White-Lipped Frog- Leptodactylus albilabris

The white- lipped frog is a semi-aquatic frog found in streams, marshes, irrigated fields and gutters. It is native to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and U.S. and British Virgin Islands. Due to its appearance in Spanish speaking areas, the frog is better known by its local Spanish name, Ranita De Labio Blanco. The frog’s name derives from its distinctive white upper lip, while the remainder of the skin typically includes shades of greenish-yellow, green, brown and black with varying spots and stripes. It has a medium size body with long limbs and un-webbed toes. While this species is currently wide spread in the U.S. Virgin Islands, it seems to be declining in the British Virgin Islands. In total, this species is fairly common and adaptable to different environmental changes. Due to these factors, the IUCN has listed the white-lipped frog as Least Concern on the Red List of Threatened Species.

Photo: courtesy Billy Santiago via Cute frog of the Week Photo Pool

Red-headed Poison Frog Ranitomeya fantastica Photo Credit: A. Stuckert via cute frog of the week flickr pool.

The red-headed poison frog is known for its most unique feature, its fire-orange head and throat, from which it received its name. Below the orange, it typically sports a white dorsum band followed by unique black and grey patterning. The red-headed poison frog is endemic to Peru and is restricted to a small land distribution of the San Martin and Loreto regions, making it extremely vulnerable to habitat loss. It is a small, highly active and dangerous frog. If threatened, it has the ability to secrete poisonous toxins from its skin. But despite their danger to humans, the red-headed poison frog population is decreasing because of their high demand in the pet trade. These threats to the species have led to the conservation status ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

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

Save the Frog Day Celebrations at the Summit Municipal Park, Panama

This years’ celebration of ‘Save the Frog Day’ was held at Summit Municipal Park on April 27,2013 where the Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project is currently housed. A booth was decorated with balloons, a golden frog piñata (for donations) and a large banner to draw the families and children who frequent the park on weekends. This Saturday was no exception. We estimated that approximately 85 children shared in the activities. We also received 165 signatures on our Save the Frog Day sign up poster.

All throughout the day we had a steady stream of inquisitive children anxious to paint frog masks and were rewarded for their efforts with frog-shaped chocolates and stickers. There were those who would like to paint more if their parents hadn’t reminded then that there were lots of other things to see and do yet that day!

For the more inquisitive and brave visitors there were containers filled with some of the frogs’ favorite snacks. There were extra- large cockroaches, crickets and meal worms and their parents the beetles. We would have to say some of our guests weren’t as excited about those. Some were a bit horrified from the looks on their faces, yet were understanding when we explained that these were very nutritious and necessary to keep them healthy.

A large poster displayed the wide variety of shapes, colors and sizes of frogs live here in Panama. We are excited and looking forward to next year when we will be settled into our new facility in Gamboa, where everyone will be able to appreciate the beauty and wonder of the precious creatures we are celebrating and fighting to preserve. Until next year, everyone keep up the good work!

-Amphibian Rescue Project Volunteer – Dedra A. Kirby-

Pickersgill’s reed frog- Hyperolius pickersgilli

The Pickersgill’s reed frog is native to South Africa, from the wetlands of the KwaZulu-Natal Province. It is a small frog with a unique color changing trait that marks its growth and development. The Pickersgill’s reed frog juveniles are light to dark brown coloring and a dorsolateral stripe. As they mature, the skin becomes bright green, yellow and white. Confined to a small area of residence, the Pickersgill’s reed frog is encountering many threats to its current habitat. Urbanization, habitat fragmentation, afforestation and pollution are among only some of the problems contributing to the decrease of this species. Due to this loss, it is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species.

Photo Credit: Richard Boycott

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/

Biodiversity is a huge competitive window for Latin America, but this has not always been recognized. We are thrilled to see recognition of the value of biodiversity and ecosystem services in Latin America which now account for 15% of the GDP of the region.

Hewitt’s Ghost Frog (Heleophryne hewitti)

The Hewitt’s ghost frog is a medium-sized frog found in fast-flowing mountain rivers and streams in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. As undetectable as a ghost, this frog’s flat body allows it to hide in confined spaces during the day, such as holes and rock cracks, and emerge during the night. It has long legs, big eyes, vertical pupils, and dark spots covering its entire body. Although the Hewitt’s ghost frog is a poor jumper, it is a skilled swimmer in strong currents and has abnormally large toes to cling to rocks by the water’s edge. Because of this frog’s mysterious nature, the extent of occurrence is considerably low. This fact, along with its small range and loss of habitat, has listed the Hewitt’s ghost frog as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Photo Credit: Richard Boycott

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/

Natal Banana Frog (Afrixalus spinifrons)

The Natal banana frog originates from coastal KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This frog is easily recognizable for its light and dark dorsal bands extending along the head and back, a rather constant design within the species, and rounded snout with black asperities. The Natal banana frog is often associated with low vegetation in shrubland and dry forest, but breed in wetland and temporary pools. It prefers emergent, long-leafed vegetation above water to build its egg nests. Recent loss of wetlands due to urban and recreational development, afforestation, agriculture expansion, pesticides and overgrazing livestock has resulted in a decline of the frog’s habitat and population. The IUCN has listed the Natal banana frog as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Photo Credit: Richard Boycott

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/

Long-toed tree frog- Leptopelis xenodactylus

The long-toed tree frog earned its name from its abnormally long fingers and toes with reduced webbing. A rather large leptopelis, the long-toed tree frog sports a rough, green dorsum and a creamy white underside. Found in south-eastern South Africa, in the southern KwaZulu-Natal Province highlands, this frog makes its home in grasslands and marshes, keeping away from trees. Due to their small range and the declining quality of their habitat, this frog’s population is decreasing in South Africa and sightings are rare. These threats have caused the long-toed tree frog to be listed as Endangered by the IUCN.

Photo Credit: Richard Boycott

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/

Ecuador cochran frog (Nymphargus griffithi)

Cute Frog of the Week: March 25, 2013

The Ecuador cochran frog is a brightly colored frog found most often on vegetation next to streams in montane forests. Although its name points to Ecuador, it appears to have disappeared from its original region and is now found most commonly in Columbia. The Cochran frog population is currently in a decline due to habitat loss from deforestation for agricultural development, logging and human settlement. The introduction of alien predatory fish to the area and pollution resulting from the spraying of illegal crops has also had a negative effect on the species. Due to these factors, the IUCN has listed them as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Photo by Lucas M. Bustamante via Arkive.

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/

Limosa harlequin frog (Atelopus limosus) baby on a U.S. quarter. (Photo by Brian Gratwicke, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute)

The limosa harlequin frog (Atelopus limosus), an endangered species native to Panama, now has a new lease on life. The Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project is successfully breeding the chevron-patterned form of the species in captivity for the first time. The rescue project is raising nine healthy frogs from one mating pair and hundreds of tadpoles from another pair.

“These frogs represent the last hope for their species,” said Brian Gratwicke, international coordinator for the project and a research biologist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, one of six project partners. “This new generation is hugely inspiring to us as we work to conserve and care for this species and others.”

Nearly one-third of the world’s amphibian species are at risk of extinction. The rescue project aims to save priority species of frogs in Panama, one of the world’s last strongholds for amphibian biodiversity. While the global amphibian crisis is the result of habitat loss, climate change and pollution, a fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, is likely responsible for as many as 94 of 120 frog species disappearing since 1980.

Between its facilities at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Gamboa, Panama, and the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center in El Valle, Panama, the rescue project currently cares for 55 adult limosa harlequin frogs of the chevron-patterned form and 10 of the plain-color form. The project has had limited success breeding the plain-color form of this species, and has successfully bred other challenging endangered species, including crowned treefrogs (Anotheca spinosa), horned marsupial frogs (Gastrotheca cornuta) and toad mountain harlequin frogs (A. certus).

Each species requires its own unique husbandry to thrive and breed. The project’s animal care team and scientists learn husbandry techniques as they work with a limited number of individuals. Jorge Guerrel, conservation biologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, arranged rocks in the breeding tank to create the submerged caves that appear to be the preferred egg deposition sites for limosa harlequin frogs. Like other Atelopus species, tadpoles require highly oxygenated, gently flowing water between 22 and 24 degrees Celsius. The tadpoles’ natural food is algal film growing on submerged rocks, which Guerrel and his colleagues re-created by painting petri dishes with a solution of powdered spirulina algae, then allowing it to dry.

The mission of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project is to rescue amphibian species that are in extreme danger of extinction throughout Panama. The project’s efforts and expertise are focused on establishing assurance colonies and developing methodologies to reduce the impact of the amphibian chytrid fungus so that one day captive amphibians may be reintroduced to the wild. Current project partners include Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Houston Zoo, Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Zoo New England.

Lindsay Renick Mayer, Smithsonian’s National Zoo