Found in just one part of northern Panama and now considered almost extinct, the Golden Frog is a creature of near-myth. For decades, encroaching development and logging destroyed the frog's habitat. According to Professor W.P. Armstrong of Palomar College, the tiny frog is so poisonous that a microscopic amount of its venom is enough to kill a 150-pound person instantly. So, in addition to habitat loss, the frogs were trapped in large numbers and sold to tourists and at the local markets as a curiosity. The tiny, bright yellow frog was further devastated by the lethal chytrid fungus which has cut a wide swath through the worldwide amphibian populations. Project Golden Frog, a foundation that supports research on the nearly extinct creature, relates mythology attached to the Golden Frog that claims at death it turns to real gold, and that the sight of one brings good fortune to the viewer. Given how rare they are today, the sight of a Golden Frog would certainly give a boost to the career of any herpetologist who spotted it.
Poison Dart Frogs are astonishingly beautiful, tiny gem-like creatures. They are extremely toxic. But that built-in protection failed to save them from the chytrid fungus, which began wiping them out several years ago and caused a major rescue effort by conservation organizations and university research centers. An online biology text, Wayne's World, by Palomar College Professor W.P. Armstrong, provides photographs and facts about habitats and population collapse. The minute frogs are native to rainforests in Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Brazil, but their populations have declined so precipitously that in many areas there may be few or none left. Poison Dart Frogs are painted vivid blues, yellows, reds, oranges and greens, and have beautiful designs etched on their skins in blacks and whites. Their poison has been applied to the tips of darts used in blow guns by native peoples of the rainforest--which is how they got a name as colorful as they are.
The White-Lipped Tree Frog is the world's largest tree frog and is native to northern Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Animal World, an online resource for hobbyists, provides detailed information about the frogs. Females grow as large as five inches and the frogs can live for 10 years in the wild. The lower lip of the frog is white and the skin color is usually a bright green, but the frog can vary its color from olive brown to bright green. The male mating call sounds like a dog barking and the frog's distress call sounds like a cat. White-Lipped Tree Frogs hang around residential areas, eating insects attracted by the light. They are increasingly popular as pets.
Glass Frogs are mostly a lime green color, but the stomach skin of some frogs is transparent enough so that their internal organs are visible. They have been found from southern Mexico through Central America to Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia and Peru, primarily in the highlands rainforests and the Andes area. Encyclopedia Britannica describes Glass Frogs as small, from one to three inches in length, living mostly in trees along rivers and streams. Their preferred habitat is montane cloud forest. They lay their eggs on the leaves of bushes and trees hanging over rivers and streams, so the baby tadpoles fall into the water when they hatch. Male Glass Frogs are the nursery caretakers, They croak to scare away predators, urinate on the eggs and press their bodies against them to keep them moist.
