Chaperina fusca

Saffron-bellied Frog

                                                                            

Chaperina fusca is not rare but may be difficult to find, because it is small and because the calls of males are insect-like and not very loud. The species lives in lowland and hillside primary and secondary forests.

The dorsum is dark brown to black with blueish marbling. The underside is covered by large bright yellow spots, visible also along the lower flanks. The elbows and heels bear tiny soft spines.

Males hardly reach 20 mm in snout-vent length, females grow slightly larger.

The tadpoles of Chaperina fusca are filter feeders with dorso-ventrally compressed bodies and moderately high tail fins. The tail tip is norrow but rounded.

The tadpoles have a peculiar body shape and silvery reflecting eyes when view from above. The eye has a silver iris ring. In daylight the tadpoles appear dark brown to black above. 

The tadpoles can be found in rock holes and phytotelmata near to ground level—in one occasion, we found a clutch in a toilet of a forest camp.