Animal
Common coquí
This little brown frog comes from Puerto Rico. At night it sings: co-QUI!
The common coquí is a small brown frog from Puerto Rico whose males make a loud 'co-qui' call at night. It has no tadpole stage: tiny froglets hatch straight out of the eggs, which the father guards in a hidden nest. It is the most common frog in Puerto Rico, and people have also carried it to Hawaii and other places. In Hawaii it has become a problem.
Eleutherodactylus coqui (family Eleutherodactylidae) is native to Puerto Rico, from sea level to 1,338 m, and introduced to the US Virgin Islands, Hawaii and Costa Rica. It is a nocturnal, arboreal habitat generalist with direct development and male nest guarding. The IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group listed it as Least Concern (assessed 24 June 2020, published 2021), with an increasing population trend.
Photo: Casey H. Richart, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Meet the common coquí
This frog is small and brown.
Its toes have round, sticky pads.
It sings: co-qui!
The common coquí is a small tree frog, about 2.5 to 5.5 centimeters long, though it is the largest frog in the forests of Puerto Rico. It is light brown with gray or tan markings on its back and a light gray belly. Females are bigger than males, and coquís living higher up in the mountains grow bigger too.
Its toes are not webbed. Instead, each toe has a large, sticky disk underneath for climbing.
Adults measure 24 to 55 mm, females larger than males, with size increasing with elevation; light brown with grey or tan dorsal markings and a light grey venter; toes free, without webbing, with large adhesive disks (ADW). The Hawaii Invasive Species Council gives 1 to 2 inches and colors from tan to dark brown. Despite its small size it is the largest frog species in Puerto Rico's forests (ADW).
Quick facts
- Group
- Amphibian
- Length
- 0.02 to 0.06 m
Forests, farms and gardens
Coquís live all over Puerto Rico.
They live in forests, farms and even towns.
Common coquís live all over the island of Puerto Rico, from the coast to the top of its highest mountain, 1,338 meters up. They are found in forests, on farms and plantations, and in towns, parks and even homes, everywhere except the driest parts of the island.
Coquís use the whole forest, from the ground to the treetops. Young frogs stay in the leaf litter, and grown-ups climb higher.
IUCN: native and widespread on Puerto Rico, sea level to 1,338 m (the island's highest peak); mesic forest; a habitat generalist in forest, plantations, arable land and urban settings. ADW: abundant except in the driest regions, often around homes and parks, at all levels from understory to canopy; juveniles start in the understory leaf litter and move higher as they grow.
Continent
Did you know?
This frog's song sounds like its name!
The males' call sounds just like the frog's name: 'co-qui', said 'ko-kee'.
Two-part 'co-qui' advertisement call (ADW; HISC).
Where can you find this animal?
- Brought here by people · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
- Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
- Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
Brought here by people · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Introduced to Hawaii, and to Turrialba in Costa Rica (IUCN); the US listing also includes California. Also introduced to St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands (too small to show), and to Puerto Rico's islands of Vieques and Culebra. Introductions to the Dominican Republic and southern Florida have died out (IUCN).
Places: United States and Costa Rica.
Source: iucn-red-list · checked November 2026
Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Native only to the island of Puerto Rico, from sea level to 1,338 m (IUCN).
Places: Puerto Rico.
Source: iucn-red-list · checked November 2026
Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
Counts of GBIF records of wild observations (human and machine) and preserved specimens. Records include introduced populations, vagrants, escaped or released animals and misidentifications, so a country with records is not necessarily part of the native range.
Wild sightings have been recorded in Puerto Rico, United States, Costa Rica and Jamaica.
Source: gbif · checked October 2026
Range maps show where scientists say an animal lives, often country by country. An animal may live in only part of a country shown, and sightings records can include animals that wandered far from home.
A sit-and-wait insect hunter
Coquís eat bugs.
They sit very still, then grab their food!
Common coquís hunt at night. A coquí sits still on a leaf until an insect comes very close, then strikes, often moving less than 5 centimeters to grab it.
Young coquís eat small prey such as ants. Bigger frogs eat spiders, moths, crickets, snails and even small frogs, and roaches and crickets seem to make up more than half of an adult's food.
Primarily arthropods; diet varies with size and age but not sex: juveniles take small prey such as ants; larger frogs take spiders, moths, crickets, snails and even small frogs; more than half the adult diet appears to be roaches and crickets, the rest mainly ants. Sit-and-wait foragers that strike when prey is very close, often moving less than 5 cm (ADW). In Hawaii they eat huge quantities of insects, from the forest floor to the treetops (Hawaii Invasive Species Council).
Did you know?
A coquí can be as loud as a motorcycle!
A single coquí's call can reach 95 decibels, about as loud as a motorcycle engine.
Up to 95 dB (Hawaii Invasive Species Council).
Sticky toes, no webbing
Its toes have sticky pads.
It can climb up leaves and tree trunks.
A coquí climbs with the big, sticky disks under its toes, and its toes have no webbing between them. At night it climbs high into the trees to feed, and in the morning it comes back down.
Its brown markings help it stay hidden among the leaves, and it moves very little while it waits for food.
Toes free, with large adhesive disks (ADW). Nocturnal tree climber: emerges at night as humidity rises and climbs to the canopy to forage, descending as humidity drops in the morning; horizontal movement seldom exceeds 6 m a night. Adults are camouflaged in the foliage by their markings and sedentary behavior (ADW).
No tadpoles at all
The father frog guards the eggs.
Tiny frogs hatch right out of the eggs.
There are no tadpoles!
Coquís don't need a pond. The female lays about 3 to 45 eggs in a sheltered nest, such as a tree hole, a rolled-up palm leaf or an old bird's nest. The young frogs grow inside the eggs and skip the tadpole stage.
The father guards the nest and keeps the eggs moist by touching them with his skin. About 17 to 26 days after the eggs are laid, tiny froglets hatch out.
Direct development: the embryo develops into a froglet within the egg, bypassing a free-living tadpole (IUCN; ADW). Fertilization is internal; about 3 to 45 eggs are laid in protected cavities such as tree holes, rolled palm petioles or abandoned bird nests; froglets emerge about 17 to 26 days after laying, freed by an egg tooth; the male guards and moistens the clutch and may leave in very dry periods to collect moisture. Breeding is year-round, more often in the rainy season, with clutches about every 8 weeks (ADW).
Co-qui! A two-part song
Male coquís sing all night: co-qui, co-qui!
The song is very loud.
The male's call has two parts. The 'co' warns other males to keep away, and the 'qui' attracts females. If another male is close by, a coquí may call only 'co'.
The call is very loud, up to 95 decibels, about as loud as a motorcycle engine, and coquís call from dusk until dawn, mostly from 1 to 2 meters off the ground.
Two-part call: 'co' is directed at other males, 'qui' attracts females; with a male nearby the caller may give only 'co'; females give a low rasping call to defend feeding territories; males and females defend nest sites (ADW). In Hawaii: calls of up to 95 dB from dusk to dawn, mainly from perches 1 to 2 m high (Hawaii Invasive Species Council). Males call from elevated exposed surfaces such as leaves and tree trunks (IUCN).
Did you know?
The father coquí looks after the eggs.
The male guards the nest and keeps the eggs moist by touching them with his skin.
Paternal nest guarding and moistening of the clutch (ADW).
Common at home, a problem abroad
There are lots of coquís in Puerto Rico.
People took some to Hawaii by mistake, and there are too many there now.
The common coquí is listed as least concern: it is the most widespread and common frog in Puerto Rico, and its numbers are going up. It lives in all of the island's protected areas.
Outside Puerto Rico it causes trouble. Coquís reached Hawaii hidden in plants around or before 1988, and with apparently few predators there, they now live in huge numbers, up to 91,000 frogs in a hectare. They eat huge amounts of insects, and many people find their loud calls a problem.
Least Concern (IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group; Global; assessed 24 June 2020, published 2021; trend increasing): widespread, extremely abundant, tolerant of disturbed habitats; recovering from early-1990s declines in El Yunque National Park; possible threats from pesticides and chytridiomycosis; present in all of Puerto Rico's protected areas. Introduced to Vieques, Culebra, the US Virgin Islands, Hawaii and Costa Rica; extirpated in the Dominican Republic and south Florida (IUCN). Hawaiian densities reach 91,000 frogs per hectare, two to three times higher than in Puerto Rico (Beard et al. 2009; Woolbright et al. 2006, via IUCN and the Hawaii Invasive Species Council).
IUCN Red List
How is the common coquí doing in the wild?
- Least Concern (this animal)
- Near Threatened
- Vulnerable
- Endangered
- Critically Endangered
- Extinct in the Wild
- Extinct
Least Concern
Not at risk of disappearing from the wild right now.
Amazing facts
-
This frog's song sounds like its name!
The males' call sounds just like the frog's name: 'co-qui', said 'ko-kee'.
Two-part 'co-qui' advertisement call (ADW; HISC).
-
Coquí babies never swim as tadpoles.
Coquís skip the tadpole stage: tiny froglets hatch straight out of the eggs, so they don't need a pond.
Direct development (IUCN; ADW).
-
The father coquí looks after the eggs.
The male guards the nest and keeps the eggs moist by touching them with his skin.
Paternal nest guarding and moistening of the clutch (ADW).
-
A coquí can be as loud as a motorcycle!
A single coquí's call can reach 95 decibels, about as loud as a motorcycle engine.
Up to 95 dB (Hawaii Invasive Species Council).
Words to know
- direct development
- growing from egg to tiny frog without a tadpole stage
- toe pad
- a round, sticky pad on the tip of a frog's finger or toe
- introduced
- brought by people to a place where it did not live before
- invasive
- an introduced living thing that spreads and causes harm
- decibel
- a unit for measuring how loud a sound is
- least concern
- not currently at serious risk of dying out in the wild
Discovery challenge
-
Where do coquís come from?
Where is the common coquí native?
What is the native range of Eleutherodactylus coqui?
- Puerto Rico
- Hawaii
- Florida
Show the answer
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico!
It is native only to Puerto Rico; people carried it to Hawaii.
Native to Puerto Rico; introduced elsewhere (IUCN).
-
Do baby coquís swim as tadpoles?
How do coquí babies start life?
What developmental mode does Eleutherodactylus coqui show?
- They hatch as tiny frogs
- They swim as tadpoles
- They are born from their mother
Show the answer
They hatch as tiny frogs
They hatch as tiny frogs!
The young grow inside the eggs and hatch as froglets.
Direct development (IUCN; ADW).
-
Who guards the coquí eggs?
Which parent guards the coquí's nest?
Which sex provides parental care in Eleutherodactylus coqui?
- The father
- The mother
- Nobody
Show the answer
The father
The father!
The male guards the eggs and keeps them moist.
Males are the primary caretakers of eggs (ADW).
-
What does the 'qui' part of the song do?
What is the 'qui' part of a male coquí's call for?
What is the function of the 'qui' note in the call of E. coqui?
- Calling females
- Scaring birds
- Finding water
Show the answer
Calling females
It calls the females!
The 'co' warns other males; the 'qui' attracts females.
'Qui' attracts females; 'co' is directed at males (ADW).
Places where you might see it
-
Watch
Country
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico is the easternmost island of the Greater Antilles, a self-governing commonwealth associated with the United States. Its people have been US citizens since 1917. It has mountains, the El Yunque rain forest and the old forts of San Juan, a World Heritage site. The US Census Bureau estimated 3,184,835 people in 2025.
-
Watch
Country
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a small country in Central America between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Volcanoes and mountains run down its middle, its forests are full of wildlife, and many national parks protect them. Since 1949 it has had no army. About 5.2 million people lived there in 2025.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Explain how a coquí grows from egg to frog without a tadpole stage.
- Describe the two parts of the coquí's call.
- Explain how coquís reached Hawaii.
- Explain why an animal can be common at home but a problem where it is introduced.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might a frog without tadpoles be able to live far from ponds?
- Why might coquís reach much higher numbers in Hawaii than in Puerto Rico?
- How can people stop animals from hitching rides in plants?
Try at home or in class
- Two-part call: take turns calling 'co' (to warn) and 'qui' (to invite). What happens to your call when a 'rival' is close by?
- Loudness ladder: list sounds from quiet to loud (a whisper, talking, a vacuum cleaner, a motorcycle) and place the coquí's 95-decibel call on it.
Key vocabulary: direct development, toe pad, introduced, invasive, decibel, least concern
Where these facts come from
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and GBIF Occurrence Search , Global Biodiversity Information Facility (CC0 1.0 (backbone); occurrence counts are facts derived from records under CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC)
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN terms of use (no redistribution of Red List data or range maps))
- Eleutherodactylus coqui (IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, assessed 24 June 2020, published 2021) , IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Eleutherodactylus coqui: taxonomy, justification, range, population, habitat, threats, trade and conservation text , IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Eleutherodactylus coqui: IUCN Red List global assessment record (IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group 2021), IUCN checklist on GBIF , GBIF
- Eleutherodactylus coqui (Tanya Dewey) , Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
- Coqui frog (invasive species profile) , Hawaii Invasive Species Council, Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources
- File:Eleutherodactylus coqui 230762425.jpg (Casey H. Richart, 5 September 2022) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file: Public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA only (credited on each page))
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.