Red-eyed Tree Frog
The red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) is a bright green tree frog of the Central American rainforest, with bulging red eyes, blue and yellow flanks and orange feet. It is a symbol of rainforest conservation.
The red-eyed tree frog (Agalychnis callidryas) is a bright green tree frog of the Central American rainforest, with bulging red eyes, blue and yellow flanks and orange feet. It is a symbol of rainforest conservation.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Red-eyed Tree Frog in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Tetrapoda lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Startle Colors: Hiding in Plain Sight
By day the frog sleeps on a leaf with its legs tucked and eyes shut, looking like a green blob. If a predator disturbs it, the frog flashes its red eyes and bright flanks, startling the predator for a moment so that it can escape.
Eggs That Hatch on Demand
The frog lays its eggs on leaves over ponds. If a snake or wasp attacks, the embryos can hatch early within seconds, sensing the vibrations of the attack, and drop into the water below. This is a classic case of plasticity in hatching time.
Sticky Toes
Adhesive toe pads let the frog cling to leaves. Frog populations are threatened by deforestation and chytrid fungus. See Amphibian Chytrid Fungus.
Red-eyed Tree Frog at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Agalychnis callidryas |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Amphibia |
| Order | Anura |
| Family | Phyllomedusidae |
| Field Guide group | Tetrapoda: Amphibia (Frogs, Salamanders & Caecilians) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Arboreal Neotropical rainforest amphibian with neon-green dorsal skin, blue-and-yellow striped flanks, bright orange suction-disc toes, and crimson eyes with vertically narrowed pupils. |
| IUCN Red List status | Least Concern (LC), assessed 2020 |
| Family | Phyllomedusidae |
| Egg strategy | Vibration-triggered early hatching |