My report is on the waxy monkey leaf frog. It is basically a wild jungle frog that lives in the trees. It has a bright green color that makes it blend in to the leaves. It ranges from 2-3 inches with the females usually 25% larger than the males. They lay their eggs in leaves, and then wrap them up. A few days later, the young tadpoles that hatch will roll down from the leaves into the water (river or lake). They also like the sun. In the morning, they will lie in the sun looking like they will get a “tan”.

 

P. sauvagii plays quite a big role in the food web. Like spiders, P. sauvagii finds several small insects and eats them. They eat some of the poisonous insects that can harm some humans. They have the advantage against other frogs with hunting because they hunt at night. They compete with the smoky jungle frogs to get food. Also, the smoky jungle frogs eat the waxy monkey leaf frogs. For defense, P. sauvagii will shoot out toxic substances from their mouths.

 

P. sauvagii can live in all kinds of ecosystems. They are found 1500 miles across South America. They live mainly in Argentina. Their ecosystems range from freshwater to terrestrial to rain forests.

         

There is a growing trend of waxy monkey leaf frogs. Their population is stable with a title of least concerned to be extinct. It doesn’t mean that they are not threatened though. Their biggest threat is the international pet trading company, and people who cut down rain forests. But over the years, this threat has been decreased.

 

P. sauvagii is an extremely interesting animal to learn about. What stood out to me was that they lay eggs in leaves and wait for them to hatch, and then go into the water. I learned a lot especially the fact that they are hunted by other frogs, and they hunt for food at night. I think that this is one of the most interesting animals I ever learned about.

 

Author: Darren W

Published: 4/10

 

Sources:

http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/55863/0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllomedusa_sauvagii

 

Photo Credit:

Petra Karstedt