CubaPLUS Magazine

Discovered very recently in our history: 1996, the cute but toxic Monte Iberia Frog (Eleutherodactylus Iberia), surprised everyone when it was found to be the smallest of its species in the vast geographical area of the northern hemisphere.

In Cuba it can be found in the Sagua-Baracoa mountain range, a region famous in the archipelago for its wide biodiversity. It prefers habitats located above 600 meters of altitude, and it is to the southeast of the mining city of Moa, where it is most frequently observed.

There, the annual rainfall in certain areas exceeds 1,600 millimeters, with a very high relative humidity. It is the environment preferred by Monte Iberia. Let's see its characteristics: a size that oscillates between 9.0 and 9.8 mm of its jumping body painted dark brown on the back, with a strip of a strong copper color on the part of the curvature, which turns orange as near the eyelids, where it is already golden yellow and white behind the eyes.

What a cute frog, even those who find these amphibians ugly cannot deny it. They take advantage of the daylight to go for a walk and sustain themselves, moving at their leisure under the creeping ferns spread like a blanket on the floors of the Cuban forest. As for its "voice", it is also heard during the daytime and the experts determined that it is made up of an irregular series of high-pitched notes such as hisses and squeaks, whose average dominant frequency is 5.78 ± 0.07 kHz (± 1ES ).

If you can't figure this out, let me know so they can explain themselves better.This supposed zoological miniature, without being considered a harmful animal with respect to humans, should be handled with caution in case of running into it, something highly unlikely, but not impossible.It is capable of storing toxic substances in the skin and the accumulation of fat-soluble alkaloids makes it toxic, in the style of other groups in South America, Madagascar and Asia.

We do not want to dismiss these lines about the smallest amphibian in the northern half of the world, without at least mentioning another tiny being, the butterfly bat (common name). It is the smallest in the world and its weight barely reaches two grams. But the order of these legendary beings of the night, caves and bell towers, deserves a separate article...