Costa Rica Frogs & Toads

Herpetologist have placed Costa Rica’s frog and toad population into eight categories: Glass frogs, Leptodactylid frogs, Mexican burrowing toads, Narrow-mouthed frogs, Poison-dart frogs, Toads, Tree Frogs, and True frogs. Here are a few facts about the different categories…

Glass frogs:

Glass frogs have green skeletons and are mostly 2-7.5 centimeters in length and have transparent skin on the undersides, while the upper skin is green. When looking at this frog, you can see the digestive system and the heart beating.

Leptodactylid frogs:

Leptodactylid frogs, are sometimes referred to as Neotropical frogs, or rain frogs, have camouflage that allows them to blend into the decaying leaves found on the rain forest floor. Several types within the Leptodactylid family lay their eggs in foam nests, which can be found either on the water or the rain forest floor. When the nests are located on land, the tadpoles remain in the nest until they change without eating.

Mexican Burrowing Toad:

Mexican Burrowing Toad can grow over three inches long and has red spots on its underside and a red stripe down the center of its back. This is the only frog where the tongue is projected out the front of its mouth, where as in all other frogs the tongue is flipped out.

Narrow-mouthed frog:

Narrow-mouthed frog species range from under a half inch to over three inches. Their narrow mouths allow them to eat termites and ants along with a typical diet of other frogs.

Wild Poison-dart frogs:

The wild Poison-dart frogs’ bright colors notify us that they are toxic and have various levels of alkaloids. When poison-dart frogs are born in captivity, they do not produce their protective shield of toxins.

Marine toads:

Marine toads have swollen bumps behind their eyes that produce toxins that make them unappetizing to prey that would eat them.

Tree Frogs:

Tree Frogs do not normally descend to the ground, except to reproduce and lay eggs, although some build foam nests on leaves and seldom leave the trees at all.

True Frogs:

True Frogs range in size from two inches to thirteen inches. The biggest is the goliath frog can live up to twenty one years and weigh up to seven pounds in captivity. These frogs have finely tuned hearing and no vocal sac.

All these amphibians are cold blooded animals that transform from an immature, water-breathing form to a fully developed, air-breathing form. The frog and toad populations around the world are endangered or extinct, and scientists do not fully understand why.