V is for Vietnamese Mossy Frog
This is another extraordinary frog – frogs really have some of the most incredible adaptations for their environment of any animal. This wonderful photo was taken by Andrew Mudd
And this photo was taken by Josh More:
Have I mentioned yet this year that I adore frogs? I have been most restrained and only posted two so far this year. There’s still time, though!
These mossy frogs live in flooded caves and on the banks of mountain streams in northern Vietnam, among the mosses, and are semi-aquatic, often hiding among floating plants in the water.
They have also been found breeding on crevices of mossy trees, and are excellent climbers thanks to the large suction discs on the ends of their toes.
The texture and colour of their skin with their bulbous and spiny growths is very similar to moss, and a frog that is sitting still is almost impossible to see.
Even their large eyes have beautiful, mossy patterns – and give them excellent night vision (they are nocturnal) when they are looking for small invertebrates and insects to eat.
If these frogs are threatened they curl into a ball of moss – making them look even less like an edible frog.
Vietnamese mossy frogs are protected by the Vietnamese Government, but are suffering from habitat loss and being collected illegally for the pet trade. The IUCN Red List for Threatened Species does not have enough information to classify them.
Here is my poem for them:
.
Vietnamese Mossy Frog
.
As mossy as the moss it’s on
upon the mossy log,
it misdirects so you expect
it’s moss and miss the frog.
.
© Liz Brownlee
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Information from:
Metropolitan Oceanic Institute and Aquarium.
Image one taken by Andrew Mudd and used by kind permission.
Image two taken by Josh More by Creative Commons License.
Prose and Poem © Liz Brownlee, all rights reserved, not to be used in any manner whatsoever without the permission of the author.
- Posted in: A-Z Blog Challenge 2016 ♦ Animal Magic - the book ♦ Animals ♦ Poems ♦ Sustainability
- Tagged: animals, frog, nature, poem, poetry, sustainability, Vietnamese Mossy Frog, wildlife
lizbrownlee - poet 
I think I dated this dude.
Great post and picture, Liz!
Cherdo
http://www.cherdoontheflipside.com
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Oh, Cherdo, that made me laugh. I hope he turned into a prince. And thank you!
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A lovely poem. Now that spring has truly begun, I hear frogs at dusk and sometimes at dawn, not the deep-throated mating call, but the little chip-chip-chip that lulls me to sleep.
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They might be a different frog – one does that familiar noise you hear repeated for frogs on the soundtrack of films. They each have a different noise and they are as different as chalk and cheese – ranging from tiny peeps and chirps to whistles to croaks, cries and screams.
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He’s a beauty!
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Hi, Pam, isn’t he gorgeous?
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I love frogs, too. It may be because I love Emily Dickinson’s “I’m Nobody, Who are You.” Fantastic pic, too. Glenda from
Evolving English Teacher
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Love her, too, Glenda. The pictures I’ve found this year have all been fabulous, kudos to the photographers!
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My son and I read your post together before bed tonight. Fun!
– Jenny, heworeflannel.com
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Hello, Jenny, how nice to see you again. I’m so pleased your you both liked it!
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Another winner!
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Thanks, Susan!
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So love the word play in your witty poem! 😀
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I love wordplay, Rosema! Is your name short for Rosemary, or is that it? It’s lovely!
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Yay! Thank you, Liz! It’s Rosemarie. 🙂 ❤
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Oh, isn’t he great? I’ve never heard of a mossy frog – lovely little poem too, Liz. (I shall miss your posts when the challenge ends.)
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Hi Susan, He is, isn’t he? Thank you. And I will miss yours, it’s fascinating reading real accounts of animal encounters.
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Ha ha. Wonderful! 🐸
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🙂 Thanks, Celia!
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The poem is a little masterpiece. I wonder why you adore frogs so much? You aren’t alone. I know other froggy obsessives. I prefer furry creatures but I don’t mind frogs 🙂
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Thank you, Michelle! I think it’s the way they turn their heads, and how extraordinarily beautiful some of them are, and how they have adapted to live in almost every habitat known on the planet, even an Alaskan winter. The Alaskan wood frog freezes solid – even its brain and eyes and its heart (which stops beating) and lungs (which stop breathing!) for 3 months in temperatures colder than your household freezer, then it comes alive again in the spring. They are amazing.
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I am thinking your remaining days should all be about frogs as they are awesome!! 🙂
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Hello! You are biased! There is one more to come, to keep you happyish!
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Fascinating! I love that little poem;-)
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Thank you, Diedre!
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Hello, I’m visiting from A-Z challenge. Thank you for visiting my blog today. Wow, that frog is so interesting looking, especially the eyes. Wow!
I loved the poem too.
Lynda Grace from my blog
Lynda Grace An Hour Away
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Thank you, Lynda Grace!
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This is one neat looking frog and your poem is humorous.
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Thank you, Birgit!
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That guy blends in really well. One of my letters this year was for fear of frogs.
~Ninja Minion Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author
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What was that called, Patricia?
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Frog adoration seems to be common this year – and of course, thefroglady does it best – but yours are wonderful, and the poems are, too!
Jemima Pett
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Rwally? Who else is doing frogs, I must visit! The poems should be wonderful, I am a professional children’s wildlife poet!
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http://thefroglady.wordpress.com/
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