Tomato frog

The tomato frog is a plump, bright red-orange frog from Madagascar. The name covers three species in the genus Dyscophus, and the best known, Dyscophus antongilii, lives in swamps and rainforest around Antongil Bay in northeastern Madagascar. Females are bigger, reaching about 10 centimetres, while males are 5 to 7.5 centimetres and duller orange.

When it is scared, a tomato frog puffs up its body. If a predator grabs it, its skin oozes a thick, sticky, whitish substance that numbs the predator's mouth and eyes and makes it let go. The glue can cause an allergic reaction in people, though it is not deadly. The Smithsonian National Zoo lists it as least concern.

Night life

Tomato frogs are active at night and eat small insects and other invertebrates. They catch prey with a quick tongue strike, aiming their head at the target. They live around 6 to 8 years and are ready to breed at 9 to 14 months old. A relative, Dyscophus guineti, is another of the three species. All three live only in Madagascar, and the tomato frog gets its name from the red colour of Dyscophus antongilii.

Eggs and froglets

They breed in the rainy season. A female lays more than a thousand eggs, and tadpoles hatch after only about 36 hours. About 45 to 60 days later the tadpoles turn into small froglets. Young frogs are duller in colour and become brighter as they mature.

On the globe

On the toy globe the tomato frog sits in swamps near Antongil Bay in northeastern Madagascar. Look for the bright red-orange body.