Boana punctatus
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Boana punctatus |
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| ( Schneider , 1799) |
Boana punctatus ( Syn .: Hypsiboas punctatus ) is a frog from the family of tree frogs (Hylidae) that occursin South America. The species gained increased attention because it was the first time that a frog species fluoresced skin when exposed to UV light .
description
Boana punctatus reaches a body length of 3.0 to 3.5 centimeters. The frog has smooth skin, a yellow-green to reddish green basic color and is covered on the upper side with many small circular red-brown spots. In English usage it is therefore called the Polka-dot tree frog (evenly dotted tree frog). The underside is a monochrome whitish yellow. The animals irradiated with UV light are bright green to blue-green.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of Boana punctatus includes Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, the north of Paraguay and Argentina as well as Trinidad and Tobago. It inhabits many different biotopes, including tropical and dry forests, swamps and meadows as well as gardens and urban areas. The altitude ranges from the plain up to 1400 meters.
Way of life
The frogs feed primarily on invertebrates, preferably on flies. During the mating season, they gather in bodies of water. The males aggressively defend their territories using an extensive vocal repertoire of seven different calls, which are also used to advertise the females. The males emit pheromones from special skin glands to attract the females. These lay 10 to 15 eggs each in gelatinous spawning balls that float on the surface of the water. The total number of eggs produced is around 300.
fluorescence
When exposed to UV light, both sexes predominantly glow green. It has not yet been clarified whether this effect has an influence on mating behavior. It is assumed that the frogs communicate with the aid of fluorescence in addition to acoustic and chemical signals. However, it has not yet been determined whether the animals can even see the luminous color. The effect of fluorescence on frogs has so far been overlooked. Further investigations will determine whether this peculiarity also occurs in other species and what benefits the animals derive from it.
Danger
Boana punctatus is widespread and not uncommon in South America. Accordingly, the World Conservation Organization ( IUCN) classifies the species as 
“ least concern = not endangered”.
Individual evidence
- ^ Photo in The Telegraph
- ↑ a b First glowing frog found , Süddeutsche Zeitung , March 15, 2017
- ↑ a b c brief description
- ↑ Fluorescent frog
- ^ IUCN Red List
Web links
- nature.com - Luminous frog