Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this web-site were taken by Paul Smith, Hemme Batjes, Regis Nossent,
Alberto Esquivel, Arne Lesterhuis, Rebecca Zarza, José Luis Cartes and Hugo del Castillo and are used with their permission.
MARBLED TREE-FROG Trachycephalus venulosus
A large and distinctive, if variable, tree-frog. This is the only tree-frog to emit a milky substance from the skin when molested, the "milk" drying to form a gooey "latex" which acts as a form of defence against predators. The call is surprisingly loud, and was likened to a "short-circuiting car-horn" by one herpetologist!
FIGURE 1 - Lateral view of typical "marbled" adult, PN Defensores del Chaco (Paul Smith July 2006).
FIGURE 2 - Dorsal view of same individual (Paul Smith July 2006).
FIGURE 3 - Lateral view of uniformly brown adult, Fuerte Olimpo (Paul Smith July 2006).
FIGURE 4 - Adult perching on a branch, Departamento Presidente Hayes (José Luis Cartes October 1998).
This is an extremely variable species, with typical individuals showing the marbled pattern across the whole body (Figs 1 and 2). A wide variety of other colour morphs exist (many have which have in the past been described as separate species). The main identification points for this frog are its large size, exaggerated toe-pads (see Fig 3), white lip, and barred thighs. (Pier Caccialli in litt.).
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