Notable Amphibians Of Bolivia

Bolivia is a landlocked country in the western portion of South America. Santa Cruz de la Sierra is the largest city while Sucre is the country’s capital. The Mestizo (59%) is the biggest ethnic group, and the country has 37 official languages including Spanish. Bolivia’s climate is very diverse from one ecoregion to another. The country boasts of over 2,900 species of animals with 204 of them being amphibians. Bolivia is known for protecting mother nature. The parliament passed a law on the rights of mother nature which accords mother nature with the same rights as human beings. Some of the amphibians found in Bolivia include; Tematobius bolivianss frogs, better caecilian, McDiarmid's rocket frog,charazani tree frog,vanzolinis Amazon frog, acre tree frogcochabamba toad

Telmatobius bolivianos Frogs

The Telmatobius bolivianos is among the most common frogs in Bolivia. The frog is mainly found in fast flowing rivers in cloud forests and in the Yungas forest. It is commonly known as the water frog. Water pollution and aquaculture are the leading threats to the existence of the frogs. Deforestation by loggers and farmers for agricultural expansion are other causes for habitat loss. However, the population is still considered stable though it may become threatened in the long run. There is no information on the breeding biology, but it is widely assumed that it takes place by larval development in muddy bottoms of streams.

Boettger's Caecilian

The Boettger's Caecilian is also known as the Siphonops paulensis. The species is not endemic to Bolivia and is also found in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. It has positively adapted to human disturbances and can be found in abundance in urban gardens. Caecilians are limbless elongate, burrowing and swimming amphibians. They resemble snakes and come in different colors. The reproduction of caecilians is different from other amphibians. They provide maternal care to intra-oviductally developing young after the yolk is exhausted and finally giving birth to a fully metamorphosed young one in a production mode known as vivivipatry. Scientists assert that the species have lengthy gestation periods.

Charazani Tree Frog

The name Charazani is derived from the region in Bolivia where these frogs are generally found. Few charazani frogs have been found in Peru in the recent years. They practice external reproduction in twigs over ponds which take place during the rainy season. The males gather above the ponds and start vocalizing to establish territories. The female climbs down the pond and fills an internal bladder with water then climbs back up where the strongest male claps her back and fertilizes the eggs she lays. The female then covers the eggs with the water on her bladder. The eggs are tethered on twigs to avoid them being washed away.

Mission Golden-Eyed Tree Frogs

Mission Golden-Eyed Tree Frogs are a large species of frogs reaching lengths of four inches. They are also referred to as the Amazon milk frog as they secrete a milky fluid whenever they are stressed. Adults are light gray in color with brown banding. With age, the skin develops a slightly bumpy texture. They inhabit humid rainforests regions and are in plenty in vegetation near permanent, slow-moving water sources. The milk frogs have been successfully domesticated for fun over years. The domestication chamber requires a constant supply of moisture and the high degree of hygiene. Reproduction takes place in the rainy season where the male finds a wet area preferably in tree holes with rain water. It produces loud voices to attract a female who lays up to 2,000 eggs for him to fertilize. He then calls a second female which lays eggs that he doesn’t fertilize. These eggs are used as food by the developing tadpoles which hatch after only one day and undergo the full metamorphosis over the next three months.

Acre Tree Frog

The scientific name of the Acre Tree Frog is Dendropsophus acreanus. In contrasts to most other frogs in the region, acre frogs are positively affected by disturbance and have spread into the vegetation coming up along newly constructed roads. The species is mainly found in lowland forests and pre-montane moist tropical forests, and face no known major threats.