EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

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Red Tree Frog on My Mirror

Credit & Copyright:  Dr. Bruce G. Marcot
  

Explanation:  I have found that camping parks in Australia have a way of sharing space with some of the indigenous wildlife, including smiling frogs in my shower, tolerant lizards in my doorways, and now ... red tree frogs at my bathroom sink.   Also called desert tree frog, (blush) naked tree frog, and other names, red tree frogs are relatively common denizens of Australia in a wide variety of environments, including human habitations, and are not of conservation concern.      Tree frogs of family Hylidae have suction cup-like finger tips that adhere to the slickest surfaces.          Studies have discovered some 17 types of peptides from red tree frogs, that can be used to help trace the species' evolutionary history.   Information:      Steinborner, S.T., P.A. Wabnitz, R.J. Waugh, J.H. Bowie, C.W. Gao, M.J. Tyler, and J.C. Wallace.  1996.  The structures of new peptides from the Australian red tree frog 'Litoria rubella'.  The skin peptide profile as a probe for the study of evolutionary trends of amphibians.  Australian Journal of Chemistry 49(9):955-963.