Cahuita National Park

Habitat
The Tink Frog inhabits forests from near sea level up to 1,800 m in elevation, including lowland moist forest and wet forest, premontane wet forest and rainforest, and occasionally lower montane wet forest and rainforest.

Range
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and part of western Ecuador are home to the Tink Frog.

Physical Description
This small frog has large sticky disks on its fingers and toes which help it navigate its tree top existence. The Tink Frog uses short, agile limbs to jump or run short distances or scurry like an amphibian rodent. Its color is variable throughout the day. During the day, when the frog is hiding, it is usually gray to brown with bars or spots in a contrasting color. At night when the frog emerges, it becomes a pink or tan color. The frog’s belly is always pale.

Biology and Natural History
In rainforests throughout Central America, many nights are accompanied by a chorus of frogs calling with a light “tink!” or “dink!” This common nocturnal frog is tiny and hard to see, but it is even harder to miss their call. Some liken the call to the sound of a metal fork on a wine glass. An individual can dink as high as 30-40 times per minute, and with several frogs in an area, the night can turn riotously loud.

In some countries, the species within the genus Eleutherodactylus number more than 500 and are difficult to tell apart; more species are classified in this genus of frogs than any vertebrate genus. Most in the genus call softly, unlike the voluble Tink Frog. This species restricts its activities to tree habitats, from the understory to the canopy. During the day, it hides in bromeliads or tree cavities, or under bark or fallen leaves.

With large silver and brown eyes, this species searches at night for mates. The males leave their daytime coverings for leaves along stream banks, low shrubs, or bromeliads. From their perches they call loudly in duets or even a small chorus led by one male. In the event that a male attracts a female to his territory and they copulate, she may lay up to 10 eggs for him, and he tends to them in a bromeliad where it is moist and safe. Like all Eleutherodactylus species, the Tink Frog skips the tadpole stage. Instead, metamorphosis takes place inside the egg, and miniature froglets emerge from the eggs when they are ready.

Diet
This little frog mostly consumes arthropods, particularly ants.

Height/Weight
Males are 16-21 mm (or 3/4 inches), and females are larger at 18-24 mm (or 1 inch).

Taxonomy
Order: Anura
Family: Leptodactylidae

Habitat
This spider strings its large web between trees in the forest across trails or gaps. Because they build in spots other insects are passing through, the spider may choose areas in moderate or even sparse forest.

Range
The golden orb weaver can be found in lowland forests from the southern regions of Florida and Texas down through Panama.

Physical Description
The female registers her species as one of the largest spiders in Central America. The female has a long but rounded olive brown body with light spots. With her very long legs and striking coloration, the female looks like quite the predator, especially next to her company. Male golden orbs are tiny compared to their mates, and one or more males often perch somewhere on the female’s web, taking advantage of the ample food supply.

Biology and Natural History
This spider normally rests in the center of her enormous web made of brilliant gold-colored silk. The web can be a meter wide, strung between branches and a few meters off the ground. When an insect catches in the silk, the female golden orb slides over to it, bites it, and injects venom that paralyzes the prey. Then she wraps it in silk and moves it before beginning to eat. The males usually sit off to the side where they can be protected by overhanging leaves. These males and other creatures will poach prey captured by the female’s web. Thieves include other spiders, damselflies, wasps, and even hummingbirds.

Diet
Golden orb weavers will catch and consume different species of flies, bees, beetles, moths, and butterflies. Some butterflies are less palatable due to toxins or other chemicals in their bodies; the golden orb will recognize these and free them from the web.

Height/Weight
An adult female has a body length of 3 to 4 cm and a leg span of 5 cm. Her mate is comparatively tiny: adult males have a body length of 4 to 8 mm.

Habitat
This gecko is usually found in low elevation areas where humans live, as one might expect, on surfaces such as walls, roofs, or railings.

Range
This species lives in regions including southern India, southern China, Malaysia, the Philippines, northern Australia, Guam, the Mediterranean, and Central America.

Physical Description
This reptile has small scales over most of its body that lend it a velvety texture. On its upper surfaces it is a grayish to pinkish to darker brown, occasionally with specks or stripes. The underside is pale yellow with brown specks. Some adults have pale red instead. There is a small stripe from the end of the nose through the eye area and back to the ear. At night, the overall color of the gecko becomes paler.

The house gecko can be distinguished by its foot characteristics. All its digits have non-retractable claws, divided pads, and lack toe webbing. This species also has multiple bands of relatively larger, pointed scales around the tail. One other gecko species, Hemidactylus garnotii, is difficult to distinguísh from the house gecko without a microscope to compare their scales.

Biology and Natural History
This common reptile might be seen actively hunting insects during the day, but they are more likely to be seen at night while they stalk insects crowding electric lights. They are fast animals, and have toes constructed to render them capable of running on vertical, smooth surfaces and even upside down.

One of the more talkative reptiles and certainly the most talkative lizard in Costa Rica, the house gecko is sometimes heard before it is seen, with a rapidly repeated chirp or chuck that can be loud and startling when nearby. Both sexes do this, although males do it more, particularly before they attack another male. He will also use the call to attract females.

Females may share nesting sites, but usually pairs of eggs are laid in small nooks near ceilings, beams, or under leaf litter. Females can store sperm in their body for up to 8 months before using it over multiple clutches of eggs while they are isolated from males. This ability is one reason the house gecko has been so effective at colonizing new areas. This species has managed to travel among and survive in many regions of the world. Across most of its range in the world, this gecko is generally found in human-inhabited areas.

Diet
Insects compose this small reptile’s diet, particularly those hovering near lights at night.

Height/Weight
From snout to vent, this gecko grows to 50 mm (2 in.); total length including the tail can be 135 mm. Adult males may be slightly longer than females.

Taxonomy
Order: Squamata
Family: Gekkonidae