Leptodactylus melanonotus
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Leptodactylus melanonotus, known commonly as the Sabinal Frog, is a species of frog in the family Leptodactylidae. It is found along coasts and in inland wetlands in Central America and northern South America. The first description of the species was published in 1861 by Edward Hallowell, who placed it in the genus Cystignathus; a genus later determined to be a synonym of Leptodactylus, but Paul Brocchi had already moved melanonotus there in 1881, long before synonymization.
L. melanotus is part of a species group bearing its name, and its closest relatives are L. colombiensis, L. validus and L. wagneri. Average snout–vent length is about 46 mm (1.8 in) in males and 50 mm (2.0 in) in females. L. melanotus digs burrows and builds nest out of bubbles for its eggs. If the burrow fails to flood or becomes too dry, the female frog will dig a channel to a nearby body of water.
It is a nocturnal species. L. melanotus can be found in Mexico, along the west and east coasts and on the Yucatán Peninsula, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, including on Mancarroncito Island, Costa Rica, Panama and along... Wikipedia →
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Ecuador · 2010
© Manuel Sánchez-Nivicela · XC1025138 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
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Costa Rica · 2014
© Chris Harrison · XC896450 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:15
Mexico · 2022
© mariana_1234 · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palo Verde National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Calakmul Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black Jungle-Frog sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 36th most-seen of the 39 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, March, June, September and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black Jungle-Frog in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February, April–May, July–August, October and December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Jungle-Frog sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Black Jungle-Frog sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Palo Verde National Park (Costa Rica, about 20%), Tenorio Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%) and Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Jungle-Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
