The glass frogs belong to the amphibian family Centrolenidae, native to the Central American Rainforests. 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, feeding on small insects and only coming out for mating season. Their transparency conceals them very effectively when sleeping on a green leaf, as they habitually do. However, climate change and habitat frangmentation has been threatening the survival rates of the family.
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.
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.
"Cochranella" duidaeana, commonly known as the Duida Cochran frog, is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is endemic to Cerro Duida, Venezuela. The generic placement of this species within the subfamily Centroleninae is uncertain.
Vitreorana eurygnatha is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Vitreorana helenae is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. Two common names are sometimes used to refer to this species: Venezuelan glass frog and Helena's glass frog. In Spanish, it is locally known as ranita de cristal de Helena.
Hyalinobatrachium iaspidiense is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae from South America. Its specific name refers Quebrada de Jaspe, its type locality.
Hyalinobatrachium orientale is a species of glass frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is found on the island of Tobago and in eastern Venezuela. Its common name is eastern glass frog. The Tobagonian population has been described as subspecies Hyalinobatrachium orientalis tobagoensis(Hardy, 1984). The latter is sometimes referred to as Tobago glass frog. H. orientale is distributed throughout the Central Eastern ranges of the Cordillera de la Costa in Venezuela and Tobago Island with an altitudinal range of 190 to 1200 meters.
Vitreorana parvula is a species of small green frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is closely related to Vitreorana uranoscopa. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, rivers, and intermittent freshwater marshes, but it is threatened by habitat loss.
Phasmahyla guttata, the spotted leaf frog, is a species of frog in the subfamily Phyllomedusinae. It is endemic to Brazil. It lives in forests and near the edges of forests but not outside forests. It has been observed between 50 and 1200 meters above sea level.
Crossodactylus is a genus of frogs in the family Hylodidae. The genus occurs in Brazil, southern Paraguay, and northern Argentina. These frogs are sometimes known as Limnocharis, Tarsopterus, Calamobates, and by the common name spinythumb frogs. They typically inhabit streams in mountainous areas in the Atlantic Forest or in montane savanna.
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.
Hyalinobatrachinae is a subfamily of glass frogs that was established in 2009. They are found in the Americas from Mexico south to southeastern Brazil and Argentina.
Celsiella is a small genus of glass frogs endemic to Venezuela. It was established in 2009 and named in honour of Josefa Celsa Señaris, nicknamed "Celsi", a Venezuelan herpetologist who had worked with glass frogs.
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.
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.
