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Viewing Hints
These guys are all over the place in their enclosure. They clearly prefer to rest on the underside of the leaves of the Dieffenbachia plant in their habitat.
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Hourglass tree frog
Dendropsophus ebraccatus
| Size |
Very small tree frog; males measure about 18 - 24 mm in snout-vent length while females are a little bit larger, measuring from 24mm - 46 mm. |
| Weight |
Both sexes range in weight from 1 to 3.5 g. |
| Conservation Status |
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| Diet |
In the wild these frogs prey on a variety of small invertebrates but preferentially consume moths. At the Zoo, the frogs are offered a variety of invertebrates including, fruit flies and crickets. |
| Geographic Range |
Found mainly in the tropical low lands and mid elevation humid forest of the southern Central America and northern Colombia with some populations interspersed as far north as Mexico and as far south as northern Ecuador. |
| Where to find me in the Zoo |
Reptile and Amphibian House |
Note: Description below should include Longevity, Behavior, and Reproduction information
Hourglass tree frogs have a short stubby face; the color is a dark golden yellow with large brown markings all over the dorsal parts and legs. Sometimes the yellow body parts are speckled with tiny brown dots as well. Individuals can change colors, depending on the time of day and level of stress.
Longevity
Hourglass tree frogs are short lived, usually lasting less than 3 years.
Behavior
These mainly arboreal frogs are very common in disturbed forests throughout their range. Frogs are mainly active at night, but can bee seen hopping around in the late afternoon or after rain.
Reproduction
The males call very actively from floating or emerging vegetation directly above water during any rain. Peak calling activity occurs in the late afternoon/early evening, and tapers off about an hour after dark. Females select a mate and travel some distance to a secure place, where they usually lay the eggs above water. However, if the eggs are laid too high, they might fall pray to ants or dry out, and if they are placed too close to the surface, they might end up submerged and fall pray to fish and other cannibalistic tadpoles.
The Zoo has one colony of hourglass tree frogs on exhibit. The frogs in this colony are all descendents of 15 original frogs which arrived from Houston Zoo on December 8, 2006.
Enrichment
Adoption Information
Featured Foster Parent
Amphibian Conservation
Conservation at a Glance
- Amphibians are an important component of the global ecosystem, as indicators of environmental health and contributors to human health.
- Amphibians provide vital biomedicines and are considered an indicator species for endocrine disruptors and unsafe environmental conditions
- They are also vital components of their ecosystems - in areas of the world where amphibians have declined, there has been an increase in invertebrate pests that damage crops and carry human diseases.
- Today, one third to one half of all amphibian species worldwide are threatened with extinction.
- The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) has joined with two branches of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN/SSC) - the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG) and the Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) - to form the Amphibian Ark (AArk).
- As an integral part of the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan, AArk was formulated to ensure that select species which would otherwise go extinct will be maintained in captivity until they can be secured in the wild.
- AArk keeps constant attention on the obligation to couple ex situ (in a captive setting) conservation measures with necessary efforts to protect or restore species in their natural habitats.
- AArk’s goal is to save as many species as possible by providing global coordination, technical guidance, training, necessary linkages to other IUCN groups, communications, and guiding publicity and capital campaigns.
- AArk’s goal is 100% participation of WAZA zoos and aquariums and the regional associations.
Zoo Research
Fun Facts
- The scientific species name for the frog, ebreccatus, comes from the ancient Greek and it means without pants!
- Because they are so small, they are at great risk of predation when breeding. The bold little males sing from exposed perches hoping to lure a female in, but trying at the same time to avoid getting eaten.
Conservation
Introductions
Animal Lingo
Want More?
Sources:
1) Duellman, W.E. 2001. The Hylid Frogs of Middle America. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Ithaca, New York.; 2) Duellman, W.E. & Trueb, L. 1986. Biology of Amphibians. McGraw-Hill, New York, St. Louis, San Francisco; 3) Ibañez, R., Rand, A.S. and Jaramillo, C.A. 1999. Los anfibios del Monumento Natural Barro Colorado, Parque Nacional Soberanía y areas adyacentes; 4) Mizrachi, E. and Pujol, S.A. Santa Fe de Bogotá. Ruiz-Carranza, P.M., Ardila-Robayo, M.C. and Lynch, J.D. 1996. Lista actualizada de la fauna de Amphibia de Colombia. Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. 20(77):365-415; 5) Savage, J.M. 2002. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. 2008. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb.
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