Taxonomy

Species ID	020375
Name	Fringe-limbed treefrog
Other Common Names
Category	02 Amphibians
Phylum
Subphylum
Class	Amphibia
Subclass
Suborder
Family	Hylidae
Genus	Hyla
Species	valancifer
Subspecies
References	1

Distribution

Comments on Distribution

1* A single specimen collected in Toledo District.

   The single known specimen of fringe-limbed Hyla from the Yucatan
   Peninsula is a female from the Maya Mountains of Belize that lacks
   cranial co-ossification and was identified as H. velancifer on that
   basis. As H. velancifer is otherwise known only from southern Veracruz, the record for
   Belize is anomalous.

Habitat Associations

Food Habits

References/Lifestage	Reference Numbers

Environmental Associations

References/Lifestage	Reference Numbers

Life History

Life History Narrative

This rare frog inhabits humid montane and cloud forests, and specimens have been found on vegetation several meters above the ground. The only known specimen from the Yucatan Peninsula was found at night on a palm frond 3 m above the ground at an elevation of about 680 m. Nothing is known of reproduction in H. velancifer, but L. D. Wilson et al. (1985:149) published observations on the breeding biology of H. salvaje, a Honduran species of fringe-limbed tree frog that is presumably related to H. velancifer and may exhibit similar reproductive behavior. Hyla salvaje oviposits in water-filled cavities in tree trunks, and the tadpoles feed on the eggs of their own species.

Management Practices

References/Result	Reference Numbers

References

1  Lee, Julian C. 1996.  The Amphibians and Reptiles of the Yucatan
   Peninsula.  Comstock Publishing Associates. Ithaca, New York.