Common Name: Magdalena Giant Glass Frog
Scientific Name: Ikakogi tayrona
Family: Centrolenidae – Glass Frog family
Locations: Colombia
Size: 1.2 inches (28 mm)
The Magdalena Giant Glass Frog is found in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range in the Magdalena department of Colombia, at altitudes up to a mile (1790 meters) high. They are an arboreal species of frog, living up in the trees. During the day, the frogs will hide on the back of leaves, camouflaging in with their translucent skin. Glass Frogs are really small, so even a frog reaching not even 1.5 inches long is considered gigantic.
The males of the species will mark out territory in leaves over hanging a stream. They will fight other males that enter their territory. The males even have humeral spines on their arms that they use to fight the other males. Eventually, the males will start calling for the females. Once the females arrive, the male will grasp her from behind in the amplexus position. Then, the female will lay her eggs on the leaves and the male will fertilize them.
The Magdalena Giant Glass Frog is the only known Glass Frog known that females will provide parental care for their offspring. In the other species, parental care is either provided by the male or not at all. The females will brood the eggs, protecting the eggs from predators and keeping them hydrated. Eventually, the eggs will hatch and the tadpoles will fall into the stream.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List categorizes the Magdalena Giant Glass Frog as Vulnerable to Extinction. They are found only in a small area where habitat destruction is an increasing problem.
