Ribbit Ribbit
I have been on this crazy night schedule at work for the whole month of July... 14 hours a day 5 days a week.... needless to say, it hasn't left me much time during the day to do anything except eat, shower, sleep, shower, eat, and then back to work.... in order to maintain my sanity, I try to make the most of my two days off.... trouble is, I'm usually sleepy during the day and wide awake late at night when everyone else is fast asleep.... so last Friday I decided to fight the daytime sleepiness and do something with the rest of the waking world.... anyways, this intro is getting way too long.... this post is about frogs and taking pictures of them....
I have been dying to play more with my new big boy toy, and since Friday was a rainy day in New York City, I decided to mosy on over to the American Museum of Natural History to take pictures in relative dryness.... I decided to shell out the $25 and see the "Frogs: A Chorus of Colors" exhibit.... I've been bypassing this exhibit coz I'm too cheap, but decided that I better see it before the exhibit closes on January 8, 2012....
speaking of seeing them before they're gone, I was reminded of the buzz a few years ago in the scientific community regarding the alarming rate that frogs all over the world were dying or presenting with multiple and strange deformities.... it is reported that "nearly 1/3 of the world's 6,485 species are on the brink of extinction".... find out more at savethefrogs.com
anyhoo, on to the pictures.... this is the Fire-Bellied Toad (Bombina orientalis), native to Korea, northeastern China and southeastern Russia.... sorry, can't see its fire red fire belly.... scare it and it'll probably flash you....
the Amazon Milk Frog (Trachycephalus resinifictrix), native to French Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador and the Peruvian Amazon.... with his loud call, the male will lure the female into a his water-filled tree hollow where she will lay her eggs and leave them for him to fertilize... once the babies have hatched he lures another female to lay more eggs which then serve as food for his brood....
the Waxy Monkey Frog (Phyllomedusa sauvagii), native to Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia.... unlike most other frogs who like it cool, these guys like it hot basking in the sun during the day and conserving body moisture by rubbing themselves with a waxy substance produced by glands in their skin.... hence the "waxy" in their name....
the Borneo Eared Frog (Polypedates otilophus), native to Borneo, Sumatra and other islands of Indonesia.... their latin name doesn't refer to ears 'coz those aren't really ears, but bony ridges.... their latin name is more descriptive of their sticky feet that make them excellent climbers....
the American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus).... actually an invasive species introduced to North America a century ago....
the Ornate Horned Frog (Ceratophrys ornata), native to Uruguay, Brazil and Northern Argentina.... these guys are not what you would call limber so they just wait and hide until food comes along and then they pounce....
the Tomato Frog (Dyscophus guineti), native to Eastern Madagascar.... are in danger because of the pet industry....
the Poison Dart Frogs.... native to Central and South America.... don't kiss these frogs, that would kill you....
the Blue Poison Frog (Dendrobates azureus)....
the Bumblebee Poison Frog (Dendrobates leucomelas)....
the Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates terribilis).... "terrible" because it "contains enough poison to kill 20,000 mice or 10 people... it is probably the most poisonous animal on Earth..."
well, whether they're poisonous or not, and whether you think they're cute or gross.... any loss in the Earth's biodiversity is a loss we will never regain.... let's hope the diversity of the frog species does not go the way of the Dodo....
TECHNORATI TAGS: frogs
I have been dying to play more with my new big boy toy, and since Friday was a rainy day in New York City, I decided to mosy on over to the American Museum of Natural History to take pictures in relative dryness.... I decided to shell out the $25 and see the "Frogs: A Chorus of Colors" exhibit.... I've been bypassing this exhibit coz I'm too cheap, but decided that I better see it before the exhibit closes on January 8, 2012....
speaking of seeing them before they're gone, I was reminded of the buzz a few years ago in the scientific community regarding the alarming rate that frogs all over the world were dying or presenting with multiple and strange deformities.... it is reported that "nearly 1/3 of the world's 6,485 species are on the brink of extinction".... find out more at savethefrogs.com
anyhoo, on to the pictures.... this is the Fire-Bellied Toad (Bombina orientalis), native to Korea, northeastern China and southeastern Russia.... sorry, can't see its fire red fire belly.... scare it and it'll probably flash you....
the Amazon Milk Frog (Trachycephalus resinifictrix), native to French Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador and the Peruvian Amazon.... with his loud call, the male will lure the female into a his water-filled tree hollow where she will lay her eggs and leave them for him to fertilize... once the babies have hatched he lures another female to lay more eggs which then serve as food for his brood....
the Waxy Monkey Frog (Phyllomedusa sauvagii), native to Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia.... unlike most other frogs who like it cool, these guys like it hot basking in the sun during the day and conserving body moisture by rubbing themselves with a waxy substance produced by glands in their skin.... hence the "waxy" in their name....
the Borneo Eared Frog (Polypedates otilophus), native to Borneo, Sumatra and other islands of Indonesia.... their latin name doesn't refer to ears 'coz those aren't really ears, but bony ridges.... their latin name is more descriptive of their sticky feet that make them excellent climbers....
the American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus).... actually an invasive species introduced to North America a century ago....
the Ornate Horned Frog (Ceratophrys ornata), native to Uruguay, Brazil and Northern Argentina.... these guys are not what you would call limber so they just wait and hide until food comes along and then they pounce....
the Tomato Frog (Dyscophus guineti), native to Eastern Madagascar.... are in danger because of the pet industry....
the Poison Dart Frogs.... native to Central and South America.... don't kiss these frogs, that would kill you....
the Blue Poison Frog (Dendrobates azureus)....
the Bumblebee Poison Frog (Dendrobates leucomelas)....
the Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates terribilis).... "terrible" because it "contains enough poison to kill 20,000 mice or 10 people... it is probably the most poisonous animal on Earth..."
well, whether they're poisonous or not, and whether you think they're cute or gross.... any loss in the Earth's biodiversity is a loss we will never regain.... let's hope the diversity of the frog species does not go the way of the Dodo....
TECHNORATI TAGS: frogs
Foofs 
Ghee 
Barney 
Robyn 
Mel 
Dodong Flores 
Gina 
Haze 
Tigersan 
Cat 
Rey 
Toe 
Leah 
Azzuri 
Sdit 
Tina 
Shoshana 
Sasha 
Iskoo 
Laurence 
Dennis Villegas 
Sr. Theresa 
Bry 
Acey 
Lucas 
AJ 
Badlands 
Eagle Point 
Hidden Valley 
Japan 
New York 
Toronto 
University of Toronto