Three-Toed Toadlets: Brachycephalidae

Members of this family eat various arthropods (AR-thro-pawds). Arthropods are animals without backbones, or invertebrates (in-VER-teh-brehts), that have jointed legs. The diets of most three-toed toadlets include mites and springtails. Mites are small, spider-like arthropods. Springtails (sometimes called snow fleas in colder climates) are a type of very tiny insect that has a little clip on its underside. When the insect quickly unfastens its clip, the creature springs through the air. Three-toed toadlets find mites, springtails, and other small invertebrates in the leaves that are scattered on the ground.