The red-eyed tree frog
(Information writing style with subheadings)
Description
This is a small frog, green on top, white underneath, yellow and blue sides and orange toes, It has bright red eyes and narrow pupils making them look like those of a cat. Females are larger than males. In the dark, the red eyes appear luminous.
Where it lives
It lives in trees from Central to the northernmost part of South America.
Size
This is a relatively small frog that grows to about 7 cm.
Colour
It is thought that the green back is used for daytime camouflage, with the sides and toes being drawn in under the body. However, if camouflage doesn't work, exposing the bright markings and eyes may help frighten off some hunters and give a better chance of survival. The colours might also remind hunters of other, poisonous, frogs.
Daily habits
The frogs are nocturnal, hunting for crickets, flies, grasshoppers and moths at night.
Life cycle
The frogs mate and lay eggs in small pools of water, When they hatch the tadpoles first swim in the water and then, as they develop lungs and legs, they hide inside tubular plants like bromeliads. These plants often trap a store of water. The life-span of the red-eyed tree frog is up to 10 years (in captivity).
Threats to its survival
Red-eyed tree frogs depend on tropical rainforests trees for their home and as forests are cut down by people seeking more farmland and wood to sell overseas, the habitat for the frogs is getter rarer. As a result, they are becoming fewer in number, although they are not, as yet an endangered species.
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