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Phyllomedusa bicolor

Phyllomedusa bicolor (*)

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Amphibia
Subclassis: Lissamphibia
Ordo: Anura
Subordo: Neobatrachia
Familia: Hylidae
Subfamilia: Phyllomedusinae
Genus: Phyllomedusa
Species: Phyllomedusa bicolor

Name

Phyllomedusa bicolor (Boddaert, 1772)

Type locality: "Guinea" or "Surinamo".

Holotype: Not known to exist.

Synonyms

* Rana bicolor Boddaert, 1772
* Calamita bicolor — Schneider, 1799
* Hyla bicolor — Daudin, 1800
* Phyllomedusa bicolor — Wagler, 1830
* Rana (Phyllomedusa) bicolor — Guérin-Méneville, 1838
* Phyllomedusa boiei Fitzinger in Steindachner, 1867
* Pithecopus scleroderma Cope, 1868
* Phyllomedusa (Phyllomedusa) bicolor — Lutz, 1950

References

* Boddaert, 1772, Epist. Rana bicolore: 15.
* Lutz, 1950, Mem. Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, 48: 619.
* Frost, Darrel R. 2007. Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 5.1 (10 October, 2007). Electronic Database accessible at [1] American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Phyllomedusa bicolor . Accessed on 30 Apr 2008.
* 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species IUCN link: Phyllomedusa bicolor (Least Concern) Downloaded on 30 April 2008.

Vernacular names
Internationalization
English: Giant Monkey Frog


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The Giant leaf frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor) is a hylid frog found throughout the Amazon Rainforest of northern Bolivia, western and northern Brazil, south-eastern Colombia, eastern Peru, southern and eastern Venezuela, and the Guianas. Locally, it also occurs in riverine forest in the Cerrado. This species is now jeopardized by biopiracy because it produces a waxy secretion that may have medicinal uses against AIDS, cancer and other diseases. The Matses and Mayoruna people apply the poison of the frog to self-inflicted burns in order to enter an altered state of consciousness[1]. The poison has been reported to produce a variety of effects ranging from stimulation, to sedation, anorexia, and hallucinations. The poison contains dermorphin and deltorphin which act on opioid receptors.

Some of the components isolated from the waxy secretion have been patented in the past, but none of those patents have led to successful products yet.

The Giant Leaf Frog is nocturnal. As in several other species of frogs, the eggs are laid in a leaf-nest above a forest pool. When they hatch, the tadpoles fall into the water where they continue the development into adult frogs.

References

* Azevedo-Ramos, C. & La Marca, E. (2004). Phyllomedusa bicolor. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on February 11, 2007. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is least concern and the criteria used

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Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License