The glass frogs belong to the amphibian family Centrolenidae. While the general background coloration of most glass frogs is primarily lime green, the abdominal skin of some members of this family is transparent and translucent, giving the glass frog its common name. The internal viscera, including the heart, liver, and gastrointestinal tract, are visible through the skin. When active their blood makes them visible; when sleeping most of the blood is concealed in the liver, hiding them. Glass frogs are arboreal, living mainly in trees, and only come out for mating season. Their transparency conceals them very effectively when sleeping on a green leaf, as they habitually do.
Centrolene is a genus of glass frogs in the family Centrolenidae. The adult males are characterized by having a humeral spine, as most members of this family. The delimitation of this genus versus Cochranella is not fully resolved, and some species formerly in Centrolenella — which is nowadays synonymized with Centrolene — are now in Hyalinobatrachium.
Cochranella is a genus of glass frogs, family Centrolenidae. They are found in Central America from Honduras southward to the Amazonian and Andean cloud forests of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
Hyalinobatrachium is a genus of glass frogs, family Centrolenidae. They are widely distributed in the Americas, from tropical Mexico to southeastern Brazil and Argentina.
Hyloscirtus is a genus of Neotropical frogs in the family Hylidae. This genus was resurrected in 2005 following a major revision of the Hylidae, with the distinguishing features being 56 transformations in nuclear and mitochondrial proteins and ribosomal genes. Of these species, 28 species, previously placed in the genus Hyla, were moved to this genus. The fingers and toes of these frogs have wide dermal fringes.
Chimerella mariaelenae is a species of glassfrog that inhabits on the Andean slopes of eastern Ecuador and northeastern Peru, possibly also in the adjacent Colombia. The species was described as new to science by Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia and Roy Wallace McDiarmid.
Centrolene notosticta is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is found on the Cordillera Oriental in Colombia and on its extension to north, Serranía del Perijá, in the Zulia state in Venezuela.
Nymphargus chancas is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. Until recently it was only known from its type locality in the Lamas Province in Peru; however, it is now known to occur more widely in the northern San Martín Region of Peru, extending into the Cordillera del Cóndor in Zamora-Chinchipe Province, Ecuador.
Cochranella resplendens is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is found in the upper Amazon Basin in southwestern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, northern Peru, and Bolivia. There are also isolated records from the Cordillera Central in Antioquia, Colombia, and Amapá in northern Brazil. The specific name resplendens is derived from the Latin verb resplendo and hints to the jewel-like appearance of this frog. It is sometimes known as the resplendent Cochran frog or resplendent glassfrog.
"Cochranella" xanthocheridia is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It has an uncertain generic placement within subfamily Centroleninae; molecular data are not available and morphological and behavioural characters do not unambiguously place it in any specific genus.
Hyalinobatrachium aureoguttatum, also known as the Atrato Glass Frog and Sun Glassfrog, is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is found in northern Ecuador, Pacific lowlands and western slopes of the Cordillera Occidental in Colombia, and eastern Panama. It occurs from near sea level to 1,560 m (5,120 ft) asl.
Centroleninae is one of two subfamilies of the family Centrolenidae. It has nine genera distributed in Central America from Honduras south and east to northern and central South America. As of mid 2015, it contains 117 species.
Niceforonia is a genus of frogs in the family Strabomantidae found in northern South America. The name refers to Nicéforo María, Colombian herpetologist.
Chimerella is a small genus of glass frogs, family Centrolenidae. They are found on the Amazonian slopes of the Andes in Ecuador and Peru, possibly extending into Colombia.
Espadarana is a genus of glass frogs. They are found in Central America and northern South America.
Sachatamia is a small genus of glass frogs. They are found in Central America and northern South America at altitudes below 1,500 m (4,900 ft) above sea level.
Rulyrana is a small genus of glass frogs. They are found in South America, on the Amazonian slopes of the Andes in Ecuador, Peru, and possibly Bolivia, as well as on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Central and the western slopes of the Cordillera Oriental in Colombia.
Hyalinobatrachium yaku is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is found in the Pastaza, Orellana and Napo Provinces of Ecuador. One of the remarkable characteristics of this species is that their belly and some internal organs are transparent leaving the red heart completely exposed through transparent parietal peritoneum and pericardium. The glassfrogs are generally small, ranging from 0.8 to 3 inches (2-7.5 cm) in length. This species can be differentiated from other frogs in the Hyalinobatrachium genus by the row of dark green spots down the middle of its back.
Juan Manuel Guayasamin is an Ecuadorian biologist. He earned his Ph.D. in 2007 from University of Kansas, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and as of 2017 he is working as professor at Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. His research interests include the evolution of glass frogs (Centrolenidae) and direct-developing anurans. His main contributions have been: phylogenetic taxonomy of glassfrogs, description of the variation of skin texture in frogs, description of numerous species of amphibians and reptiles, and a monographic review of all Ecuadorian glassfrogs. A team led by Juan M. Guayasamin discovered Hyalinobatrachium yaku in May 2017, a glassfrog with transparent venter. To date (2020), he has described a total of 6 amphibian genera, 55 species of amphibians, and 11 reptiles, including two geckos from the Galápagos Islands.
