Banana Tree Dwelling Frog

About the Banana Tree Dwelling Frog

Boana platanera, commonly known as the banana tree dwelling frog, is a species of tree frog in the family Hylidae. It is distributed within Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago. Boana platanera was described in 2021, and individuals of the species were previously classified as Boana crepitans or Boana xerophylla.

In Colombia and Venezuela, Boana platanera is, together with Boana pugnax, known by the Spanish name rana platanera. The specific name platanera was borrowed from this colloquial name, and it can be translated as "from the plantain". This refers to the banana trees on which these frogs are often seen in the daytime. Rana platanera can thus be translated as "banana tree dwelling frog", which is the English name suggested by the describers.

Boana platanera is the sister species of Boana xerophylla, from which it was separated in 2021. Both species are present in Venezuela, but Boana platanera lives north of the Orinoco river and Boana xerophylla south of the river. This classification is fairly recent, as Boana xerophylla was resurrected in 2017 and Boana platanera was described in 2021. For decades prior to the resurrection, both... Wikipedia →