Boana platanera
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
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 →
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Costa Rica · 2023
© Chris Harrison · XC941183 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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Colombia · 2026
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Venezuela · 2019
© Rafael Gianni-Zurita · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main Ridge Forest Reserve | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago | |
| 2 | Tayrona National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 3 | Farallones de Cali National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Banana Tree Dwelling Frog sighting in Caracas on a given day, based on 25 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 6 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and May
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Banana Tree Dwelling Frog in Caracas on a given day, against under 5% in March, June and December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Banana Tree Dwelling Frog sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Banana Tree Dwelling Frog sightings, Caracas ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Valencia (Venezuela, about 40%) and Cali (Colombia, about 20%).
Same order: Anura
The closest relatives of the Banana Tree Dwelling Frog that you can see in Caracas (order Anura, Frogs and Toads) are Johnstone's Whistling Frog (about 20%), Smooth-skinned Ditch Frog (about 10%) and Eastern Cane Toad (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Banana Tree Dwelling Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Caracas (25 verified sightings), 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.
