Gastrotheca testudinea facts for kids
Gastrotheca testudinea is a special kind of frog often called the Espada's marsupial frog. It belongs to the Hemiphractidae family. You can find this frog living on the eastern side of the Andes mountains. This area stretches across Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
Quick facts for kids Gastrotheca testudinea |
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Nototrema testudineum Jiménez de la Espada, 1870 |
Contents
About Espada's Marsupial Frog
The Espada's marsupial frog is a unique amphibian. It is known as an "arboreal direct-development marsupial frog." This means it lives mostly in trees (arboreal). Also, its babies develop directly inside the mother's pouch, rather than hatching from eggs laid in water. This is why it's called a "marsupial" frog.
Where This Frog Lives
This frog makes its home in different types of forests. You can find it in foothill forests, low mountain forests, and cloud forests. These areas are high up, from about 700 to 2,775 meters (2,300 to 9,100 feet) above sea level. It lives along the Amazonian slopes of the Andes mountains. This wide area includes parts of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.
Why It's Hard to Find
Even though the Espada's marsupial frog lives in a large area, it is not often seen or collected by scientists. This is probably because it spends most of its life high up in the trees. Its tree-dwelling habits make it very hard to spot. Because of this, we still have much to learn about where exactly it lives and how it behaves in nature.
Protecting Their Home
One of the biggest problems for the Espada's marsupial frog is habitat loss. This means that the forests where it lives are being destroyed or changed. When their homes disappear, these frogs have fewer places to live and find food. Protecting these forests is very important to help this special frog survive.
