayesian inference on mitochondrial (12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, and COI) and nuclear genes (RAG-1 and POMC), suggested that while B. fasciata and B. calcarata are in the same species complex, they are not sisters to each other. The sister species to B. fasciata is B. almendarizae (Caminer and Ron 2014).

Boana fasciatus was initially described by Güther in 1858 as Hyla fasciata but was moved in the genus Hypsiboas by Cope in 1862 (Frost 2019). In 2017, Dubois moved species in the genus Hypsiboas to the resurrected genus Boana (Dubois 2017).

References

Caminer M.A., Ron S.R. (2014). ''Systematics of treefrogs of the Hypsiboas calcaratus and Hypsiboas fasciatus species complex (Anura, Hylidae) with the description of four new species.'' ZooKeys, 370, 1–68. [link]

Dubois, A. (2017). ''The nomenclatural status of Hysaplesia, Hylaplesia, Dendrobates and related nomina (Amphibia, Anura), with general comments on zoological nomenclature and its governance, as well as on taxonomic databases and websites.'' Bionomina, 11, 1-48. [link]

Frost, D. (2019). ''Boana Fasciata (Günther, 1858).'' Amphibian Species of the World 6.0, an Online Reference. research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Hylidae/Cophomantinae/Boana/Boana-fasciata. Downloaded 18 April 2019

Icochea, J., Coloma, L.A., Ron S. (2004). ''Hypsiboas fasciatus.'' The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2004: e.T55480A11303722. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T55480A11303722.en. Downloaded on 25 April 2019.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2019 Boana fasciata: Gunther's Banded Treefrog <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/793> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Nov 23, 2024.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2024. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 23 Nov 2024.

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