Starrett's Glass Frog

Hyalinobatrachium vireovittatum adult males measure 21.5-23 mm and adult females 24-25 mm in SVL. The head is broader than long, and the snout is truncate both from above and in profile. The loreal distance is greater than the orbital diameter, and the eyes are not protuberant. The interorbital space is broader than the snout length. Nares (nostrils) lie in swollen protuberances on distinct raised ridges. The tympanum is indistinct and directed dorsally. Webbing is vestigial between fingers I-II-III and well-developed for the outer fingers. The digital discs are truncate. Finger I is longer than finger II. Subarticular tubercles are present and are small and round. The thenar tubercle is elongate and the palmar tubercle is round. There are no supernumerary, accessory palmar, or plantar tubercles. Toes are extensively webbed. The inner metatarsal tubercle is elongate, but the outer metatarsal tubercle is lacking. There is no tarsal fold. Males lack nuptial pads. The dorsal surface is shagreened. (Savage 2002). A distinct mid-dorsal longitudinal green stripe is present, bordered on both sides by a paravertebral yellow stripe; the green stripe is clearly indicated by purplish to brownish pigment in preservative. The sides and upper surfaces of the head and limbs are green with a moderate number of yellow spots. The venter is transparent. The liver and digestive tract are white, while the heart and pericardium are unpigmented. The iris is gold (Savage 2002).Hyalinobatrachium vireovittatum is the only Costa Rican centrolenid with a longitudinal mid-dorsal green stripe (Savage, 2002)[3049]. It was originally described by Starrett and Savage (1973) as Centrolenella vireovittata.A Spanish-language species account can be found at the website of Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio) (http://darnis.inbio.ac.cr/FMPro?-DB=UBIpub.fp3&-lay=WebAll&-Format=/ubi/detail.html&-Op=bw&id=4392&-Find).

Hyalinobatrachium vireovittatum occurs in scattered localities within the premontane zone of southwestern Costa Rica, from the slopes of Volcán Tenorio, Guanacaste Province, to near Barú, Puntarenas Province, and in west-central Panama. It is found in premontane wet forests and rainforests, at 800-1100 m above sea level (Savage 2002).

Females deposit clutches of green eggs on the undersides of leaves. At night, males perform ventral hydric brooding by bringing their posterior and thighs into contact with the eggs and emptying their bladder over them. Neither males nor females guard the eggs during the day. According to Savage (2002), the natural history of H. vireovittatum is similar to that of H. fleischmanni (http://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?query_src=&where-genus=Hyalinobatrachium&where-species=fleischmanni). (Savage 2002) . The call is a repeated whistle sounding like "wheet" and rising over a period of 400-500 milliseconds. The dominant frequency starts at 5 kHz and rises to 5.4 kHz. (Savage 2002). Hyalinobatrachium vireovittatum is rather rare and little reliable population data have been gathered to date (Savage 2002; IUCN 2006).

A relatively small potential range of occurrence, coupled with general habitat loss and degradation, has caused the IUCN to label this species as Near Threatened (Stuart et al. 2008).

Hyalinobatrachium vireovittatum (common name: Starrett's glass frog) is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is found in scattered localities in Costa Rica and west-central Panama. It has, however, been suggested that most populations actually represent Hyalinobatrachium talamancae, with Hyalinobatrachium vireovittatum restricted to its type locality in the San Isidro de El General district.

Its natural habitats are humid montane forests where it can be seen in bushes and trees along forest streams. The tadpoles develop in these streams. It is threatened by habitat loss.

It was named after American herpetologist Priscilla Hollister Starrett.