Unusual Glass Frog With Transparent Skin Hops On Window

The wonders of the animal world are inexhaustible. The more inaccessible the area, the more exotic the inhabitants living in it. Above the ordinary, and below transparent, like glass, there is an unusual amphibian, living in the tropical regions of South America.

In the impenetrable swamps of southern Mexico, northern Paraguay, and Argentina, where you can go only by a helicopter, the small glass frog (Centrolenidae) lives a comfortable life. The banks of rivers and rivulets, which flow among highly humid forests, are a favorite place for its "settlements". The creature itself looks as if it was made out of glass. There, in the video above, you can even see its insides through the nearly translucent skin and flesh. Surely, most amphibians have a “glassy” belly, but these glass frogs are additionally endowed with transparent skin on their backs or fully translucent limbs. Small, no larger than 3 cm in length, light green, bluish color with multi-colored specks, with unusual eyes, these are the nature's curiousities known as the glass frogs.

In the video at the top of the page, taken on September 1, 2018, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, you can see one member of the species. This is what the filmer has to say about the short video clip:

"I am a herpetologist who works with amphibians. This glass frog is one of many that live at the Amphibian Foundation, a non-profit conservation organization."

The family of glass frogs (Centrolenidae) is a group of small nocturnal tree frogs that live along rivers and streams in the humid tropical forests of South America. The family includes about a hundred species, which can be found from the south of Mexico to the north of Argentina and Paraguay. Glass frogs live in hard-to-reach swampy areas, which are almost impossible to pass through. Many species of these amphibians have been described in recent years, and it seems that new species should be expected in the near future.

The name of the glass frogs is given on the merit of their skin transparency in the region of the abdomen (and in some species also on the back). Most of them have a light green color with small white, yellow, black or blue specks. Glass frogs are miniature - from 2 to 3 centimeters in length only. However, some species, for example Centrolene geckoideum from Ecuador reach much larger sizes.

During the day they hide in a wet bedding, where it is extremely difficult to find them, although one of the species still can be found in the afternoon. Males of reticulated glass frogs (Hyalinobatrachium valerioi), living in Costa Rica and Ecuador differ with their unusual behavior. They heroically guard the masonry made by females all day, protecting the eggs from insects and dehydration. Representatives of other species of glass frogs guard their masonry only the first couple of hours, and, in rare cases, come to check them for the next evening. What the female is doing after spawning is unknown.

Glass frogs are surprisingly beautiful and fragile creatures. Their numbers are threatened by habitat destruction and environmental pollution. It's not easy to get them, I'm not sure that anyone in our country has them. Therefore, it would be great to learn how to breed them, insuring another species from the threat of extinction.

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