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For Leap Day, 35 pictures of frogs

  • Leap Day only happens every four years but when the next one comes around, the planet may have lost a few more frog species: amphibians are the most endangered group of animals on the planet.
  • This post includes a set of 35 frog pictures to remind us what we’re losing.
  • This post is a commentary — the views are the author’s own.

Leap Day only happens every four years but when the next one comes around, the planet may have lost a few more frog species: amphibians are the most endangered group of animals on the planet.

Amphibians are facing myriad threats: climate change, habitat destruction, invasive species, emerging infection disease, and pollution, among others. According to the IUCN, roughly one-third of assessed amphibian species are classified as globally threatened or extinct. 42 percent of amphibian species are in decline.

The global loss of amphibians has implications beyond silent nights: frogs are important predators of insects in many ecosystems, play an significant role in nutrient cycling, and have served as a source of compounds used to treat human illnesses. Beyond that, some scientists argue that frogs’ sensitivity to environmental change makes them harbingers of what’s to come.

Below are a set of frog pictures to remind us of what we’re losing. Most of these frogs were photographed in the wild over the past decade.

Lemur tree frog in Costa Rica. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Phyllomedusa tomopterna tree frog. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Glass frog. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Red-eyed tree frog in Costa Rica. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Rhaebo haematiticus frog. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Red frog in Costa Rica. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Gliding Treefrog (Agalychnis spurrelli) in Costa Rica. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Borno Gliding leopard tree frog (Rhacophorus pardalis). Photo by Rhett A. Butler
White Spotted Reed Frog (Heterixalus alboguttatus). Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Strawberry poison-dart frog (Oophaga pumilio). Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Granular Poison Frog (Oophaga granulifera) in Costa Rica. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Yellow-and-black dart frog. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Frog. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Glass frog. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Phyllomedusa tomopterna tree frog. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Spiny-headed tree frog (Anotheca spinosa)Costa Rica. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Blue azureus dart frog. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Green-and-black poison dart frogs fighting. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Monkey frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor) in Peru. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Gephyromantis webbi frog. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Imbabura Tree frog (Hypsiboas picturatus). Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Gladiator Tree Frog (Hypsiboas rosenbergi). Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Golden terribilis, the world’s most poisonous frog. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Matecho Dendrobates tinctorius poison dart frog. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Glass frog in Costa Rica. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Emerald eyes frog (Hypsiboas crepitans). Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Splendid Treefrog. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Blue poison frog. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Strawberry poison-dart frog (Oophaga pumilio). Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Rhacophorus pardalis tree frog in Sabah, Malaysia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Clown tree frog (Dendropsophus leucophyllatus) in Colombia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Juvenile Yellow Spotted Climbing Toad (Pedostibes hosii) in Malaysia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Madagascar Tomato Frog (Dyscophus antongilii). Photo by Rhett A. Butler
Rhacophorus dulitensi tree frog in Malaysia. Photo by Rhett A. Butler

Oophaga pumilio

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