Big-eyed tree frog
Green forest Steiger Frog ( Leptopelis vermiculatus ), female
The Grünewald Steiger Frog ( Leptopelis vermiculatus ) even gem tree frog, tree frog or blue-footed Tanzanian Forest Frog Steiger called, is an African frog species from the genus of forest dart frog ( Leptopelis ).
Description
The Grünewald Steiger frog has a head-body length of four to five centimeters ( males ) or six to 8.5 centimeters (females ), making it one of the largest species of the forest dart frog. As this generally he is nocturnal and spends the day in shaded leaves or in leaf axils. Species determinations on the basis of staining are difficult: Adult females are difficult to distinguish from the flavomaculatus also occurring in the habitat type Leptopelis. The "Youth Dress " by L. vermiculatus is on the back vigorously green with fine, worm-like, black patterns. The feet have a black-blue- white stripe pattern. The staining then replaced after about a year gradually to brown (sometimes with dark green areas). On the back is reflected in the adult animal a wedge-shaped dark brown patterning.
Occurrence and habitat
Leptopelis vermiculatus is endemic in the vicinity of water points in some small mountain regions of East Africa before that are geographically isolated from each other very. He's on a total of 2000 square kilometers in mountainous areas east of Tanzania such as the Western and the Eastern Usambara Mountains, in the Nguu Mountains, Udzungwa Mountains, the Poroto mountains and the area of Mount Rungwe near the border with Zambia to find.
The Usambara Mountains are one of the smallest mountain in Tanzania. They lie approximately 250 kilometers southeast of Mount Kilimanjaro in the Tanga region of the district Muheza. The rain forest of the submontane zone in which this Waldsteigerart is to find, covers about 12,900 acres. The Amani Nature Forest Reserve situated therein through measures elevation zones of 150 meters above sea level up to 1506 m above sea level.
The vertical distribution of the Green Forest Steiger frog includes elevations between 900 m above sea level and - in southern Tanzania - up to 1800 meters above sea level. The type fits into a unique fauna of this forest -covered mountains and there is a rather frequently occurring species.
Reproduction
The spawning season, the male pushes a single "click " as the mating call. ( Vermiculatus reputation of a juvenile Leptopelis. )
Heavy rains trigger the readiness to mate. The eggs are buried in the ground. After hatching, the long-tailed tadpoles go active in neighboring water bodies and develop aquatic.
Endangering
This type is - like other species occurring there also - threatened by deforestation and increasing UV radiation. They, too, must be counted among the endangered species because of the disjoint and a total of only small-scale dissemination.
Adult female
Semi Adult male
Male Animal in front view