There are around 140 species of frogs in Costa Rica, which makes it the larger amount of species of amphibians in Costa Rica.
However thanks to the amazing colors in some of the frogs, it becomes a bit easier to see some of them in the wild.
Here we explain the most common one to be found in the tropical forests of Costa Rica!
The Blue Jeans Frog (Strawberry poison-dart frog)
If you want to have a better chance to see this frog, you need to travel to the East coast of Costa Rica.
This tiny frog can be found on the Caribbean slopes, to mention some areas, Sarapiquí, Boca Tapada, Tortuguero, and South Caribbean, although, can also be found in the South Pacific region.
Even though it is small, it is very toxic for its predators.
This frog is territorial, the male will defend his territory by fighting with other males who want to intrude.
It’s very common for frogs to leave the eggs and don’t look back, but the Blue Jeans Frogs are different.
They are very modern and have biparental care. The male takes care of the eggs and the female tends the tadpoles.
It has been discovered that the male keeps the eggs moist by releasing water from his bladder on top of the eggs. The mother often visits the tadpoles, leaving unfertilized eggs that serve as food for them.
Red-eyed Tree Frog
Interesting is that the Red-eyed Tree Frogs on the Pacific side of Costa Rica have purple-brown color on their sides, whereas the Red-eyed Tree Frogs on the Caribbean side are blue/purple on their sides.
This frog visits a breeding pool during periods of reproduction at dusk. This is normally during the rainy seasons as most eggs are laid after intense rain showers.
In case there is no rain yet, the female goes back to keep the eggs moist with water from her bladder.
These frogs are very common close to the water, even in some hotels, they can be found over the swimming pools if there are plants where they can stand on them and above the water, especially if they are heliconias or similar palm-like plants.
Rain Frogs
Rain frogs are also known as Tropical frogs are a very large group found in North America throughout most of South America and the Caribbean.
Most of these frogs can be found especially in forests, ground-dwelling, aquatic or arboreal.
About 40 out of the 700 species can be found in Costa Rica.
They vary in size and color patterns, because of that, it is very difficult to give a general description, although some common patterns are the greatly enlarged little suction cups.
Tree Frogs
The tree frogs are in the family Hylidae, are very intriguing animals with really big eyes and bright colors.
In Costa Rica, there are about 39 species out of around 700 in the world.
They have slender and elegant bodies and relatively large heads.
As the name suggests, they spend most of their time jumping or climbing tree leaves, palms, and branches, although, most of them are active during the night, so it can be tricky to find them.
The red-eyed leaf frog is part of this family, and mostly because of it, they are part now of the most popular frogs in magazines and posters.
What is the easiest way to spot and take photos of frogs in Costa Rica?
Even though they are sometimes hard to find, the best time for spotting or photographing frogs is usually right after the rain.
You should be looking under fallen leaves in the bottom of the forest, close to little ponds of water, or, even sometimes, on top of leaves.
The plants and flowers they like are heliconias, bromeliads, and different large leaves.
Where you can find them depends on the species, some, such as nocturnal frogs, like the red-eyed leave frogs, early evening, close to water pools, such as swimming pools, or borders of rivers on large leaves, especially green leaves, since they look for their camouflage colors.
Others like the Oophaga (poison dart frogs) are more common after the rain, or on cloudy days on the forest floor close to tree roots, under the fallen leaves, and they can be very shy.
A local guide can also help you find them, especially during the night walks. Good luck finding them, it’s really fun!
If you want to know more about the Frogs of Costa Rica, feel free to contact us!
