Boana gladiator

The Cusco gladiator tree frog (Boana gladiator) is a frog that lives in Peru, in Cusco and Puno. Scientists have seen it between 1097 and 1975 meters above sea level in cloud forests.

The adult male frog is 35.3 to 49.4 mm long from nose to rear end, and the adult female frog is 47.8 to 55.3 mm long. Like other gladiator tree frogs, the male Cusco gladiator tree frog has a spike on each front foot that it uses to fight other males. The female frog lays eggs in streams.

This frog is in danger of dying out. One reason is that human beings cut down the trees in the forests where the frogs live. Another is that the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infects the frogs. This illness makes their skin thick so the frog cannot let water pass through it. The chemicals in the frog's blood turn bad, and the frog has a heart attack and dies.

References

Category:Frogs of South America