Fabulous Frogs | Attenborough's Family of Fabulous Frogs | Nature

Frogs come in a huge variety of shapes, colors, sizes and personalities. Famed naturalist Sir David Attenborough met a multitude of these webbed wonders while filming the Nature episode Fabulous Frogs. Click on the buttons below for interesting frog facts.

Red-eyed Tree Frog

Agalychnis callidryas

The red-eyed tree frog has a third eye lid called the nictitating membrane that shields its eyes from danger while allowing it to see.

Giant Monkey Frog

Phyllomedusa bicolor

The giant monkey frog tolerates direct sunlight by spreading around a natural "sunscreen" secreted by a gland on its neck.

Tiger-Striped Monkey Frog

Phyllomedusa tomopterna

The tiger-striped monkey frog can open its legs suddenly, revealing an orange and black underbelly that startles predators.

Panamanian Golden Frog

Atelopus zeteki

Golden frogs use a form of sign language to signal one another. They "wave" their hands to attract a mate or scare off a rival.

Darwin's Frog

Rhinoderma darwinii

Darwin males ingest eggs into their vocal sac and spit out baby frogs once they have undergone metamorphosis.

Strawberry Poison-dart Frog

Oophaga pumilio

Females deposit individual tadpoles into pools of water that collect at the base of bromeliad plants. They feed unfertilized eggs to this brood of growing tadpoles until they reach maturity.

Phantasmal Poison Frog

Epipedobates tricolor

This amphibian apparition produces a toxin that includes the molecule epibatidine, a painkiller.

Golden Poison Frog

Phyllobates terribilis

The skin of this black-mouthed frog contains enough poison to kill ten humans.

Wood Frog

Lithobates sylvaticus

The wood frog can survive sustained temperatures as low -6 Celsius -- cold enough to actually freeze.

Gliding Leaf frog

Agalychnis spurrelli

The gliding leaf frog's webbed fingers and toes allow it to glide from tree to tree, sometimes over great distances.

Credits

Designer: Victoria Malabrigo – Developer: William Tam – Producer: Eric R. Olson

Sources:
San Diego Zoo – Panamanian Golden Frog http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/panamanian-golden-frog
ARKive.org – Darwin’s Frog http://www.arkive.org/darwins-frog/rhinoderma-darwinii/
Encyclopedia of Life – Strawberry Poison-Dart Frog http://eol.org/pages/330984/details#behavior
Phantasmal Poison Frog http://eol.org/pages/1019674/details
Penn State University – Wood Frog http://eol.org/pages/1019674/details
Fabulous Frogs episode. Nature on PBS.

Photo Credits:
Wood Frog – Visual Unlimited/Nature Picture
Giant Monkey Frog, Gliding Leaf Frog, Strawberry Poison-Dart Frog, Tiger-striped Monkey Frog – Adam Bland
Panamanian Golden Frog, Golden Poison Frog – Brian Gratwicke
Phantasmal Poison Frog – Rosanne Sloane