Amphibians II
Agalychnis Callidryas, Red Eyed Tree Frog Various Tree Frogs
4' x5', Acrylic on Canvas
$1,500.00
Red-eyed Leaf Frog - Agalychnis Callidryas
It is nearly dusk, and a musical ritual is about to be repeated high in the canopies throughout the tropical rain forests of Central America. One by one, and then in chorus, the red-eyed tree frogs fill the air with raucous croaking. The males plummet to the low-growing foliage beside streams or pools of water, calling to attract females; in their frenzy to find mates, they resort to wrestling other males. Even the slightest movement may prompt two or three to pile on top of each other.
The red-eyed leaf frog is colorful in both appearance and breeding habits. A male calls from the vegetation above a pool to attract a female. Once the two have paired, the female, with the male clinging to her, makes her way down to the water-but not to lay eggs like an ordinary pond frog. Instead, she absorbs water to fill her bladder. She then lugs her mate back up over the pool, where she lays her eggs on a leaf as the male fertilizes them. Water from her bladder causes the jelly around the eggs to swell, forming a protective barrier. About five days later, the tadpoles hatch and drop into the pool, where they later transform into little frogs.
By laying its eggs on vegetation above a pool, a red-eyed leaf frog keeps them out of reach of many predators.