Environment DEC
From the June 2004 issue
Frogs: A Chorus of Colors Opens at American Museum of Natural History
Blue dart poison frogs grow 1 to 1 ½
inches in length. They are active
during the day and can be found hiding
among boulders and debris near
streams; however, they lack toe
webbing and are poor swimmers,
so they are rarely found in the water.
© T. Grant/AMNH
The American Museum of Natural History in New York City invites you to explore the world of frogs at their new exhibition, Frogs: A Chorus of Colors.
Just as the mission of DEC's Endangered Species Program is to perpetuate and restore native animal life for the benefit of current and future generations, so the American Museum of Natural History presents this exhibition to inform the public of the evolution and biology of frogs, their importance to ecosystems, and the threats they face in the world's changing environments.
A Chorus of Colors offers more than 200 frogs on view, representing 24 species, from countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mexico, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Russia, Suriname, the United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Vietnam. The exhibition will run from May 29 to October 3, 2004.
Highlights
The dart poison frog vivarium is the centerpiece of the exhibition. The 110-cubic-foot dart poison frog vivarium houses 75 frogs, including dyeing poison frogs, blue poison frogs, green and black poison frogs, and golden poison frogs. These dart poison frogs, found in Central and South America from Costa Rica to southern Brazil, live in moist tropical areas. Their main source of food is insects such as ants and termites.
Dart poison frogs are so named because some native South Americans make poison darts by rubbing the tip of the dart in the poisonous mucus of the frog's skin. This mucus, which is made toxic by poisons in the frog's invertebrate prey, is incredibly potent--a single golden poison frog contains enough poison to kill 20,000 mice or 10 people. The frogs in the exhibition, which have been raised in captivity, have been fed a controlled diet that renders them harmless.
A web camera will enable virtual visitors across the globe to watch the daily lives and routine behavior of the frogs and allow visitors in the exhibition to focus in on these animals from three different viewing stations.
The frog habitats exhibition includes 15 habitats that provide lighting, humidity, temperature, and water quality control. Each habitat is equipped with artificial and real trees, rocks, vines, flowering plants, and mud banks appropriate to the frog species.
Mexican dumpy frogs are from semi-arid
subtropical lowland forests in Mexico.
They spend almost their entire lives off the
ground, living in tree canopies, on branches
and leaves. They are excellent climbers.
© Joe McDonald, Clyde Peeling's Reptiland
Interactive stations are located throughout the exhibition, inviting visitors to activate recorded frog calls, touch models of frogs, view videos of frogs in action, test their knowledge about frogs, and even perform a virtual internal examination of a frog.
Frogs on View
Among the more than 200 frogs on view in the exhibition are:
- American bullfrogs and American bullfrog tadpoles, found in the United States in ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams. The females lay up to 20,000 eggs in long strings, and their tadpoles take up to two years to metamorphose. The bullfrog will eat practically anything from crayfish and other frogs to small mammals and birds.
- African bullfrogs, which can grow to be eight inches in diameter, eat everything from insects to reptiles to small mammals. They are able to live without food or water for months by burrowing underground, and when it rains, they emerge to eat and mate. The male guards the tadpoles, which swim around him for protection. After metamorphosis, when the tadpoles have developed into frogs, they often eat their smaller siblings.
- Chinese gliding frogs, indigenous to southeastern China. They have enhanced webbing between their toes so that when they leap between branches, their toes spread and the webbing stretches like the wing of a hang glider. Although no frogs can truly fly, these frogs can soar, using their feet to bank and steer through the air.
- Budgett's frogs, which live on the ground in Paraguay, northern Argentina, and southeastern Bolivia. They eat insects, snails, and other frogs. When confronted, this frog puffs up with air, arches its back, and screams like a cat. It may even jump at an intruder, and bite with its two large toothlike projections in the lower jaw.
- Ornate horned frogs, which live in grasslands and prairies. They have voracious appetites but are not built to chase down prey. Instead, they bury themselves in loose soil and pounce on small animals that pass by.
- Golden mantella frogs, which grow to be about an inch in length and are found only in the tropical wet forests of Madagascar. They can be identified by a chirping call that males make to entice females when they are ready to breed. Their bright coloration and bold behavior warn predators of their toxic skins.
- Waxy monkey frogs, which live in the dry Chaco region in Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia, seal in moisture by rubbing a waxy substance secreted through their glands all over their bodies. This keeps them from dehydrating in extremely hot temperatures.
If You Go...
The American Museum of Natural History is located at Central Park West and 79th Street in New York City. The museum's Department of Herpetology is one of the world's foremost centers of research on reptiles and amphibians, with scientists focused on the theory and practice of classifying organisms and determining natural relationships among them, primarily through the study of iguanian lizard groups; and on Old World reptile systematics and biogeography. Frogs: A Chorus of Colors is being curated by Christopher J. Raxworthy, Associate Curator and Curator-in-Charge of Herpetology in the Museum's Division of Vertebrate Zoology.
