Puerto Rican coqui Facts
Puerto Rican coqui Facts
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| Interesting Puerto Rican coqui Facts: |
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| Puerto Rican coqui can reach 1 to 2 inches in length and 2 to 4 ounces of weight. Females are slightly larger than males. |
| Puerto Rican coqui has light brown body with grey or yellowish-brown markings on the back. Belly is light gray or whitish colored. |
| Scientific name of the frog "Eleutherodactylus" originates from Greek language. It means "free toes" and refers to lack of membrane between the toes (feet are not webbed). |
| Toes of Puerto Rican coqui are equipped with large, disc-shaped pads which facilitate climbing on the trees. |
| Puerto Rican coqui is nocturnal creature (active during the night). |
| Puerto Rican coqui is a carnivore (meat-eater). Its diet is based on ants, crickets, moths, spiders, snails, small frogs and lizards. |
| Puerto Rican coqui searches food in the trees during the night and rests under the rocks and logs during the day. |
| Giant crab spider, birds and snakes are natural enemies of Puerto Rican coqui. |
| Puerto Rican coquis mostly mate during the wet season, from April to October. Females are able to lay eggs every 8 weeks. |
| Males produce high-pitched calls and sing in choruses to attract females during the mating season. Loud calls can be heard from dusk till dawn. |
| Name "coqui" refers to specific, two-part calls which males produce. First, "co" part of a call deters other males, while "qui" part attracts the females. |
| Both males and females exhibit territorial behavior during the mating season. They aggressively attack, bite and chase all intruders that can be found on their territory. |
| Female lays 3 to 45 eggs inside tree holes, rolled palm leaves or in the abandoned nests of various birds. Male guards the eggs and keeps them moist until they hatch 17 to 26 days later. He also protects his offspring from the predators few days after hatching, while they are still small and vulnerable. |
| Unlike other species of frogs, Puerto Rican coquis do not have tadpole stage. Instead, miniature frogs with short tails emerge from the eggs. Froglets use egg tooth to pierce the eggshell. Puerto Rican coquis reach sexual maturity at the age of one year. |
| Puerto Rican coquis can survive up to 6 years in the wild, but majority of adult frogs die before they reach the age of one year. |
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