El Coquí – Puerto Rico’s Little Frog
If you visit Puerto Rico you will find that each evening the air becomes alive with the sound of song. However, this unique and alarmingly loud croaking sound does not come from a bird. It comes from a pretty little frog barely bigger than the average person’s thumbnail. Known as a coquí, it is clear that Puerto Rico’s little frog was named for its sound. It must have taken quite some time for early inhabitants of the country to figure out that such a big noise was coming from such a tiny creature.
El Coquí is the name of the tree frogs that inhabit Puerto Rico and are named for the sounds the male frogs make at night. It is believed that the “Co” is to fend off other males while establishing their territory, while the “qui” is to attract a female for mating. These frogs are native to Puerto Rico and have become the unofficial symbol of the island.
Although not very large, only three to five centimeters in length, they are a very adaptive species. They are not built for water, no webbed feet for swimming, but are able to live and reproduce in moist climates from sea level to an altitude of 1200 meters. Like most tree frogs, they have pads on their feet to enable them to adhere to slippery surfaces. The females have an amazing reproductive schedule; four to six times a year they lay up to 40 eggs during each reproductive cycle and gestation lasts less than a month. Most of these frogs are brown-grey in color and hide easily in the trees of their habitat away from predators. Recently they have been found in Hawaii due to imports from Puerto Rico, where they wander into to various cargos that passes through these islands.
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El Coquí is a small frog averaging roughly 36mm in length from mouth to feet though the female may be somewhat larger than the male. Its body is only about 15mm long and its head is somewhat wider than its body. As is normally the case with frogs, El Coquí feeds on insects which fly near enough for it to catch. However the coquí is quite different from other frogs in a number of ways. For one thing, it does not have webbed feet, but instead fingerlike toes which assist it to climb trees and shrubs. Another aspect in which it differs is that of its young which do not have a tadpole stage. Indeed, when the male sees fit to help the young coquí hatch, fully formed little frogs about the size of an ant come hopping out and quickly make their way to nearby water. El Coquí is able to change the shade of its skin to help it blend into its surroundings and while the female lays the eggs it is the more attractive male who watches over them and helps them to hatch. The male does not ‘sing’ while watching over its young.
This interesting little creature has long played a role in the workday of the average sugarcane worker. Long before the concept of the work-whistle was even thought of, El Coquí was sounding its alarm to signal the end of the day. Sugarcane cutters still use this little frog’s croak as the signal to end a hard day’s work. If you are ever fortunate enough to see one, you will find that the frog blows itself up to unimaginable proportions in order to make the tremendous sounds that have made it so popular. So the next time you visit Puerto Rico, why not see if you can hear the distinctive ‘ko-kee!’ of the coquí frog – or perhaps even try and spot one in the foliage? It is one of natures many delights.
Puerto Rico has a rich and diverse endemic life on her lands. From plant life to birds and amphibians there is something for everyone. There are many species of frogs, but the one that makes the people of Puerto Rico the proudest is the Coqui.
