1. carnivorous, they eat small insects and arthropods
2. they’re arboreal—that is, they live in trees
3. they will even eat other, smaller, frogs
4. yes, you can watch their little hearts beat
5. a natural spectacle, sure to impress children everywhere
6. those that live in glass boxes often wonder if they, too, are boxes
7. males will lay their bodies over their eggs to protect them from intruders like wasps
8. my grandfather was a hoarder, once stole a bicycle from my dad and made it into a telescope
9. can you be angry, really, at an old soul that just wants to watch the stars?
10. my grandmother was an avid collector of frog-themed glass cookie jars
11. now: four jars for my dad, four for my uncle, three and ten for the sisters
12. i think, though i haven’t counted
13. in the wild, they can live up to 14 years
14. why not one longer, you might ask
15. i don’t really have anything to say about that
16. in order to turn transparent, they hide their red blood cells in their livers
17. most animals cannot hide their red blood cells
18. red list status: least concern/critically endangered
19. unsurprisingly, we are killing them
20. parental care is uncommon in frogs, which makes these guys special
21. many cannot grow larger than 25 millimeters
22. some find themselves kept as pets, like hyalinobatrachium valerioi
23. the lifespan in captivity of hyalinobatrachium valerioi is mostly unknown
24. 160 kinds. will this be enough?
25. we do hope they maintain enough genetic variance to be classified as different species
26. emerald glass frogs are even more beautiful than their namesake
27. most glass frogs do not have telescopes
28. additionally, we are unsure if amphibians understand most astronomical concepts
29. fun fact! you can see their internal organs
30. a group of frogs is called an army, though they seldom go to war
31. glass frogs almost certainly do not own bicycles
32. i think, though i haven’t asked them
Sylva Keefer is a student studying science and poetry in the desert. She enjoys passing time in libraries, watching the night sky, and searching for spadefoots after it rains.