More than often you will find frogs hopping around a puddle on a rainy day, but these tiger-leg monkey frogs are known for their slow creeping and walking around the vegetation. These amphibians are native to the Amazon rainforests and are nocturnal, which means they are most active at night.
They sleep all day and are active all night looking for food soaking in water. They are very similar in nature to the red-eyed tree frog.
In the wild, these frogs can be seen with several other frogs. They are known to be excellent pets if taken care of well. The tiger-leg monkey frog (Phyllomedusa tomopterna) is very adorable to look at.
They display a variety of beautiful natural colors and patterns on their body. Their tiny size and tiger-like legs add more to their adorable looks.
It has been observed that a temperature range between 75-82°F (23.9-27.8°C) works well for tiger-leg monkey frogs. The tiger-leg monkey frog prefers living in groups their entire life, as long as enough space is available
Read on to discover more fun facts about this amphibian. For more relatable content, check out these leopard frog facts and pool frog facts for kids.
Tiger-leg Monkey Frog Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a tiger-leg monkey frog?
The tiger-leg monkey frog (Phyllomedusa tomopterna) is a type of frog and belongs to the species of amphibians.
What class of animal does a tiger-leg monkey frog belong to?
Tiger-leg monkey frogs belong to the class of Amphibia.
How many tiger-leg monkey frogs are there in the world?
The exact population of tiger-leg monkey frogs is not easy to determine. However, these amphibians are considered to be of Least Concern, which means a stable amount of their population exists. These frogs are being protected and captive-bred in order to prevent their extinction.
Where does a tiger-leg monkey frog live?
Tiger-leg monkey frogs are popularly found in the tropical rainforests where the temperature is low, in between plants. They are native to the Amazon basin.
What is a tiger-leg monkey frog's habitat?
The tiger-leg monkey frog (Phyllomedusa tomopterna) habitat range is found in tropical rainforests, in between plants. They are native and are largely distributed in the Amazon basin in regions such as Suriname, French Guiana, and Guyana.
There exist a number of similar and familiar waxy monkey frogs, one among them is the Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis. This amphibian is mostly found crawling and creeping on trees and temporary pools and not hopping around like the others. During the rainy and wet seasons when the temperature is low, these frogs reproduce.
Who do tiger-leg monkey frogs live with?
Tiger-leg monkey frogs prefer living in groups their entire life, as long as enough space is available. In the wild these frogs can be seen with several other frogs, however, their social life hasn't been studied yet.
How long does a tiger-leg monkey frog live?
The wild-caught monkey tiger-leg frog's lifespan is between five to six years under natural conditions. But statistics have revealed that when captive-bred, tiger-leg monkey frog's lifespan can extend for a period longer than 10 years if kept in an enclosure or safe conditions in comparison to the wild tiger-leg monkey frogs.
How do they reproduce?
The environment is the most important factor in the reproduction or breeding cycle of an adult tiger-striped monkey frog. The surroundings must be full of humidity, and stable temperature with heavy rains for the breeding to take place.
The adults usually breed from November-May at night when the temperature is low and in between plants. Continuous heavy rains and temporary ponds trigger the breeding process.
Similar to other monkey frogs, tiger leg monkey tree frogs reproduce by wrapping their eggs in a leaf pad on the surface of the pond or water body. The average range of the eggs varies from 38-100 eggs.
These eggs are deposited within two to three leaves, which are then sealed with the help of a clear jelly-like substance that is high in vitamin d3 with the ovum-less egg jelly around the circumference of the leaves.
As the tadpoles hatch in-between the leaves, they wriggle their way out and drop down into the water. The female and male frog detach from the tadpoles, immediately.
These tadpoles stick around in a group. This group disintegrates once they turn into adults.
What is their conservation status?
The monkey tiger-leg frogs do have predators around them, however, they are listed as of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Tiger-leg Monkey Frog Fun Facts
What do tiger-leg monkey frogs look like?
The monkey frog has 30 species of frogs that are native to the Amazon basin. They are named in numerous ways like super tiger-leg monkey frog, barred leaf frog, and tiger-striped monkey frog. The back of this frog is solid green.
Their eyes are bulging with sharp silver. These have tiger-like bands of yellow and black stripes on their legs. Under stressful or threatening situations, they show off their tiger legs to scare away the predator.
These species are a part of the waxy monkey tree frogs. They derive this name from the glands on their elbows and back that secretes wax. These creatures usually keep moist, which helps them during dry times.
In rare situations, these creatures have been spotted in turquoise, but generally, they have a solid green, almost forest-like color. During the day, their bright stripes are hidden away and it's only at night that they display their beautiful black and orange bands.
How cute are they?
The tiger-leg monkey frog is very adorable to look at. They display a variety of beautiful colors and patterns on their body. Their tiny size and tiger-like legs add more to their adorable looks.
How do they communicate?
Similar to various other frogs, the super tiger-leg monkey frog also has a vocal sac, which works by inflating and deflating, which basically works like an amplifier. It forces the air back and forth between its lungs and vocal sac and this is called a super tiger leg monkey tree frog call.
Its vocal cords can make the air vibrate turning this into a tiger-leg monkey tree frog call.
How big is a tiger-leg monkey frog?
The tiger-leg monkey frog (Phyllomedusa tomopterna) is 1.7-2.1 in (4.3-5.3 cm). It is one among the 30 species of its kind. It is half the size of a leopard frog.
How fast can a tiger-leg monkey frog move?
The tiger-leg monkey frogs are relatively slow-moving animals. Unlike other commonly found frogs like the frog, Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis, these amphibians do not hop around, but instead, they walk and creep slowly on trees or plants.
How much does a tiger-leg monkey frog weigh?
The tiger-leg monkey frogs weigh just about 0.3-2.6 oz (10-75 g). They are considered small-sized by humans. All frogs that belong to the family of frog Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis are small-sized.
What are the male and female names of the species?
These frogs do not have different names based on their sex.
What would you call a baby tiger-leg monkey frog?
Once the eggs hatch, the larvae are called tadpoles. These tadpoles can be artificially hatched by using incandescent light.
What do they eat?
The tadpoles of this species are herbivorous until they fully develop into mature adults. Until then, their feed is purely greens and is free of any protein. Their primary source of food is house flies, flies, large flightless fruit fly, sphagnum moss, wax worms, roaches, and crickets. This food they feed on is considered high in protein for them.
Are they poisonous?
No, these creatures are harmless in nature and are not considered poisonous. However, the waxy body of these amphibians can be really irritating to the human touch when kept in captivity or enclosure.
Would they make a good pet?
These tiger-legs amphibians are considered to be great pets, provided, their basic care and needs are met, which means you need a proper gallon aquarium. These have been established as great captive species.
These animals thrive in captivity. While purchasing a tiger-leg monkey frog for sale, the purchaser has to request for male or female frog when placing the order. You have to also be specific with size and whether or not you want a medium-sized amphibian, or a larger one.
Did you know...
The tiger-leg monkey frog is one among the only frogs with opposable thumbs that allows them to use their monkey-like hands and legs to get a good grip on branches while walking.
Tiger-leg monkey frogs are nocturnal amphibians, which means they are active only at night. They sleep throughout the day and are active only during the night.
Details pertaining to the super tiger leg monkey tree frog care and captivity or enclosure can be found easily online. The clown frogs are simple to take care of.
These species require access to a lot of food and clean water. Make the water available but keep it shallow. The container should be a terrarium and full of live plants.
Is the tiger-leg monkey frog endangered?
These creatures have been considered to be of Least Concern, so they are not endangered.
How did tiger-leg monkey frogs get their name?
The name of the tiger-leg monkey frog is derived from tigers due to the tiger-like pattern on their legs. And the monkey part of their name is inspired by their opposable thumbs that allow them to use their hands and legs which resemble the limbs of a monkey.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other amphibians from our red-eyed tree frog interesting facts and pacman frog surprising facts pages.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Tiger leg monkey frog coloring pages.