For those of you who might not know, glass frogs are a classification of any frog that has see-through skin. They are fascinating, as you can see most of the frog's internal organs this way. This may be a good way to reduce the dissection of frogs in many schools. But what else can we find out about these awesome little guys?
Physical description and Behavior
These frogs have a clear underside, but also usually has a pattern on their backs. Due to their belly being clear, you can see all of the organs through their skin. They are tiny, only being around an inch long. Their clear belly skin and markings on their backs might be used to help the male frogs hide when they are protecting their eggs.
The female frog will lay 25-40 eggs, which the male frogs will lay on and protect 24/7. This often includes protecting them from wasps, parasites, and other threats.
These animals are nocturnal, and the males are very territorial. They will make loud croaks to signal to other frogs that they are in the glass frog's territory. If the other frogs do not leave, this little guy is willing to wrestle to show who is boss. The thought of two small frogs wrestling sounds kind of cute.
Habitat and Location
These little frogs live in the rain forests of Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and Ecuador. It lives in the vegetation among streams. Male frogs make a home in the vegetation before trying to find a female.
They seem to be on the decline in certain places due to things such as deforestation and urbanization. However, in most other places, the populations seem to be remaining steady.
Check out the video below for more information about the Reticulated Glass Frog.