Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis (Daudin, 1800) - Tiger-Legged Monkey Frog

Tiger-Legged Monkey Frog, Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis (Photo: ©2009 Aldemar A. Acevedo)		Family:	Hylidae (Treefrogs)
		Subfamily:	Phyllomedusinae (Leaf & Monkey Frogs)
		Origin:	South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, and Venezuela)
		Adult Snout-to-Vent Length:	Male: 38 mm (1.5 inches); Female: 50.8 mm (2 inches)
		IUCN (Red List) Status:	Least Concern (LC)
		Similar species:	Phyllomedusa tomopterna, Super Tiger-Legged Monkey Frog

Meet the Frog Part 1: the Tiger-Legged Monkey Frog, Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis

Tiger-Legged Monkey Frog, Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis (Photo: ©2007 Tammy Raabe Rao/rubicat.com)

This little frog is quite adaptable, at home in tropical and subtropical rain forest, marshes, & flooded grassland. They are often found in prairie-like habitat that is sparse with trees, but does contain grasses and bromeliads. In Bolivia they have been found in urban areas and gardens. There are two subspecies of Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis, depending on who you listen to: a northern subspecies (the nominate form), P. h. hypochondrialis, and a southern subspecies, P. h. azurea (Cope, 1862). Most, however, consider the southern (P. azurea) to be a distinct species.

Like other Phyllomedusine frogs, Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis lays it's eggs on leaves that over-hang bodies of water. Unlike its cousin the Red-Eyed Tree Frog, Agalychnis callidryas, it will form a funnel around its eggs by rolling the leaf that they were laid on around them. The leaf or leaves are held together by a residue that is a product of the egg laying process. This leaf funnel will keep the eggs out of sight of predators and help prevent desiccation. In a week or two the eggs begin to hatch and the tadpoles escape the funnel through its lower opening.

Frogs of the genus Phyllomedusa are known as monkey frogs, because as they climb from branch to branch, they reach out grasping the branches the same way as a monkey. Their first and second digits are shifted, so as to allow them to be opposable (like your thumb and forefinger).

All frogs of the genus Phyllomedusa produce a waxy substance with which they coat their skin. This prevents desiccation and allows the frog to venture further away from water and to live in more arid environments than a lot of other frogs. The substance may also have properties that protect the frog from the harmful rays of the sun.

The Tiger-Legged Monkey Frog is somewhat common in herpetoculture. Its husbandry is similar to that of other treefrogs, such as White's Dumpy Tree Frog, Litoria caerulea, and the Red-Eyed Tree Frog, Agalychnis callidryas. Most specimens are wild caught in Surinam.

References

1. Fenolio, Danté. Captive Reproduction of the Orange-legged Monkey Frog (Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis), and Development of a Protocol for Phyllomedusine Frog Reproduction in the Laboratory. 1996, 13-21. in: Strimple, P.D. Advances in Herpetoculture. Spec. Publ., Int. Herp. Symp. 1996, 1: 1-167.

2. Walls, Jerry G. The Guide to Owning American Treefrogs 1997; TFH Publications.

3. Walls, Jerry G. Red-Eyes and other Leaf-frogs 1996; TFH Publications.

Other Resources

AmphibiaWeb Record: Phyllomedusa hypochondrialis
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©2009 Kurt Kunze

Written by Kurt Kunze in September 2009 - Last updated 9th October 2009.

About the Author
Kurt Kunze is a self educated herpetologist and a member of the New England Herpetological Society based in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, USA. He has been a herpetologist for the past ten years or so, before that he was a professional aquarist, working with everything from guppies and goldfish to sharks and octopus. He has worked for the Museum of Science in Boston in their Live Animal Center and for the Museum of Natural History of Harvard University as a gallery guide. At the MoS, he worked with various reptiles and amphibian species, including alligators, snakes, lizards, turtles, and frogs. At Harvard, he did live animal demonstrations and educated visitors in paleontology, particularly on Mesozoic reptiles. His husbandry skills were refined by working at the MoS, as well as with the late Barbara Bonner DVM at her Turtle Hospital. Kurt has also co-authored the questionnaire for Assumption College's Science Olympiad on herpetology for the past two years. Kurt makes his home in Billerica, Massachusetts, USA, along with his small "zoo", which includes various scorpions, fish, salamanders, turtles, snakes, and of course, frogs. His interests center on the Hylids, Dendrobatids, Bufonids, & Microhylids. Kurt has bred the Red-Eyed Leaf Frog, Agalychnis callidryas, and has plans to breed the Red-Banded Rubber Frog, Phrynomantis bifasciatus, the False or Southern Tomato Frog, Dyscophus guineti, and the Fire-Bellied Toad, Bombina orientalis.