Category Archives: Uncategorized

07/25/12

Guest post: A Herpetologist Chases Frogs with Tails

We were so pleased to receive a guest post from Sara E. Viernum, a herpetologist with over 10 years of experience chasing snakes and salamanders around the U.S. When she’s not chasing reptiles and amphibians in the field, Sara is blogging about them on her website The Wandering Herpetologist, which is devoted to all things reptile and amphibian related. She currently resides in San Antonio, Texas, with her wonderful husband and her pet milk snake, Nyarla The Crawling Chaos. Sara also has a Facebook page.

For two field seasons in 2010 and 2011 I had the pleasure of hunting for aquatic amphibians in the Tillamook State Forest in Western Oregon. I was helping a friend with her graduate research focusing on the effects of fish passable culverts on aquatic amphibians. We spent many, many fun-filled hours crawling around in streams in the forest looking for Pacific giant salamanders (Dicamptodon tenebrosus), Columbia torrent salamanders (Rhyacotriton kezeri), and Pacific tailed frogs (Ascaphus truei).

Male Pacific tailed frog showing his "tail". Photo courtesy Sara Viernum.

The tailed frogs were such interesting amphibians. I had never seen these strange little frogs before we started the stream surveys. The tadpoles have specialized sucker mouths that they use to hold onto the rocks in the fast-flowing currents of the streams. They will also adhere to a collection bucket and your hand. If that’s not strange enough the adult males have a little “tail.” The “tail” is actually an extended cloaca that is used for internal fertilization. The Ascaphus frogs are the only frog species that have internal fertilization.

Pacific tailed froglets showing color variations. Photo courtesy Sara Viernum.

Tailed frogs are members of the Leiopelmatidae family (Tail-wagging frogs). There are only two species in this family found in North America – the Pacific tailed frog and the Rocky Mountain tailed frog (Ascaphus montanus). The family is considered to be one of the most primitive. The frogs cannot vocalize (call) and they do not have an external ear or a middle ear bone. Their closest relatives are the Leiopelma frogs from New Zealand which are also considered to be primitive frogs too.

Pacific tailed frog tadpole suctioned to Sara's hand. Photo courtesy Sara Viernum.

The Pacific tailed frogs could be quite common in some of the streams and were always a treat to find, although it was sometimes difficult to get to tadpoles to let go of your hand.

Pacific tailed frog tadpole showing its sucker mouth. Photo courtesy Sara Viernum.

07/13/12

A Prince Becomes a Frog: The Prince Charles Frog

The Prince Charles frog. Courtesy of Amphibian Ark.

At Frogs Are Green, we’ve always loved the fact that one real live prince – Prince Charles of England – seems to care a lot about frogs. We’ve posted stories here about the Prince of Wales’s efforts to help rainforests; in his princely fashion, he has used frogs as symbols of his campaign to protect the rainforests, particularly the rainforests of Brazil and Indonesia.

Now HRH is being honored for his work: a rare species of Ecuadorian stream frog has been named Hyloscirtus princecharlesi or the Prince Charles Stream Tree Frog in recognition of his efforts to safeguard the world’s rainforests.

Amphibian Ark recently coordinated a special event to reveal the scientific name of the Ecuadorian frog. The event took place at the prince’s Highgrove House estate and included presentation of a commemorative medallion and a glass sculpture of a frog.

The handsome brown-and-orange frog was first spotted by Dr. Luis A. Coloma among other specimens collected for a museum in 2008. The Ecuadorian scientist was part of an expedition that later found a few living members of the species in the Cotacachi-Cayapas National Park in Ecuador.

According to the Royal Forums website, while posing for photos, His Royal Highness joked, “The things I do for frogs. I’m very touched. It’s very nice. I have a lump in my throat, it must be a frog.”

The Prince Charles Stream Tree frog is a nocturnal frog – it climbs on branches during the night and lives near very fast running streams, close to cascades. The frog is endangered – its rainforest habitat in under threat due to the impact of farming.

07/3/12

Frogs Are Green 2012 Photo Contest: Now Open for Submissions!

One of the winning photos from the 2011 contest. Photograph by Krista Herbstrith, Northfield, MN.

The 4th annual Frogs Are Green photo contest is now open for submissions. We hope you take your camera with you while you’re on vacation and get some great photos of frogs or other amphibians! Or you might take some great photos in your own backyard.

As in the past, we will be accepting submissions in two categories: Frogs in the Wild and Backyard Frogs.

Backyard Frog photos would include such photos as a frog perched on your picnic table or other unusual place. One year, for example, we received a photo of a frog sitting on a pool hose.

Frogs in the Wild photos, on the other hand, should feature frogs, toads, or other amphibians in their natural habitat: frog ponds, marshes, in the woods, and so on.

PLEASE—no photo manipulation and no photos of pet frogs. Please do not move the frog to get a better photo.

Photos of amphibians of all kinds, including salamanders, will be accepted.

This year we have a new contest area using Flickr, where you can enter yourself. You must add a caption/ description with your Name, Title and Location or your submission will not be added. For more information, please visit the contest page.There are three different group pools, two for photography so be sure to enter your photo into the right group pool.

Frogs Are Green Backyard Frogs 2012 Photo Contest

Frogs Are Green Frogs in the Wild 2012 Photo Contest

All entries must be received by November 30, 2012. Winners will be announced January 15, 2012.

The winner will receive a Frogs Are Green poster or t-shirt of his/her choice from our store.

We look forward to seeing your photos!

06/21/12

Using "Frog Juice" to Enhance Racehorse Performance

According to a recent New York Times article, frogs and horses have recently been linked in a bizarre—and illegal—way. Evidently a compound found in the secretions of the waxy monkey tree frog (Phyllomedusa sauvagei) is being used to enhance the performance of racehorses.

The waxy monkey tree frog is native to South America. While most frogs like cool and moist places, waxy monkey frogs live in the Chaco (dry prairie) of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. They seal in moisture with a waxy substance secreted through their skin glands. Living in trees, they draw in their arms and legs and sleep in the sun. At night, they awaken and hunt when the air temperature and the rate of water loss are lower.

Waxy monkey tree frog. Photo by Mary Jo Rhodes (from exhibit Frogs: A Chorus of Colors, NYC)

The waxy substance in their skin contains a natural opioid called dermorphin, which is a more powerful painkiller than morphine. When injected into horses, it helps them run faster by dulling the pain from injuries. The substance has been found in more than 30 racehorses. According to the article, it is unclear where the substance is obtained, but it is probably artificially synthesized.

Abuse of horses seems to be rampant in horse racing. This use of “frog juice” is simply the most recent atrocity. In March, the New York Times ran another article titled “Mangled Horses, Maimed Jockeys.“

And, of course, this isn’t good news for the waxy monkey tree frog either.
06/11/12

Remarkable Frog Dads of Papua New Guinea

This is an updated repost of a Father’s Day post from 2009.

Most animal dads aren’t too involved with their offspring (human dads, excepted of course). But two species of frogs, Liophryne schlaginhaufeni and Sphenophryne cornuta, in the microhylid frog family are devoted dads, and in fact, carry their their brood of up to 25 froglets piggyback style through the rain forest of Papua New Guinea. The frogs were discovered by evolutionary biologist David Bickford.

While most frogs start their lives as tadpoles, these frogs undergo “direct development.” They bypass the tadpole stage and go straight from larvae to miniature versions of adults while still inside the egg. This is an adaptation that allows the frog to reproduce in regions without bodies of water nearby.

After the mother frog lays the eggs, she hops off while Dad watches over the clutch, warding off predators, and keeping the eggs moist for about a month.

copyright David Bickford

copyright David Bickford

After the froglets hatch from the eggs, they hop on Dad’s back. He carries them by night through the leaf litter in the rain forest. The froglets have a free ride until they grow up a bit and can live independently (hmmm…sounds familiar).

This is an updated repost of a Father’s Day post from 2009.

05/31/12

Learning about Nature in the Concrete Jungle

Recently we received an email from Kelly Rypkema, a New York area naturalist who is the producer and host of the video series Nature in a New York Minute. Kelly has just released an episode about the Amphibian Crossing Project in New Jersey, a volunteer-based effort to conserve amphibians in the Northeast.

In the Amphibian Crossing episode, we learn about the manmade obstacles that frogs, toads, and salamanders face each spring as they attempt to migrate, obstacles that threaten their very survival. Kelly joins a team of biologists and volunteers who are working to save these animals by taking matters into their own hands – literally.

If you’re a city dweller with an interest in nature around you, please take a look at Kelly’s site. For nature-oriented news and events, you can follow her on Twitter and Facebook or subscribe to her blog.