Buckley's slender-legged treefrog, Osteocephalus buckleyi, is a medium sized, nocturnal, hylid tree frog that lives in primary and secondary rainforest of the Amazon basin of South America.This species is reported from Amapá, Brazil, through the Guianas and Venezuela, to Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia, and found up to 1200 m (4000 ft) in altitude in some places. Using molecular markers, Ron et al. 2010 found support for the hypothesis that O. buckleyi represented a species complex containing at least 9 species, as opposed to being one large, wide-spread, morphologically variable species as previously proposed (Trueb and Duellman 1971 cited in Ron et al. 2010).These findings also reveal other potential undescribed species in this group which may impact understanding of diversity crucial to conservation actions.
Female O. buckleyi, somewhat larger than males, reach up to about 7 cm (2.75 inches) snout vent length.They have a dull green, rough, dorsal surface, with large brown spots, a hidden inner-thigh colored blue and their iris is gold.Reproductive mostly in the dry season, males call from shore near noisy stream waters roiled by waterfalls, fallen limbs or other obstructions.The females lay batches of about 1600 eggs on the edge of permanent streams, and the dark blue-black tadpoles develop in lotic water of the stream (Lima et al. 2007; Jungfer et al. 2000).This is one of just two species (the other being Atelopus pulcher) out of 130 examined from the lowland Amazonia that is an obligate stream breeder (Hoedl 1990).
Osteocephalus buckleyi, also known as Buckley's slender-legged treefrog, is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is found along the periphery of the Amazon Basin in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, northeastern Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, and also in the Orinoco Delta in Venezuela.[1][2][3][4] It is probably a species complex.[2][3][4] Some sources treat Osteocephalus vilmae from Ecuador and Peru as a valid species.[3]
The specific name buckleyi honours Clarence Buckley, a collector active in Ecuador in 1880s and who collected the type series.[3][5]
Males measure 38–45 mm (1.5–1.8 in) and females 40–51 mm (1.6–2.0 in) in snout–vent length. The dorsum is pale green with dark blotches. A yellow or coffee colored medial vertebral stripe might be present. The flanks vary from cream to light brown with darker spots that can approach black. In males, the dorsal skin has a mixture of small and large tubercles with keratinized points, whereas in adult females the dorsal tubercles are very dispersed. The head is almost as long as wide; the snout is truncated. The finger disks are expanded.[3]
Natural habitats of Osteocephalus buckleyi are old and second growth rainforests[1] and forest edges.[3] It occurs at elevations below 700 m (2,300 ft) above sea level[2][3] (below 1,660 m (5,450 ft) m in Colombia).[4] Reproduction takes place in narrow permanent waterbodies (streams and igarapés). It can locally be threatened by habitat loss.[1]
Osteocephalus buckleyi, also known as Buckley's slender-legged treefrog, is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is found along the periphery of the Amazon Basin in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, northeastern Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, and also in the Orinoco Delta in Venezuela. It is probably a species complex. Some sources treat Osteocephalus vilmae from Ecuador and Peru as a valid species.
