If you or your parents have been keeping up with the news lately, you may have heard that the island has a relatively new type of inhabitant, and a very curious one, too. It’s the Colombian four-eyed frog, which got its name from the fact that it has a sneaky survival trick: a set of false “eyes” on its butt!
Wait, what?
The Colombian four-eyed frog looks a lot like any other frog when viewed from the front: blotchy grey-green, bumpy skin, small, pinhole nostrils, and large, brown eyes that bulge from the top of the head.
But viewed from behind, this little amphibian looks far from ordinary: it seems to have a second set of eyes sitting just above its hips. These “eyes” give the frog the appearance of having a much larger head, where its rear end should be.
Its second “face” might fool predators into thinking that this little guy is bigger than he appears –perhaps too big to tackle.
What’s more, those deceiving false eyes are actually big, poisonous glands. When the Colombian four-eyed frog is startled or threatened, it will turn around and lift its hind end, bulging out these glands in order to make them appear more “eye-like.” This trick and the poisons that lie within are wonderful adaptations that have allowed this largely defenceless amphibian to ward off predators of all kinds.
The frog feasts on a variety of foods, such as ants, nymphs, seeds and other tiny morsels. It mainly needs seasonal access to still water, where the female will deposit her eggs after mating. As with most frogs, the eggs will hatch underwater, where the tadpoles remain living and breathing safely until developing into adult, land-dwelling creatures.
Around the world, the presence of frogs is sign of a healthy, fully functioning ecosystem.
How new is it to the island?
It’s not certain exactly when or how this frog got here, and we may never know…but it is our newest species of frog. It is native to South America and Aruba and has been introduced to Bonaire and Curaçao.
In general, almost all species that are new to an area arrive with human help, whether people meant to transport them or not – most “hitch a ride” with cargo. We almost never know exactly when they arrive or how; and only notice them when they start to become common.
The four-eyed frog was first reported in St. Martin in late 2017, which begged the question: might it have had something to do with the hurricane? Did the frog arrive with cargo after Irma? Did pet frogs escape during the storm?
In the newspaper article about the Colombian four-eyed frog in The Daily Herald, the public was asked to report to Les Fruits de Mer Association if they had ever seen this peculiar creature. Within just a few days of the story being published, people came forward to say that they too had seen or heard this frog in their neighbourhoods. That’s a great example of how, through mass communication, researchers can gain useful information about the environment. We now have a better picture of nature on the island.
Have you seen or heard this frog? Tell us by writing to The Daily Herald or emailing Les Fruits de Mer Association at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Photo credit: ecosamymeza
