Slender nocturnal centrolenid (snout–vent length 19 – 31 mm) with translucent lime-green dorsum dotted by minute yellowish-white ocelli; ventral skin entirely transparent, exposing white liver, green bones, and beating heart. Iris pale silver with fine black reticulation; snout truncate in profile. Fingers and toes webbed; adhesive discs yellowish. Skin smooth, laced with guanine crystals that scatter light to match leaf background (“glass” effect). Sexes similar in colour, females slightly larger with distended ovaries visible through belly.
Modest – females larger; males possess humeral spines and a subgular vocal sac producing high-pitched (~5 kHz) “tink” calls.
Males 22 mm; females 26 mm SVL
≈ 1 g
3 – 5 yr in wild; up to 8 yr captivity
No enough data
No enough data
≈ 9 months
Main rains May – October; sporadic Nov – Feb showers
Clutch 18 – 30 jelly eggs laid on leaf underside above streams; 2 – 3 clutches yr⁻¹
Slender nocturnal centrolenid (snout–vent length 19 – 31 mm) with translucent lime-green dorsum dotted by minute yellowish-white ocelli; ventral skin entirely transparent, exposing white liver, green bones, and beating heart. Iris pale silver with fine black reticulation; snout truncate in profile. Fingers and toes webbed; adhesive discs yellowish. Skin smooth, laced with guanine crystals that scatter light to match leaf background (“glass” effect). Sexes similar in colour, females slightly larger with distended ovaries visible through belly.
Riparian vegetation of humid lowland & premontane rain forest (0 – 1 500 m); favors broad leaves (e.g., Heliconia, Piper) overhanging slow, rocky streams for oviposition.
Nocturnal arboreal insectivore taking small dipterans, moths & spiders, thus regulating stream-side arthropods.
Riparian vegetation of humid lowland & premontane rain forest (0 – 1 500 m); favors broad leaves (e.g., Heliconia, Piper) overhanging slow, rocky streams for oviposition.
Eggs vibrate when attacked by parasitic flies, signalling male to increase guarding.
Eyeshine matches leaf-vein reflectance, enhancing dorsal crypsis.
Common Spanish name “ranita de vidrio” gave rise to Costa Rica’s Glass Frog Reserve ecotourism sites in Sarapiquí.
Exhibits ultra-low blood cell density to maintain transparency without compromising oxygen transport.
Native
Decreasing
