Gastrotheca elicioi, or Elicio's marsupial frog, is a species of frog in the family Hemiphractidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
Description
The adult male frog measures 46.4–67.8 mm in snout-vent length and the adult female frog 67.5 mm. The skin of the dorsum is dark brown in color and the flanks are bronze-brown in color with some yellow. The upper surfaces of the legs have some olive green. There is a bronze line from the mouth to where the forelegs meet the body. There is a broken line down each side of the body. Some parts of the body are pale green in color with black or white spots. The belly is brown-gray in color with black or white marks. The throat is dark gray in color. The iris of the eye is copper in color with black reticulations.
Etymology
Scientists named this frog for Elicio E. Tapia, an Ecuadorean biologist who helped build the collections of many museums in Ecuador.
Habitat
Scientists saw the frog in forest fragments between 2,010 m (6,590 ft) and 2,914 m (9,560 ft) above sea level in Ecuador's Loja Province. Scientists first saw the frog near the entrance to Parque Nacional Podocarpus.
Reproduction
The female frog carries her eggs in a pouch on her back. The young emerge as tadpoles.
