Fairy tales have accustomed us to glass slippers and frogs turning into Prince Charming after a sweet kiss. But did you know the glass frog? Just like Cinderella’s slipper, it is fragile!
This frog, transparent like glass and just as fragile as a champagne flute.
The glass frog owes its name to the transparency of its skin on the abdomen. Its internal organs, such as the lungs or the intestines, are therefore visible, as are the eggs. This small frog belongs to the family Centrolenidae which includes several species. This lime-colored amphibian lives in Central America and the Amazon, in tropical forests.
Why this abdominal transparency for the glass frog?
Evolutionary biologists always place great importance on the way animals evolve to adapt to their place and their living conditions. As the frogs’ stomachs are generally opaque, researchers do not yet know why their skin is transparent. Is it to better escape predators?
Dominant male, but father above all!
Like many males in the animal kingdom, the frog males take advantage to seduce a Madam frog during the mating season. In frogs, the potential for seduction lies in croaking,
a melodious cry that will not leave the female indifferent. In order to conquer their sweet, the males not only compete in vocalizations but also do not hesitate to compete for the best egg-laying sites with claws, thanks to the bone spines present on their front pastes.
The females lay around 30 eggs on the underside of the leaves, near water points. Unlike most amphibians, it is the male who provides parental care at the brood to protect eggs from predators and maintain high humidity. As for the female, this one leaves, once the eggs are laid.
An amphibian
It is a vertebrate and bare-skinned animal species capable of breathing out of the water when it is an adult.
The croaking
It is the sound made by the frog
The brood
The set of eggs which are incubated by a bird or other oviparous.
Glass forg, an endangered specie !
This frog tends to disappear because of men who destroy their habitat. Fortunately for it, a project to rebuild their habitat is underway in the Itapoa reserve in Ecuador.
Endangered
End and disappearance of an animal or plant species.
