acrylic on clayboard 10” x 8” A common denizen of fast-moving forest streams, the Poison Rock Frog (Rana hosii) ranges from southern Thailand through Sumatra, west peninsular Malaysia and Borneo to western Java. They breed throughout the year, but, like all amphibians, are most active during the rainy season. The chirping calls of the males, which have characteristic paired vocal sacs, are especially common in the first two hours after dusk. After a brief courtship, the female lays up to 2,000 eggs in a quiet pool. Toxic skin secretions protect the adults, and are capable of sickening large mammals. Here a male calls from a flooded spiny bamboo (Bambusa sp.). |
