Boana prasina facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Boana prasina |
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Boana prasina is a type of frog that lives in trees. It belongs to the Hylidae family. This frog is special because it lives only in southeastern Brazil. You can find it in states like Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. People often call it Burmeister's treefrog.
These frogs live in forests, grasslands, and even farm fields. They like places that are high up, between 800 and 1400 meters (about 2,600 to 4,600 feet) above sea level. You'll usually spot them on plants near ponds, pools, or lakes. Boana prasina frogs lay their eggs in permanent pools and small streams. Their egg groups stick to plants that are in the water.
Boana prasina is a common frog species. However, some groups of these frogs have disappeared. They face threats like water pollution and losing their homes due to fires. Luckily, they live in some protected areas. Scientists recently found that the smell these frogs produce is different for males and females. This is interesting because the smell comes from tiny helpers: bacteria called Pseudomonas. These bacteria make different smells depending on if their frog host is male or female.
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About the Burmeister's Treefrog
Boana prasina is a medium-sized frog. It usually measures about 4 to 5 centimeters (1.5 to 2 inches) long. Most of these frogs are light brown with dark spots on their backs. But they can also be brown, yellow, or green. Their bellies are lighter in color than their backs.
This frog is sometimes called the "rattle-voiced treefrog." This is because its call sounds like a rattle! They usually croak when they are on low plants near water. You might even hear them in garden ponds or on lawns. These frogs are mostly active at night, but sometimes they appear at sunset.
Where They Live
Their Home
Boana prasina frogs live only in the high areas of southeastern Brazil. They can live in many different places, like lakes, ponds, fields, pastures, muddy ground, and forests. You might find them on the ground or up in trees. In forests, they prefer open spots or the edges of the forest. Their forest homes are always very close to water, like along rivers or in special "gallery forests."
Where They Are Found
A study looked for Boana prasina tadpoles in the Atlantic Forest of southern Brazil. Out of 25 breeding spots, they only found two groups of tadpoles. Each group had about 70 tadpoles. Even though the study looked at both ponds and streams, all the Boana prasina tadpoles were found only in streams.
Protecting These Frogs
The IUCN (a group that studies nature) says Boana prasina is a species of "Least Concern." This means they are not in immediate danger. However, these frogs have lost many of their homes. This is due to lots of trees being cut down in Brazil.
A study looked at frogs in some Brazilian towns. It found that Boana prasina frogs did not live in cities or on farms. They were only found at the edges of forests or deep inside them. This shows that Boana prasina does not do well in places changed by humans. So, as human areas grow, these frogs lose their homes.
Frog Family Tree
Boana prasina belongs to a group of frogs called the B. pulchella group. It is part of one of five main branches within this group. Its closest relatives include frogs like B. bischoffi and B. caingua. Scientists have found that B. prasina and another group called B. riojana share a common ancestor.
Many frogs in the B. prasina group can make smells when you handle them. Another interesting thing about this group is that their tadpoles lose their fourth row of back teeth.
Home and Territory
Boana prasina frogs do not seem to be very territorial. This means they don't usually fight over their space. Male frogs often compete to find a mate, but this doesn't seem to happen as much with Boana prasina. One study suggested that a male frog's call might show how healthy he is. The study found that healthier male frogs, with fewer parasites, called more often.
What They Eat
Boana prasina tadpoles have fewer rows of teeth in their mouths compared to other treefrog tadpoles. Having fewer teeth might help them eat more easily from uneven surfaces, like algae.
Adult Boana prasina frogs eat small insects and other arthropods, like spiders.
Scientists thought that differences in what male and female frogs eat might cause their different smells. But this idea seems unlikely. This is because differences in diet happen when they are very young.
Reproduction and Mating
Boana prasina frogs use their croaking calls to talk in many ways, especially for mating. Their calls have different types. There's an "advertisement call" to attract mates, and a "fighting call" when they are aggressive.
These frogs can mate and have babies all year round. So, you can hear them calling throughout the year. The seasons don't change how much they call. However, seasons do affect other things. In the cold, dry season, some Boana prasina frogs move closer to the water's surface. This makes their calls lower in pitch and longer. Frogs that called in winter were also bigger than those calling in summer.
Boana prasina frogs call from many places. They might be on plants above the ground, on the ground itself, or even on the water's surface. Around one pond, there might be up to 30 calling males. The females usually stay quiet. Besides different calls, the unique smells produced by bacteria on their skin might also help them find mates.
Parental Care
Boana prasina frogs are oviparous. This means they lay eggs. They lay their eggs on plants that are underwater.
Special Partnerships
Boana prasina frogs have a special partnership, called a mutualism, with bacteria called Pseudomonas. This is common in frogs. These bacteria often help the frog stay healthy. For some frogs, Pseudomonas stops bad fungi from growing. It might even give the frog a poison to scare away predators.
For Boana prasina, scientists don't yet know exactly how the Pseudomonas bacteria and the smells they make help the frog. Since the smells are different for male and female frogs, scientists think the bacteria might play a role in mating. We do know that Boana prasina frogs make their own special chemicals. These chemicals help stop other types of bacteria from growing on their skin. This makes sure Pseudomonas has enough space.
Who Are Their Enemies?
Boana prasina frogs can get sick from tiny worms called helminths. Helminths often infect frogs because frog skin is very thin. This makes it easy for things to pass through. A study in 2012 found that a type of worm called cosmocercid nematodes was the most common parasite in Boana prasina. All the cosmocercid worms found were female. This is also seen in other frogs infected by these worms. Cosmocercid worms are likely common because they can actively move and infect the frog through its skin. Other worms must be eaten as eggs to infect the frog. At least four different types of helminth worms can infect Boana prasina.
How They Hide and Behave
The common colors of Boana prasina – light brown, dark brown, green, and yellow – help them blend in with their wetland homes. However, these frogs are mostly one solid color with only small dark spots. So, they don't have very complex camouflage.
An interesting fact is that their color changes with the seasons! More green frogs are seen during the rainy season. More brown frogs are seen during the dry season. This matches the colors of the leaves in their habitat during those times.
The calls of Boana prasina are also quite unique. When they call near their close relative, B. pulchella, their calls are very different. This helps them recognize each other.
Images for kids
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A Burmeister's treefrog on a leaf.
