Posts tagged frog behavior
Strange but True – Fringe-Limbed Treefrog Tadpoles Consume Father’s Skin
Nov 4th
Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Several years ago, we learned that female Caecilians (odd, legless amphibians) of some species grow extra layers of skin with which to feed their young. This unbelievable feeding strategy was first documented on film in the BBC series Life in Cold Blood, and is among the most fascinating (if chilling!) footage I’ve ever seen. Tadpoles of the recently discovered Fringe-Limbed Treefrogs, Ecnomiohyla rabborum are now known to feed upon living skin as well. In this case, it is the male parent that provides dinner with its own body – the only frog, and the only male amphibian, known to do so.
Discovery of a New Species
The Fringe-Limbed Treefrog is known only from a single mountainous rainforest in Coclé, central Panama. It was first collected in 2005, and was described as a new species in 2008. Its species name, rabborum, was given in honor of noted herpetologists Mary and George Rabb. More >
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Loading ...New Form of Communication Revealed – Plant-Vibrating Red-Eyed Treefrogs
May 26th
Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Herpetologists at Panama’s Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute have uncovered a here-to-fore unknown form of communication among frogs. Using robotic frogs, infra-red lights and accelerometers, they have established that male Red-Eyed Treefrogs (Agalychnis callidryas) compete by shaking their bodies, which in turn vibrates the plant stems upon which they are perched.
Vibration Contests
Writing in the May 20, 2010 edition of Current Biology, researchers speculate that the vibrations sent through plant stems enable other male frogs can access the plant shaker’s intent, size and status. It appears that the frogs’ vocal calls may also vibrate plants, but further research is needed.
Additional studies are also being planned to determine if other herps, birds or mammals utilize vibration-based communication (invertebrates are known to do so). More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...First Completely Monogamous Amphibian Identified – the Mimic Poison Frog
Mar 10th
Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Genetic research has revealed that a fairly well-studied frog has been hiding an astonishing secret – pairs form lifelong pair bonds and remain faithful to one another. Equally surprising is the fact that pool size alone (and not morality!) seems responsible for the fidelity shown by Mimic Poison Frog (Ranitomeya imitator) couples. These findings, to be published in an upcoming issue of The American Naturalist, illustrate the second “first” for this species (please see below). More >
(+2 rating, 2 votes) Loading ...Behavioral Enrichment for Captive Poison (Dart) Frogs – Dendrobates, Phyllobates, Epipedobates spp. and related species
Jun 17th
Poison frogs respond quickly to novel situations and are among the best amphibian candidates for enrichment experiments. I enjoy watching them “figure out” new things. One technique I use is to place crickets into a container perforated with tiny holes – the frogs soon learn to associate the container with food, and will gather about it, watching the holes for escaping insects. On non-feeding days, you may still notice that the frogs will pause occasionally to peer at the feeder, apparently in anticipation of a meal.
Establishing a colony of springtails (tiny, wingless insects that may be collected below leaf litter) in the terrarium’s substrate will also provide your frogs with “naturalistic” hunting opportunities. Springtails will thrive on decaying moss and the frogs’ waste products, and usually do quite well and provide valuable nutrients to your pets (springtails can also be given a bit of tropical fish flakes on occasion). It is great fun to watch poison frogs scrutinize every inch of the terrarium and to stalk their prey, and they surely benefit from the increased activity levels.
Please write in with your own behavioral enrichment ideas. Thanks, until next time, Frank.
Information about behavioral enrichment for reptiles and amphibians at the National Zoo is posted at:
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/ReptilesAmphibians/enrichment/
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...African Clawed Frog, Xenopus laevis, Behavior – has anyone else observed this?
Jun 3rd
As you may know, the African clawed frog is entirely aquatic but may travel overland in search of water, but only when forced to do so – when its habitat dries out or poison is introduced to its pond. Many years ago I kept an adult pair that would lie out on a rock which protruded above the water, directly under an incandescent bulb. This only occurred in winter, when the water temperature in their tank averaged 66 F, so I thought they might be seeking warmth. However, others I’ve kept at that temperature have not left the water, despite being provided with a basking light as well.
The second observation involves a female clawed frog that laid eggs in absence of a male. That in itself is unusual, as most frogs utilize amplexus (the male grasps the female just behind the front legs or, in Xenopus, just above the rear legs) to induce egg laying. Odder still, however, was the fact that a male placed in the tank with the eggs (and without the female) on the following day fertilized the eggs. He was in breeding condition, as evidenced by the rough “nuptial pads” along his forearms, and perhaps was responding to pheromones or scents in the water, but still should have (according to me, not him, it seems!) required a female to stimulate sperm release. I have spoken with a number of herpetologists about this, and none can recall a similar incident.
These observations date back decades, so I am most anxious for any input! Thanks, until next time, Frank.
Further information on this frog’s mating behavior and ability to travel overland is available at:
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Xenopus_laevis.html
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