Toxic toad.

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Lindsay

Cane toad (Rhinella marina)

Cute Frog of the Week: January 23, 2012

This toad, although cute, is deadly. The cane toad (Rhinella marina) is highly toxic to many animals. It is most toxic as a tadpole; as an adult its toxicity affects different species and even individuals within a species differently. This nocturnal toad’s toxin that is secreted from its skin is capable of killing freshwater crocodiles and is even harmful to humans.

The cane toad does have one predator that is immune to its defensive toxin: ants. Ants that are not affected by its toxin can attack the frog at will. Some freshwater fish can also withstand coming in contact with the toxin, and show no ill affect from spitting the cane toad out after trying to swallow it.

Although the cane toad looks harmless with its speckled skin and blue-ringed eyes, it is considered a pest in northeastern Australia, the southern United States and the Caribbean. It is an invasive species in those areas with few natural predators.

Photo by Alejandro Arteaga via Flickr.

Every week the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project posts a new photo of a cute frog from anywhere in the world with an interesting, fun and unique story to tell. Be sure to check back every Monday for the latest addition.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

A keen sense of fashion.

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Lindsay

Green poison dart frog (Dendrobates auratus)

Cute Frog of the Week: January 16, 2012

What clothing designer wouldn’t want the fashion sense of these flashy frogs? But be careful! Their beautiful color patterns are a warning signal to predators that says: “Hey! You’ll regret eating me!!!” Okay, maybe not exactly that…but they are one of the world’s most poisonous amphibian species.

Green poison dart frogs have distinct green and blackish-brownish coloration all over their bodies, though the greenish color can vary from bright green to golden to even blue. Their patterns also vary, from stripes to marbled lines to dots.

The frogs are native to Central America, but visitors to Oahu, Hawaii may also see them because these little frogs were introduced to the island in order to control the bug population. Researchers believe that the types of insects that these frogs eat have a direct effect on how poisonous they are. In fact, native hunters used the poison from these frogs on the tips of their arrows and darts.

Despite the fact that males are territorial and females physically fight each other for the right to mate, they are very good parents. A male’s mating call sounds like an insect buzzing, and after attracting a female, she will lay eggs on a nest of moist leaf litter arranged by the male. He will then watch over them there, cleaning and rotating them as necessary. Once the eggs hatch, the males will carry their tadpoles on their backs to a nearby pond or stream and release them. They will then be on their own and have to fend for themselves. A male may mate with multiple females and will still take care of all its offspring.

Green poison dart frogs are not currently considered threatened and they are a popular pet species for experienced enthusiasts.

Photo by Brian Gratwicke, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

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Dare to be different.

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Lindsay

Etheridge's robber frog (Eleutherodactylus etheridgei)

Etheridge robber frog (Eleutherodactylus etheridgei)

Cute Frog of the Week: January 9, 2012

Daring to be different, Etheridge robber frogs (Eleutherodactylus etheridgei) are part of a sub-family of frogs whose young hatch as little frogs instead of tadpoles. And also unlike many other frogs, these little guys prefer rocky hillsides and dense forest to big ponds. Predators might mistake their grayish green bodies for tiny pebbles and overlook their would-be prey. Unfortunately, there are other big troubles for this little guy, including deforestation. The frog is native to Cuba where buildings and developments for tourists’ attractions continue to disturb its home.

Photo by Ariel Rodriguez via ARKive.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

Just calling for a kiss.

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Lindsay

Caretta robber frog (Diasporus diastema)

Cute Frog of the Week: January 2, 2012

The Caretta robber frog is also known as the common tink or dink frog, because of the amazingly loud and musical “tink” sound that the male makes at night during the mating season. This sound has been compared to tapping a wineglass with a piece of silverware. Because their call is so loud and identifiable, they make sure to hide from predators before beginning to sing to attract females. There have also been studies that show that a dominant male will usually begin singing, followed by the next dominant male, and so on in a given area. This calling order can also help throw off predators hunting them by sound.

This frog has a large range and can be found mostly on humid lowlands and the slopes of Central America in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. These nocturnal amphibians are very adaptable to change and are able to deal well when their habitat is disturbed by either other animals or human activity. The Caretta robber frogs have even shown that they can change color from day to night. During the day, they are a grayish-brown with spots while they hide, then, when they come out at night, they can change slightly to become pale pink or tan in color.

This frog generally lives in trees, and tends to climb and walk more than hop. They have specialized sticky disks on the ends of their fingers and toes that allow them to hang onto leaves. They also like to lay their eggs in bromeliad plants that grow towards the top of trees, which often have long, stiff leaves and showy flowers.

Some scientists believe that the Caretta robber frog is actually a mixture of several other species. It is very common and currently not endangered, though slight population declines have been observed in some places.

Photo by Brian Gratwicke, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

Climbing the night away!

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Lindsay

Green climbing toad (Incillius coniferus)

Cute Frog of the Week: December 26, 2010

Most of us normally don’t imagine toads as arboreal creatures because we normally have to avoid stepping on them on the ground while gardening or hiking in the woods. But the green climbing toad is quite adept at, well, climbing. This nocturnal toad can be found high up in trees and shrubs, ranging from humid lowlands in eastern Nicaragua to Ecuador, though most have been found in Central America.

These toads have a stout body with small skin folds across the chest as well as on their heels and knees. They can be found in a variety of colors from yellow-green to olive green, and are sometimes even a dull gray to brown. Their color patterns often tend to be either solid or have contrasting lighter and darker blotches and/or gold spots.

In addition, they are covered in warts, some of which are dark in color and can even be somewhat spiky in texture. Their long fingers and toes are slightly webbed and have tiny horizontal ridges on them. Their fingers and toes are also different lengths.

The green climbing toad is not endangered, but the largest threat to this species is the loss of its habitat from deforestation, mining, logging and urbanization.

Photo by Brian Gratwicke, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

Polka-dotted beauty.

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Lindsay

Fringe-limbed tree frog (Cochranella euknemos)

Cute Frog of the Week: December 19, 2011

The beautiful fringe-limbed tree frog is named for the small amount of whitish, fleshy fringe along the edges of its lower arms, hands, legs and feet. However, it is most memorable for its distinct colors—a deep blueish-green covered with many raised, yellowish-white spots. Their skin is also somewhat transparent, and their bones appear greenish through their skin. The fringe-limbed tree frog does not start out this beautiful, however. As if having to grow into their colors, the tadpoles, with their very long tails, are pale in color.

Because of this frog’s particularly long snout, its eyes are completely visible from the front of its head, unlike some other frogs, whose eyes can only be seen from the side. The specific name, euknemos, derives from Greek and means “with beautiful legs.” The male mating call sounds like a rapidly repeated “creep, creep, creep.”

These frogs can be found in humid Central and South American forests. They are more abundant in Columbia, but rare in Costa Rica and Panama because of deforestation.

Photo by Brian Gratwicke, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

It’s not that I’m afraid of heights.

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Lindsay

Caracas snouted treefrog (Scinax rostratus)

Cute Frog of the Week: Dec. 5, 2011

Although considered a tree frog, don’t go looking for this species too high up in the trees. Even though they are great climbers, these drably colored frogs seem to prefer to stay mainly on vegetation that is lower to the ground and that tends to grow around small ponds. They can be recognized by their raspy call: “Yek Yek Yek.”

These frogs can be found in the lowlands of central Panama to Colombia and northern Venezuela. They prefer subtropical or tropical forests, moist savanna, and freshwater marshes, but have also been seen in pastureland and rural gardens. Their common name comes from Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and their Latin name is derived from the Greek word skinos, which means quick or nimble.

While the Caracas snouted tree frog has a stable wild population, the species is threatened by habitat destruction.

Photo by Mauricio Rivera Correa.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

The escape artist.

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Lindsay

Giant barred frog (Mixophyes iteratus)

Cute Frog of the Week: Nov. 28, 2011

The Houdini of Australia’s rainforest, the great barred frog, is an escape artist who has plenty of tricks to help it elude predators. Growing up to 8 centimeters in length, these frogs are often dark brown in color, which helps them blend in with the fallen leaves. To further camouflage themselves, barred frogs will stiffen and flatten their backs to avoid detection on the forest floor. If spotted, they have webbed feet on their powerful hind legs that allow them to leap great distances into streams and rivers where they quickly swim away. Even the youngsters have special gambits. After mating, the females deposit eggs along the river bank. Usually the first rain washes the eggs into the stream where the tadpoles hatch. However, the rains don’t always come before the eggs hatch and the tadpoles must make their way to the water by wiggling down the rocks without any arms or legs. How’s that for a magic trick?

Photo by Frank Lemckert via ARKive.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

The Green Gobbler

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Lindsay

North American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)

Cute Frog of the Week: Nov. 21, 2011

The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) is the largest frog species in North America. Males can reach up to 8 inches long and weigh in at nearly 2 pounds. And this guy takes pleasure in throwing his weight around. Bullfrogs are notorious for eating anything they can get their mouths around, including snakes, mice, birds, insects or even other bullfrogs. Because of their insatiable appetite, the frogs are sometimes considered a nuisance to places where they’ve reduced local populations of fish, turtles or other frogs. Although the males’ “mooing” mating call (which can be heard for miles) may be a siren song for the ladies, it should serve as warning to other critters that there’s a bully in the pond.

Photo by Joe Milmoe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

Sound the bell.

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Lindsay

Red-eyed stream frog (Duellmanohyla uranochroa)

Cute Frog of the Week: Nov. 7, 2011

If you are hearing bells, there’s a possibility that a wedding’s in your future or that Christmas carolers are about to knock on your door. But if you’re in the subtropics of Panama and Costa Rica, you are likely hearing the distinct bell-like mating call of the red-eyed stream frog. This call sounds like “boop, boop, boop,” and can be heard in May and June.

This cute little frog is typically found in the Caribbean slopes of the Provincia del Pocas del Torro, Panama and Costa Rica. This area is a subtropical habitat, and most frogs are active during the night, so keep an ear open for them.

The red-eyed tree frog is leafy green in color, with a yellow throat and belly, and apricot-colored thighs. Its fingers and toes are slightly webbed and, of course, it has bright red eyes. Some researchers have wondered why their eyes are such a striking color, and have come up with a possible theory that they call “startle coloration.” This is a type of protection that allows the frogs to abruptly glance at or open their eyes when a predator shows up. This can startle the predator enough that they pause momentarily, allowing the frog time, though brief, to leap to a safe place out of its reach.

This is a critically endangered species, and the largest threats to them are general habitat alteration/losses, climate change and disease.

Photo by Andreas Hertz via ARKive.

Send us your own cute frogs by uploading your photos here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cutefrogoftheweek/

Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project

A project to save Panama's incredible frogs and salamanders

Category Archives: Cute Frog of the Week

Toxic toad.

A keen sense of fashion.

Dare to be different.

Just calling for a kiss.

Climbing the night away!

Polka-dotted beauty.

It’s not that I’m afraid of heights.

The escape artist.

The Green Gobbler

Sound the bell.