Scientists Discover Real-Life Kermit The Frog In Costa Rica

(TMU) – Kermit the Frog, the much loved character on the TV show Sesame Street, started life as a lizard and evolved into the frog we know in 1955. Unique as he is, 60 years after his ‘birth’, a live distant cousin was discovered in the Costa Rica rain forests. This new species, Diane’s Bare-hearted Glassfrog (Hyalinobatrachium dianae), with its amazing transparent, glass like underbelly showing its internal organs, blood pumping through its veins and food digesting in its stomach is fascinating by itself but it’s the bright lime green body and long lanky legs, and bulging forward looking white eyes that completes the Kermit doppelgänger if ever there was one!

The first glass-frog discovered was the “giant” Centrolene geckoideum, named by Marcos Jiménez de la Espada in 1872, based on a specimen collected in north-eastern Ecuador. Since then, more than 120 species in three genera (Centrolene, Cochranella, and Hyalinobatrachium) have been discovered by different herpetologists.

Apart from a few larger species of a maximum length of 3 inches (7.62cm), most are tiny, just 0.8-1.2 inches (2-3cm)) in length, and are found in tropical lowland to mid-elevation mountain forests.

Kermit’s distant relatives are on the small side of the scale, at a length of only 0.98 inches (2.5cm) and managed to evade the limelight until 2015, mostly due to their remote natural habitat in the Costa Rica rain-forests as well as their deceptive mating call, mimicking an insect’s call described as “a single tonal long metallic whistle-like note,” by scientists Brian Kubicki, Stanley Salazar and Robert Puschendorf who discovered H. dianae living between 400m and 800m high in the mountains. Senior scientist, Kubicki, named the species after his mother, Janet Diane Kubicki.

Including H. dianae, Cost Rica is home to 14 of the known glass frog species.

Costa Rica is situated in Central America with a Caribbean and Pacific coastline known for its beaches, volcanoes, rugged terrain, rain forests and biodiversity. Costa Rica’s protected jungle area spans approximately a quarter of the country, teeming with rare and exotic wildlife which include several species of amphibian, mammals and birds.

Other Mammals and Amphibians Native to the Region

Almost as famous as Kermit, the colorful blue jeans poison arrow frogs (Oophaga pumilio) are one of the most studied and photographed amphibians in the world, partly because of its daylight habits, large population, reproductive biology and bright colors with an estimated 15 to 30 color morphs.

Native to the rain forests, they have a distinctive ‘chirp, chirp, chirp’ call and usually hunt on the forest floor, moving with small hops and erratic and exaggerated walking motions, navigating organic matter. They are poisonous when orally ingested or when its skin oils get into an open wound.

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Rocking the denim-on-denim. These "blue-jeans poison arrow frogs," as they're called, have got all the style.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Also known as the "strawberry" poison arrow frog, but why take their swagger away from them…⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ #poisonarrowfrog #dendrobates #costaricalife #puravida #bluejeanspoisonarrowfrog #frogsofig #macrolife #nature #photooftheday #photooftheweek #canonfanphoto #100mm #macrophotography #macro_captures #macroworld #macromood #flowersandmacro #macrolovers #macrosofinstagram #macros #macro_perfection #macro_brilliance #costarican #rainforest #amphibians #junglewildlife #wildlifefoto #wildlifephotography #wildlife_brilliance #poisondartfrogs

A post shared by Court Whelan (@court_whelan) on May 5, 2020 at 6:33am PDT

There are three species of anteater that call Costa Rica home, the lesser, giant and silky. The lesser anteater, Tamandua tetradactyla), aka the collared anteater, being the most common. A distant relative of sloths, anteaters prefer the lowland and middle-elevation habitats of the country. The lesser anteater is mostly nocturnal and spends around 40% of its time in trees, using its strong front claws to scale trees and navigating branches using its prehensile tail which is also handy for balancing in treetops and as an anchor when they take a defensive position. They have a beautiful fur coat of gold or tan and black fur and can weight up to 18 pound (8.16kg).

An extra-long claw on the third toe used is used for digging and defense. They consume up to 10,000 ants and termites per day which their grab with their specially designed, long sticky tongues from their nests and underground homes. Their powerful sense of smell can detect termites and ants easily and their tongue, measuring up to 16 inches (40.6cm), makes mealtimes a breeze.

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Você conhece o tamanduá-mirim (Tamandua tetradactyla)? ⠀ Esta é uma das espécies de tamanduás adaptada tanto para a vida em árvores quanto no chão. O nome tamanduá-mirim significa “tamanduá pequeno” em tupi. Porém, ele também é conhecido como tamanduá-colete, em referência ao desenho em sua pelagem. ⠀ São mais ativos durante o dia, porém podem apresentar comportamentos noturnos em áreas perturbadas pelo ser humano. ⠀ Quer saber mais sobre esse pequeno escalador? Acesse nosso site: www.oncafari.org ⠀ Foto: @leonardomercon . . . Do you know the the southern tamandua? . This is a species of anteater that adapts well to life both in trees and on the ground. The anteater’s name means “little ant-eater” in Tupi. Southern tamanduas are more active during the day, but may practice nocturnal behavior in areas where they are disturbed by humans. Want to learn more about this little tree-climber? Access our website: www.oncafari.org . Photo: @leonardomercon

A post shared by Onçafari (@oncafari) on Mar 2, 2020 at 12:43pm PST