African dwarf frog
| African dwarf frogs | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Hymenochirus boettgeri | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Anura |
| Family: | Pipidae |
| Genus: |
Hymenochirus Boulenger, 1896 |
| Type species | |
|
Xenopus boettgeri Tornier, 1896 |
|
| Species | |
|
4 species (see text) |
|
4 species (see text)
African dwarf frogs or dwarf clawed frogs, genus Hymenochirus, are small aquatic frogs native to parts of Equatorial Africa.
African dwarf frogs occur in forested parts of equatorial Africa, from Nigeria and Cameroon in the north, and south through Gabon and east throughout the Congo River Basin.
There are four species:
African dwarf frogs live their entire lives underwater but need to rise to the surface to breathe air because they have lungs and not gills. These frogs are small in size and do not weigh more than a few grams. They vary in color, for the most part ranging from olive green to brown with black spots. The average life expectancy of these frogs is five years, but they can live as long as 20 years; they can grow to 3 inches cm (7.5 cm) long. When young, African dwarf frogs can be mistaken and sold as African clawed frogs, of the genus Xenopus, which are larger and more aggressive than the dwarf.
All species of Pipidae are tongueless, toothless, and completely aquatic. They use their webbed feet to shove food in their mouths and down their throats, and a hyobranchial pump to draw or suck food into their mouths. Pipidae have powerful legs for swimming and lunging after food. They also use the claws on their feet to tear pieces of large food. They lack true ears, but have lateral lines running down the length of their bodies and undersides; this is how they can sense movements and vibration in the water. They use their sensitive fingers, sense of smell, and lateral line system to find food. They are scavengers and will eat anything living, dying, or dead and any type of organic detritus.
These frogs have tiny black claws on their hind legs, which caused one of their discoverers, Oskar Boettger, to originally call them African dwarf clawed frogs, but they quickly lose these black tips in the sharp pebble environments and are more commonly called African dwarf frogs today.
This African frog habitat in the wild consists of shallow rivers, creeks, and ponds during the dry season and in the flooded areas of the forests during the wet season. These creatures prefer eating near the bottom where their coloration blends with the mud and leaf litter and they can be safe from predators.
Males are slim and develop a small gland behind each of their front legs; this gland is not very well understood, but is believed to play some part in mating. The gland is a small white spot on both sides, a minor outward bulge on both sides of the frog. Males are known to “sing” or “hum” during mating or when excited, although they sometimes “hum” even if they have no intention of mating. The females of this species are 40% larger than males when fully mature. They have pear-shaped bodies, as their abdomens fill with eggs as they reach a mating stage. Another distinction is the females have a more pronounced genital region, called an ovipositor.
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Wikipedia