Dink Frogs

Evenings in the low and middle elevation jungles of Costa Rica are filled with the bell-like calls of Dink Frogs or Common Tink Frogs (Eleutherodactylus diastema), also known as Rana Martillita in Spanish.

Dink Frog or Common Tink Frog (Eleutherodactylus diastema) in Costa Rica

The calls of these frogs sound just like someone giving a loud tap to a crystal wineglass with a piece of silverware. Dink Frogs are amazingly loud for such a small frog, but their calls are actually wonderfully pleasant nighttime "music". Female Dink Frogs are about 1 inch (2.54 cm) long, while the noisy males are only about 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) long.

Dink Frogs are tree dwellers, and if you look carefully, you can find one of the males calling from a leaf. These frogs have adhesive disks on their fingers and toes that easily allow them to stick to tree leaves. Their arms and legs are short, and instead of hopping like a regular frog, you will instead see Dink Frogs climbing and walking about in the trees more like a small mammal.

Dink Frog or Common Tink Frog (Eleutherodactylus diastema) in Costa Rica

These little frogs are varying shades of brown and have large eyes with horizontally elliptical pupils.

Dink Frog or Common Tink Frog (Eleutherodactylus diastema) in Costa Rica

Dink Frogs lay their eggs in the rainwater at the center of treetop bromeliads. Unlike other frogs, Dink Frogs have no free-swimming tadpoles, and instead miniature adult frogs emerge from the eggs, ready for life in the trees.