Adorable young Lemur Leaf Frog

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Lemur Leaf Frogs, Agalychnis lemur, like this young froglet pictured here, are completely adorable. We have worked with both Panamanian and Costa Rican lineages of these incredible animals. Lemur Leaf Frogs, like most phyllomedusines lay their eggs on leaves over water. Once the eggs hatch, the tadpoles plop right into the water below. It has been long known that these developing embryos have the ability to hatch early if they detect that they are in danger (from predatory wasps for example) but recent research on Red-Eyed Leaf Frogs (a relative of A. lemur) has been investigating the mechanism by which these developing animals are able to make life decisions at such an early age. Truly fascinating work by Karen Warkentin at Boston University.

Lemur Leaf Frogs are also #CriticallyEndangered, meaning that their already dangerously low numbers are still declining in the wild. Organizations like #CRARC and #TheVivarium at the #ManchesterMuseum are working hard to save this species from extinction. 

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