Phyllomedusa bicolor, also known as the blue-and-yellow frog, bicoloured tree-frog, giant monkey frog, giant leaf frog, or waxy-monkey treefrog, is a species of leaf frog. It can be found in the Amazon basin of Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru, and can also be found in the Guianan Region of Venezuela and the Guianas, and in Cerrado of the state of Maranhão in Brazil.
It is found throughout the Amazon Rain forest of northern Bolivia, western and northern Brazil, south-eastern Colombia, eastern Peru, southern and eastern Venezuela, and the Guianas. Occasionally, it is also found in the riparian forest area of the Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna ecoregion of Brazil.
Habitat and behaviour
Phyllomedusa bicolor is a nocturnal, arboreal frog. Males call from trees in tropical humid forests. Males fight each other for mating rights by using their heads to attempt to separate another male who is attached to a female. Males fend off rivals using a series of aggressive calls and use their hind legs to push away the rival. During mating season, males may be targeted more by predators as the fights between males very vocal and can be easily heard by predators. However, to combat this, Phyllomedusa bicolor produce peptides in their skin that serves as a chemical defense. Phyllomedusa bicolor reproduce like most frog species through amplexus, where the male climbs onto the females back to fertilize the eggs. Female and male construct a leaf-nest above forest pools, where the eggs are laid in a gelatinous mass of about 70 cm above the water. The eggs hatch from these nests approximately 14 days and the tadpoles fall into the water, where they continue the development into adult frogs. Peak reproduction occurs during the rainy season. Eggs of Phyllomedusa bicolor are heavily predated and have a predation rate of up to 61%. Species that prey on the eggs include Staphilynid beetles, phorid flies, mammals, specifically Cebus apella, and other predators such as snakes. The eggs are predated because they are source of protein for predators.
Conservation
The IUCNendangered species database lists them in the "Least Concern" category, in view of their current wide distribution and large population.
The skin secretion of the frog is known as Vacina do sapo and contains the opioid peptidesdeltorphin, deltorphin I, deltorphin II and dermorphin. The secretion, known as Kambo or Sapo, has seen increasing popularity in cleansing rituals, where it induces intense vomiting. Claims of medicinal effects have not been supported by medical evidence.
