We describe the tadpole and juvenile of Plectrohyla chryses and conduct an analysis of skin thickness and a general phylogenetic analysis of the Hylini to determine the phylogenetic position of P. chryses . We found that P. chryses has thin skin and that is part of the P. bistincta group. We also found that adult P. chryses have an axillary membrane and a thoracic fold, but that the rostral keel is absent. We conclude that only the character “skin thickness” is useful for the diagnosis of P. chryses , and we propose a new diagnosis for this species.