The desert rain frog, web-footed rain frog, or Boulenger's short-headed frog (''Breviceps macrops'') is a species of

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

in the family

Brevicipitidae Brevicipitidae or rain frogs is a small family of frogs found in eastern and southern Africa. As of 2020 contains 37 species in 5 genera. eb application 2013. Berkeley, CaliforniaBrevicipitidae AmphibiaWeb, available at http://amphibiaweb.org/. ...

. It is found in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is the narrow strip of sandy shores between the sea and the sand dunes. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

by such factors as mining and tourism.

Description

The desert frog is a plump species with bulging eyes, a short snout, short limbs, spade-like feet, and webbed toes. On the underside, it has a transparent area of skin through which its internal organs can be seen. It can be between long. Its color is yellowish-brown, and sand often adheres to its skin. Unlike most other species of frogs, it develops directly from the egg into adults without passing through the tadpole stage. It has a stout body, with small legs, which makes it unable to hop or leap – instead, it walks around on the sand. Unusually for a frog, it does not require water in its habitat to survive. Its eyes are comparatively large and bulging. The lifespan ranges between 4 and 14 years.

Habitat

The desert rain frog is mostly found on a small strip of land about wide along the coast of

and

. The small area of sand dunes often gets a lot of fog, which supplies moisture in an otherwise arid and dry region. The habitat of desert rain frogs is limited to a narrow strip of land along the western coast of southern Africa, specifically in South Africa and Namibia. This area is characterized by sandy shores and sand dunes, and it is one of the few places in the world where these frogs can be found. The climate in this region is dry and arid, with very little rainfall, and the frogs are adapted to living in these conditions. They are able to survive in areas with very little water by burrowing underground and waiting out dry periods, and they are also able to absorb water through their skin. The desert rain frog's habitat is characterized by xerophytic vegetation, which is adapted to living in dry environments, and in the spring, the area blooms with a variety of flowering plants. Fog is also an important part of the desert rain frog's habitat, as it provides some moisture in an otherwise dry region.

Reproduction

During the breeding season, which occurs between June and October, male Desert Rain Frogs emerge from their burrows at night and call out to females using a distinctive squeaking sound. When a female hears a male's call and is interested in mating, she will approach him and the two will mate underground. After mating, the female will lay a clutch of eggs, which can range in size from 12 to 40 eggs. The eggs hatch into froglets, which do not go through a free-living tadpole stage like many other frog species. Instead, the froglets emerge fully formed from the eggs and are able to move and hunt for insects on their own.

Behaviour

The desert rain frog is nocturnal, spending the day in a burrow which is dug to a depth of where the sand is moist. It emerges on both foggy and clear nights and wanders about over the surface of the dunes. Its footprints are distinctive and are often found around patches of dung where it is presumed to feed on moths, beetles, and insect larvae. It digs its way into the sand in the morning and its presence in a locality can be deduced from the little pile of loose sand dislodged by its burrowing activities. Breeding is by direct development of

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

laid in its burrow, there is no aquatic

tadpole A tadpole is the larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial. Tadpoles have some fish-like features that may not be found ...

stage. It produces a high-pitched squeaking sound when threatened. The male's croaking is also distinctly high-pitched.

Status

The frog's total habitat range is smaller than and is fragmented. The number of individual frogs were previously decreasing but it is now unknown whether the population is decreasing or not. It is threatened by habitat loss caused by opencast diamond mining and road construction, as well as increased human settlement. Fortunately, Opencast diamond mining has recently ceased in south Africa. Attempts to restore the frogs' habitat by mining companies could mean that the frog is no longer threatened. However, no evidence has indicated that the frogs have actually recolonized their restored habitat.

References

External links

* {{cite web, url=https://www.desertrainfrog.com/ , website=Desert Rain Frog - Information, Photos, and Videos, title=Desert Rain Frog Breviceps Frogs of Africa Amphibians of Namibia Amphibians of South Africa Amphibians described in 1907 Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Viral videos Taxonomy articles created by Polbot