World Frog Day

World Frog Day is celebrated every year on March 20, a chance to consider the world’s most famous tailless amphibian. The star of fairy tales, cartoons, films, and TV shows, the charismatic and clearly photogenic frog accounts for almost all amphibian species. Frogs have been around for more than 200 million years, and although they live in both warm and cold places, most reside in tropical rainforests.

Wet environments suit frogs, whose skin is semi-permeable and susceptible to dehydration. There are thousands of species of frogs, and they come in every imaginable color and shade. And frogs are vocal creatures, known for their croaking. A frog’s call is unique to each species.

This Kermit-like face belongs to a Javan tree frog. Its round, sticky toes and fingers help it maneuver on the twigs and leaves that it calls home. This one may appear to be mugging for the camera, but the tree frog’s bright colors ordinarily provide camouflage in the colorful jungle canopy where it lives. And life, it seems, is a happy one for the Javan tree frog, with a face that is all smile and always camera-ready.