The coqui

The Puerto Rican Coqui

By: Angel Rodriguez

History of the frog

Scientists believe that the Coqui has been singing and thriving in the Caribbean rainforests for over 29 million years. The tiny frog was accidentally introduced into Hawaii from Puerto Rico when the Coqui (the size of a dime) snuck onto a shipping vessel. They are considered invasive species in Hawaii, the scientific name of these frogs is (Eleutherdactylus portoricensis).

Facts about the Frog

• TheCoqui is the size of a dime, the females are a bit bigger than the males.
• They are considered invasive species in Hawaii.
• The call is between 7.38 and 8.28 Hz, this is a special frequency beccause it gives the Coqui a disembodied sound and it is hard to discern where it's coming from

Where they live

• The Coqui live in the wetlands on a specific plant called a cyprus. It is difficult for the Coquis to find homes because welands are rare. 13 of 17 species live in El Yunque National Forest. The frogs live in a tropical climate.

Reason of Endangerment

The reason of endangerment is a fungus. The fungus will latch onto amphibians (like the coqui) and block their "pores" so their ability to get water is limited. Next, the Coqui infected with the fungus would dry out and die. Also, the Coquis are endangered due to deforestation and habitat loss, the Coqui was listed as an endangered species in 1977.

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All Coqui species

Web-footed Coqui

Golden Coqui

Common Coqui

Puerto Rican Rock frog

Red eyed Coqui

Eneida's Coqui

Whistling Coqui

Bronze Coqui

Melodius Coqui

Rest of the Coqui Species

Hendrick's Coqui

Dwarf Coqui

Mona Coqui

Cricket Coqui

Locust Coqui

Predators Or Prey

Th Coqui is an abundant frog in Puerto Rico but it still falls prey to: Birds, Snakes and spiders. Even though this frog gets eaten a lot, it helps in the same way spiders do, they eat insects and pests that roam around your house.

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Diet of the Coqui

]The Coqui's diet consist of: Spiders, small insects, Roaches, and ants. The smaller Coqui's eat ants and other creature smaller than them (they don't exhibit cannibalistic behavior). The larger Coqui's eat

Reproduction

The female Coqui has to be eight months or older to lay eggs, and when they do, they lay 16 to 40 eggs in one sitting. the Coqui mother usually lays the eggs every eight weeks or so. Lastly, the Coqui are usually active during the night.

Living habits

The Coqui frog lives a solitary life in the forests at night calling for mates. After they mate, they would go back into the forests by themselves.

Conservation efforts

The actual number of Coqui species are unknown, but there are only 17 species left in the rainforests of Puerto Rico, there is no research that show that the Coqui mate interspecially (with other species). The conservation efforts being taken are: keep the Coqui on private land, and to provide essential habitats for the frogs. I am assuming that the efforts are working but no one has said anything. Also, the research I have done shows that the Golden Coqui is critically endangered. Lastly, the group taking care of this plan is the U.S fish and wildlife service

reason of endangerment

For the bibliography email tkornfeld@hbgsd.us