Stats

Lifespan: 3-5 yrs
Size: Tiny
Diet: Insectivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Tropical forest
Range: Caribbean
Movement: Hopping
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Uncommon

About

A tiny, mottled-brown frog native to Cuba and the Bahamas that has hitchhiked in potted plants to greenhouses and gardens across the world. Unlike most frogs, it skips the tadpole stage entirely, hatching directly from its egg as a fully formed miniature froglet.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A jelly-coated egg is laid in water and develops over days into an aquatic larva.
2.
tadpole
A gilled tadpole swims and grazes on algae, slowly absorbing its tail and growing limbs.
3.
juvenile
A near-adult amphibian leaves the water with new legs and lungs, smaller than the mature form.
4.
adult
Fully grown at adult size, breathing air.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Eleutherodactylidae
Genus: Eleutherodactylus
Species: Eleutherodactylus planirostris