The red-eyed tree frog is an unusual amphibian of a rich light green color with a bright, expressive look. The tree frog is nocturnal. It lives in forests in the leaves of trees, but can swim.
Habitat
This representative of the anuran order is native to Central America and warm regions of Mexico.
Prefers damp tropics located in lowlands, although it is found in low foothills.
Appearance
It has very modest dimensions, the length of the body is from six to eight centimeters. The head is round. A distinctive feature is large red eyes with vertically located pupils.
Leathery upper eyelids and almost transparent lower ones are necessary for protection: while resting, he observes what is happening around him through the membranes. In case of a possible attack, the tree frog's skin folds drop, bright red eyes are scary predator, this makes it possible to escape. Active in the dark.
The tree frog has a scary coloring, but is not poisonous. The skin is smooth. Has a good sense of touch. The size and color depend on temperature, light and other parameters. The body can be either light green or dark. The sides of the tree frog are deep blue, with stripes on them:
- purple
- brown
- yellow
They are directed vertically or diagonally, the number of stripes varies among different populations (from 9 to 5-6). The abdomen is pure white or light cream. Her shoulders and hips are blue or orange. The bright orange toes (and pads too) vary to light yellow.
The paws are equipped with suction cups, which is why it climbs more than it stays in ponds. There may be faint whitish spots or dark green lines on the back. Tree frogs change color from greenish (during the day) to brownish-red (at dusk).
Lifestyle
The tree frog constantly resides in trees, sleeping and feeding there. Loves warmth (above 20 degrees).
The green frog wakes up at sunset, yawning and stretching, then stays awake. Moves by jumping over an impressive distance. In hot weather it hides in the leaves.
Nutrition
An amphibian is a carnivore, its diet consists of small insects that fit in the mouth (spiders, flies, etc.).
Enemies
The main danger to tree frogs is snakes (parrot, cat-eyed, etc.), as well as lizards, birds, bats and small mammals. Eggs are eaten by reptiles, etc.
They suffer from fungal infections. Fish, arachnids, and arthropods can destroy tadpole fry.
Reproduction
The tree frog's rainy season is the most suitable weather for the birth of its offspring. Mating occurs intensively in June and October evenings. Males make different sounds: scaring - for competitors and calling - for future partners. Due to the resonator bags, the sound is loud.
The frog begins to croak intensely before sunset, and the sound intensifies with increasing humidity. Female tree frogs spawn on branches hanging above the water surface; there are 35-45 eggs. They are protected by a gelatinous shell, which makes the eggs inconspicuous. By the time they hatch, each one increases in size by one and a half times. Incubation for the green tree frog is one week.
The tadpoles of the red-eyed frog emerge simultaneously and are washed into the pond. The fry grow up to 40 millimeters. After 2 and a half months they turn into frogs. one of the largest inhabitants of the water element.
These arboreal amphibians live in Central America. They prefer tropical rainforests near river banks. They feel very good in trees, climbing them higher from the ground.
Appearance
The length of the tree frog is 4–7 cm, females are larger than males. Perhaps these are the most beautiful amphibians. The bright color of the tree frog camouflages it well in the abundant foliage among a riot of colors. In addition, at night, the camouflage changes to match the surrounding nature and is not visible at all. The top is bright green, the sides are blue, and the belly is white. The legs are long and orange.
Each finger has a disc that secretes a sticky liquid. Having such devices, she easily climbs and descends trees. The discs, like suction cups, hold the tree frog even on leaves upside down. She is also an excellent jumper, easily jumping from branch to branch or leaf, covering a distance of about 1 meter.
The eyes are large, red with a vertical pupil. The nictitating membrane protects the eyes from dust and provides hydration. The red-eyed tree frog moves well both on the firmament and in the water.
Lifestyle. Nutrition
It is nocturnal and sees well in the dark. To search for food it descends to the ground. The red-eyed tree frog feeds on insects. It catches them not only with its sticky tongue, but can also grab them with its front paws. This is a real hunter, very dexterous, she rarely misses. During the day, she hides in the leaves, climbing to the tops of trees, where she sleeps. During drought, it sits on the underside of the leaf. During this period they are silent, but after the rains they croak actively and loudly.
Reproduction
The mating season begins during the rainy season, which lasts from June to November. Males sit on branches above the water and sing their inviting songs. Also, intonation warns opponents that the place is occupied. A female can lay 1–3 clutches on tree leaves in one night. There are about 40 eggs in one clutch, each surrounded by a mucous membrane.
After 5–10 days, tadpoles appear and fall into the water, where their further development occurs (21–60 days). Having assumed the appearance of an adult, young tree frogs leave the aquatic environment and climb trees.
The red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) is a tailless amphibian from the tree frog family. The species was first described by Cope in 1862. The Latin name of the species is a derivative of the Greek words kallos (beautiful) and dryas (tree nymph).
The red-eyed tree frog is a small animal with large bright red eyes with vertical pupils and a nictitating membrane. The fingers are short, with thick pads, which have suckers that help them move along the leaves.
The red-eyed tree frog is widespread in Central and South America (Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Belize, Colombia, Panama). Mainly lives in tropical rainforests, near water. Inhabits the upper and middle layers of trees. During the day and during the dry season they hide on the underside of the wide leaves.
The color of these amphibians varies within their range, the main color is green, on the sides and base of the paws there is blue with a yellow pattern, and the toes are orange. The belly is white or cream. Some individuals have small white spots on the back. Young tree frogs (in Panama) can change their color: they are green during the day and turn purple or red-brown at night. Juveniles have yellow eyes rather than red.
Size: females - 7.5 cm, males - 5.6 cm. Life expectancy: 3-5 years.
The main enemies are reptiles: snakes (for example, the parrot snake Leptophis ahaetulla), lizards and turtles, birds, small mammals (including bats). The eggs are hunted by cat-eyed snakes (Leptodeira septentrionalis), wasps (Polybia rejecta), monkeys, fly larvae Hirtodrosophila batracida, etc. The eggs are affected by fungal infections, for example Filamentous ascomycete. Tadpoles are preyed on by large arthropods, fish and water fleas.
The red-eyed tree frog is a carnivore, eating various animals that fit into its mouth - insects (beetles, flies, moths) and arachnids, lizards and frogs.
The red-eyed tree frog is nocturnal. They have parabolic vision and a good sense of touch. During the day, frogs sleep on the undersides of green leaves, hiding from predators. During rest, their eyes are covered with a translucent membrane, which does not interfere with the frogs' vision. If a red-eyed tree frog is attacked by a predator, it sharply opens its eyes and their bright red color confuses the attacker. The moment the predator freezes, the frog runs away. When night falls, tree frogs wake up, yawn and stretch. Despite their bright, frightening color, red-eyed tree frogs are not poisonous, but their skin contains a large amount of active peptides (tachykinin, bradykinin, caerulein and demorphin).
Reproduction begins with the first rains at the beginning of the wet season. Mating occurs throughout the season, but is especially frequent in June and October. During this time, males emit aggressive calls to distance other males and calling calls to attract females. The dominant frequency of emitted sounds ranges from 1.5-2.5 kHz. Vocalization begins at dusk and is especially intensified during rain.
When a female comes down to the males, several males can jump on her at once. As soon as amplexus occurs, the female, with the male sitting on her back, descends into the water and remains there for about ten minutes in order to absorb water through the skin. After this, the female lays eggs on leaves (one egg at a time, 30-50 pieces in total), which hang over the water. During the breeding season, a female may mate with several males and lay up to five clutches.
The total number of red-eyed tree frogs in nature is decreasing due to habitat destruction.
Scientific classification:
Kingdom: Animals
Type: Chordates
Class: Amphibians
Squad: Tailless
Family: Tree frogs
Genus: Bright-eyed tree frogs
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Tree frogs, also known as tree frogs, are the most colorful members of the amphibian order - their colors range from yellow and green to red and blue mixed with black. Such a bright range is not just a quirk of nature, it is a signal for predators, warning of danger. Producing a poisonous toxin that can paralyze, stun and kill even a large animal, tree frogs have firmly established themselves in the impenetrable tropical forests of Central and South America, where high humidity and a huge biodiversity of insects allow them to survive for more than 200 million years. Having appeared on Earth at the same time as dinosaurs, frogs demonstrate extraordinary adaptation to the environment - painted in all the colors of the rainbow, they are practically invisible among lush vegetation and inedible for most representatives of the fauna.
- the Amerinds, have long learned to benefit from the poison of poison dart frogs, using it as a deadly substance to lubricate the tips of their hunting darts. Having pierced the frog with a stick, the Indians first held it over the fire, and then collected the droplets of poison that appeared on the skin of the animal into a container, after which they dipped the arrows in a viscous liquid. This is where another name for poisonous tree frogs came from - dart frogs.
Unusual facts from the life of poison dart frogs
- Among the brightly colored 175 species of tree frogs, only three pose a threat to humans; the rest mimic toxicity in their appearance, although they are not poisonous.
- The size of dangerous tree frogs reaches 2-5 cm, with females being larger than males.
- Tree frogs climb trees thanks to the rounded ends on their legs that resemble suction cups. Making circular movements with their limbs, they move quite easily along the vertical plane of a tree trunk.
- Poison dart frogs prefer to live alone, carefully protecting the boundaries of their territory, and only come together during the mating season after reaching 2 years of age.
- Tree frogs acquire their bright colors with age; baby frogs always have a nondescript brown color.
- The frog's body does not produce poison - it adsorbs toxins from small insects. Toxic secretions appear on the skin of an amphibian at the moment of danger and are caused by a specific “diet”, which includes ants, flies, and beetles. Tree frogs raised in captivity, far from their natural habitat and deprived of their usual food, are absolutely harmless.
- Dart frogs are both diurnal and nocturnal, climb the ground and trees, and use a long sticky tongue when hunting.
- The life cycle of tree frogs is 5-7 years, in captivity – 10-15 years.
Yellow poison dart frog
Living in the Andean foothills - in the coastal zones of southwestern Colombia, the most poisonous frog in the world is the terrible leaf climber. ( Phyllobates terribilis ) , prefers growing on rocks 300-600 m above sea level. The leaf litter under the treetops near the pond is a favorite place for the most dangerous vertebrate animal in the world - the yellow-gold tree frog, whose poison can kill 10 people at a time.
The distribution zone of the 1.5 cm strawberry tree frog (Andinobates geminisae), from the family of poisonous leaf climbers, first found in 2011, is the jungle of Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama. The red-orange palette of the unusual amphibian's body is adjacent to bright blue on the hind legs and black markings on the head. After the dreaded golden leaf frog, the red tree frog is the second most toxic species in the world.
Okopipi blue poison frog
In 1968, the sky-blue tree frog Dendrobatus azureus was first discovered by scientists in the humid tropics. A bright shade of cobalt or azure sapphire with black and white flecks is a classic Okopipi colorway. The poisonous tree frog received its name from local aborigines a long time ago - unlike scientists, the Amerindians have known it for many centuries. The distribution area of the unusual vertebrate is the relict tropical forests surrounding the Sipaliwini savanna, stretching through the southern regions of Suriname and Brazil. According to scientists, the blue dart frog was, as it were, “preserved” in this area during the last Ice Age, when part of the jungle turned into a grassy plain. The surprising thing is that Okopipi does not know how to swim like all amphibians, and it gets the necessary moisture in the humid thickets of the tropical forest.
The distribution range of the red-eyed tree frog, Agalychnis callidryas, is quite extensive: from Northern Colombia, through the entire central part of America, to the southern tip of Mexico. This species of amphibian lives mainly in the lowlands of Costa Rica and Panama. The coloring of the “big-eyed” dart frog is the most intense in the family of tailless vertebrates - neon spots of blue and orange are scattered on a bright green background. But the eyes of this amphibian are especially remarkable - scarlet, with a vertical narrow pupil, they help the harmless little frog scare away predators.
In the east of the continent, there is another species of red-eyed frog - Litoria chloris - the owner of a rich light green color with yellow splashes. Both types of tree frogs are not poisonous despite their expressive “outfit” and piercing gaze.
Interesting to know! Many animals have striking colors - warning colors developed during evolution to protect against predators and indicating the toxicity of its owner. As a rule, this is a combination of contrasting colors: black and yellow, red and blue or others, a striped or drop-shaped pattern - even those predators that are naturally color-blind can distinguish such colors. In addition to the catchy color scheme, miniature animals have large eyes that are incommensurate with the size of the body, which in the dark creates the illusion of a large organism. This feature, intended for survival, is called aposematism.
Medical uses of tree frog venom
Scientists' research into the pharmacological use of frog toxins began back in 1974, when the US National Institutes of Health first conducted experiments with dendrobatid and Epidatidine, the main components of tree frog venom. It turned out that in its pain-relieving properties one substance is 200 times superior to morphine, and the other is 120 times superior to nicotine. In the mid-90s, scientists at Abbott Labs. managed to create a synthetic version of epidatidine - ABT-594, which significantly reduces pain, but does not put people to sleep like opiates. The American Natural History Museum team also analyzed 300 alkaloids found in tree frog venom and determined that some were effective in treating neuralgia and muscle dysfunction.
- The largest frog in the world is the goliath (Conraua goliath) from West Africa, its body length (excluding legs) is about 32-38 cm, weight - almost 3.5 kg. The giant amphibian lives in Cameroon and Guinea, on the sandy banks of the African rivers Sanaga and Benito.
- The smallest frog in the world is the tree toad from Cuba, it grows 1.3 cm in length.
- In total, there are about 6 thousand species of frogs in the world, but every year scientists find more and more new species.
- A toad is the same as a frog, only its skin is dry, unlike frogs, and covered with warts, and its hind legs are shorter.
- The frog sees perfectly at night and is sensitive to even the slightest movement; in addition, the location and shape of the eyes allows it to perfectly view the area not only in front and to the sides of itself, but also partially behind.
- Thanks to their long hind legs, frogs can jump a distance of 20 times their body length. The Costa Rican tree frog has membranes between the toes of its hind and front paws - this unique aerodynamic device helps it float in the air when it jumps from one branch to another.
- Like all amphibians, frogs are cold-blooded - their body temperature changes in direct proportion to environmental parameters. When the air temperature drops to a critical level, they burrow underground and remain in suspended animation until spring. Even if 65% of a tree frog's body is frozen, it will survive by increasing the concentration of glucose in its vital organs. Another example of vitality is demonstrated by the Australian desert frog - it can survive without water for about 7 years.
New species of frogs and toads found in the world
A new species of golden tree frog was recently discovered in the highlands of western Panama. Scientists were able to spot the amphibian in dense foliage due to an unusual loud croaking sound, unlike any previously studied. When zoologists caught the animal, a yellow pigment began to appear on its paws. There was a fear that the discharge was poisonous, but after a series of tests, it turned out that the bright yellow mucus did not contain any toxins. A strange feature of the frog helped the scientific team come up with its scientific name - Diasporus citrinobapheus, which conveys the essence of its behavior in Latin. Another new species of poisonous frog, Andinobates geminisae, was found by scientists in Panama (Doroso, Colon province), in the upper reaches of the Rio Caño River. According to experts, the neon orange frog is on the verge of extinction, since its habitat is extremely small.
On the island of Sulawesi near the Philippine archipelago, a scientific team discovered the existence of a large number of clawed frogs - 13 species, 9 of which were hitherto unknown to science. Differences are observed in the body size of amphibians, the size and number of spurs on the hind legs. Due to the fact that this species is the only one on the island, nothing prevents it from breeding and reproducing, unlike its relatives in the Philippines, where clawed tree frogs compete with another species - amphibians of the Platymantis family. The rapid increase in the number of island anurans clearly demonstrates the correctness of Charles Darwin's concept of adaptive distribution, described by the example of finches from the Galapagos archipelago.
Biodiversity of frogs on Earth
- Vietnam. About 150 species of amphibians are common here; in 2003, 8 new species of frogs were found in the country.
- Venezuela. The exotic state is sometimes called the “lost world” - many table mountains, difficult to reach for researchers, are distinguished by endemic flora and fauna. In 1995, a group of scientists undertook a helicopter expedition to the Sierra Yavi, Guanay and Yutaye mountains, where 3 species of frogs unknown to science were found.
- Tanzania. A new species of tree frog, Leptopelis barbouri, has been discovered in the Ujungwa Mountains.
- Papua New Guinea. Over the past decade, 50 unstudied species of tailless amphibians have been discovered here.
- Northeastern regions of the USA. Habitat of the rare spider-like toad.
- Madagascar. The island is home to 200 species of frogs, 99% of which are endemic - unique species not found anywhere else. The scientists' latest find, the narrow-mouthed toad, was discovered through a study of the soil and foliage of the jungle, during which they were able to identify the amphibian's excrement.
- Colombia. The most outstanding discovery of scientists in this region is the species of tree frog Colostethus atopoglossus, which lives only on the eastern slopes of the Andes, in El Boquerón.
Argentina, Bolivia, Guyana, Tanzania and many other countries with a tropical climate and difficult landscapes are regions where scientists are constantly finding new subspecies of animals, including tailless amphibians - frogs. Possessing miniature sizes, arboreal representatives of the amphibian order are not only the smallest, but also the most dangerous animals in the world - modern zoologists are increasingly convinced of this.
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Red-eyed tree frogs (lat. Agalychnis callidryas) – owners of many advantages. First of all, they are beautiful. A soft green body with blue stripes, bright orange legs, a chicken-yellow belly and expressive red eyes make the red-eyed tree frog one of the most attractive amphibians in the world.
Secondly, they are unpretentious. All they need for a happy life is wet thickets along the banks of rivers and streams in the tropical forests of Central America and the presence of their favorite crickets, which are first on the list of food preferences of red-eyed tree frogs.
However, the matter is not limited to crickets alone, and tree frogs diversify their menu with everything they can swallow - worms, moths, flies and even small frogs.
Thirdly, they are not poisonous, and the only way they can protect themselves is to use their bright colors as camouflage. Here the tree frogs have two options to choose from: hide the bright parts of the body and remain motionless, or, conversely, move as quickly as possible, shimmering in front of the predator’s eyes with all the colors of the rainbow, literally eclipsing his gaze with its beauty.
In the first case, they just need to climb a tree, bend their orange legs and cover the blue stripes on the sides with their legs. In this position, only the upper, green, part of their body remains visible, which completely merges with the lush green foliage of tropical trees.
Their small size (up to 6 centimeters in males and up to 8 centimeters in females) makes them almost invisible to snakes, spiders, bats and birds.
Red-eyed tree frogs can live both near ponds and in trees, but they prefer to lead an arboreal lifestyle, very rarely descending to the ground. The long legs of these frogs are better suited for climbing trees than for swimming, and the suckers on each toe help them move easily along vertical surfaces, including wet leaves and tree trunks. For their ability to make long jumps, red-eyed tree frogs received the name “monkey frogs.”
The red eyes of these nocturnal amphibians have vertical pupils and are equipped with a nictitating membrane that moisturizes them and protects them from dust. Like the body of tree frogs, these membranes are painted in a bright color, but this in no way prevents the frogs from seeing well in the dark. Depending on the mood or environment, red-eyed tree frogs are able to slightly modify the intensity of their color.
The mating season for red-eyed tree frogs begins at the height of the rainy season. Sitting on a branch, the male begins to shake it vigorously, making calling sounds. With this behavior he pursues two goals at once - to scare off rivals and attract the attention of his partner.
When the fertilization process begins, the female will carry the male on her back for several hours, then she will pick up a convenient branch with dense foliage hanging over the water and lay eggs.
After a few days, the eggs will develop into tadpoles and fall into the water, where they will spend three weeks to several months until they develop into adult tree frogs and move back to a safe height.
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