Finding the Real Golden Coquí

Title Golden Coquí Author: George Dewey, USFWS

I've been meaning to work on a project about a very particular coquí frog from the island of Puerto Rico known as the Golden Coquí (Eleutherodactylus jasperi). This from is an endemic species of the island but it's existence is now part of myths and legends since its has not been seen since 1981. Many scientist have tried to locate this creature but it eludes them every time. I believe that with today's technology, we should be able to find at least a small population. In order to understand this amphibian, we must know the basics of the coquies in itself. 

There are 17 different species of coquies in the small island of Puerto Rico.  The name coquí is a very common name for the eleutherodactylus genus of amphibians that are native to the island of Puerto Rico. Various species of coquí are considered an invasive species in Hawaii and California. Their conservation status range from very common to critically endangered and they are becoming more endangered due to pollution, deforestation for  housing development, and a very dangerous fungus that causes their skin to dry. 

As for their habitat, they can be found all over the island, anywhere from the dry forest of Guanica, like also in the Rainforest of El Yunque National Park. None the less, they prefer to live in humid places even in the dry ecosystems of the island. The majority of the coquies live in water holding plants, like bromeliads. 

If you are interested in learning more about this amphibian, look it up on the web since there is a ton of information of the coquí. This little from is considered to be one of our national animals and its part of the culture of Puerto Rico since the dawn of time. The people of Puerto Rico are very proud of the coquí since it's existence is well illustrated in tainos hieroglyphics. Now that you know something basic of the coquies, let's talk about the Golden Coquí. 

This small frog was discovered in 1973 by four scientist, George E. Drewry , Kirkland L. Jones, Julia R. Clark, and Jasper J. Loftus-Hill and it was first reported to science in 1976 but unfortunately due to the deforestation in the location where the frog was found, the scientists were unable to keep studying them. The Golden Coquí was last seen in 1981. 

This frog is very small, roughly around 17-22mm (0.67-0.87 in) and it appearance is olive-gold to yellow gold with no distinct patterns. The Golden Coquí is the only of its species that is an ovovivoparous, that means that instead of laying eggs like it’s relative coquíes, she will give birth to 3-6 fully developed youngs. This can be one of the factors of why this species of coquí haven’t been seen, their reproduction is so rare that if anything happens to the mother, all of her young dies with her before they are developed. 

The Golden Coquí was found in areas of dense blomeliad in the Sierra de Cayey of Puerto Rico. This area has an approximate height of 647 to 785 m above sea level. Near the location of where is was found, there is state forest where it meets a lot of the required conditions to house this creature. The Carite State Forest is around 929 acres of protected land where the land cannot be destroyed or damaged making this the ideal place to have this frog. 

I intend to learn more about this frog from the extensive research the four scientist and from a professor from the University of Puerto Rico, Rafael Joglar. I will be making a podcast journal about the finding and research I have made in relations to the Golden Coquí as well as blog articles and hopefully in a distant future, I will be able to document this creature before it actually goes extinct.