Case Study House #16 - Beverly Hills, California, 1946

Glass Frog Looks Like a Glowing Constellation in the Rainforest

The Slope-snouted Glass Frog (Cochranella euknemos) is a species of spotted glass frog considered rare in both Costa Rica and Panama but common in Colombia. It gets its name from the extra wisp of white skin that flanks the outlines of its smooth, greenish-blue body. When it comes time to conceal itself, the extra skin comes in handy. The frog is able to almost adhere perfectly to a leaf by pressing its body flat against the surface. The yellow spots that fleck its tiny body are supposed to look like dots of sunlight streaming onto the “nothing-out-of-the-ordinary-here” leaf. It almost looks like it’s a constellation within the dark rainforest.