Trachycephalus cunauaru

Trachycephalus cunauaru is a frog that lives in the forest and rainforest in Brazil, Bolivia, and Ecuador.  Scientists think it might also live in Colombia and Peru.  Scientists have seen it as high as 800 meters above sea level.

The adult male frog is 57.9 to 74.3 mm long from nose to rear end and the adult female frog is 74.4 to 84.9 mm long.  This frog has a pattern of dark and light brown or gray on its back.  Its toes are light green in color.

This frog hides during the day and looks for food at night.  The frog spends almost all of its life in the tree branches.  It almost never goes to the ground.  It lays eggs mostly during the rainy season.  The male frog sits on a tree between 2 and 32 meters off the ground.  The male frog chooses a place near a hole in the tree that is full of water.  The male frog usually chooses the same place each time.  Scientists think the male frogs are territorial and might fight each other for good places.  The male frog sings for the female frog so she will come to him.  The female frog can lay 1000 eggs at one time.  She lays her eggs in the water in hole in the tree.

The name cunauaru comes from the language of the people who live in the Amazon area.   The name sounds a little like the sound the frog makes.  It also means "toad wife." It also means the way the male frog calls for the female frog on nights when the moon is bright.

References

Category:Frogs of South America