El Valle - the best place for Panama Birds & Wildlife Photos of 2017 (pt. 7) - Featured Species: Yellow-flecked Glassfrog (Sachatamia albomaculata)

Cascade or Yellow-flecked Glassfrog (Sachatamia albomaculata)

Sachatamia albomaculata is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is found in Honduras, Nicaragua (Parque Nacional Saslaya), Costa Rica, Panama, western Colombia (Chocó, Risaralda and Antioquia departments), and northwestern Ecuador (Esmeraldas and Imbabura provinces). Its natural habitats are humid lowland and premontane forest from sea level to about 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level. It typically occurs in bushes and trees along forest streams, but populations can persist even along streams in pastures with minimal riparian growth. It is a moderately common species and regularly encountered, especially in the location we visited in El Valle de Antón.

Glassfrog's larvae (Sachatamia albomaculata)

These frogs are nocturnal. During the mating season, males emit calls at night, consisting of a single short “dik”, which may be repeated after intervals. Calls are made from low vegetation near rapidly-moving streams. As with other glass frogs, this species is likely to make nests on leaves above water, as the one pictured above which we found above a rapid stream in El Valle. The adult diet most likely consists of small arthropods. 

Cascade or Yellow-flecked Glassfrog (Sachatamia albomaculata)

Sachatamia albomaculata adult males range from 20.5 to 29 mm in size, while the females reach 22 to 32 mm. Ground coloration is bluish green, with many light yellow to silver spots on low tubercles on the dorsal surfaces. There is a white stripe on the upper lip and along the margins of the lower limbs.

Cascade or Yellow-flecked Glassfrog (Sachatamia albomaculata)

Eyes are large, iris is silver-gray-gold with black reticulations, and the pupils are horizontally elliptical.

Cascade or Yellow-flecked Glassfrog (Sachatamia albomaculata)

The sides of the neck are spotted, while the underside of the limbs is whitish. Ventrally, these frogs are translucent, and their digestive system is visible. A white parietal peritoneal sheath is present, but it does not extend very far posteriorly. The pericardium is covered by a guanine sheath. The bones are green, and are visible when viewed from the dorsal side. 

Cascade or Yellow-flecked Glassfrog (Sachatamia albomaculata)

The head is as wide as it is long, and rounded when viewed dorsally. The snout is rounded in profile. The dorsal skin is granular, with widely scattered bumps. There is a fleshy fold on the forearm, along the posterior lower edge. Finger and toe disks are present and truncate. The outer fingers are webbed, and the toes are moderately webbed. Males have white nuptial pads on the thumbs. Their appearance mostly resembles Fleishmann's Glassfrog and the Powdered Glassfrog. Fleishmann's Glassfrog is lighter in color than the Yellow-flecked Glassfrog and has white bones, while the Powdered Glassfrog has larger spots.

Cascade or Yellow-flecked Glassfrog (Sachatamia albomaculata)

It’s populations are stable. As many species, the threats are in local habitat loss due to the destruction of natural forests but is not facing major threats as a species. It has been recorded from many protected areas in Costa Rica and Panama. It was recently recorded from the Parque Nacional Saslaya in Nicaragua.