Solomon Island leaf frogs (Ceratobatrachus guentheri)

Cute Frog of the Week: February 14, 2011

These gorgeous forest floor dwellers are native to the wet rainforests of the Solomon Islands and the hot and humid Papua New Guinea. As their name suggests, they look very much like leaves–their color can range from golden to duller browns and they are sometimes referred to as “eyelash” frogs because of the growths over their eyes that gives them more of a “leafy” appearance. Among the 5,000 known frog species, there’s a diverse range of how frogs develop from fertilized egg to hopping little froglets. Coquis are members of a group of frogs that don’t have a free-living (larval) phase. Instead, all steps of development (from single-celled egg to froglet) occur inside the egg. This means that when the pea-sized egg hatches, you don’t get tadpoles, but froglets! How cute is that?! Their eggs are also transparent enough that you can see the developing frog in the egg. These frogs are only about a quarter inch long when they hatch and grow to about three inches by the time they become adults. Even though these cuties are tiny, they have a pretty noisy call which sounds like the barking of a small dog! Hear it for yourself!

Photo credit: Jessie Cohen, Smithsonian’s National Zoo.

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.

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