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Steyermark's Pancake Frog
Otophryne steyermarki
A specialized microhylid frog (4.5 cm) native to South America (Tepuis of Venezuela, including Mount Roraima). Characterized by its adaptation to cold montane temperatures and a dark, nearly black coloration and fossorial, leaf-litter dwelling habits.
Class:Amphibia
Order:Anura
Family:Microhylidae
Subfamily:Otophryninae
Genus:Otophryne
Species:Otophryne steyermarki
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
80 - 95 %
Day temperature
17 °C
Night temperature
13 °C
Ambient temperature
17 °C
Minimum enclosure
>= 45 L
UVB
Low
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Native to South America (Tepuis of Venezuela, including Mount Roraima). It primarily occurs on the foggy rocky summit plateaus of sandstone tepuis with constant cloud cover (1800-2600 m). It lives mostly concealed within leaf litter or burrowed inside moist soils.
Taxonomy and Genetics: Belongs to the Microhylidae family, genus Otophryne. This group consists of narrow-mouthed frogs highly adapted to specific fossorial or semi-arboreal microhabitats.
Behavior and Habits: Primarily nocturnal and secretive. It spends the daytime hours buried under the substrate or hidden beneath leaf litter, emerging to forage and breed during heavy seasonal rains.
Morphology: Features a plump, rounded body reaching about 4.5 cm. Skin texture ranges from smooth to warty with cryptic colors. Males are smaller than females and exhibit distinct vocal sacs during the breeding season.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: Provide a horizontal terrarium with a deep (10-15 cm) layer of loose, damp substrate such as coconut fiber and sterile peat moss. Add cork bark hides, dry leaves, and flat shelters to create shaded spots.
Lighting and Heating: Maintain daytime temperatures around 17.0°C and night temperatures at 13.0°C. Provide a 12-hour light cycle; a low-intensity UVB source is recommended to support general health.
Humidity and Hydration: Maintain relative humidity between 80.0% and 95.0%. Mist regularly with dechlorinated water and supply a very shallow water dish to prevent drowning risks.
Feeding and Supplementation: Strictly insectivorous. Offer gutloaded crickets, roaches, fruit flies, and small worms. Dust prey with high-quality calcium and vitamin D3 twice a week to support skeletal structure.
Compatibility: Best kept in a species-specific setup. Small groups of similar size can cohabitate, avoiding competition or accidental cannibalism.
Health and Common Diseases: Highly susceptible to bacterial skin infections (red leg disease) if ventilation is poor or the substrate is soiled. Regularly check skin condition and hydration levels.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Native to South America (Tepuis of Venezuela, including Mount Roraima). It primarily occurs on the foggy rocky summit plateaus of sandstone tepuis with constant cloud cover (1800-2600 m). It lives mostly concealed within leaf litter or burrowed inside moist soils.
Origin
Extra-Amazon South America
Amphibian profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 4.8 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Toxicity
- No verified data available
- Life stage
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 4.8 cm. The AmphiBIO v1 source reports a maximum adult measurement of 4.8 cm for this species, recorded as snout–vent length (SVL). These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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