| 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 |
|
| 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
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.