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.
Hyalinobatrachium is a genus of glass frogs, family Centrolenidae. They are widely distributed in the Americas, from tropical Mexico to southeastern Brazil and Argentina.
Vitreorana gorzulae is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is found in Bolívar state in Venezuela and in Guyana. In Spanish it is known as ranita de cristal de Gorzula. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, rivers, and intermittent rivers.
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.
Vitreorana castroviejoi is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is endemic to Cerro el Humo in the Paria Peninsula, Sucre state, northern Venezuela. It is locally known as ranita de cristal de Castroviejo. The specific name castroviejoi honors Javier Castroviejo Bolívar, a Spanish zoologist.
"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 ritae is a species of frog in the glass frog family (Centrolenidae). It is found in Amazonian Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and in southern Guyana, eastern Suriname, and French Guiana. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss.
"Cochranella" riveroi is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is endemic to Cerro Aracamuni, Venezuela. The generic placement of this species within the subfamily Centroleninae is uncertain.
Cochranella vozmedianoi is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae, endemic to the Cerro El Humo, in the Paria Peninsula in northern Venezuela.
Vitreorana antisthenesi is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. It is endemic to northern Venezuela and is known from the Venezuelan Coastal Range. Common name Aragua glass frog has been coined for it.
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 mondolfii is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae from northern South America.
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.
Hyalinobatrachium taylori is a species of frog in the family Centrolenidae. Its common name is Taylor's glass frog, and in Spanish, ranita de cristal de Taylor. It may represent at least two distinct species.
The Lema tree frog is a species of frog in the family Hylidae found in Guyana, Venezuela, and possibly Brazil. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, rivers, pastureland, rural gardens, heavily degraded former forests, aquaculture ponds, and canals and ditches. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Hoogmoed's tree frog is a species of frog in the family Hylidae found in Guyana, possibly Brazil, and possibly Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and rivers.
Nesorohyla is a monotypic genus of frogs in the family Hylidae. The sole species is Nesorohyla kanaima, also known as the Kanaima treefrog. It is endemic to Guyana. and possibly Brazil and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and rivers.
Helena's marsupial frog is a species of frog in the family Hemiphractidae. It is endemic to the Páramo de Tamá on the Venezuelan-Colombian border and occurs in Apure and Táchira states of Venezuela and Norte de Santander Department on the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia. It is named after Helen Gaige, an American herpetologist.
Vitreorana is a genus of glass frogs that are native to South America, from the Atlantic Forest of Brazil and Argentina to the Amazon rainforest of Colombia and Ecuador and to the Venezuelan Coastal Range and the Guianas. One way one can tell this type of glass frog from others is through their green bones, lavender-colored dorsal, and white highlighted pigment. This genus has also started to become endangered, especially in Brazil, where many Vitreorana, such as V. eurygnatha due to habitat loss.
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.
