Thursday, January 23, 2020

First frogs of the year

I am back in Costa Rica to work for another two months as a naturalist guide. It's always great to be here and admire the rich biodiversity. The night hikes are mainly focused on frogs... so here are a couple of the first species I found. Beginning with the most famous one: Red-eyed Tree Frog (Agalychnis callidryas).

Agalychnis callidryas - Red-eyed Tree Frog
Agalychnis callidryas - Red-eyed Tree Frog

This tiny juvenile Dwarf Glass Frog (Teratohyla spinosa) measures around 1 cm (0.39 in). Finding this adorable frog in the rainforest was like finding a needle in a haystack. A very common, still beautiful species is the Masked Tree Frog (Smilisca phaeota). I found one posing nicely on a vine. Another really cool sighting of the first tours was a Reticulated Glass Frog (Hyalinobatrachium valerioi).
 
Teratohyla spinosa - Dwarf Glass Frog
Teratohyla spinosa - Dwarf Glass Frog

Smilisca phaeota - Masked Tree Frog
Smilisca phaeota - Masked Tree Frog

Hyalinobatrachium valerioi - Reticulated Glass Frog
Hyalinobatrachium valerioi - Reticulated Glass Frog