Cryptobatrachus

Cryptobatrachus is a genus of frogs in the family Hemiphractidae. They are found in Colombia and Venezuela.^[1][2] They are also known as backpack frogs,^[1] as the females have the habit of carrying their egg clutch on their backs until the young hatch; this behavior also occurs in the related hemiphractid genera Hemiphractus and Stefania.^[3][4]

Cryptobatrachus
Cryptobatrachus boulengeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Hemiphractidae
Genus:	Cryptobatrachus Ruthven, 1916
Type species
Cryptobatrachus boulengeri Ruthven, 1916
Species
6 species (see text)

Description

Cryptobatrachus have a treefrog-like habitus.^[3] Males measure 27–52 mm (1.1–2.0 in) and females 48–75 mm (1.9–3.0 in) in snout–vent length.^[2] Fingers have no webbing whereas the toes are webbed. The finger and toe tips bear disks that are larger on the former.^[5] Also adhesive pads are present on the penultimate subarticular tubercles on the fingers.^[2][5] Males lack vocal sac^[2] and these frogs appear not to vocalize.^[5]

Species

There are six species in the genus Cryptobatrachus:^[1][2]

• Cryptobatrachus boulengeri Ruthven, 1916
• Cryptobatrachus conditus Lynch, 2008^[5]
• Cryptobatrachus fuhrmanni (Peracca, 1914)
• Cryptobatrachus pedroruizi Lynch, 2008^[5]
• Cryptobatrachus remotus Infante-Rivero, Rojas-Runjaic, and Barrio-Amorós, 2009
• Cryptobatrachus ruthveni Lynch, 2008^[5]

The AmphibiaWeb lists the six species above, but also Cryptobatrachus nicefori,^[6] which the Amphibian Species of the World places in the hylid subfamily Cophomantinae as "Hyla" nicefori, indicating uncertain generic affiliation.^[7]

Habitat and ecology

Cryptobatrachus occur on humid forested slopes in the mountain ranges of northern Colombia and northeast Venezuela at elevations of 360–2,400 m (1,180–7,870 ft) above sea level. They are nocturnal and perch on low bushes or cling to rocks and cliffs in spray zones of waterfalls.