The Amphibian Foundation's Frog Blog

via Instagram http://ift.tt/2bFz9X2 . Their common name comes from the bony points behind the eyes. Developing Crowned Tree Frog larvae are #ObligateEggFeeders and pictured here is the female depositing unfertilized eggs into the ‘tree hole’ for the tadpoles to eat. My preliminary observations indicate the larvae need both her eggs and her feces to consume in order to develop properly. This behavior demonstrates the lack of other natural sources for nutrition inside of the tree holes that Anotheca use to reproduce. #oophagy #coprophagy #Anotheca #Anothecaspinosa #CrownedTreeFrog #Hylidae #AmphibianConservation #AmphibianConservationProgram #FrogsNeedOurHelp #EndangeredSpecies #RacingExtinction #EndExtinction #FrogsOfInstagram #frogs #frog #ribbit #CaptiveBreeding #CaptiveBred #ExSitu #InSitu #CaptiveAssuranceColony #CaptiveBreedingColony #Mandica #NeotenicZoo #TetrapodZoo #YoungScientistsLeague #ysci #y-sci #CritterCamp #Critter-Camp #AmphibianFoundation #TheAmphi...

Anotheca is declining throughout much if its range. The Garden maintains a #CaptiveAssuranceColony of this remarkable species, producing offspring which can hopefully, one day be returned back to Panama to repopulate the region once the deadly amphibian disease - #AmphibianChytridFungus is no longer a threat.

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Elizabeth Montgomery from the AJC wrote a very nice piece on our Amphibian Conservation Program. Images and captions on the link below. Thanks, Elizabeth! Photos: The frogs at Atlanta Botanical Garden

Kelsey Jordan , an intern in the Garden's Department of Conservation Research and student at the University of Georgia held her exit show this past Monday at  The Lamar Dodd School of Art . Kelsey is completing the scientific illustration program at UGA and her exhibit featured water color paintings as well as pencil sketches of frog species from the Atlanta Botanical Garden's amphibian conservation program. Her work highlights the unique parental care adaptations of the frog species she selected. Kelsey and I on either side of her  Rhinoderma  painting. Darwin's frogs exhibit one of the more bizarre strategies of parental care. As illustrated here, froglets emerge post-development from the mouth of their father! In this species, a male will snatch up the larvae in his mouth as they hatch. He protects them in his vocal sac until development is complete. I had the privilege of working with her at the onset of her thesis, and was amazed at her preliminary sketche...

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

Anotheca spinosa | Crowned tree frog on display in the Frogs of Panama exhibit.   Anotheca spinosa , the Crowned tree frog is one of the species originally collected in Panama by Garden and Zoo Atlanta staff in 2005, when Panamanian amphibian species were being threatened by a fungal outbreak in the region. This fungus, Bd or ' chytrid ' ultimately did inoculate the area causing widespread frog death across many species. Chytrid inhibits the animal's ability to respire. There is only one frog with huge fingers like that in the Panama exhibit — Anotheca Today in the frogPOD ... Original Panamanian Crowned tree frogs in amplexus, with eggs deposited along the inside of their 'tree hole' just above the water

Bufo conifera | Green spiny toads becoming less shy and perching in the center of the exhibit Colostethus pratti | Rocket frog eggs just below the perching Spiny toads The low pressure system moving through Atlanta this weekend seems to have inspired activity in our frog exhibits (and the conservatory too!)The 'Frogs of Panama' exhibit in particular offered many exciting behavior displays, and I was fortunate enough to get some pictures. Anotheca spinosa | Crowned tree frog . Their colors vary throughout the day, here are 2 extremes