Darwin’s Frog

Darwin’s Frog Latest News

Recently, Chile has launched a new effort to save the endangered Darwin’s frog.

About Darwin’s Frog

• Darwin’s frog (Rhinoderma darwinii ), also called the southern Darwin’s frog.
• Features of Darwin’s Frog
  • It is unique among amphibians for its brooding habits.
  • It is a tiny amphibian with leaf-like skin whose males carry tadpoles within pouches in their mouths.
  • It is a diurnal creature, meaning it sleeps at night and is mostly active during daytime.
  • When threatened by predators, the frog plays dead. It lays very still on the forest floor or floating in a stream.
  • It measures 3 cm (1.18 inches), was discovered in Chile’s southern Chiloe islands by Charles Darwin during his 1834 trip around the world.

• Distribution: It is a rhinodermatid frog native to the forest streams of Chile and Argentina.
• Habitat: It is found in a variety of vegetation types and it appears that a mixture of grassland, mossy areas, coarse woody debris, and young trees and bushes in a mature native forest provides its optimum habitat requirements.
• Diet: Darwin’s frog feeds on insects and other arthropods.
• It actually comprises two: the endangered Rhinoderma darwinii (Southern Darwin’s frog) and the Rhinoderma rufum (Northern Darwin’s frog), which is categorized as “critically endangered” and has already virtually disappeared.
• Threats: Forest fires, climate change, invasive species and urbanization have hurt the humid forests of southern Chile and Argentina where Darwin’s frog typically lives.

Source: TH

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