Darwin’s Frog

Darwin’s Frog

The Darwin’s frog’s scientific name is Rhinoderma darwinii, which is derived from “rhinoderma” which means rhinoceros-nosed and “darwinii” relating to the famous explorer, Charles Darwin, who discovered this species while on the “Voyage of the Beagle” between 1832 and 1835.

Key Features:

Life-span: 10-15 years
Diet: Insects, Snails, Worms, Spiders
Size: 22-35mm
Endangered Status: Critically Endangered

Read Frog Squad: The Royal Quest

IUCN RED LIST STATUS:

For more info on classifications visit www.iucnredlist.org

What do they look like?

The Darwin’s frog’s warty skin features blotchy colourings of browns and greens, giving it the appearance of a dried, fallen leaf; this helps these miniature frogs to camouflage themselves on the forest floor. They have a pointy snout forming a triangular looking head, again mimicking the look of a leaf. Interestingly, only the feet on their back legs are webbed, which helps when swimming, whereas the unwebbed front feet provide increased grip along the ground. In comparison to its rather plump body, the Darwin’s Frog’s legs are relatively long and thin and enable the frog to reach impressive hopping speeds of up to 5mph.

What size are they?

Being very small, these little frogs measure 22-35mm in length, on average. The Darwin’s frog typically weighs around 2-5g.

How do they behave?

The Darwin’s frog has an unusual method for caring for its young. The males scoop up fertilised eggs, sometimes as many as 40, left for them by the females, and place them into their vocal sac, within their throats. The male Darwin’s Frogs will keep the eggs in his throat for around three days, before they hatch as tadpoles. Remarkably, the tadpoles will then spend a further 6 to 10 weeks in the vocal sac, as the male Darwin’s frog provides care and nourishment, allowing them to grow into tiny froglets. Next, the froglets move up into the Darwin’s frog’s mouth before they are spat out beside a stream. As with other diurnal animals, the Darwin’s frog is active throughout the day and sleeps during the night. These leaf-like frogs have developed a defensive technique to evade predators – its simply plays dead; by lying extremely still amongst fallen leaves the frog is well camouflaged. They also deploy this technique on rivers and streams, floating along like a fallen leaf.

Where do they live?

The habitat of a Darwin’s frog is typically that of a forest, bog, swamp or besides streams or easy-flowing rivers, there, the frogs will find shelter in mossy logs, grasses or small trees and bushes. Sadly, the Darwin’s frog is considered to be critically endangered, with the frog only remaining in small numbers in the forests or Chile and Argentina.