Tiny tree frog found in bananas 4,000 miles from home

A tiny tree frog has been found in a bag of bananas more than 4,000 miles (6,440km) from its Dominican Republic home.

A shopper discovered the amphibian when unpacking fruit he bought from a local supermarket in Sheen, south London.

Philip Norman, of the RSPCA, was called to the 1.2-inch (3cm) frog, which would have been wrapped up in the bag for some time.

It had an injured leg and was taken to the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre.

Mr Norman said: "It can be difficult to identify species of frog but it's believed to be a Hispaniolan common tree frog or a Dominican tree frog.

"The shopper had quite the shock when he unwrapped [the bananas] at home to find the little frog inside. This little one has had quite the adventure."

The Hispaniolan tree frog (Osteopilus dominicensis) is common on Hispaniola - an island divided into the Republic of Haiti in the west and the Dominican Republic in the east, where the bananas were picked.

They are found from sea level up to 6,600 ft (2,000m), breed in standing bodies of water and have a lifespan of four to five years.

In February, a frog from the Ivory Coast was found in a bunch of bananas at a primary school in Merseyside and, in 2019, an Ecuadorian frog used the same method to stow away and travelled to Northampton.

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