Jamaican laughing frog

Jamaican laughing frog
Illustration
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hylidae
Genus: Osteopilus
Species:
O. ocellatus
Binomial name
Osteopilus ocellatus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
  • Hyla brunnea[2]
  • Osteopilus brunneus[3]
  • Rana ocellata[2]
  • Trachycephalus scutigerus[2]

The Jamaican laughing frog (Osteopilus ocellatus) is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is endemic to Jamaica.[1] Other common names include Savanna-la-Mar treefrog.[2]

This is a common species in most parts of Jamaica, where it occurs in a variety of habitat types, including developed but rural areas.

It is associated with bromeliads as It sometimes lays its eggs inside these plants and the tadpoles develop there.[1] It does this in regions of Jamaica where the porous limestone substrate prevents reliable above-ground water storage. On other parts of the island the frog will brood in streams or pools of water.[4]

Taxonomic studies determined that the binomial names Rana ocellata and Osteopilus brunneus belong to this species as synonyms, and distinguished this taxon from the mainly South American species Leptodactylus latrans.[3]

  1. ^ a b c IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (2021). "Osteopilus ocellatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T55806A172794433. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T55806A172794433.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Osteopilus ocellatus. Amphibian Species of the World 6.0. American Museum of Natural History.
  3. ^ a b Lavilla, E. O., et al. 2010. The identification of Rana ocellata Linnaeus, 1758. Nomenclatural impact on the species currently known as Leptodactylus ocellatus (Leptodactylidae) and Osteopilus brunneus (Goss, 1851) (Hylidae). Zootaxa 2346: 1-16.
  4. ^ "AMPHIBIAN CHECKLIST Class Amphibia Order Anura (aka Frogs & Toads)". Windsor Research Centre. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2019.