Bransford’s Litter Frog (Craugastor bransfordii)

This is a such a tiny frog! We were hiking during the day on one of Yatama Ecolodge’s trails, when I saw something jumped out of the ground. It was barely noticeable, clinging to the tip of a small brown branch that was fallen on the trail, camouflaged against the backdrop of leaf litter. I pointed to it for my parents, but they just could not see it. It was so confident on its camouflage, that I raised the branch with my hands and it just kept clinging in the same spot, that was until I hit the branch to the ground by accident, and it escaped. According to the Amphibians of Costa Rica: A Field Guide book by Twan Leenders, its coloration and skin texture is very variable and it can be easily confused with other Craugastor species that also show variation, so I can never be entirely confident this is the right species. Also the identification keys listed aren’t easily confirmed without some manipulation of the frog itself, which I prefer not to try.