Craugastor laticeps explained

Craugastor laticeps (common name: broad-headed rainfrog, and many variations) is a species of frog in the family Craugastoridae.It is found in Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and southern Mexico.[1]

Craugastor laticeps occurs in leaf-litter in lowland and premontane tropical forest. It tolerates moderate habitat alteration and can be found in cacao and coffee plantations. There are some threats to this species due to habitat loss.

Reproduction

Craugastor laticeps might be unique among craugastorid frogs (which normally have direct development[2]): one observation suggests that the species is ovoviviparous, ovipositing eggs with fully developed young almost ready to hatch. The female frog in question was 66mm in snout–vent length and laid 44 eggs, and the hatching or newly hatched froglets were about 13mm14mm in snout–vent length.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Craugastor laticeps (Duméril, 1853) . Frost, Darrel R. . 2014 . Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 . American Museum of Natural History . 25 April 2014.
  2. Hedges, S. B. . Duellman, W. E. . Heinicke, M. P. . amp . 2008 . New World direct-developing frogs (Anura: Terrarana): Molecular phylogeny, classification, biogeography, and conservation . Zootaxa . 1737 . 1–182 . 10.11646/zootaxa.1737.1.1 .
  3. McCranie, J.R. . M.H. Wake . L. Valdés Orellana . 2013 . Craugastor laticeps. Possible ovoviviparity . Herpetological Review . 44 . 4 . 653–654.