The representative tadpole of Glyphoglossus (39.2 mm total length; 11.6 mm body length, 27.6 mm tail length,
stage 33; Fig. 2C) is characterized by a globose body with a peritoneum colored silver by a uniform layer of
iridophores, a depressed snout, and a long, pointed tail that is black during the day and night on the posterior twothirds.
In preservative, the reflectance of the iridophores is lost, but the melanic pigment on the tail remains. The
wide, transparent spiracle at mid-abdomen (Fig. 2F) has a broad, bi-lobed ventral wall. The oral flaps are greatly
reduced (Fig. 2D, top left) with only a slight, shallow depression at the midline, and the lower jaw projects beyond
the dorsal oral flaps. Laterally, the oral flaps gradually blend into the local surface. The medial vent tube opens with
a ventral-facing aperture. A large, nonpigmented, hemispherical vane at the base of the ventral fin is delimited by
an abrupt boundary of widely spaced, punctate melanophores