Costa Rica Frogs

The colorful and interesting Costa Rica frog species have become one of Costa Rica logo. (Just like the one on Travel Blog Costa Rica). One species that is found on many Costa Rica brochures is the golden toad. The golden toad species has been mostly found on Monteverde Cloud Forest, but it can be one of the most difficult to spot species, even for very adamant and experienced biologists, so brace yourself if you happen to see one. It is speculated that the golden toad could be actually extinct. The golden toad has a neon orange color and it’s an arboreal type of Costa Rica frog and when seen it was inside or near bromeliads. Females have a different color pattern; they are yellow with black and patches or red.

Another interesting frog species is the poison arrow frog. The name of these frogs comes from the indigenous people of Costa Rica that used to smear their arrows on the frogs as the poison these frogs produce can paralyze whoever comes in contact with it. The alkaloid toxin they produce contains atelopidtoxin, bufogenin, bufotenidine, and bufotoxin. Actually, if a bird or small monkey touches a poison arrow frog they can be paralyzed on the act. The poison arrow frog is a tiny frog of bright green, red, and black color. The poison arrow frog is said to only exist in Costa Rica rainforest, especially in the lowlands of the Dulce Golf. Corcovado National Park is a common place to see the poison arrow frogs, mostly in the forest floors. The poison this frog or other frogs produce works as a mechanism that guarantees their survival, as frogs are an easy and fleshy target for larger predators (and most of the predators will be larger than these Costa Rica frogs). Their bright color usually works as a toxic warning. Most frogs leap around during the night, when they have fewer predators, but due to the respect predators have for them, these colorful frogs are safe to leap around in daytime. A large frog species, called the Bufo Marinus, is a poisonous frog and it can even spray its poison when in treat.

Costa Rica has 39 species of hylids that live exclusively on the tree canopies in holes and inside bromeliads that collect water from the rainforest. There is also a carnivorous species, called the hyla zeteki, which eats other species of frog tadpoles. Costa Rica rainforests are also home to the smoky frog, which is an impressive frog specie that is cannibalistic. Smoky frogs can grow up to eight inches long and can eat snakes as big as 20 inches. The smoky frog found in Costa Rica emits a loud hiss, it can inflate like a balloon, it secrets a poison, and even emits a loud scream when captured.

When visiting Costa Rica rainforest keep your eyes open for flowers that collect water as they can be home to beautiful small colorful frogs. Do not touch any as they can be poisonous. If you are not able to spot one these amazing frog species, keep your ears open as you will most likely be hearing many different types of frogs when you visit the rainforest.