- There are countless strange or weird-looking creatures in the wild.
- Black Rain Frogs.
- These grumpy-looking amphibians can also survive at elevations as high as 3,300ft!
- Natural habitat and status as a species.
- How do they reproduce?
- Aren’t they thoughtful?
- Grumpy but cute!
- Black Rain Frogs are a locally abundant species but do not tolerate habitat disturbance.
There are countless strange or weird-looking creatures in the wild.
Some have already been found, while we don’t know how many more are still unknown to mankind.
These creatures continue to amaze us with how they look, not to mention their strange habits and natural habitats.
Most people would say cats are grumpy, but one look at these frogs might just have them giving up their title.
They are little amphibians endemic to South Africa and a lot of people have been calling them “angry avocados”.
Black Rain Frogs.
Also known as “breviceps fuscus”, they are a species of frogs that are said to be found only on the southern slopes of the Cape Fold Belt from Swellendam to the Outeniqua Mountains.
These grumpy-looking amphibians can also survive at elevations as high as 3,300ft!
We’re now wondering if they have wings.
The Black Rain Frogs have a round body, with short limbs and toes. They are typically dark brown or nearly black in color with a slightly lighter-colored body and no pigmented patterns.
These little rain frogs from South Africa grow to about 1.6–2.0 inches in snout-vent length.
Their bodies do not have warts but pronounced widely spaced granules or small bumps. And if in any rare case that you get to see one, don’t worry about its facial expression, they’re really not mad. That’s their natural look.
If this frog crosses paths with unwanted guests, it will puff up to make its body larger to intimidate whoever is imposing a threat. I’m not sure if that would scare me because when I think about it, it’s actually cute, wouldn’t you agree?
Natural habitat and status as a species.
Their natural habitat is the fynbos and forests. Since they are a burrowing species, they do not actually require the presence of open water. These frogs are born to survive!
Thankfully, according to Wikipedia and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as of September 2016, Black Rain Frogs are still on the list of least concern for amphibians.
That means these angry-looking amphibians do not qualify as threatened, near threatened, or (before 2001) conservation dependent.
How do they reproduce?
An interesting fact about Black Rain Frogs is that during mating, the females secrete a sticky substance from their back. The sticky substance is used so that the male frogs don’t fall off. This process is called adhesive amplexus.
Aren’t they thoughtful?
During mating season, the eggs are laid within burrows with small (15 mm) openings and about 30–40 mm deep. Each nest consists of approximately 42–43 yellow eggs that are 5 mm in diameter inside 8 mm capsules. That’s a lot of baby grumps!
It’s the male frogs’ duty to guard the eggs.
“Males call from within burrows (sometimes while guarding eggs) and from above-ground vegetation. The call is a short (0.2 s) “chirp”, with a dominant frequency of 1.8 kHz.”
Looks like both the male and female frogs are thoughtful after all.
Grumpy but cute!
Their naturally puffy build, small size, color, body texture, and most especially their angry-looking faces, make them adorable as a whole.
They also do not have any records of having any poisonous substance that can harm people which makes them safe to touch.
Black Rain Frogs are a locally abundant species but do not tolerate habitat disturbance.
Its existence can be threatened by habitat loss caused by the spread of alien vegetation, afforestation, and too frequent fires. However, overall, these angry avocados’ habitat is well protected and it occurs in several protected areas.
