How do Panamanian golden frogs operate. Golden frog: save the cultural symbol of Panama. What are the Panama Papers

Representatives of some unusual species of frogs and toads are collected here.

Amphibians are vertebrates that live both in water and on land. The development of most amphibians takes place in water bodies, and the rest of life - on land.

The main differences between frogs and toads:
1. Toads are larger than frogs, more squat and with a small lowered head.
2. Frogs have smooth, moist skin while toads have dry, rough, and bumpy skin.
3. Frogs move on land by jumping, and toads mostly walk.
4. Frogs prefer to spend most of their time in the water, and toads on land.
5. Toads are nocturnal while frogs are active during the day.

1. The Panamanian Golden Frog is an extremely poisonous amphibian, even just touching it causes a strong allergic reaction. Male Panamanian golden frogs emit a whistle and are also capable of making two long, loud calls that can be heard throughout the forest. Golden frogs communicate using the so-called semaphore system. They use their forelimbs to make contact with potential partners and adversaries. As you know, most species of frogs communicate with the help of croaking. But this species of frog has developed the ability to communicate precisely through the limbs, due to the high level of noise of water bodies in their habitat. Like many hearing impaired people, golden frogs communicate through sign language, signaling to each other. They "wag" their paws, or raise one paw up to protect their territory, to attract a male or female.

2. Bullfrog or bullfrog (lat. Lithobates catesbeianus), one of the largest species in the family of real frogs. It reaches 15–25 cm in length (about 17–20 cm on average), the weight of adults is about 450 g, some specimens reach 600 g. The back is olive-brown with dark brown stains. The record was set in 1949 when a 3.25 kilogram frog was caught in Washington state!

Females lay eggs in small puddles next to a larger pond, and males remain to look after their offspring, when a small puddle begins to dry out, the male digs a ditch between the nursery and the larger pond, thereby saving the offspring from drying out.

3. Zimmerman's poison dart frog (lat. Ranitomeya variabilis) - one of the most poisonous frogs of the genus Ranitomeya, inhabiting the eastern foothills of the Andes in Peru and Ecuador. Dart frogs usually lay their eggs on a substrate on land. After some time, tadpoles emerge from the eggs, the tadpoles climb onto the male's back, and he carries the tadpoles to the trees, where bromeliads and other plants grow, which accumulate water between the leaves. The male climbs into these pools, where the tadpoles disengage from their backs. After that, the male guards the territory, and the female feeds the tadpoles with unfertilized eggs.

4. Moor frog, or swamp frog (lat. Rana arvalis) is an amphibious family of real frogs. Body length 4-7 cm, weight 5 to 30 grams. The muzzle is pointed. From the eyes through the eardrum almost to the shoulders there is often a dark temporal spot, which gradually narrows. The back is light olive, light brown, reddish-brick or almost black.

And during the breeding season, moor frogs turn blue.

5. Hairy frog (lat. Trichobatrachus robustus) is an amphibious piskunia family. The species got its name because of the patches of skin (“hair”) that are closely spaced to each other, which are formed in males during the breeding season. At the moment of danger, her bones on her paws pierce the skin and protrude out like cat claws.

How the reverse "retraction" occurs is still unknown - presumably, the torn tissue regenerates, and the bones grow together again.

6. Surinamese pipa (lat. Pipa Pipa) can be classified as the most caring mother in the natural world.
The cloaca of the female in the form of a large bag is a kind of ovipositor, which the mating female advances under the male to her back. The male presses on the ovipositor and squeezes the eggs out of it one by one. In this way, they are almost evenly distributed along the back of the female and fall into the cells located on it. From above, the cells are covered with a leathery operculum with a diameter of 5-6 mm, which is formed from the egg membranes. The septa separating the cells are very thin and rich in blood vessels. Pipa eggs are rich in yolk and reach large sizes - 6-7 mm in diameter. At the initial stage of development, they weigh 2.95 g, and by the end - 3.37 g. They probably get water, and maybe nutrients from the mother's body.

The number of eggs laid ranges from 40 to 114. Development continues for 82 days. A fully formed young animal breaks the cell and leaves it. The female then wipes off the remnants of the cells on rocks or plants and, after molting, is covered with new skin.

7. Paradoxical frog (Pseudis paradoxa). As an adult, it's nothing special. It lives in South America, in adulthood it has an average body length of about 6 cm.

However, their tadpoles reach a length of 25 cm, and then decrease, developing into an adult.

8. Shchitobacks (lat. Lepidobatrachus) - a genus of tailless amphibians from the family of whistlers, and in the West the genus is called Bajit frogs (Lepidobatrachus). But the main thing that the Bajit frog can boast of is its figure. It is almost perfectly round, like a large coin. And in case of danger, the frog suddenly swells up and turns into a ball. At the same time, she stretches her short legs, stands on them to appear taller, and demonstrates serious ferocity: she makes loud frightening sounds, rushes at the enemy, no matter how big it is.

Tadpoles eat their fellows by swallowing them whole and this is considered the norm.

This is the most shared photo of the Bajit frog on the internet. And contrary to popular belief, she is not a photo-toad =))

9. Vietnamese mossy frog, or lichen paddlefish (Theloderma corticale), almost merges with its habitat, and even its eyes seem to be masked against the background of moss.

Awards

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6th place (318 points)

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Questions and answers

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of accepted responses for each option.

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• How many sons did Tsar Dadon have in Alexander Pushkin's "The Tale of the Golden Cockerel"?
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• Why is the lyrical hero of Yuri Kukin's song chasing?
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• What color makeup in Japanese kabuki theater symbolizes strength, courage, justice?
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• Which Russian city does not have a subway?
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• How do Panamanian golden frogs communicate?
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• The length of the boa constrictor is 12 meters, or 48 parrots. What is the length of the parrot?
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The Panamanian golden frog is an amphibian that is endemic to Panama. This frog lives in tropical rain forests and cloud forests located in the mountains of the Cordillera. It spends most of its time near streams or on forest floor. Unfortunately, the number of Panamanian golden frogs in the wild has declined dramatically over the past 10 years due to disease, habitat destruction, illegal animal trade and environmental pollution. The Panamanian golden frog is listed as critically endangered, which means it may become extinct in the wild in the near future.

Interesting Panamanian Golden Frog Facts:

The Panamanian golden frog can reach 1 to 2.5 inches in length and 0.1 to 0.5 ounces in weight. Females are twice as large as males.

Body color depends on the stage of development. Tadpoles are black-grey. Tadpoles - small frogs - have a green body covered with black marks. Adult frogs are bright golden.

The Panamanian golden frog is poisonous. This creature produces a toxin in its skin. The toxin keeps most predators at a safe distance.

Panamanian golden frogs have a slender body and long legs.

The Panamanian golden frog produces short sounds for communication, but detects sound through lung vibration because it does not have external ears.

Panamanian golden frogs swing their forelimbs to communicate. This unusual method of communication is characteristic of animals that live in noisy environments (such as near fast streams) where communication through sounds is not possible.

The Panamanian golden frog is a diurnal animal (active during the day).

The diet of the Panamanian golden frog includes various types of insects and small invertebrates.

The main predators of Panamanian golden frogs are fish, snakes and birds.

The biggest enemy of the Panamanian golden frog is a mold that has already wiped out 80% of the wild population of these frogs.

The mating season for these amphibians runs from November to January. The male announces its readiness to mate by waving its "arms". When a female accepts an invitation, the male climbs onto her back and stays there until he finds a suitable place to lay his eggs (usually a shallow pool filled with small rocks).

Males fertilize a long chain of nearly 900 eggs hidden under rocks that protect the eggs from direct sunlight. Panamanian golden frogs do not show parental care. The eggs are left to fend for themselves until they hatch.

After 9 days, tadpoles appear from the eggs. After 6-7 months they will turn into tadpoles. The amount of toxin in the skin increases as the frog grows and reaches a maximum when the frog reaches adult coloration.

According to many scientists, the disappearance of several species of tailless amphibians in Central America indicates the beginning of the sixth wave. In other words, this means that humanity has entered the Anthropocene era, which, according to a number of scientists, will kill a significant part of all mammals, amphibians, corals and other species of living beings. Urgent action is now being taken in the scientific and political circles of Panama to save the Panamanian golden frog. The culprit of the rapid extinction of this rare endemic species is man: it was as a result of anthropogenic activity that a fungus spread in Central America, which turned out to be deadly for amphibians.

Carla Jimenez Comrie

According to a legend that was born in the center of Panama even before the discovery of America by Columbus, the golden frog brings good luck: those who happen to catch or even just see it will be favored by fate. Its bright yellow coloration with coffee-colored spots won it the admiration of the local tribes, who believed that after death the frog turns into a gold nugget.

Golden Frog or Cetek's Atelope ( Atelopus zeteki) was first discovered in El Valle de Anton and in the Altos de Campana National Park. For a long time, she inhabited the Panamanian jungle, living mainly along the banks of rivers and streams. This endemic species, which is found exclusively in the central part of the Isthmus of Panama, is an ecological and cultural symbol of Panama, and on August 14, a holiday dedicated to it is celebrated in the country. The image of a frog is widely used in the decoration of crafts and jewelry, in the design of posters for festivals and lottery tickets, hotels, shops and even local beers are named after it. However, despite the love of the entire nation, this miniature amphibian has completely disappeared from the Panamanian forests.

According to local herpentologist Roberto Ibanes, who is engaged in scientific activities at (STRI) in Panama, the first signs of a population decline were noted as early as 1993-1996. In late 2005, Panamanian biologist Edgardo Griffith sounded the alarm when he discovered several dying frogs during an expedition to El Valle de Anton. The cause of the amphibian's extinction was unknown at the time, but Griffith's alarming finding coincided with a number of studies that also revealed a decline in the number of golden frogs. The last time the Tsetek atelope was seen in the wild was in 2007, during the filming of the BBC documentary series Life with Cold Blood ( Life in Cold Blood), dedicated to reptiles and amphibians.

The cause of this mass extinction is believed to be the spread of a pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (bd) from the class of chytridiomycetes, which threatens the extinction of not only Panamanian golden frogs, but also amphibians throughout the world. The disease it causes, chytridiomycosis, “affects the skin of frogs and leads to disruption of its functions,” explains Roberto Ibanez. The main task of the skin is to regulate the water-salt exchange between the body and the environment. In frogs with chytridiomycosis, the processes of electrolyte intake and excretion are disturbed, as a result of which the concentration of sodium and potassium in the blood is reduced, and this, in turn, leads to cardiac arrest.

Invasive view

Most likely a mushroom bd came to Central America from Africa. In any case, this is the opinion of the majority of Panamanian biologists. It is naturally present in the epidermis of the South African smooth clawed frog ( Xenopus laevis), whose females have been widely used as a pregnancy test since the early 1930s. Unaware that Xenopus laevis is a carrier of a deadly disease for other types of disease, people brought it to other continents.

It is assumed that the smooth clawed frog contributed to the spread of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Panama, Roberto Ibanez continues, noting that the fungus is currently found throughout the country and also threatens other amphibian species. In connection with the "detrimental impact on biological diversity", the International Union for Conservation of Nature has included bd in the list of 100 most dangerous invasive alien species. Edgardo Griffith describes it as a highly pathogenic organism that "reduces biodiversity, changes demographic dynamics, negatively affects reproductive processes and completely destroys the populations of some species." The deadly mushroom is found not only in Panama, but also in other countries of Latin America.

Noah's ark for amphibians

There is currently no effective treatment for chytridiomycosis in Panama. However, scientists hope that someday they will be able to return the golden frog to its natural habitat. The first step towards solving this problem was taken in 2011, when the government of Panama launched the action plan for the conservation of the country's amphibians. The plan has three main activities: research, conservation and education. Significant measures are also being taken by the El Valle Amphibian Foundation ( El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center, EVACC), chaired by Edgardo Griffith, but despite all efforts, the frog is still kept exclusively in captivity. In total, about 4,500 frogs live in the foundation's zoo, including about a thousand individuals of the Cetek atelope.

At the other end of the country, in the town of Gamboa, located in the former Panama Canal Zone and bordering tropical rainforests, another project has been underway since 2009 aimed at saving and conserving amphibians ex-situ- that is, outside the natural environment. As part of the project, which is led by Roberto Ibanez, a center was built thirty-two kilometers from the Panamanian capital, where conditions are created for the reproduction of species that are on the verge of extinction, including due to chytridiomycetes. The center is a kind of Noah's Ark, designed to keep in captivity the species that are most threatened in order to restore their populations in the natural environment after a method is found to combat the fungus bd. Currently, the center is home to about 1,200 frogs of nine different species - with the exception of the Tsetek Atelope. However, Roberto Ibanez hopes to receive a few from the El Valle Foundation before the end of 2018.

Will the golden frog ever return to its natural habitat? Scientists who are fighting in every possible way to preserve it are confident of success. It remains to be hoped that the luck, of which she is a symbol, will be on her side.

Why does this toad have such a bright, catchy coloration that is perfectly visible from afar? The fact is that this charming creature has poison like a snake. Rather, several types of the strongest poisons:Tetrodotoxin- strong non-protein poison natural origin, neuroparalytic action. The most common effect is paralysis, which comes on very quickly. Bufadienolideb - which causes cardiac arrest. And a few others just as nice. These poisons are excreted by the skin. So, such a creature is not what it is, it is dangerous to touch it. And the yellow-black color, out of humanity, warns: do not get in, it will kill you.

But there is a hole in the old woman too. There is a kind of snake that spits on poison and eats frogs with gusto.
Interestingly, frogs are even more poisonous than adults. Also, they are green!
These creatures are very tiny. Males are smaller than females - from 3.5 to 4.5 cm. Females from 4.5 to 6.6 cm.
Golden frogs weigh from 3 to 15 grams - depending on gender, age and appetite.

These creatures have very interesting intimate relationships. They generally live in the forest. And they go to the water when they decide to have offspring. Each male guards his territory and arranges fights when competitors climb up to him. But when a lady comes across - here comes the most interesting thing. This kind of love is calledamplexus.The male climbs on top and hugs her tightly. If the lady is against it, she simply shakes off the petty villain. If not, he will sit on it from several days to several months. Fertilization in these amphibians is external. The female, with her beloved on the back of her neck, climbs into the water and spawns. And the male waters the eggs with sperm.

But that's not all weirdness. It turns outgolden frogno eardrums. However, they are quite active yelling when they communicate. But how and with what they hear is unknown.

But that's not all. In addition to talking, golden frogs communicate with gestures. Sign language, understandable to all members of the species. Gestures tell the female how much they love her. Gestures drive away males from their territory. Gestures frighten enemies. In the video, the sign language of the golden frog.