Is the Gliding Leaf Frog Endangered? What We Know
The gliding leaf frog (Agalychnis spurrelli) is not listed as endangered in the IUCN assessment text reviewed for this page. That assessment lists it as Least Concern because of its wide range and presumed large population. It still faces real threats, mainly forest loss and pollution. The assessment text found is a 2008 draft, so check the current Red List entry.
Many pages say the gliding leaf frog is endangered. The assessment text says otherwise. This article separates the claim from the evidence.
This page uses the common name for Agalychnis spurrelli, also called the gliding tree frog. If you meant a different frog with a similar name, the facts below will not apply.
How this was made: prepared with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed at the end. Images are AI-generated illustrations, not photographs of real animals or products.
Key Takeaways
- The IUCN assessment text found lists the species as Least Concern.
- It lives in humid lowland forest from Costa Rica to northwestern Ecuador.
- The main threat is forest loss from farming, logging and settlement.
- Chytrid fungus was found in museum specimens, but its effect in the wild is unknown.
- The assessment text is a 2008 draft, so status may have changed.
Pin this infographicShare on Facebook
The short answer on its status
Two copies of the IUCN assessment text, hosted by iNaturalist projects for Colombia and Panama, give the same category. They list Agalychnis spurrelli as Least Concern, citing its wide distribution and presumed large population.
The text adds that the frog is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for a more threatened category. One copy is dated 2008-01-01 and marked as a draft. The live IUCN page could not be opened, so today’s listing is unconfirmed.
Where it lives
The assessment says the species ranges widely in humid lowlands. That includes southeastern and southwestern Costa Rica, Panama, the Pacific lowlands of Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. Its elevation range is 15 to 750 metres.
It is a nocturnal canopy species of undisturbed humid lowland forest. That means it spends its nights in the treetops, so people rarely see it. The Panama page says the frog is rarely seen and its abundance is unclear.
| Fact | What the assessment says |
|---|---|
| IUCN category | Least Concern (2008 draft text) |
| Range | Costa Rica, Panama, Pacific Colombia, northwestern Ecuador |
| Elevation | 15 to 750 m |
| Habitat | Undisturbed humid lowland forest canopy |
| Population trend | Not stated |
How it breeds
The frog breeds explosively in temporary rain pools that have no fish. Eggs are laid on leaves above the water. The Panama page puts them 1.5 to 8 metres above the pool.
When the eggs hatch, the tadpoles fall into the water below. This ties the species to forest that still holds seasonal pools.
Real threats to the species
The assessment names deforestation for agriculture, illegal crops, logging and human settlement. It also lists pollution from spraying illegal crops and human pressure at known sites in Ecuador.
These threats matter even for a Least Concern species. A species can be listed as low risk and still lose local populations as forest shrinks.
- Forest clearing for farms, crops and logging
- Settlement near known sites in Ecuador
- Pollution from spraying illegal crops
- Chytrid fungus, found in museum specimens
What about chytrid fungus?
Chytridiomycosis is a disease caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd. It infects the keratin layer of the skin. Cornell Wildlife Health Lab says Bd has been found in over 1,300 amphibian species and on every continent except Antarctica.
Cornell also says the disease has caused the decline or complete extinction of hundreds of amphibian species. For the gliding leaf frog, the IUCN text says museum specimens tested positive, but its current effect in the wild is unknown.
Why the word endangered gets used loosely
Many articles use endangered to mean any species under pressure. In conservation, it is a specific category. A species can face threats and still sit in a lower-risk category.
This is why checking the category matters. The assessment text lists a low-risk category, but it also admits the species is rarely seen. That uncertainty is a reason for monitoring, not for alarm or for complacency.
How to check the current status
Search the species name on the IUCN Red List website, or on AmphibiaWeb. Look at the assessment date, since older drafts may be replaced. Pages on iNaturalist projects only host copies of assessments.
- Search Agalychnis spurrelli on the IUCN Red List.
- Check the assessment year and the population trend.
- Read the threats section, not only the category.
- Compare with your country wildlife agency if you live in its range.
A second check: a 2012 survey in Panama
Because the live Red List page could not be opened, it helps to look for an independent mention. A 2012 field-notes paper in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation by Hertz and colleagues reports surveys from 2008 to 2010 in the Cordillera Central of western Panama. Its appendix lists this frog, spelled A. spurelli, as Least Concern.
That paper is not a species account, and it is not a current assessment. It does give context for the region. Of Panama’s 206 native amphibian species, it counts 23 as Endangered and 22 as Critically Endangered, and it names chytridiomycosis and habitat loss as the main threats.
So the gliding leaf frog sits in a country where many amphibians are in serious trouble, while this particular frog was listed at lower risk.
Check the species name before the status
The same paper notes that Agalychnis lithodryas is treated as a synonym of this frog, citing Ortega-Andrade (2008). Taxonomy changes can make a status claim confusing, because older pages may use a different scientific name or split a species in two.
Common names add more noise. This frog is also called the gliding tree frog, and many leaf frogs share similar names. Always match the Latin name, Agalychnis spurrelli, before comparing statuses.
Chytrid in context: the global picture
A 2019 study in Science, led by Ben Scheele of the Australian National University with 41 disease experts and summarized by the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, found that at least 501 amphibian species declined over 50 years because of chytrid fungus. Ninety of those species went extinct.
The disease is present in more than 60 countries, and the worst-affected areas are Australia, Central America and South America. In Panama, 52 species declined by more than 90 percent.
These are global and regional figures. They do not show how chytrid affects the gliding leaf frog. The IUCN text says only that museum specimens tested positive and that the effect in the wild is unknown.
Why a canopy frog is hard to assess
The assessment describes a nocturnal canopy species, and the Panama copy says it is rarely seen and its abundance is unclear. That matters for status.
- A frog that lives in treetops at night produces few records, so a low count may reflect hard surveying, not a small population.
- Breeding in temporary pools is the moment when frogs come down, so records cluster around heavy rains.
- Because pools depend on seasonal rain and standing forest, loss of either can remove breeding sites even where adults persist.
The first point is an inference from the assessment, not a finding of its own. It is a reason to read status labels cautiously.
What forest loss looks like in the range
The assessment names deforestation as the main threat, and regional papers put numbers on it. The Panama survey reports that deforestation in the Comarca Ngobe-Bugle was the highest in Panama, at 21.8 percent loss for 1992 to 2000. It recommends protecting roughly 65,400 hectares around Cerro Colorado, a region holding about 15 percent of Panama’s Endangered and Critically Endangered amphibians, because of mining threats.
At the southern end of the range, a 2009 Oryx paper on the Mache glassfrog described the Cordillera Mache-Chindul in northwestern Ecuador. It reported fewer than 100 square kilometers of primary or old secondary forest left, about 18 to 20 percent of the original, with loss of 3 to 5 percent per year.
Neither paper is about the gliding leaf frog. Both show what is happening to lowland forest where the frog is reported to live.
How to compare two conflicting status claims
- Match the Latin name, not the common name.
- Find the assessment year for each claim and prefer the most recent one.
- Check whether the text is a draft or a final listing.
- Compare the stated category with the threats section, which can matter more than the label.
- Prefer the Red List or AmphibiaWeb over blogs and mirrored copies, and say which one you used.
Common mistakes when reading frog status claims
- Treating threatened as a synonym for Endangered. Threats and categories are different things.
- Quoting a draft as final. The text found for this frog is a 2008 draft.
- Ignoring the date. A status from before a reassessment may be out of date.
- Assuming a regional crisis applies to every species there. Panama’s numbers do not describe this frog.
- Citing a copy of an assessment instead of the Red List itself. Hosting sites only mirror the text.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the gliding leaf frog endangered?
The assessment text found lists it as Least Concern. It is a 2008 draft, so check the current IUCN entry.
Where does the gliding leaf frog live?
In humid lowland forest from southeastern and southwestern Costa Rica through Panama and Pacific Colombia to northwestern Ecuador.
What threatens the gliding leaf frog?
Deforestation for farming, illegal crops, logging and settlement. Pollution from spraying illegal crops is also listed.
How does it breed?
It breeds explosively in fish-free temporary rain pools. Eggs are laid on leaves above the water, and tadpoles drop in when they hatch.
Does chytrid fungus affect it?
Museum specimens tested positive. The IUCN text says its current effect in the wild is unknown.
Why is the frog rarely seen?
It is a nocturnal canopy species, so it spends its nights in the treetops.
Bottom Line
The gliding leaf frog is a good example of why conservation labels need care. The assessment text lists it as Least Concern, yet forest loss and disease still put pressure on tree-dwelling frogs.
For more background, read what a tree frog is and why a frog is an amphibian.
Sources
- IUCN assessment text for Agalychnis spurrelli (Colombia amphibian project copy), accessed 31 October 2026
- IUCN assessment text for Agalychnis spurrelli (Panama amphibian project copy), accessed 31 October 2026
- Cornell Wildlife Health Lab: Chytridiomycosis disease fact sheet, accessed 31 October 2026
- Hertz et al. (2012): Field notes on findings of threatened amphibian species in the central mountain range of western Panama, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, accessed 13 November 2026
- Smithsonian National Zoo: Mass amphibian extinctions globally caused by fungal disease, accessed 13 November 2026
- Oryx (2009): Endemic Ecuadorian glassfrog Cochranella mache is Critically Endangered because of habitat loss, accessed 13 November 2026
