Tomato frogs belong to the genus Dyscophus. There are three species of frogs under this genus. These frogs are native to Madagascar.
D. antongilii
D. insularis
D. guineti
The tomato frogs have strong reddish-orange to yellowish-red color while their bellies are creamy-yellow. In some species, the throat of these frogs may have dark spots. Unlike male tomato frogs, females have bright red color. This bright color serves a useful purpose because it may ward off predators by sending out a message: “Hey! this is toxic”. However, still in case if the predator grabs its prey, the tomato frog has its second line of defense i.e. oozing a dense sticky substance that clogs up the eyes of the predator. Thus, it lets the frog go.
The length of a female tomato frog can be up to 10 centimeters while the males can grow from 5 to 7.6 centimeters in length.
Tomato frogs have normal lifespan of around 6 to 8 years.
These frogs mature at around 9 to 14 months. The breeding for D. antongilii species occur between February and March. A female tomato frog of this species lays a clutch size of 1,00
0 to 15,000 eggs. The eggs are hatched after 1.5 days. After 45 days, the tadpoles are developed (metamorphosed) into froglets (small frog after the stage of tadpole).
Tomato frogs are endemic to Madagascar. They are found along the northeast regions of this island country.
These frogs inhabit marshlands and shallow ponds.
