Sachatamia ilex facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sachatamia ilex |
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Centrolenella ilex Savage, 1967 |
The Sachatamia ilex is a type of frog that belongs to the Centrolenidae family, also known as glass frogs. You can find this frog in several countries in Central and South America. These include eastern Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and parts of western Colombia and western Ecuador.
This special frog has a couple of interesting common names. It's often called the Limon giant glass frog. This name comes from a place in Costa Rica called Limón, where it was first officially described. It's also known as the ghost glass frog, perhaps because of its somewhat see-through appearance.
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What Does It Look Like?
These frogs are not very big. Adult males are usually about 27 to 29 millimeters long from their snout to their rear end. Females are a bit larger, measuring about 28 to 34 millimeters. Their snout, which is the front part of their head, looks flat when you see it from the side.
Their fingers and toes have special skin between them, called webbing, which helps them move around. They also have sticky pads on the tips of their digits. These pads help them grip onto leaves and branches. The skin on their back is a bit rough, like sandpaper, which is called shagreen.
The top part of their body is a dark green color. Their throat and belly are a creamy white. Their eyes have a white or light gray iris with black lines that look like a net.
Daily Life and Habits
The Limon giant glass frog is a night owl! It is most active when the sun goes down. During the day, it likes to rest quietly. It often crouches on the top side of a leaf. It can even change its color slightly to blend in with the leaf, making it harder for predators to spot.
Male frogs are quite vocal. They call out from the top surfaces of leaves, usually near streams. Sometimes, male frogs might even get into little fights with each other.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
When it's time to lay eggs, the female frog places them on the upper side of leaves. These eggs are black. Once the baby frogs, called larvae, hatch from the eggs, they simply drop into the water below. This water is usually a stream or a small pool.
Where It Lives and How It's Protected
The Limon giant glass frog lives in wet forests. These can be lowland forests or mountain forests, found at heights between 180 and 1,430 meters above sea level. You can often find them near waterfalls and fast-moving streams. They like to hang out in bushes and trees right next to these forest streams. This is also where they lay their eggs.
Sometimes, parts of their habitat are lost due to human activities. However, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has looked at this frog species. They do not consider it to be in danger of disappearing. This means it is not currently a threatened species.
