The Kermit-like frog lives in the mountains of eastern Costa Rica. And it’s transparent. The new glass frog, Hyalinobatrachium dianae, joins Costa Rica’s 13 other glass frogs. Especially, known for their transparent bodies that reveal their innards in some instances.
Despite its lime-green skin and protruding white eyes, this glass frog species has eluded experts. Its lengthy, whistle-like sound, like an insect’s, maybe the reason it hides.
Especially, the Costa Rican Amphibian Research Center has acquired a few specimens of H. dianae, discovered in 1973. The new species was identified by scientists Brian Kubicki, Stanley Salazar, and Robert Puschendorf based on physical features, advertising calls, and genetic distance.
In three locations along Costa Rica’s Caribbean slopes, scientists collected specimens between 1,300 and 2,950 feet above sea level. The frog’s habitat is primarily protected conservation areas with few highways. Thus human development is unlikely to pose a severe danger in the future. Despite this, scientists are uncertain how climate change and infectious illness may influence H. dianae.
H. dianae has been compared to Kermit the Frog, which doesn’t bother Kubicki, whose mother the newly found species was named after.
“I had no idea the similarities between Hyalinobatrachium dianae and Kermit the frog existed until the media made it,” Kubicki told Live Science. This species has gained worldwide attention. For showcasing the awesome amphibians endemic to Costa Rica and the necessity to continue exploring and researching its magnificent tropical forests.
