Coffee frog discovered in Costa Rica plantations

Researchers have identified a tiny nocturnal tree frog in Costa Rica's central Pacific region, where it lives among coffee plantations and may face risks from farm chemicals.

The greenish, dark-spotted amphibian measures less than four centimeters and is known as the spring frog. It has also been nicknamed the coffee frog because it is found on coffee shrubs, including in San Lorenzo de Tarrazu.

Wagner Chaves-Acuna, a researcher, said the frog is a new tree frog species for science and is endemic to Costa Rica, citing findings by colleagues from the University of Costa Rica and Argentina's National Council for Scientific and Technical Research.

Chaves-Acuna said males have a translucent throat that inflates when they make a short, high-pitched call. The frogs feed on small insects in the habitat rather than coffee berries.

He warned that pesticides used on coffee plantations could potentially harm the amphibians because chemicals can move through air and soil into aquatic systems where tadpoles develop.