Phyllomedusa bicolor

Phyllomedusa bicolor
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Anura
Family:	Hylidae
Genus:	Phyllomedusa
Species:	P. bicolor
Binomial name
Phyllomedusa bicolor (Boddaert, 1772)
Synonyms
Rana bicolor Boddaert, 1772 Hyla bicolor (Boddaert, 1772)

Phyllomedusa bicolor, the giant leaf frog, bicolor tree-frog, giant monkey frog,

The giant leaf frog is a nocturnal, arboreal frog. Males call from trees in tropical humid forests. Males fight each other for mating rights by using their heads to attempt to separate another male who is attached to a female. Males fend off rivals using a series of aggressive calls and use their hind legs to push away the rival.^[4] During mating season, males may be targeted more by predators as the fights between males are very vocal and can be easily heard by predators. However, to combat this, giant leaf frogs produce peptides in their skin that serves as a chemical defense.^[4] Giant leaf frogs reproduce like most frog species through amplexus, where the male climbs onto the female's back to fertilize the eggs.^[4] The female and male construct a leaf-nest above forest pools, where the eggs are laid in a gelatinous mass of about 70 cm above the water. The eggs hatch from these nests in approximately 14 days, and the tadpoles fall into the water, where they continue the development into adult frogs. Peak reproduction occurs during the rainy season.^[3][4] Eggs of the giant leaf frog are heavily predated and have a predation rate of up to 61%. Species that prey on the eggs include Staphilynid beetles, phorid flies, mammals – specifically capuchin monkeys– and other predators, such as snakes. The eggs are predated because they are source of protein for predators.^[5]

Conservation

The

The skin secretion of the giant leaf frog is known as Vacina do sapo (frog vaccine) and contains the opioid peptides deltorphin, deltorphin I, deltorphin II and dermorphin.^[6][7][8][9] The secretion, known as Kambo or Sapo, has seen increasing popularity in cleansing rituals, where it induces intense vomiting.^[10][11]

References