One of the key features of a so-called amphibian is its reliance on an aquatic stage for development. They are one of the only frogs that don’t lay eggs in water These froglets are immediately independent and quickly get on with their lives, hunting for food. The female will lay between 12 and 40 eggs, which, unlike most frogs, will hatch as fully-formed froglets, conveniently skipping the tadpole stage, since there’s no fresh water around for them to live in, anyway. Upon hearing the characteristic mating wail of a male frog, a female will approach and the two will burrow into the sand to mate. Not least of which is the way they reproduce. They skip tadpoles, straight to frogletsĭesert rain frogs have quite unusual abilities for amphibians. Unfortunately, consumer demand for an arbitrary display of wealth yet again threatens the habitat of a unique species and these little frog balls may soon be in serious trouble. They are highly specialised to desert environments and can do things that most other animals in their class can’t. At night, they will emerge to feed by hunting for insects, such as moths, termites, beetles and insect larvae. They grow to around 4 to 6 centimetres (1.6 to 2.4 in) long and have a yellow-brown color, that matches the sand dune that they inhabit.ĭesert rain frogs are nocturnal, and spend the daytime burrowed in the sand to avoid the blistering heat of the sun. Often touted as the world’s cutest frog, this bulbous little screamer looks and sounds like a sticky Pokemon and even defies the true meaning of the word amphibian. The desert rain frog or web-footed rain frog is a rather plump species of frog found in the sand dunes of Namibia and South Africa. But in others, it’s just as specialised and vulnerable to human impacts on its habitat. In some ways, the desert rain frog defies this sensitivity – able to tolerate arid environments. This makes them useful as indicator species, as canaries in a coal mine, showing the health of the ecosystem. Their narrow tolerances to environmental conditions make them prone to struggles sooner than many other animals when these conditions change. Amphibians are generally known to ecologists as sensitive animals.
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