Oophaga solanensis

The koe-koe (Oophaga solanensis) is a frog.  It lives in Colombia.

Home
This frog lives on the ground in rainforests. People have seen this frog between 0 and 420 meters above sea level.

Young
The male frogs choose good places for females to lay eggs. The females lay eggs on the ground. After the eggs hatch, the female frog carries the tadpoles to pools of water in bromeliad plants. The female frog lays eggs that will not hatch for the tadpoles to eat. Sometimes a female frog will eat or kill the eggs from other female frogs.

Danger
Scientists believe this frog is in some danger of dying out because it lives in small places close together. One big event could kill all the frogs that live in one place.  People change the forest to build farms and get gold out of the ground. Chemicals meant to kill pests can also kill this frog.

Because human beings fought a war in the place where the frog lives, frog-catchers could not come to the rainforest to capture frogs to sell as pets. But because the government of Colombia made peace with the other group of fighters, people are catching the frog again.  Smugglers buy the frogs from Colombians for about US$3 each, but the frogs sell in North America for $1000 each. Because the frogs do not usually have eggs or tadpoles when they live with people, people catch new adults from the forest every year.

Scientists think the frog might live in one protected park, Parque Nacional Utria, but they have not seen it there.

First paper

References

Category:Frogs of South America