I was immediately attracted to this frog by the fact that it is so tiny. Females 40-45mm weight c.4grams. Males 30-35mm weight c.2grams. Not much bigger than the top joint of my thumb!

They live in tropical rain forest at altitude 440-1600metres. There are only 2 protected sites in Costa Rica.

Many fascinating facts intrigued me.

It is vibrant green during the day, as I have shown in my work, but changes to brown at night to enhance its hunting potential for the wide variety of insects it eats.
It breeds continuously, producing up to 20 eggs at a time.

These are laid on the underside of of roots or leaves overhanging water, into which they drop when they hatch.

It has also been discovered that it has the ability to withstand a deadly fungus which has been killing off other species of tree frogs.

This is due to the fact that, unusually for most frogs, they are able to bask in hot sunlight which gives them enough heat to kill off the fungus.

I am in awe and wonder about the continuing discoveries in the natural world which, never fail to astound me.

A new bestiary and herbarium for at risk species by artists from Northern Print.

“Endless Forms Most Beautiful” is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to support visits, new printmaking and school’s programme for this project.

Northern Print artists bring together traditional printmaking and the natural world with a series of new prints highlighting the diversity of species that are categorised as ‘at risk’.

The ‘endless forms’ include marine life; plants; birds; insects and mammals with many familiar and much-loved species as well as less known and intriguing creatures that have captured the imagination and hearts of Northern Print’s artists.

This exhibition of 45 new prints has been made following a series of visits to our region’s natural history collections and habitats and represents the tiniest tip of the iceberg of our natural world under threat.

The artwork includes a range of approaches and printmaking processes – including heritage craft skills also deemed at risk including letterpress and mould-made papers