Jamaican Laughing Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Osteopilus ocellatus
Status: Least Concern
Range: Jamaica
Range & Habitat
The Jamaican Laughing Tree Frog is an endemic frog to Jamaica and is one of the many frog residents of the Cockpit Country . The tree frog can be found in woods, park and rural garden areas as well as plantations and small - scale farms.
It typically uses bromeliads as calling sites. The tree frog lays its eggs in bromeliads and tadpole development occurs there.
Conservation status
The Jamaican Laughing Tree frog is listed as Least Concern according to the IUCN Red List.
Threats
Deforestation is the main threat to Jamaican Tree frog populations.
The main concern for the Cockpit Country are disturbances observed at the boundary of the forest. Many sites in the forest are completely cleared for agricultural purposes or agricultural crops were integrated into the forest system.
These practices change the environmental conditions of the edge habitat which can alter conditions of the interior habitat of the forest. Land clearing and burning results in a great loss of plant species as well as the animals which they host. Bauxite mining is another major threat to the biodiversity of native species especially in areas of Litchfield Mountain-Matheson’s run, the second ranked key biodiversity area in the entire Caribbean.