Heard, not seen.

Volcan barba tree frog (Isthmohyla picadoi)

Volcan barba tree frog (Isthmohyla picadoi)

Cute Frog of the Week: March 12, 2012

If you’re very lucky visiting the mountain forests of Panama or Costa Rica, you may hear the call of a Volcan barba treefrog (Isthmohyla picadoi), but you almost certainly will not catch sight of it. This frog has reason to be shy—while it is relatively safe in Costa Rica, deforestation for farming and timber is destroying its home. Because of this, the International Union for Conservation of Nature considers them near threatened. Scientists are hoping that because these frogs are found in a variety of types of forest, they may have a leg up in coping with habitat degradation.

Photo by Andreas Hertz 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/