One thing this blog has taught me is that I invite the wrath of experts if I hazard a guess on what I think a creature might be and end up being wrong. So I'm not going to even bother with this one. I won't
guess what it is. All I can be reasonably sure of is that it's a frog, it looks to be green, and it might almost sort of appear be comfortable in trees. And it looks smug. Beyond that, I won't dare to step on the toes of any of you herpetologists. You folks have access to very venomous creatures, and I don't want to open up a FedEx parcel and find it filled with angry Australian taipans.
UPDATE: TercerAnon (anon3) has identified this as a
Phyllomedusa bicolor, a green leaf frog. That ID looks good to me. And if it is, then I have a new word for you: biopiracy. These frogs produce a waxy secretion that has a variety of powerful medicinal applications, and are therefore the object of piracy of a bio variety. Thanks anon3.
I believe it is definitely in the Phyllomedusa genus. It could be Phyllomedusa bicolor or a closely related species. Common names include Giant Leaf Frog and Giant Waxy Monkey Tree Frog. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyllomedusa_bicolor
ReplyDeleteIt looks fake, though. Like an alien's impression of a frog that it planted here as a bug to record everything we say.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't even hather a guess! But I do see God's sense of humor in this little fellow. Gave ME a smile, anyway!
ReplyDeleteAll I know is that back in the 1970's I had a "pet rock" in exactly that color. Not a genuine Pet Rock(tm) mind you, but a garden rock that my parents painted very green...
ReplyDeleteI love these frogs to look at, used to look after a pair at a zoo, sadly one of the dullest displays as they insisted on sitting in the highest corner where no-one could see them and they barely ever move, they used to just sit and stare at the corner!
ReplyDelete(cough) Electric-eel (cough)
ReplyDeleteI love him.
ReplyDeleteHe definitely looks very wise and sage-like. Someone a hero would seek out in a dangerous swamp to get advice.
ReplyDeleteThese should be the official state pet in some places. Especially if they like to eat cockroaches!!
ReplyDelete