The Solomon island eyelash frog is a moderately robust frog that hails from the Bougainville and Solomon Islands in the south Pacific. The species inhabits the forest floor and with its triangular head and “eyelashes” it is thought that they perhaps
mimic leaves and rely upon camouflage to avoid predators and wait for prey. Eyelash frogs breed by direct development which means they lay eggs that have no tadpole stage. Instead, they larval amphibians completely undergo metamorphosis within the egg and hatch as tiny versions of the adults. Researches say that this frog is able to tolerate a wide range of different habitats, even popping up in people’s gardens. Likely as a consequence, it is fairly abundant throughout its range. We obtained the animals that are on display from the Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska, where they were bred and hatched.
We have four species of Poison frog (Genus Dendrobates) on exhibit at the Houston Zoo. In one tank that is themed around the amphibians of Panama, you can find two color varieties of the Green and Black Poison frog (Dendrobates auratus), one is blue the other is green, however, they are the same species. In another tank that is themed around South America, you can find three color variants of the Dyeing Poison Frog (Dendrobates tinctorius). One has a blue reticulated pattern on its legs, the other has bold yellow markings on its back, and the last one is predominately blue. This cage is also home to the Terrible Poison Frog (Phyllobates terribilis), these frogs are one of the most toxic vertebrates on earth. The last species is the Amazon Poison Frog (Dendrobates ventrimaculatus), these frogs are known as thumbnail frogs because they are only the size of your thumbnail. They hang out in the bromeliads in the exhibit and are bright yellow. All these frogs are toxic to some degree in the wild due to their diet, but in captivity where they eat crickets and fruit flies, they are not toxic
The Shancheng Stout Salamanders (Pachyhynobius shangchengensis) have been at the zoo since early 2007. We have two males and two females on exhibit. Males can be differentiated from females by their broad heads. The head of the female is not as wide. There are only two zoo’s in the United States that exhibit this species and only five individuals, Houston has four out of five. This species is a member of a family of Asian salamanders called the Hynobiidae, and are largely unrepresented in the zoo’s of the US. Hynobids are one of only two families of salamander that are external fertilizers. They lay a string or coil of eggs that are concealed inside a curling tube. These salamanders like it cold, we keep them at about 60 degrees Fahrenheit and in the wild they can be exposed to temperatures much lower. In captivity we feed them a diet of earthworms.Photo courtesy of Camille Nims Lamoureux, copywrited
The Panamanian Golden frog (Atelopus zeteki) has been on exhibit in the Houston Zoo’s Reptile and Amphibian House since 2002. Currently, five males are on display in a mixed species exhibit with other Panamanian amphibians. We have four males and eight females in reserve. 
