Amazon Rainforest frogs, like the poison dart frogs, are as synonymous with the Amazon as macaws, jaguar, and monkeys. The humid and hot environment provides an ideal climate for amphibians and the Amazon is full of frog diversity. Unfortunately, frog diversity is declining worldwide. Because the rainforests contain the highest number of species, it is the tropics that are hardest hit. The cause of the decline is attributed to factors affecting tropical biodiversity as a whole, including habitat change, climate change, and introduced species. The following page is about a few of the many Amazon Rainforest frogs you may find on Amazon tours.
Map Tree Frog
Map tree frogs vary a great deal in colour and pattern. These frogs live in trees and occur over a wide range of habitats. Adult frogs are unable to quickly escape predators and rely on other forms of defense like playing dead, puffing up to make it hard for a predator to eat the frog, emitting an odour, or emptying their bladder. Male Map Tree Frogs can be heard calling in vegetation above water.
Atelopus
Atelopus are actually regarded as toads based on their rougher looking skin and their classification in the Bufonidae, although, there is no scientific difference between frogs and toads and the famed Golden Frog (Atelopus zeteki) of central America belongs to this genus. These frogs are diurnal and scout the forest floor looking for food. You can read more about these in our Amazon amphibians article.
Clown Tree Frog
These magnificently coloured frogs live in the Amazon Basin. They can be found at night on vegetation near bodies of water and are most commonly found in forest clearings. There are no major threats to this species and populations appear to be stable.
Flat Headed Bromeliad Frog
These frogs are found in the sub canopy and are most often found on tree branches. They lay their eggs in bromeliads, which collect forest water. Flat headed bromeliad frogs are widespread and there are no major threats.
Smokey Jungle Frog
These are large frogs and the larger females can reach around 190 mm. Big frogs have big tadpoles and the tadpoles of this species reach about 85 mm across. Smokey Jungle Frogs can live for 15 years and are strictly nocturnal. For defense, the frogs secrete a large quantity of mucus, which is both slippery and toxic. Like most large frogs, the adults are opportunists eating most things that can fit in their enormous mouths. Adults are eaten by large predators including coatimundis, snakes, and caimans.
