Osteopilus ocellatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Amph. II.B. Rana Ocellata , Linn. Das Ohrauge. D. Sotzm. 150.
Borowski, Georg Heinrich; Herbst, Johann Friedrich Wilhelm; Sotzmann, Daniel Friedrich · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Jamaican laughing frog (Osteopilus ocellatus) is a species of frog in the family Hylidae. It is endemic to Jamaica. Other common names include Savanna-la-Mar treefrog.
This is a common species in most parts of Jamaica, where it occurs in a variety of habitat types, including developed but rural areas.
It is associated with bromeliads as it sometimes lays its eggs inside these plants and the tadpoles develop there. It does this in regions of Jamaica where the porous limestone substrate prevents reliable above-ground water storage. On other parts of the island the frog will brood in streams or pools of water.
Taxonomic studies determined that the binomial names Rana ocellata and Osteopilus brunneus belong to this species as synonyms, and distinguished this taxon from the mainly South American species Leptodactylus latrans.
Wikipedia contributors, Jamaican laughing frog; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T17:35:00.306403+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Osteopilus ocellatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Anura
- Family
- Hylidae
- Genus
- Osteopilus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderAnura
- familyHylidae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusOsteopilus Fitzinger, 1843
- speciesOsteopilus ocellatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Osteopilus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cuban TreefrogOsteopilus septentrionalis (Duméril & Bibron, 1841) | HylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Osteopilus pulchrilineatus (Cope, 1870) | HylidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Leptodactylus ocellatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Trachycephalus scutigerus Cope, 1863 Cope, 1863 | synonym |
| Hyla septentrionalis brunnea Gosse, 1851 Gosse, 1851 | synonym |
| Osteopilus brunneus (Gosse, 1851) (Gosse, 1851) | synonym |
| Rana ocellata Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
| Leptognathus ocellatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Hyla brunnea Gosse, 1851 Gosse, 1851 | synonym |
| Hyla dominicensis brunnea Gosse, 1851 Gosse, 1851 | synonym |
| Cystignathus ocellatus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Gnathophysa ocellata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1097956 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6TBD6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.