Panamanian Golden Frog Amphibian
Channel: Nature Jedi
Date: 2024-02-29

Physical Description
The Panamanian golden frog is a small, brightly colored, frog-like toad. Its head is longer than it is broad with a pointed, protuberant snout.

Its body is slim with long limbs. Its back is smooth and yellow with "X" shaped or variable black blotches, and its belly is uniformly yellow. Both male and female Panamanian golden frogs have similar coloration and patterns.

This species' skin is toxic in the wild; glands on the skin produce tetrodotoxin and a unique compound called zetekitoxin. The skin of a single Panamanian golden frog contains enough toxins to kill 1,200 mice. Its vibrant, yellow color is aposematic, meaning it warns potential predators of its toxicity. 

Size
Adult males measure between 3.5 and 4.8 centimeters and weigh 3-12 grams. Females measure between 4.5 and 6.3 centimeters and weigh 4-15 grams. Wet forest males and females are larger than dry forest frogs.

Native Habitat
Panamanian golden frogs live in two types of habitats: wet forest streams and dry forest streams. They inhabit streams along the slopes of the Central Cordilleran rainforests and cloud forests of western-central Panama, from 1,100 to 4,300 feet (335 to 1,315 meters) above sea level.

Lifespan
Little definitive information exists on the life span of the Panamanian golden frog, but most estimates put life span between 10 and 15 years.

Communication
Males attract females with visual displays, instead of calling like most male frogs and toads do. These attractive displays include leg and head twitching, stamping the ground and hopping in place. Male frogs often wave their arms to communicate with females whom will wave back if interested.

Food/Eating Habits
The Panamanian golden frog is predominantly an insectivore. Its diet consists mostly of insects and other small invertebrates. They use their eyes to find prey and hunt during the day.

Adult Panamanian golden frogs at the Zoo are mostly fed fruit flies, bean beetles and crickets. In the early stages of development, froglets eat springtails.

Sleep Habits
Panama golden frogs are diurnal, or active during the day.

Reproduction And Development
Panamanian golden frogs reproduce mainly along streams and other sources of moving water. During mating, the female deposits 30 to 80 eggs in long strings in shallow water, as the male fertilizes them. These large clutches of eggs increase the chance that at least a few juvenile toads will survive to adulthood.

Tadpoles have a flattened body and an abdominal sucker, which keeps them from being swept away in the current. They are completely white for the first few days after hatching, then darken to green with black spots after a few weeks. This cryptic coloration helps them hide in fast-moving streams. As they mature and grow, the green pigment turns yellow, advertising their toxicity to predators.