The whistling coquí, coquí pitito, Cochran's treefrog, or Cochran's robber frog (''Eleutherodactylus cochranae'') is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

native to

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

, the

US Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands, officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and a Territories of the United States, territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Isl ...

, and the

British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...

. This

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

insectivore file:Common brown robberfly with prey.jpg, A Asilidae, robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivore, carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the Entomophagy ...

is also referred to as the ''coquí pitito'' in Puerto Rico. Their distinctive song is a single, rising whistle, which is repeated and followed by three clicking sounds.

Description

The whistling coqui measures between 0.6 and 0.7 inches, but the females can grow to 0.9 in long. Their physical coloration is gray, tan, or gray-brown. Their

dorsa Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position provi ...

have a unique pattern of fine lines that resemble two reverse parenthesis . Their

venter Venter or Venters is an Afrikaans (and rarely, Jewish) surname, and may refer to: Venter * AJ Venter (b. 1973), South African rugby union footballer * Al J Venter (b. 1938), author * André Venter (b. 1970), South African rugby union footballer * ...

s are white, gray, or creamy yellow. Their legs are brown with small toe pads, and they have dark, fine lines on the midline of their snouts. Their throats and thighs are distinctive for their speckled, small brown spots. See references for picture website.

Distribution and habitat

The whistling coqui is usually found sleeping in the refuge of tree

bromeliads The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

(where it also lays its eggs) and coconut husk piles during the day. Several inhabit the southwest flank of the

Luquillo Mountains The Sierra de Luquillo (English: "Luquillo Mountains") is a steep-sided, high-Rain, precipitation, and deeply-forested subrange of the Cordillera Central (Puerto Rico), Cordillera Central mountain range in the Geography of Puerto Rico, main island ...

and Guanica's dry forest in Puerto Rico, as well as humid areas of Puerto Rico such as

Utuado Utuado () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central mountainous region of the island known as the '' Cordillera Central''. It is located north of Adjuntas and Ponce; south of Hatillo and Arecibo; east of Lares; and west ...

Cayey Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north east of Salinas and north of Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east o ...

, and the Caribbean National Forest. Overall, they range from the Puerto Rican islands (except Mona and Monito) to St. John, St. Thomas, and the British Virgin Islands (except Anegada). The whistling coqui is found in semiarid, wooded areas, such as the dry forest of Guánica and the humid areas of Utuado, Cayey, and Luquillo. They find and use trees, such as bromeliad plants, and

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

to hide from predators during the day. Depending on their area, they are found as high as three feet from the ground in trees.

Reproduction

Males use their songs as mating calls from about three feet from the ground in trees, and are usually heard before dusk and after dawn. Their reproduction, as most of the family Eleutherodactylidae, skips the tadpole phase. Their eggs are laid in humid areas, and the froglets emerge and continue their lives.

References

*http://cars.er.usgs.gov/herps/Frogs_and_Toads/E_cochranae/e_cochranae.html {{Taxonbar, from=Q286193 Eleutherodactylus Fauna of the British Virgin Islands Amphibians of Puerto Rico Amphibians of the United States Virgin Islands Amphibians described in 1932 Taxa named by Chapman Grant