Hyloxalus italoi

Hyloxalus italoi is a frog.  It lives in Ecuador and Peru.

Body
The adult male frog is 19.1 and 27.0 mm long from nose to rear end and the adult female frog is 21.6 to 30.1 mm long.

The skin of the frog's back helps the frog hide. It is black or brown in color. There are lines down the sides of its body. There are three big marks on the back. The throat and chest are brown in color. The adult male frogs have white marks on the throat and chest. The adult female frog have dull white or brown marks on the throat and chest. The adult male frog has a white belly with brown marks. The female frog has a cream-white belly.

Name

Scientists named this frog italoi for Ítalo G. Tapia. He helped find many frogs.

Home

Scientists found this frog in the hills near the Andes Mountains, between 200 and 1000 meters above sea level. It lives in forests not too high above sea level. Scientists saw them in streams with rocks in them. It is awake during the day.

Many of the places this frog lives are protected parks: Reserva de Bosque Tropical Fundación Hola Vida, Tuntanain Communal Reserve, and Zona Reservada Santiago-Comaina.

Young

The male frog sits on or near rocks and calls to the female frogs. The female frog lays eggs on the dead leaves on the ground. The male frog watches the eggs until they hatch. After they hatch, the adult male frog carries the frog to pools. Scientists saw male frogs of this species do this. One male frog had eight tadpoles on his back at the same time.

The tadpoles are brown in color with big dark marks.

Danger

Scientists say this frog is not in danger of dying out because there are so many of them alive and because it lives in such a large place. However, in some places, the frog might be in danger because people cut down trees to get wood to build with, make farms, and make places for animals to eat grass.

First paper

References

Category:Frogs of South America