Ocellated Treefrog

Fascinating facts about the Ocellated Treefrog

• A female ocellated treefrog can reach a snout-vent length of about 103 mm (4.1 in), while a male tops out at roughly 81 mm (3.2 in) – a clear case of females being larger than the males. This reversal of the more common frog pattern hints at unique pressures in their rainforest world, where bigger females can carry more eggs.
• When the first rains fill temporary pools, a single female can lay over 6,000 eggs in one explosive breeding burst. The sheer number of offspring floods the water, overwhelming predators and boosting the chances that some tadpoles survive to adulthood.
• Males may grapple, push, and even fight each other physically during breeding.
• Their stomach contents have been found to include other frogs such as Physalaemus crombiei and Scinax argyreornatus, as well as bird feathers.
• These frogs live on shrubs and trees in pristine rainforest habitats in Brazil, Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina, and the Paraguayan population is assumed to be in decline due to habitat loss.

At a glance

About the Ocellated Treefrog

The ocellated treefrog, Itapotihyla langsdorffii, is a large hylid found in Brazil's Atlantic Forest. Females average a snout-vent length of 103 mm (4.1 in), larger than the 81 mm (3.2 in) males, showing sexual dimorphism. When rains fill temporary and permanent rainforest pools, over 6,000 eggs are deposited in an explosive breeding event. Males vocalize intensely, and the chorus may include grabbing, pushing, and direct combat, a behavior more typical of species where females are larger. They are arboreal, perching on shrubs and trees, and their diet consists mainly of arthropods such as grasshoppers and crickets, but also includes other frogs (Physalaemus crombiei, Scinax argyreornatus) and bird feathers. They are preyed upon by the colubrid snake Chironius bicarinatus. Their distribution includes the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, an isolated enclave in eastern Paraguay and adjacent Brazil, and northeastern Argentina.

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