The Amphibian Foundation's Frog Blog

A Rain frog ( Pristimantis gaigei ) — a rare appearance in the Panama exhibit. Although there are four of these frogs in exhibit, they prefer to hide in the shadows. All four species in view at once! From lower left Rain frog (P. gaigei) , Rocket frog ( Colostethus pratti ), Green spiny toad ( Incilius coniferus ) and Crowned tree frog ( Anotheca spinosa ) A clutch of Rain frog eggs in the frogPOD That same clutch of Rain frog eggs, much further along in development.  Rain frogs are direct developers and skip the tadpole stage Dante's fantastic image of a couple of developing Rain frog embryos still in the egg

The Amphibian Conservation program was invited to participate in this year's 'Hike and Seek' event in Piedmont Park. Hike and Seek is a national and annual event designed by National Wildlife Federation to get families outside and learning ... Anthony and Lauren volunteered to talk with families and help wrangle critters Anthony and I in front of the Conservation Program's table at Hike and Seek We brought ' Romeo ' from the reflecting pond outside the Fuqua Conservatory to provide a hands on frog experience. Anthony helped some of the younger participants, some of which had never held a frog before! We brought some amphibians from our conservation and education collections, as well as a 'wild' Bullfrog from one of the outdoor Garden ponds (and a couple of turtles too) to participate in the event and share with families about amphibians and why we should pay attention to them.

Glass frogs (family: centrolenidae ) are generally shades of green or blue, but their ventral surface is translucent. The degree of translucence depends on the species, but generally it is easy to tell what is happening inside a Glass frog if you look at (through) their belly skin. We are working with several species of Glass frog here at the Garden, and lately we have had some captive breeding successes! Cochranella granulosa (Granular glass frog) from inside the frogLAB - practically has no shadow! Sachatamia albomaculata 'guarding' a clutch of eggs Close up of the developing eggs Sachatamia albomaculata in amplexus Our first Cochranella euknemos froglet Cochranella granulosa , the Granular glass frog - on exhibit in the   Fuqua Conservatory lobby

Me and 3/13ths of my talented students from this summer's amphibian biology and ecology course AKA 'puddle class'. Pictured here at Chattahoochie River Wildlife Management Area (CRWMA) This past weekend, three of my students from the Duke University TIP's ' Frogs, Bogs and Pollywogs - Amphibian Biology and Conservation ' class came to visit, learn more about our amphibian conservation program, and potentially develop internships to continue honing their field ecology skills. The three week course, which was half biology, half ephemeral wetland ecology and all amphibians, took place in June in Sarasota at The New College of Florida . It was just an incredible experience ( for more information see our previous blog post here ) one I was thrilled to continue here at the Garden. One of the highlights for me was my first Black rat snake ( Pantherophis obsoletus ) . Although they are relatively common throughout their range, I have never lived where they do...