The Amphibian Foundation's Frog Blog

via Instagram http://ift.tt/2uiySjX This infamous species has been busy extending its world-wide distribution (with our help) to a point verging on #WorldDominance. For almost 100 years, humans have been moving this species around the globe from it’s home range in northern South America. Now it’s an invasive species in Australia, Hawaii and South Florida (probably other places too). It’s devastating impact on natural ecosystems has been well documented and even featured in one of my favorite ‘documentaries’ Cane Toads (1985) (Do yourself a favor and see it if you haven’t yet.) Cane Toads are the perfect invaders. A single female can lay up to 40,000 eggs a year! How many amphibians can do that?? (How much easier our job would be if Flatwoods Salamanders could lay that many eggs!) Not only that, but Cane Toad eggs are toxic! No tasty snacks for animals that normally enjoy frog caviar. Cane Toads are toxic in every life stage. Any animals ‘higher’ in the food web than a Cane Toad a...

via Instagram http://ift.tt/2rfELfy Incilius alvarius is the most basal of the Incilius group. Formerly most toads, and particularly the toads of the New World, were nested in the genus ‘ Bufo ’. Several years ago, this group was split into several genera with the majority of North American bufonids placed into the Anaxyrus genus. The Colorado River Toad is one of the exceptions. One of the largest toads, I. alvarius is a magnificent species with several extra-partotoid glands located throughout it’s body. It’s poison is also uncommon in the bufonid world, containing hallucinogenic compounds along with the bufotoxin. For this reason, the species has been over-collected. That in addition to the pressures that all of today’s amphibian communities have to face (climate change, habitat loss, emergent infectious disease, etc …) this species is considered declining throughout much of its range. We are grateful to have a breeding group of these animals to work with (donation courtesy...

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Lemur frogs ( Agalychnis lemur ) , when you are lucky enough to see one awake, are quite charismatic The Lemur frog s have been calling and showing other signs of an interest in breeding on exhibit! Here is a pair in amplexus. Leslie Phillips examining a Glass frog and Lemur frog sharing the same leaf. Green Spiny Toads have become an attraction in the Panama exhibit

The Granular Glass frog | Cochranella granulosa is almost always sitting out, rather cooperatively in plain view The Costa Rica exhibit - can you spot the newly emerged Lemur froglet ? A close up of the last Lemur frog metamorph from the first batch of 12 larvae put on exhibit last January!  6 new tadpoles are now inhabiting the water feature at the front of the exhibit. Here is the Lemur froglet | Agalychnis lemur , moments out of the water. Black-legged poison frog | Phyllobates bicolor , surveying the feast of wingless fruit flies before it. One of the Green and Black Poison frogs | Dendrobates auratus posing for the camera. Although there are 5 of these on display in the Costa Rica exhibit, they are not always in view The Mimic Poison frog | Ranitomeya imitator from the Amazon Exhibit One of the salamanders in the Salamanders of Georgia exhibit. This Green salamander is probably the least reclusive of the ELEVEN salamanders residin...

Bufo conifera | Green spiny toad perched all day. Sipaliwini morph of Dendrobates tinctorius | Dyeing poison frog 'The committee' of Phyllobates sp.

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