Gastrotheca ovifera

Gastrotheca ovifera (vernacular names: pouched frog and giant marsupial frog; Spanish: rana marsupial comun or rana marsupial) is a species of frog in the family Hemiphractidae.[1][2] It is endemic to northern Venezuela and is known from the Venezuelan Coastal Range, including Sierra de Aroa.[2]

Gastrotheca ovifera
Gastrotheca ovifera in Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hemiphractidae
Genus: Gastrotheca
Species:
G. ovifera
Binomial name
Gastrotheca ovifera
(Lichtenstein and Weinland, 1854)
Synonyms[2]
  • Notodelphys ovifera Lichtenstein and Weinland, 1854
  • Notodelphis dorsigera Schlegel, 1858
  • Hyla vogli Müller, 1938

Gastrotheca ovifera occurs in cloud forests at elevations of 800–1,800 m (2,600–5,900 ft) above sea level. It is associated with bromeliads where it hides, especially during dry periods. The eggs are carried on the female's back and have direct development (i.e., there is no free-living larval stage[3]).[1]

This species can be locally abundant, but it has declined in many places where it used to be common. It is threatened by habitat loss caused by agriculture, logging, and infrastructure development. However, it has also declined in protected areas such as the Henri Pittier National Park, for reasons that are unclear.[1]

References
  1. La Marca, E. & Manzanilla, J. (2004). "Gastrotheca ovifera". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T55350A11297300. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T55350A11297300.en. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2019). "Gastrotheca ovifera (Lichtenstein and Weinland, 1854)". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  3. Vitt, Laurie J. & Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. p. 165.


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