Critically Endangered
A large female of this frog was discovered in 1875. They were not seen again until 2011 when a survey started in 2010 hoping to find lost amphibians...found them. This is not life-sized, the large female was 28mm, and it seems they are usually smaller than that, males especially. The male will squeeze through a crack or slit in bamboo, and call to a female. She will lay her eggs, which he then protects until they hatch. Like others of the frogs I am painting this week, their eggs hatch as frogs instead of tadpoles. The main thing the males have to protect the eggs from is other males. They are sort of cannibalistic. The ideal nests are hard to come by, so the easiest way to get your own is to find one that isn't guarded, have a snack to clean things out, and then start calling for a female to start over again. It was found that the main cause for egg mortality is getting eaten when dad pops out for a bit of a break. The biggest threat to these frogs though is the same as the rest I've done this week, habitat loss. Bamboo harvested at the wrong time, when inhabited by frogs, could cause spectacular loss for a species already struggling.
I want to have the individual paintings stand alone, but am trying to recreate a pose that is as close to the group painting as I can, without having it appear that they are possibly riding in an invisible bicycle or plane. Speaking of invisible planes, I desperately wanted to be Wonder Woman when I was little. It was back in the time of Underoos. Our family couldn't afford such an expensive luxury, but my parents knew how much I wanted to have some so they managed to find underwear for me that was vaguely similar with stars and stripes. I was maybe 5, and had struck the Wonder Woman classic pose on top of the slide in our back yard. My younger sister was playing on the ground. A student at the university we lived near walked past our house and asked me who I was. I told him I was "American Sara" (couldn't lie and say I was Wonder Woman). When he asked who my sister was, I told him "Sawdust", which was apparently the best moniker I could come up for my side-kick on the spot.
Oh, and any kids who might be reading this, if someone you don't know ever comes up to you and asks you name, please do not tell them anything! You should run away and find someone safe. Also, as I stressed to my kids over and over when they were little, if somebody ever tries to take you away, bite, kick, scratch, poke their eyes, and scream. Don't go without a fight and don't think that you have to be nice because they are an adult.
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