Scientists discovered a new species of glassfrog on the Caribbean slopes of Costa Rica.
The new species, dubbed Hyalinobatrachium dianae, was distinguished from other glassfrogs with its unique combination of morphological characteristics, genetics, and advertisement call, the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center reported.
The six defining specimens were collected at three different sites across the Caribbean slopes at elevations between 400 and 900 feet above sea level. The name Hyalinobatrachium dianae was given in honor of the senior author's mother Janet Diane Kubicki.
The species was distinguished by its: snout truncate in dorsal and lateral views; granular dorsal skin; parietal and cardial peritonea transparent; hand webbing formula; hand webbing formula; uniform lime green dorsal surface lacking dark spots; silvery-white iris coloration with fine dark spots or reticulation; an advertisement call consisting of a "single tonal long metallic whistlelike note" with a duration of between 0.40 and 0.55 seconds and a dominant frequency of 3.35 to 3.44 kilohertz. The species also has highly divergent DNA sequences for the mitochondrial gene COI from other glassfrogs found in the region. It has exactly a 12.4 percent divergence from its closest known species, Hyalinobatrachium chirripoi.
Costa Rica now has 14 inhabiting glassfrogs, the last time a new glassfrog was discovered was back in 1973.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Zootaxa.
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