Teratohyla spinosa

Teratohyla spinosa
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Centrolenidae
Genus:	Teratohyla
Species:	T. spinosa
Binomial name
Teratohyla spinosa (Taylor, 1949)
Synonyms
Centrolenella spinosa Taylor, 1949 Cochranella spinosa (Taylor, 1949)

Teratohyla spinosa (common name: spiny Cochran frog) is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is found in the Pacific lowlands of northern and central Ecuador and western Colombia, northward on the Pacific slopes Panama and Costa Rica, as well as on the Caribbean slopes of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

Description

Teratohyla spinosa are small, green frogs with large, protuberant eyes. Males grow to a snout–vent length of 18–20 mm (0.71–0.79 in) and females to 20–23 mm (0.79–0.91 in). Tadpoles are 16 mm (0.63 in) in length when metamorphosing. Adult males have an exposed spine at the base of the thumb.

Males call throughout the wet season (May–October) from the low vegetation surrounding small streams. Females lay 18–25 eggs on the underside of vegetation in a single layer of loose jelly. Larvae develop in streams.

Habitat and conservation

Teratohyla spinosa inhabits lowland primary humid lowland forests at elevations between 20 and 800 m (66 and 2,625 ft) above sea level. It is found along streams in the low vegetation. Its habitat is threatened by deforestation, although the species is not considered threatened in view of its wide distribution and presumed large population.