January 25, 2013 | 34 Glassfrogs, or centrolenids, are wide-
skulled, long-limbed arboreal little frogs (SVL 20-60 mm),
unique to the Central and South American cloud and rain forests.
Not until 1951 did this group get recognised as a distinct and
nameable entity: prior to this, species within the group (known
to science since 1872) had been classified as part of
Rhacophoridae, the Old World ‘bush frogs’ or ‘shrub frogs’. Most
glassfrogs lay their eggs on vegetation overhanging water or on
rocks above the water surface and their tadpoles live in nearby
streams. Many texts refer to them as ‘glass frogs’; I here
follow several recent publications (and the trend that’s
occurring in biological nomenclatural in general) in referring
to them as ‘glassfrogs’. [Adjacent photo from here.] Glassfrog
eyes are set on the tops of their heads, they have adhesive
disks on their digit tips, and – while they are generally
greenish on their dorsal surface – they derive their common name
from the fact that they lack pigment on t