TAXONOMY

Kingdom: Animalia

Class: Amphibia

Order: Anura

Family: Hylidae

Genus/species: Agalychnis callidryas

 

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS:  Males are smaller (about 5 cm or 2.5 inches) than females (almost 7.62 cm or 3 cm). Both have neon green backs. With its bright orange-red suction toe pads it easily clings, climbs, and jumps among arboreal surfaces. Their distinctive bright red, bulging eyes provide highly developed parabolic vision. A reticulated pale nictitating membrane shields the frog’s sensitive eyes.

DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Southeastern Mexico, through Central America, to northwestern Colombia.  Lives near ponds or rivers in neotropical rainforests from sea level up to 960m. These nocturnal frogs are completely arboreal. During the day they remain motionless, blending in among the foliage. They live in warm (75-85°F, day; 66-77°F, night), humid (80-100%) climates.

DIET IN THE WILD: Carnivorous; crickets, moths, beetles, flies, grasshoppers and even smaller frogs.

REPRODUCTION: Males call from branches and leaves of trees above ponds in the rainy season; they vocalize in unison and threaten one another competing for females. Females with one or several males attached, climbs to a leaf above the water. Clutches of 11–78 eggs are deposited on the leaf, which usually is folded around the egg clutch. Hatchling tadpoles drop into the water where they become mid-water filter feeders

PREDATORS: Life span: 3–5 yrs. Preyed upon by birds, turtles, lizards, snakes, bats and other mammals.

CONSERVATION STATUS: Neither endangered nor threatened currently, A. callidryas has become the familiar icon for conservation of the world’s rainforests Global warming, deforestation, climatic and atmospheric changes, wetland drainage and pollution have caused dramatic declines and deformities in all amphibian populations including those of the neotropical rainforests.

Costa Rica Rainforest  CRO6

flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/cas_docents/sets/72157608456457315/with/3143683892/

WORDPRESS SHORTLINK  http://wp.me/p1DZ4b-dZ

DAYTIME COLORS BELOW