Giant leaf frog
Phyllomedusa bicolor
— Where the name comes from
Phyllomedusa is “keeper of the leaves”, from phýllon and Médousa, the Gorgon’s name, which in Greek means “she who watches over”; bicolor refers to the contrast between the green back and the pale belly. The common name, “monkey”, looks at how it moves: it does not jump but walks slowly, gripping branches with opposable fingers.
— Facts
- Group
- Amphibians · Amphibia
- Order
- Frogs and toads
- Habitat
- Amazon canopy, near temporary pools
- Range
- The Amazon of Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and the Guianas
- Size
- 9–12 cm, 30–60 g
- Diet
- Large insects, spiders
- Lifespan
- 10 years
— Characteristics
- 01
It moves along branches one limb at a time, never jumping.
- 02
It smears itself with a waxy secretion to avoid drying out.
- 03
It lays its eggs in a leaf folded into a cone above the water.
— What sets it apart
Its skin secretion is kambô, used by several Amazonian peoples in a ritual in which the substance is applied to small burns on the skin. It contains peptides that act on the opioid receptors many times more powerfully than morphine, and one of them, dermorphin, turned up in the 2000s in American horse-racing doping tests, used to make horses run without feeling pain. An Amazonian frog has ended up in a sporting rulebook.
