Rain Frog

Genus Breviceps

Amphibian

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing rain frogs. Specifically we’re discussing short headed rain frogs but that’s a mouthful to say, so for the rest of the video we’ll just refer to them as rain frogs. Rain frogs are found throughout Sast and South Sub-Saharan Africa. There 20 classified rain frog species. Some of the more iconic species include desert rain frogs, common rain frogs, and, one of our personal favorites, Bilbo’s rain frog who was named after the character Bilbo Baggins. These rotund amphibians are called rain frogs because they will come out after light rain showers, or even in just like... fog, and begin chirping. Rotund is an apt way to describe rain frogs. They’re basically tiny balls with arms and legs that puff up and make squeaky sounds when disturbed. Seriously “short-headed” was great but “no-necked” rain frog might have been even better.

Rain frogs come in a variety of colors. Some species, like the black rain frog, are solid in color, while others, like the Mozambique rain frog have striking patterns. Rain frogs live in a variety of environments depending on the species and inhabit forests, grasslands, near-desert areas and as far up as nearly 10,000 feet (3,000m) into mountainous areas.

They are burrowers who dig backwards with their hind feet and have a preference for sandy soil. Rain frogs will live inside and around their burrows throughout the year and lay their eggs inside. On average rain frogs lay between 20 to 50 eggs that will hatch as miniature adults completely skipping the whole tadpole process - though, some forest rain frog juveniles have been found with slight tails.

When a frog species does not have a tadpole stage in their life cycle it’s called direct development. The eggs will hatch about 2 months after being laid and depending on the species the parents will stick around to protect them. It’s unknown how long these frogs live in the wild.

Female rain frogs are larger than males and this can make reproduction messy. Males are so much smaller than females that they can’t even hold on to their ladies. So, to make up for her mate’s small stature, she’ll release a sticky, glue-like substance to fasten him to her body. Some rain frogs are under an inch (2.54cm) long, while others reach more than 3 inches (7.62cm) in length.

Rain frogs eat termites as well as beetles, ants, caterpillars, and other kinds of arthropods. In turn, rain frogs are eaten by snakes as well as birds of prey, however, rain frogs will run away from predators and puff themselves up inside their burrows so that getting them out is nearly impossible. They’re also well known online for their defensive squeaks! Some species will also wrap themselves in a cocoon to help avoid desiccation. Supposedly, giant rain frogs control the rain so it’s probably best not to get on their bad side.

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