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The Eleutherodactylus Coqui is a national symbol to their native island, Puerto Rico. There is a Puerto Rican expression that goes “Soy de aqui como el coqui”, which translates to “I’m as Puerto Rican as a coqui”.

The Characteristics of a Coqui Frog

The Eleutherodactylus Coqui is a small tree frog that can vary in color. These frogs can be a mixture of brown, yellow, green, and gray on the top and the bottom side of their body is either white or yellow. The frogs eye color is a variation of brown and gold. The first word of the species scientific classification is Eleutherodactylus which is associated with the term “free toes” which means this species has no webbing in between their toes. The coqui’s have special disks instead of webbing on their feet which differentiates them from many types of frogs. The special disks on their feet help the coquis climb and stick to trees and leaves.

Habitat

Coqui’s live in tropical areas and have recently been discovered in different levels of elevation. This species tends to stay low to the ground and are generally found at sea level. However, the coquis are spreading and are being discovered in higher levels of elevation. Coqui’s can be found at up to 1200m in elevation usually in humid mountain forests or in dry forests. According to the Invasive Species Compendium the Eleutherodactylus Coqui uses the nest of common native species of birds. The Puerto Rican birds are the “bananaquit (Coereba flaveola portoricensis), the Puerto Rican bullfinch (Loxigilla portoricensis) and the Puerto Rican tody (Todus mexicanus)”. Coqui’s tending to be in their natural habitats in the forests but it is also common for the species to appear in human habitats such as houses, parks, and near bodies of water.

Taxonomy

      Kingdom: Animalia

      Phylum: Chordata

      Class: Amphibia

      Order: Anura

      Family: Leptodactylidae

      Genus: Eleutherodactylus

      Eleutherodactylus coqui Thomas 1966

The Coqui’s Call

The coqui frog gets its name because of the males mating call which sounds like their saying “coqui”. Male coqui frogs use their call to attract female frogs but also to mark their territory. When multiple male coquis are found in the same area they tend to compete for their area. Coqui’s form a type of sing-off competition when challenging each other for territory. The coqui that loses usually flees and tends to relocate to another area or compete elsewhere. Male coquis start singing around the time the sun sets and continues throughout the night until dawn.

Reproduction

Although coquis can reproduce all year long their breeding is at its peak during the wet season which is around April until October. Female frogs tend to lay about 15 to 40 eggs about 5 times a year. Coqui’s differ from most other frog species because coqui’s lay their eggs in terrestrial plants whereas other frog species usually lay their eggs in water. Female coqui’s can lay about 30 eggs at a time and about 4-6 times a year. The males gather up the eggs and guard them providing protection in a nest. The eggs are supposed to be moist, so male coquis also leave the nest to collect moisture and keeps the eggs hydrated when it seems they are drying out. The male frog keeps the eggs moist be touching them with his moist skin.

Life Cycle Stages:

When it comes to the stages of a frog’s life the Eleutherodactylus Coqui has a unique life cycle. Most frogs start of their life in a tadpole or larva stage with a small tale and swimming around before they start to develop legs. Instead the coquis are hatched as tiny frogs with short tails, basically skipping the tadpole stage that other frog species have to go through. Due to the fact the coquis do not have a tadpole stage, bodies of water are not necessarily needed for female frogs to lay their eggs.

Once the species reaches their adult stage most them do not last longer than a year but according to the National Wildlife Federation some coquis have been found as old as six years old.

Geographic Distribution/Invasive Frog

The native Puerto Rican frog has been found in several locations like Hawaii, Florida, California and other tropical islands.

The Eleutherodactylus Coqui was introduced to Hawaii around the late 1980’s. This species found its way to the Hawaiian Islands by hiding in plants that were being transported to the islands. Studies have shown that the species has increased the nutrient cycling rates and helped those native species with the lack of nutrients to adapt in better conditions. The coquis have a small number of predators like snakes, rats, and some lizards, as a result the species population has increased over time. Another factor to the species increase in population is the fact that they can breed continuously throughout the year. However, the Eleutherodactylus Coqui has negatively impacted their environment by impacting native species. The coqui frog has increased competition with native birds, and other frogs. The expansion of the Eleutherodactylus coqui has forced other creatures such as bats to seek alternatives as they start to compete for food at higher elevation. Birds and bats were not greatly impacted with the introduction of coquis to the island until they started appearing in higher ground. This species is even feeding on native spiders and insects that are close to extinction.

Control Population

Overall attempts to limit or control the coqui’s population were unsuccessful. However, actions have been taking place in efforts to reduce the coqui population. In Hawaii, the intentional transportation of frogs is banned, and coquis are labeled as pests.

Another action that appears to be effective in decreasing the coqui population in commercial areas is having a hot shower treatment on plants. The hot shower works as a disinfestation treatment for not only the Eleutherodactylus coqui eggs, but it is also effective for the adult coqui’s.

When it comes to using chemicals, there are only a few that are legal. Using citric acid can be used legally in places like Hawaii but the chemical must directly contact the coqui’s and maybe even multiple times. However, the citric acid may impact the plants in a negative way and cause unwanted spots. Other substances that are used to control the species is hydrated lime and caffeine.