Dendropsophus bromeliaceus

Teresensis' bromeliad frog (Dendropsophus bromeliaceus) is a frog that lives in Brazil.  Scientists have only seen it in the mountains in the Reserva Biológica Augusto Ruschi.\

The adult male frog is 16.1–18.4 mm long from nose to rear end.  This frog is light brown in color with a wide, cream-colored stripe down each side of its body from the eye to where the legs meet the body.  There is another stripe in the middle of the back.  There is a triangular mark on the face.  The hind legs are cream in color and the front legs and belly are gray.  The iris of the eye is black in color.

This is the only frog in Dendropsophus whose tadpole swims in rainwater.  Instead of laying eggs in a stream or pond, the female finds a place where the leaves of bromeliad plants have formed a bowl with rainwater in it.  The tadpoles swim and grow in the water.

Scientists think this frog might be territorial: adult frogs might fight each other for good places to find food and lay eggs.  They think the male frogs might help feed and guard the tadpoles.

Scientists named this frog Teresensis meaning "person born in the town of Santa Teresa." They gave it the scientific name bromeliaeus' after the bromeliad plants where it lays its eggs.

References

Category:Frogs of South America