This piece depicts the life cycle of the uncommon Amazonian frog that I've called a frilled leaf frog (Agalychnis craspedopus). As do the other members of its genus and the related Phyllomedusa, the female of this species glues her eggs onto leaves overhanging water, from where the tadpoles will eventually drop. In the case of this frog the preferred situation is over a hollow palm stump filled with water. As water-filled palm stumps with overhanging broad leaves aren't always very common, ideal sites are often shared by a number of different frogs.

In this painting egg masses in different stages of development hang from a leaf, and in the pool below can be seen a couple of the phlegmatic tadpols that spend their days mostly lying suspended at an oblique angle to the surface, lazily filtering microscopic algae from the water. In the background lurks a long-nosed armadillo (Dasypus kappleri).