Original Wild Facts

Wild Fact #86 – They Call Me Mellow Yellow – Bright Yellow Rain Frog

Bright Yellow Rain Frog
Photo by: Andreas Hertz.

Cool Things To Know About The Bright Yellow Rain Frog

  • In 2010, the Bright Yellow Rain Frog was discovered hiding in the mountains of western Panama
  • As you probably could have guessed these frogs belong to the Rain Frog family
  • Unlike many other frogs, the Bright Yellow Rain Frog does not have a tadpole stage. Instead, these amphibians develop as tiny little frogs inside of their warm and comfortable egg
  • You have to be careful picking up these incredibly bright frogs as they are known for leaving your fingers yellow – you may want to consider using gloves

Difficult To Find A Yellow Frog?

As mentioned, the the Bright Yellow Rain Frog was only discovered in 2010, so this species is relatively new to the human race. I can understand why it took so long to discover this frog species, considering they are only about 2 cm (0.8 inches) in length. To make matter worse, these frogs typically hang out in a mountainous area of Panama that doesn’t receive a lot of research attention, although that might change with this new discovery. Interestingly enough, researchers had heard the unique mating call of the male rain frog long before they were actually able to spot the bright, little frogs.Bright Yellow Rain Frog

So why is the Bright Yellow Rain Frog so colourful?

Normally when an animal has incredibly bright colours (especially a frog) it is meant to let the entire world know that they are poisonous; however. this doesn’t appear to be the case for the the Bright Yellow Rain Frog. Scientists have examined the yellow dye (the same stuff that rubs off on your fingers when you touch them) and have yet to find any poisonous properties. At this point in time the bright yellow dye remains a mystery. Personally, I still believe this dye still acts as a self-defence mechanism since most chemicals produced by animals are for this purpose. Exactly how a bright yellow dye protects the frog, I don’t know. Maybe the Yellow Rain Frog is just bluffing in an attempt to make their predators believe they are poisonous. Or maybe, animals just hate having yellow all over the place after eating one of these frogs. I know I use to hate that when I ate those red pistachios – does anyone remember those tasty snacks that left your finger and lips bright red?

Do you have any idea why the Bright Yellow Rain Frog has the ability to create a yellow substance? If so, let us hear it in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

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