# Corythomantis greeningi

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Species of amphibian

Corythomantis greeningi Drawing from 1896 species description Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Amphibia Order: Anura Family: Hylidae Genus: Corythomantis Species: C. greeningi Binomial name Corythomantis greeningi Boulenger, 1896 Synonyms List Corythomantis schubarti Miranda-Ribeiro, 1937 Corythomantis schubarthae Lutz, 1968

***Corythomantis greeningi***, occasionally called **Greening's frog**,[2] is a [venomous](/source/Venomous)[3] [frog](/source/Frog) [species](/source/Species) in the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Hylidae](/source/Hylidae) [endemic](/source/Endemic) to eastern [Brazil](/source/Brazil),[4] where it lives in the [Caatinga](/source/Caatinga) [habitat](/source/Habitat). It is usually situated on vegetation, including in [bromeliads](/source/Bromeliad), and on rock outcrops. Breeding occurs in temporary streams. Although suffering from [habitat loss](/source/Habitat_loss), it is not considered threatened by the [IUCN](/source/IUCN).[1] The [specific name](/source/Specific_name_(zoology)) *greeningi* was in honour of Linnaeus Greening (1855–1927), an English businessman and naturalist known for his work on arachnids, reptiles and amphibians.[5]

## Description

Female *Corythomantis greeningi* grow to a length of about 87 mm (3.4 in) while males are slightly smaller at 71 mm (2.8 in). The head is narrow, with bony crests behind the eyes and a long flat snout, armed with small spines. The body is slender, the skin being covered with warts. The legs are also slender and the fingers and toes have well-developed adhesive discs at the tip. The general color is light brown or gray, liberally blotched with red or brown patches; females are generally darker in color than males.[2]

## Distribution and habitat

*Corythomantis greeningi* is [endemic](/source/Endemism) to northeastern Brazil. Its range extends as far south as the northern part of [Minas Gerais](/source/Minas_Gerais) state. It inhabits a [caatinga](/source/Caatinga) ecoregion, a semi-desert vegetation of [shrublands](/source/Deserts_and_xeric_shrublands) and [thorn forest](/source/Thorn_forest).[1] This experiences a short wet season, lasting about three months, and a long hot dry season.[6]

## Ecology

With a need to keep its skin moist and as a protection against predators, *C. greeningi* conceals itself in a tree hollow, a rock crevice, a [bromeliad](/source/Bromeliaceae) or other suitable location. In the laboratory, a female frog used a [test tube](/source/Test_tube) for a retreat, sealing off the aperture with its head. In their natural habitat, when the rainy season starts and the creeks and channels run with water, male frogs establish territories near the watercourses and call to attract females. Several hundred eggs are laid by the female, attached to a rock in the watercourse.[2]

This frog has evolved certain adaptations to enable it to live in a semi-arid environment. The head is roughened and flat, and the skin of the head is fused to the skull forming a casque; these features are often associated with [phragmotic](/source/Phragmosis) behaviour, in which an animal defends itself in a burrow by using its own body as a barrier. It has adapted its life cycle and method of reproduction to suit its environment.[7] It also has a tough, impermeable skin which helps limit water loss, and a low [basal metabolic rate](/source/Basal_metabolic_rate) which limits evaporation through its lungs.[8] Unlike [poison dart frogs](/source/Poison_dart_frog) which merely secrete poison from their skin, this species is equipped with skull spines capable of injecting venom into other animals, or human hands, via headbutting, a tactic it shares with *[Nyctimantis brunoi](/source/Nyctimantis_brunoi)*.[9][10]

The skin secretions contain a number of low-molecular mass [steroids](/source/Steroid) and [alkaloids](/source/Alkaloid). In the laboratory, these produce a powerful [nociceptive](/source/Nociception) (painful) effect and cause [oedema](/source/Oedema) in mice cells. The secretions also inhibit cell growth in mouse [fibroblasts](/source/Fibroblast) and [melanoma](/source/Melanoma) cells. In the wild, these provide a useful arsenal of chemical defences against [predation](/source/Predation).[11]

## Status

This frog has a wide range and is a common species with a large total population. The main threats it faces include habitat loss from livestock grazing and crop cultivation, and the occurrence of wildfires. The [International Union for Conservation of Nature](/source/International_Union_for_Conservation_of_Nature) has rated its conservation status as being of "[least concern](/source/Least-concern_species)", because any decrease in population size is likely to be at too slow a rate to justify classifying it in a more threatened category.[1]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-iucn_status_16_November_2021_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-iucn_status_16_November_2021_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-iucn_status_16_November_2021_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-iucn_status_16_November_2021_1-3) Diva Borges-Najosa, Gabriel Skuk (2004). ["*Corythomantis greeningi*"](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/55303/11286222). *[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species](/source/IUCN_Red_List)*. **2004** e.T55303A11286222. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T55303A11286222.en](https://doi.org/10.2305%2FIUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T55303A11286222.en). Retrieved 16 November 2021.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Halliday_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Halliday_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Halliday_2-2) Halliday, Tim (2016). [*The Book of Frogs: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from Around the World*](https://books.google.com/books?id=x0SjDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA284). University of Chicago Press. p. 284. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-226-18465-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-226-18465-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3news_3-0)** Satherley, Dan (2015). ["*Biologist discovers venomous frog the hard way*"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150820113226/http://www.3news.co.nz/world/biologist-discovers-venomous-frog-the-hard-way-2015080612). Archived from [the original](http://www.3news.co.nz/world/biologist-discovers-venomous-frog-the-hard-way-2015080612) on 20 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-frost_4-0)** Frost, Darrel R. (2014). ["*Corythomantis greeningi* Boulenger, 1896"](http://research.amnh.org/vz/herpetology/amphibia/Amphibia/Anura/Hylidae/Hylinae/Corythomantis/Corythomantis-greeningi). *Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0*. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 5 August 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael & Grayson, Michael (2009). [*The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals*](https://books.google.com/books?id=QJY3BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA84). JHU Press. p. 84. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8018-9533-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8018-9533-3).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Lleras, Eduardo. ["Caatinga of North-Eastern Brazil"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172623/http://botany.si.edu/projects/cpd/sa/sa19.htm). *Centres of Plant Diversity*. Vol. 3: The Americas. Smithsonian Institution. Archived from [the original](http://botany.si.edu/projects/cpd/sa/sa19.htm) on 3 March 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Jared Carlos; Antoniazzi, Marta Maria; Katchburian, Eduardo; Toledo, Reynaldo Cicero; Freymüller, Edna (1999). "Some aspects of the natural history of the casque-headed tree frog *Corythomantis greeningi* Boulenger (Hylidae)". *Annales des Sciences Naturelles - Zoologie et Biologie Animale*. **20** (3): 105–115. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/S0003-4339(00)86975-0](https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0003-4339%2800%2986975-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Andrade, Denis Vieira; Abe, Augusta Shinya (1997). ["Evaporative Water Loss and Oxygen Uptake in Two Casque-Headed Tree Frogs, *Apmasphenodon brunei* and *Corythommtis greeningi* (Anura, Hylidae)"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/13824672). *Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Physiology*. **118** (3): 685–689. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/S0300-9629(96)00481-1](https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0300-9629%2896%2900481-1). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [9406443](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9406443).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Venomous frogs discovered during painful scientific mishap"](http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/venom-frogs-1.3182922). [CBC News](/source/CBC_News). 2015-08-07. Retrieved 2015-08-07.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Jared2015_10-0)** Jared, C.; Mailho-Fontana, P. L.; Antoniazzi, M. M.; Mendes, V. A.; Barbaro, K. C.; Rodrigues, M. T.; Brodie, E. D. (2015-08-06). ["Venomous Frogs Use Heads as Weapons"](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cub.2015.06.061). *Current Biology*. **25** (16): 2166–2170. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.cub.2015.06.061](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.cub.2015.06.061). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [26255851](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26255851).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Mendes, Vanessa A.; Barbaro, Katia C.; Sciani, Juliana M.; Vassão, Ruth C.; Pimenta, Daniel C.; Jared, Carlos; Antoniazzi, Marta M. (2016). "The cutaneous secretion of the casque-headed tree frog *Corythomantis greeningi*: Biochemical characterization and some biological effects". *Toxicon*. **122**: 133–141. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.toxicon.2016.10.004](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.toxicon.2016.10.004). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [27720761](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27720761).

## External links

- Data related to [*Corythomantis greeningi*](https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Corythomantis_greeningi) at Wikispecies

Taxon identifiers Corythomantis greeningi Wikidata: Q2700678 Wikispecies: Corythomantis greeningi AmphibiaWeb: 685 ASW: Corythomantis-greeningi CoL: YT3Z EoL: 331441 GBIF: 2428282 iNaturalist: 24252 IRMNG: 10791073 ITIS: 207346 IUCN: 55303 NCBI: 318273 Observation.org: 202413 Open Tree of Life: 442026 Xeno-canto: Corythomantis-greeningi

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Corythomantis greeningi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corythomantis_greeningi) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corythomantis_greeningi?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.