NEWS106
36
Nosignof thestriking flankand thigh isvisible
when the frog isat rest.
Thepreferredmodeof locomotion in
Phyllomedusa
isa slowwalk.Theyhoponlyexceptionally.
Lexicon
Phyllomedusa
Agalychnismeans“extremelybright”
Phyllomedusa:according toWagler,
whooriginated thename, itmeans
“Kingof thehylids”(more literally
“Kingof the leaves”).
hypochondrialis: refers to the stripes
on the flanks (AncientGreek
ὑ
π
ο-
χόνδρια
(ypochondria)=“beneath
the ribs”)
Readilybred
Thespecies-richtree-frogfamily(Hylidae) isdi-
vided into several subfamilies.
Phyllomedusa
belong to thePhyllomedusinae.Allmembers
of the subfamily Phyllomedusinae whose
modeof reproduction isknownspawn inthe
same way, out of water. They deposit their
spawn inbagswhichtheyconstructfrom lea-
vesoverhangingapool.When the tadpoles
are ready tohatch thegelatinousmass sur-
rounding theeggs liquifies,and the tadpoles
drop into thepool,where their furtherdeve-
lopmenttakesplace.
Inorder tomakeall thisworkproperly in the
terrariumwe have to simulate a dry period
anda rainyseason,as these frogsspawnonly
duringtherainyseason inthewild.Inthecase
ofPhyllomedusahypochondrialis
thedaytime
temperature israisedto29-32°Cduringthe
dry
phase.Twoweeksare sufficient tocondition
the frogs.Theyare then transferred toa“rain-
fall tank”where they usually start to spawn
veryquickly.Fenolio (1996) portraysP.hypo-
chondrialisas the fastestofall frogspecies to
respondtorainfall!
Spatyphyllum
or
Monstera
canbeofferedas
spawningplants.It isagood ideatouseplants
raised inhydroculture inorder toavoidpot-
ting compost getting into the water. Care
mustalwaysbetaken insettinguptherainfall
tank,as
Phyllomedusahypochondrialis
arevery
poorswimmersandcaneasilydrown.
The tadpoles canusuallybe rearedwithout
problemusing flake food foraquarium fishes.
Aldercones inthewaterandpeatfiltrationare
veryhelpful in keeping thewater in the re-
aringtankstable.
If youarenow filledwith thedesire tokeep
andbreed
Phyllomedusahypochondria
lis,then
yourpetdealercanundoubtedlyordersome
foryoufromawholesalerofhisacquaintance,
for exampleTropenparadies inOberhausen,
Fax+49 (0)208-665997.
Literatur:
Fenolio,D.(1996):Captive reproductionof theorange-
leggedmonkey frog (Phyllomedusa hypocondrialis),
anddevelpomentofaprotocolforphyllomedusinefrog
reproduction in the laboratory.Advances inHerpeto-
culture1:13-21
