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Tag amphibian
See-through Glass Frog hides its blood
People can see the beating heart of the see-through Glass Frog. But, its blood is less visible. Scientists have recently discovered why. The Glass Frog hides its blood in its liver when it sleeps.
The Glass Frog (Hyalinobatrachium yaku) and the Fleischmann’s Glass Frog (Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni) live in the tropical, dense Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador.
The size of a marshmallow, the amphibians are called Glass Frogs because their skin is translucent and transparent (see-through). Jesse Delia at the American Museum of Natural History in New York said to the New Scientist LIFE magazine in 2022, “If it wasn’t for that green skin on their back, you would probably be able to read a newspaper through them.”
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Tadpole of the Caucasian Parsley Frog
The Caucasian Parsley Frog (Pelodytes caucasicus) is a freshwater amphibian in the Pelodytidae family of frogs.
The Caucasian Parsley Frog begins its life as an egg. The adult female frog is oviparous, laying eggs. The female lays 40-300 eggs near reeds in a still body of water. The eggs hatch after about 14 days.
The eggs hatch into tadpoles.
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Pool Frog
The Pool Frog (Pelophylax lessonae) is a freshwater wetlands amphibian in the Ranidae family of water frogs.
The Pool Frog is green, olive or brown. On its back is a green line that runs from head to tail. There are small warts on its back. Its underbelly is creamy-white. It has a plump body with long hind (back) legs, and no tail. It has large, round, protruding eyes. It has webbed feet.
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Majorcan Midwife Toad
The Majorcan Midwife Toad (Alytes muletensis) is a small freshwater amphibian in the Alytidae family of toads. It is a vulnerable species.
The Majorcan Midwife Toad can be a variety of colours, but it is generally brownish to yellowish or greenish, with several irregular dark spots along its body. It has big, bulging dark eyes, suited to living in the dark. It has long legs with webbed feet that enable it to climb over rocks.
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Kokoe Poison Frog
The Kokoe Poison Frog (Phyllobates aurotaenia) is an amphibian in the Dendrobatidae family of poison dart frogs.
The adult Kokoe Poison Frog is black with green, yellow, orange, or brownish stripes on its back. It has a black abdomen with blue or green dots.
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Tadpole of the Phantasmal Poison Frog
The Phantasmal Poison Frog (Epipedobates tricolor) is an endangered amphibian in the Dendrobatidae family of Poison Dart Frogs.
The Phantasmal Poison Frog begins its life as an egg. The adult female frog is oviparous, laying eggs. The female lays 10-30 eggs, which hatch after about 14 days. The male cares for the eggs.
The eggs hatch into tadpoles, and the male carries them on his back and takes them to a river or stream.
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Diablito Frog
The Diablito Frog (Oophaga sylvatica) is a small venomous amphibian in the Dendrobatidae family of poison dart frogs.
The Diablito Frog varies in colour, from red and yellow to orange. The female has circular, round toe discs or pads that can stick to surfaces, whereas the male has heart-shaped toe discs. The female has an arched back, and the male has a curved back.
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Spanish Ribbed Newt
The Spanish Ribbed Newt (Pleurodeles waltl) is a freshwater amphibian in the Salamandridae family of salamanders. It is also called the Iberian Ribbed Newt and the Sharp-Ribbed Newt.
The Spanish Ribbed Newt has a dark-grey body with lighter grey sides. It has small, rust-coloured spots near its ribs. It has a flat spade-shaped head and a long tail. It has tubercles running down each side of its body, with sharp ribs which can puncture through its sides. As it pushes its ribs out, as a defence mechanism, it secretes poison from glands on its body.
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European Green Toad
The European Green Toad (Bufotes viridis) is an amphibian in the Bufonidae family of toads.
The European Green Toad has green or dark-brown spots on its back. Its underbelly is white or lightly coloured. It can change colour, depending on heat or light. It has moist skin with mucous glands that secrete slime-like liquid to keep it protected from dehydration, and to help it breathe.
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Mexican Axolotl and Webbed Feet
The Mexican Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a freshwater amphibian in the Ambystomatidae family of salamanders. Toads, frogs, newts, salamanders, and axolotl are amphibians, living partly in water and partly on land.
Unlike other amphibians, the Mexican Axolotl never leaves the water – it remains aquatic and never goes on land.
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Yellow-Bellied Toad
The Yellow-Bellied Toad (Bombina variegata) is a small amphibian in the Bombinatoridae family of fire-bellied toads.
The Yellow-Bellied Toad is grey-brown on the top with spots and warts on its back. Its underbelly and inner sides of its limbs, fingers, and toes, are grey-blue to black-blue with bright yellow to orange spots or patches. Its body is short with a rounded snout (nose). Its eardrums are not visible. It has bulging eyes, with heart-shaped pupils.
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European Tree Frog
The European Tree Frog (Hyla arborea) is a small amphibian in the Hylidae family of tree frogs.
The European Tree Frog is a light green, slender frog, with a slightly flattened, smooth body. It can also be greyish, olive-green, or tan coloured. It has lightly mottled markings, often with four faint lines or distinctive white spots. It has bulging eyes at the side of its head. Its long hind feet are webbed with cushioned pads. The male has a golden-brown throat and the female has a white throat.
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Common Tree Frog
The Common Tree Frog (Polypedates leucomystax) is a small amphibian in the Rhacophoridae family of shrub frogs.
The Common Tree Frog is a light-green, slender frog, with a slightly flattened, smooth body. It can also be greyish, yellowish, or dark brown. It has lightly mottled markings, often with four faint lines or distinctive white spots. It has bulging eyes at the side of its head. Its hind feet are webbed with cushioned pads.
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Does the Mexican Walking Fish actually walk?
Does the Mexican Walking Fish actually walk?
The Mexican Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a freshwater amphibian in the salamander family. It is also known as the Mexican Walking Fish, but it is not a fish. Toads, frogs, newts, salamanders and axolotl are amphibians, living partly in water and partly on land.
Unlike other amphibians, the Mexican Axolotl never leaves the water – it remains aquatic and never goes on land, so it does not walk on land.
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Hong Kong Warty Newt
The Hong Kong Warty Newt (Paramesotriton hongkongensis) is an amphibian in the salamander family. It is also known as the Hong Kong Newt.
The Hong Kong Warty Newt has a long dark-brown slimy body with an orange-yellow underbelly. It has small granules or nodules along its body. It has a ridge along its back, from its neck to its thin, flattened tail. Its head is almost triangular in shape. It has bulging eyes with horizontal pupils. It has four short legs with toes that are not webbed.
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Dyeing Poison Dart Frog
The Dyeing Poison Dart Frog (Denrobates tinctorius) is a poisonous amphibian in the poison dart frog family.
The Dyeing Poison Dart Frog varies in colour. Its body is usually black with irregular patterns and stripes in yellow or white along its sides, back, chest, head, and belly. Its legs are mainly blue—either dark-blue or light-blue—with small, black dots. The female has circular, round toe discs or pads (that can stick to surfaces), whereas the male has heart-shaped toe discs. The female has an arched back, and the male has a curved back.
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The False Tomato Frog (Dyscophus guineti) is a freshwater amphibian in the Microhylidae family.
The False Tomato Frog is bright red or orange-red with black spots on its throat. Its underbelly is yellowish. The male is not as brightly coloured as the female.
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Toe Pads of Tree Frogs
A Tree Frog (an arboreal frog) has sticky toe pads on each of its four toes.
The toe pads are not suction pads. The toe pads function through wet adhesion.
The surface of each toe pad has flat-topped, hexagonal-shaped (six-sided) cells, with grooves, that grip surfaces. This is called an intercalary structure.
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What is a Tadpole?
What is a tadpole?
A tadpole is the aquatic larval stage in the life cycle of an amphibian, such as a frog or toad. Tadpole means ‘toad head.’
A tadpole has a grey, laterally-compressed body and tail, with internal or external gills to enable it to breathe underwater, and a mouth to eat algae.
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