Hyloscirtus tapichalaca is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is endemic to Ecuador and only known from the vicinity of its type locality in the Tapichalaca Biological Reserve, Zamora-Chinchipe Province. It is named after the type locality, which is a reserve owned by the Fundación de Conservación Jocotoco. Hyloscirtus tapichalaca belongs to the Hyloscirtus larinopygion group, although its placement with the group is uncertain; it may be the sister taxon of all other species in the group.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Jumping (saltation) can be distinguished from running, galloping, and other gaits where the entire body is temporarily airborne by the relatively l...
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starts withAdult males measure 59–64 mm (2.3–2.5 in) and adult females 62–67 mm (2.4–2.6 in) in snout–vent length. The body and the limbs are robust. The snout is nearly truncate in lateral view. The tympanum is distinct, and the supratympanic fold is thick, obscuring its posterodorsal edge. The fingers and the toes are broad, bear large discs, and have webbing. The dorsum is gray to pale brown, and the flanks are gray to gray brown. The digital discs, lateral and lower margins of vent, knees, elbows, and outer margin of forearms are white. The iris is yellow-gold. Males have a single subgular vocal sac.
Hyloscirtus tapichalaca exude a sticky, white fluid when captured. One specimen assumed a posture where the white markings in the posterior surfaces of the elbows, heels, and vent were exposed. This is likely an anti-predator behavior.
The male advertisement call consists of a single, unpulsed note of variable duration (0.14–0.19 seconds). The calls are emitted at irregular time intervals (0.7–1.2 seconds apart), most of them clustered in bouts. Scars in the males suggest male-male combats. A 62-mm female contained 428 ovarian eggs some 3 mm (0.1 in) in diameter. The tadpoles probably develop in streams.
